Alexia

Who knows how long passes as I watch the either fake or past Architect in front of me work. All the way till he finishes building the structure of the galaxy in question.

And throughout the process, I couldn’t take my eyes off of his work. Not even once.

Only for the Architect to turn towards me and state, “You’ve passed the first trial.”

Then I find myself being teleported into a baren wasteland within the quantum realm. One where reality itself is distorting and making random parts of the ground, air, sky, and pretty much anything appear all over the place and move around. Meanwhile I see some strange glitchy and formless purple creatures on the ground fighting against random bits of stuff appearing in front of them. Glitchy stuff that slams into them with quantum energy coating it, making the creatures distort and vanish upon contact.

The creatures make me feel wrong just by looking at them. Like they don’t belong. Like they shouldn’t exist.

It feels kind of like that strange energy I sensed before, back around the Lord of Vampires.

The one that might belong to the Corrupted One.

Meaning these creatures are likely corrupted.

I frown at them, but the objects and random parts of reality that are slamming into them continue moving nonstop. Just tearing apart the corrupted swarm’s realities nonstop.

Then I finally raise my head to find that very same Architect from before floating high in the air messing around with his terminal.

So I teleport up next to him, only feeling briefly surprised that I can even do that. Although when I try sending a Quantum Bolt down below, I find myself unable to do so.

Guess I can only use non-attacking skills here.

But what’s the point of this trial?

Also, my theory about them being trials was confirmed by what the Architect guy said before.

I frown as I watch the Architect work, simply typing in code into the panels, each of which are showing the area around us within the quantum realm. An area he is literally tearing apart and forcing errors into in order to make problems for the corrupted down below.

After watching him on the terminal for a bit, I glance down at the corrupted creatures again. Finding some of them to be stepping into strange traps in the ground and even in the air that make them glitch out and disappear.

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Making it so that the flying parts of reality aren’t the only thing the Architect is doing to fight against them.

I continue watching for a bit before a hypothesis begins to form in my mind about what exactly these trials are meant to be.

But I won’t have a confirmation for that theory unless what I’m expecting to happen for the next trial actually happens.

Which I kind of hope it doesn’t. Because that would be… troublesome.

For now I keep watching without saying a word. As the Architect slaughters all of the corrupted creatures.

All the way till they’re all gone, and some strange rift appears. One that an even stranger being passes through.

Then a strange being passes through the rift. And I can’t help but feel disgusted by the sight of it alone for some reason.

The creature is glitching, just like a Quantum Being or a corrupted creature or monster, but I can somehow tell it’s not any of the above. And it doesn’t have the usual purple eyes and hair.

It has a couple specks of glitchy purple in its eyes, but other than that its eyes are bright orange. Meanwhile the thing has a humanoid form, with long golden hair and orange horns on its head. With some parts of its body glitching out with the usual purple coloring to the glitchyness.

“Corruptor,” the Architect states, instantly making me realize what this is.

A being who is corrupted but retains their sentience. Their sapience and self-control. Albeit with a strong urge to spread corruption.

I frown at the being before finally seeing the Architect stop controlling the bits of reality down below. And without any hesitation, he changes the focus of his terminal from the surroundings to himself.

Then he begins to alter his own existence, making himself grow larger, more powerful looking, and plain intimidating as his armor spreads all across his body. Covering up any previously exposed skin. Meanwhile two blades made of quantum energy shoot out from the backs of the armor over his wrists and he teleports in front of the Corruptor.

The Corruptor lets out a roar of his own before reaching back and shooting forwards to meet the Architect with his claws out. Claws covered in both orange and glitchy purple energy.

And with a powerful shockwave, the two clash midair. Sending me backwards a little bit.

But my eyes are glued on the two as they fight, leaving me as nothing more than a spectator.

Then the two repeatedly slash at each other, with one using his claws and the other the energy blades, ripping reality itself apart all around them with every blow. With the Architect seemingly being on top as I can’t see any damage to his armor, unlike the Corruptor, who is bleeding from quite a few places.

I find myself rather surprised by the sight of its blood though. Since it’s rather similar to my own in a way, albeit different.

The blood is orange and is glitching a little, but instead of trying to glitch back into the Corruptor’s body, it just damages reality around the blood. As if it shouldn’t exist.

Very interesting…

Both of them continue to fight for several more minutes, with the Architect gradually tearing the Corruptor apart. All the way till he finally finishes the creature off by cutting off its head with one blade and piercing it through the heart with the other.

Then the Architect turns towards me again and states, “You’ve passed your second trial.”

Following which I am teleported again. This time to a place that looks identical to the second trial, except without the corrupted creatures and the damaged reality.

I look around for a second to find the Architect again.

Focusing directly on me as he begins making parts of reality fracture off and fly in my direction.

Attacking me.

Thought so.