The Code Knight's footsteps echoed like thunder across the graveyard.
Each step cracked the ground beneath, sending flickers of corrupted energy crawling through the soil like lightning veins. Its blade — long, jagged, and humming with unstable code — pulsed red in rhythm with its glowing eyes.
Raka didn't move.
Not yet.
His hand trembled around the hilt of his sword, heart hammering in his chest. The air here wasn't just cold — it felt heavy, like breathing through broken glass.
Iqiww stepped forward first. Calm. Focused.
"Listen carefully," he said, voice low. "This isn't like fighting a memory. This boss was created by the system itself — a security program turned berserk. It doesn't play fair."
The Code Knight roared — a mechanical, garbled scream that made the broken avatars nearby twitch in response, as if echoing its pain.
> [WARNING: CODE KNIGHT – V1.R.EX | Guardian Class]
[Level: ??? | Status: Unstable]
"Any tips?" Raka asked, swallowing hard.
"Yeah," Iqiww smirked. "Don't get hit."
Then the ground exploded beneath them.
The Code Knight surged forward faster than its size should allow — a blur of rusted steel and fury. It brought down its blade in a wide arc. Raka leapt back just in time, but the shockwave knocked him off balance.
Iqiww dashed in, twin daggers flashing.
He landed a clean strike across the Knight's leg — sparks flew, but the boss didn't even flinch.
Instead, it turned — backhanded him with its armored gauntlet — and sent Iqiww flying into a pile of broken character models.
Raka's instincts kicked in. He closed the distance and swung — a combo meant to stagger.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
All deflected.
The Knight's blade came down again. Raka ducked, barely avoiding decapitation. He rolled and slashed upward — finally landing a hit under the Knight's arm.
It staggered.
"Nice hit!" Iqiww shouted, coughing but still smiling. "That joint's exposed. Go for the seams!"
The fight turned tactical.
Raka adjusted — striking between armor gaps, dodging instead of blocking, adapting. Iqiww flanked from the sides, targeting sensors in the helm. Their synergy started syncing like players in co-op PvP, years of instinct bubbling back to life.
But the Knight evolved.
Mid-fight, its body locked up. A loud hum followed.
Then —
> [Initiating Protocol: Grave Cycle v2]
[Absorbing Fallen Data…]
All around them, the shattered avatars lifted into the air, dissolving into streams of red code — feeding directly into the Knight's chest.
Its armor twisted. Its blade extended. A second form.
"No good," Iqiww muttered. "It's absorbing forgotten builds. We're dealing with a hybrid boss now."
The Knight's eyes flared brighter.
It charged again.
This time, it moved like an assassin class — teleport dashes, throwing code shards mid-air. Then it shifted — power slammed the ground like a tank build. It was using data from old characters. Dead metas, forgotten playstyles.
It was unstoppable.
Raka's health plummeted. One hit brought him to a knee, blood (or was it code?) dripping down his lip.
His vision blurred.
> [HP: 12% Remaining]
He looked up. The Knight loomed.
Raka clenched his fists. "No."
A voice echoed in his mind — not from the system, but from himself.
Adapt.
He exhaled and closed his eyes.
Then… he let go.
Stopped trying to fight like a gamer. And started moving like a survivor.
He dropped his weapon, used the environment. A broken lance stuck in the ground — thrown like a spear. Missed the chest. Hit the knee.
The Knight stumbled.
Iqiww joined in. "Now!"
Raka ran, jumped, planted his feet on the Knight's thigh, and pushed off — flipping over its shoulder mid-air — grabbing his sword back in the process.
He landed behind the Knight.
One move.
Clean. Final.
SHINGG—!
He drove his blade through the exposed reactor core at the back of its armor.
The Code Knight screamed — a horrible digital screech.
Its armor cracked.
Exploded into code.
> [Code Knight Defeated | System Fragment Retrieved]
[Lost Code: FRAG_ID_04 Unlocked]
[New Skill Acquired: Data Sync LV.1]
The battlefield went silent.
Raka dropped to the ground, gasping. His hands were shaking, but he was alive.
Iqiww sat beside him, brushing dirt off his shoulder.
"Told you not to get hit," he grinned.
Raka laughed — weak, but real.
"Let's never do that again."
Iqiww's face grew serious. "We'll have to. That was just one of seven Vault Guardians."
He pointed at the red crystal glowing where the Knight once stood.
"That fragment… it's part of the Core. And the Core? It's what's keeping this game alive… and trapping us inside."
Raka stared at it, heart pounding.
And for the first time… he didn't feel fear.
He felt ready.
---
To Be Continued…