The Rift-Bound Crypt loomed before us, a yawning cave mouth framed by jagged crimson fissures. Faint whispers echoed from deep within, distorted and glitching like audio fragments from a corrupted file. My HUD glowed with the waypoint marker, now sharp and steady.

[OBJECTIVE: INVESTIGATE THE RIFT-BOUND CRYPT]

The air was colder here, sharp with the scent of ozone and something faintly metallic. Devon stepped forward first, but his movements were deliberate, cautious. Selene followed, her amber eyes scanning ahead. Mason muttered something about haunted dungeons under his breath, while Fi moved walked beside him.

I hesitated at the threshold, shadows curling faintly at my feet as if they sensed something unnatural ahead.

“Something wrong, Kiera?” Selene’s voice was soft, but her gaze was steady.

I shook my head and stepped forward. “No. Let’s do this.”

The crypt swallowed us whole.

The inside of the crypt was vast and unsettling. Pale blue torchlight flickered from sconces on the walls, casting eerie shadows across cracked stone floors. The air was heavy with the scent of dust and decay, though faint streams of glitch energy pulsed through the walls and floor like veins of corrupted blood.

Fi ran her fingers along one of the cracks in the stone wall. “These… these aren’t part of the original game design.”

Mason let out a low whistle as he peered into the darkness ahead. “Yeah, no dungeon in Eidolon Nexus is supposed to look like this.”

Devon took point, his sword drawn. “Stay close. If this place is tied to the fragmented binary code, there’s no telling what we might run into.”

Selene walked beside me, her voice low. “Kiera, If you spot anything strange, let us know immediately.”

I nodded, my HUD flickering faintly as I adjusted the visibility range. The anomaly signal pulsed in the distance, somewhere deep within the crypt.

The path ahead split into three corridors, each equally foreboding. At the intersection stood an ancient pedestal with a faintly glowing panel of fragmented code etched into its surface.

[PUZZLE DETECTED: CODE LOCK] [OBJECTIVE: INPUT THE CORRECT SEQUENCE]

Selene knelt beside the pedestal, her sharp gaze studying the flickering fragments. “This looks like… a data encryption puzzle. But it’s corrupted.”

Fi squinted at the markings. “Okay, tech genius. Can you crack it?”

“Maybe,” Selene said, fingers hovering over the faintly glowing runes. “But Kiera might have a better chance.”

I stepped forward hesitantly. “Why me?”

Selene’s eyes met mine. “Your corrupted code lets you interact with anomalies. This looks like one.”

Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand over the glowing panel. My shadows reacted instantly, flickering across the surface like sentient ink.

[ANOMALY INTERACTION: INPUT SEQUENCE]

A prompt appeared on my HUD.

> 0X42|1A|7F|2C

I hesitated. The code didn’t make sense, but something in me—something instinctual—pushed me to arrange the fragments differently.

> 0X42|7F|2C|1A

The pedestal glowed brightly before the stone walls groaned and shifted. The middle corridor lit up faintly with flickering crimson light.

[PUZZLE COMPLETE: ACCESS GRANTED]

Mason clapped once, his voice echoing slightly. “And that’s why Kiera gets MVP. Well done!”

Selene smirked faintly, her amber eyes flickering in the dim light. “Let’s move before something else notices us.”

As we moved deeper into the corridor, strange markings began to appear on the walls—etchings of humanoid figures surrounded by swirling patterns of light and shadow.

Devon stopped briefly to study one. “These don’t look like normal lore carvings. They’re… corrupted.”

Fi brushed her fingers across another etching, frowning. “It’s like… it's alive.”

Selene’s voice was quiet observing the now pulsing carvings.

I felt a chill crawl up my spine.

“What does it mean?” I asked softly.

Selene shook her head. Even she didn't understand.

We entered a vast chamber at the end of the corridor. Cracks of Rift energy spiderwebbed across the floor and ceiling, glowing faintly crimson. At the center of the room, suspended mid-air, was a swirling shard of fragmented code.

[FRAGMENTED BINARY CODE DETECTED] [RETRIEVE OBJECTIVE]

But as we stepped into the chamber, the air turned thick with pressure. A deep, guttural growl echoed from all sides.

Shadows pooled in the corners of the room before snapping upward, forming twisted shapes—humanoid figures with distorted limbs and glowing red eyes.

[ENCOUNTER: RIFTBOUND SENTRIES – LVL 21]

Devon stepped in front of me, greatsword ready. “Here we go again.”

Selene dashed forward, her daggers gleaming faintly. Mason planted his hammer into the ground while Fi twirled her short swords into a ready stance.

I took a deep breath, shadows curling around my hands as I prepared my abilities.

Stolen story; please report.

“Shadow Mirage!”

My duplicates sprang into action, drawing some of the sentries’ attention.

Devon charged forward with a roar, his greatsword cleaving through one of the sentries with brutal efficiency. Selene appeared behind another, striking with pinpoint precision.

Mason swung his hammer with wild but calculated strength, while Fi danced between enemies, slicing weak points with each fluid motion.

But the sentries didn’t stop. For every one we struck down, another seemed to crawl out of the Rift cracks.

I focused, and activated Shadow Maw. A vortex of shadows erupted from the ground, swallowing two of the creatures whole.

“Focus on the fragment!” Selene shouted. “Kiera, go!”

I sprinted forward, weaving between sentries as my shadows darted outward to protect me. Reaching the shard of fragmented binary code, I extended my hand.

The code flickered, hovering just above my palm.

[FRAGMENT COLLECTED: 3/???]

A sharp pulse erupted from the fragment, causing the sentries to screech and dissolve into glitching pixels.

The room fell silent.

We stood in the aftermath of the battle, breathing heavily. The Rift cracks pulsed faintly, but the danger had passed.

Selene approached me, her voice steady. “Good work, Kiera.”

Devon clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Another fragment down. But… how many more are out there?”

Mason wiped sweat from his brow. “Too many, probably.”

Fi sheathed her short swords with a faint sigh. “We’ll figure it out. One step at a time.”

I stared at the shard of binary code in my inventory, its faint glow casting light against my HUD.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The walls of the Rift-Bound Crypt seemed to pulse faintly with corrupted energy as we pressed deeper into the winding corridors. Fissures glowed crimson along the stone walls, and faint whispers drifted through the air—distorted, glitching echoes of voices long gone.

The faint glow of the waypoint on my HUD pulsed steadily ahead.

[OBJECTIVE: TRACE ANOMALY SIGNAL]

We descended deeper into the crypt, the narrow corridors giving way to a vast chamber. Bioluminescent moss glowed faintly along the walls, and uneven platforms jutted from the stone floor. In the center of the cavern sat an ancient altar surrounded by cracked stone pillars.

Mason whistled low. “Well, that’s not ominous at all."

Devon raised a hand, silencing the banter. “Something’s here.”

The air rippled with an unnatural hum. The shadows at the edges of the cavern twitched unnaturally before peeling away from the walls, forming into twisted humanoid figures with glitching eyes and jagged claws.

[ENCOUNTER: RIFTBOUND SHADEGUARDS – LVL 22]

I barely had time to react before one lunged toward me.

“Shadow Mirage!” My duplicates split off instantly, scattering across the cavern and drawing the Shadeguards' attention.

Selene moved and her daggers carved through the creatures. Devon’s sword cleaved through two enemies at once. Mason slammed his hammer into the ground, sending shockwaves that staggered the creatures, while Fi danced between them, slicing tendons and dodging counterattacks.

I weaved through the chaos, shadows curling around my wrists as I lashed out with bursts of energy. My duplicates darted around, distracting enemies while I focused on supporting the others.

“Crimson Kiss!” I whispered, draining HP from one Shadeguard, its form glitching and collapsing into dust.

But the creatures kept coming, pouring from the edges of the cavern in relentless waves.

My HUD flickered faintly, highlighting the altar at the center of the cavern.

“There!” I pointed. “It’s the altar—it’s connected to them!”

Fi’s voice cut through the noise. “On it!”

The five of us converged on the altar, fighting through the waves of Shadeguards as we moved. Selene was the first to reach it, her daggers flashing as she carved through the creatures defending it.

Mason slammed his hammer down, shattering part of the stone platform and destabilizing the energy coursing through it. Fi leapt onto the altar itself, blades striking glowing fragments of code embedded in its surface.

“Shadow Maw!” I commanded, my shadows erupting from the ground and swallowing two Shadeguards whole.

The corrupted energy around the altar crackled violently, and the Shadeguards let out a collective shriek as they dissolved into glitching particles.

A silence fell over the cavern, broken only by the faint hum of the anomaly signal.

Fi sat on the edge of the altar, her legs dangling over the side. “So, uh… what happens now?”

Selene glanced at me. “let's move forward.”

At the end of the corridor, we stepped into a chamber bathed in pulsating light. A large crystalline shard hovered above a pedestal in the center of the room, glowing faintly with fragmented code patterns.

[FRAGMENTED BINARY CODE DETECTED] [RETRIEVE OBJECTIVE]

Selene’s eyes narrowed. “This is it.”

I approached cautiously, toward the fragment. As my fingers brushed against it, a sharp pulse of energy erupted outward.

[FRAGMENT COLLECTED: 4/???]

My HUD flickered as data surged across the interface. My waypoint updated.

But as the energy settled, something shifted in the air.

The glowing lines on the walls began to fade. The hum grew fainter. And a deep, distorted voice echoed faintly from nowhere and everywhere at once.

“Unauthorized… anomaly detected… failsafe protocol… initiated…”

Selene cursed softly. “We’ve triggered something.”

Mason gripped his hammer tightly. “Tell me it’s not another Oberon.”

Devon turned toward the chamber’s entrance, where faint shadows began to stir. “Whatever it is, we don’t have time to find out. We need to move. Now.”

We bolted back down the corridor, shadows flickering along the walls as the faint glow of corrupted energy chased us. The whispers returned, louder this time—like a cacophony of distorted voices shrieking in protest.

My HUD pulsed with warnings.

[DANGER LEVEL: CRITICAL]

“Keep moving!” Devon barked, his voice cutting through the noise.

Behind us, the corridor began to collapse, glitching stone disintegrating into digital fragments.

As we burst out of the crypt’s entrance and into the pale light of day, the ground trembled violently behind us. A pulse of energy surged outward, and then… silence.

We stood panting on the uneven ground, staring back at the now-sealed entrance to the crypt.

We sat together near a rocky outcrop, the sun dipping low on the horizon.

I opened my HUD and stared at the glowing fragment in my inventory.

4/???

One step closer. But the weight of what we’d seen—and what was waiting ahead—hung heavy on my chest.