The four of us turned sharply as three figures stepped out of the forest, their forms flickering faintly with corrupted light.

* [PLAYER: NullVex] (Rogue Class, Dual Daggers)

* [PLAYER: ByteWraith] (Necromancer Class, Corrupted Magic)

* [PLAYER: IronCircuit] (Heavy Gunner Class, Prototype Cannon)

Their names glowed with faint static outlines, and their presence made my HUD glitch faintly at the edges.

Devon unslung his greatsword with a heavy thunk, his crimson armor glowing faintly with runic energy. “Don’t you people ever get tired?”

NullVex twirled a dagger in one hand, their voice dripping with amusement. “You’re in the way, Overlord Ren. Move aside, and we’ll make this painless.”

Selene’s daggers gleamed as she shifted into a fighting stance. “If you want her, you’ll have to go through us.”

ByteWraith laughed softly, a hollow, rattling sound. “We’re not leaving without her… or without it.”

Their eyes locked onto me, and my chest tightened.

Lucien’s lute shimmered faintly with magic as he took a step forward. “Such hostility! Can we not discuss this over a cup of tea and poetic balladry?”

No one laughed.

The silence broke with a sudden screech of metal as IronCircuit’s massive cannon began to charge, glowing with blinding red light.

“MOVE!” Selene shouted.

The fight erupted into chaos.

Devon clashed with IronCircuit, his massive greatsword crashing into the heavy gunner’s cannon with deafening force. Sparks and static flew as they traded blows.

Selene moved like a shadow, weaving around NullVex’s dual daggers and striking with pinpoint precision. Their movements were so fast I could barely track them.

Lucien strummed sharp chords on his lute, protective wards flickering around us as damage numbers popped up above our heads:

[Protective Ward: Damage Mitigated by 15%]

ByteWraith’s hands glowed with corrupted magic, summoning skeletal creatures from glitching black portals. They rushed toward me, claws outstretched.

“Shadow Bolt!” I shouted, sending crackling purple energy into one of the creatures. It dissolved instantly, but two more lunged at me.

[Health: 76%]

Selene darted past me, slashing through the skeletal minions with both daggers. Her amber eyes met mine briefly. “Focus, Kiera! Stay sharp!”

Devon roared as he slammed his greatsword into IronCircuit’s cannon, causing it to spark violently.

“Lucien, can you disrupt ByteWraith’s spells?” I shouted.

Lucien grinned faintly. “With pleasure, my muse!”

He strummed a sharp, discordant note. ByteWraith staggered backward, clutching their head as their magic flickered out of control.

With ByteWraith momentarily disrupted, Selene lunged at NullVex, landing a deep strike across their chest. NullVex let out a strangled cry before dissolving into static particles.

Devon’s greatsword cleaved IronCircuit’s cannon in half, the corrupted player staggering back before shattering into fragments of light.

Only ByteWraith remained, weakened and cornered. Their glowing eyes locked onto me, filled with fury.

“You can’t stop this, glitch,” they hissed. “You’re just another pawn in their game.”

Selene stepped beside me, her daggers raised. Devon loomed over ByteWraith, greatsword still glowing faintly.

I raised my hand, shadows crackling at my fingertips. “This pawn isn’t going to lose.”

Shadow Bolt.

The energy slammed into ByteWraith’s chest, and they dissolved into a cascade of corrupted pixels.

The battlefield fell silent.

The Hollow Gate loomed open behind us, its dark corridor stretching into unknown depths. Devon sheathed his greatsword.

Selene glanced at me, her amber eyes filled with something unreadable. “They’re getting bolder. We won’t have much time before more of them show up.”

Lucien strummed a faint melody on his lute, his voice softer than usual. “The shadows grow longer, my friends. We must press onward before they swallow us whole.”

I nodded, clutching the Midnight Fang tightly.

“Then let’s move,” I said softly.

Together, we stepped into the dark corridor of The Hollow Gate, shadows swallowing us whole.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The darkness inside The Hollow Gate felt suffocating, heavy with an unnatural stillness that made every step feel too loud, every breath too sharp. The faint glow of my HUD was the only consistent source of light, flickering softly in my peripheral vision as we pressed deeper into the ancient corridor.

The stone walls on either side of us were carved with intricate runes, many of them glitching faintly with fractured pixels and distorted textures. Thin threads of glowing blue binary code drifted through the air like faint embers, pulsing in and out of existence.

Selene walked slightly ahead of me, her daggers drawn and her amber eyes scanning every shadow. Devon followed close behind with his massive greatsword drawn, its crimson etchings casting faint red light against the walls. Lucien stayed near me, one hand on his lute, his sharp eyes flicking to every flicker of motion.

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No one spoke. The oppressive silence demanded stillness.

But then, the faint sound of static crackled from somewhere deeper in the corridor.

I froze. “Did you hear that?”

Selene nodded once, barely glancing back. “Whatever it is, It’s ahead.”

Devon exhaled sharply, his armored boots grinding softly against the stone floor. “Feels like we’re walking into a trap.”

“Isn’t that every quest we’ve done so far?” I muttered.

Lucien chuckled softly, but the sound didn’t carry far. “Ah, the eternal optimism of adventurers. Into the jaws of danger, guided only by flickering lights and vague instructions.”

I actually snorted. At least Lucien’s optimism made the situation less grim.

We walked deeper, the corridor began to change. The walls rippled faintly with distorted patterns, and the air felt… thicker, almost syrupy. My HUD flickered violently, displaying error messages.

[WARNING: ENVIRONMENTAL ANOMALY DETECTED] [SYSTEM INSTABILITY INCREASED]

“It’s like the code itself is warping,” I said softly.

Devon frowned. “This isn’t normal dungeon behavior. It’s like the system doesn’t know how to render this place properly.”

Selene reached out and placed a hand on one of the glitching walls. Her brow furrowed, and her voice was low. “It’s corrupted. Whatever this place was supposed to be… it’s breaking.”

Lucien played a single faint note on his lute, the sound reverberating strangely through the air before fading into silence.

“This place doesn’t want us here,” he said, his voice unusually serious.

The corridor eventually opened into a circular chamber. At its center stood a massive stone door covered in glowing runes and shifting lines of binary code. Three large pedestals surrounded the door, each one glowing faintly with a different color—red, blue, and green.

The marker on my HUD pulsed brightly, pointing directly at the door.

[Objective: Unlock the Hollow Gate’s Inner Seal]

Devon walked up to the door, inspecting the runes etched into its surface. “A puzzle lock. Classic dungeon design. But…” He frowned, pointing at the glitching lines of binary interwoven with the runes. “It’s broken. The pieces aren’t fitting together properly.”

Selene circled one of the pedestals, her amber eyes scanning the symbols. “This isn’t normal. Kiera, can you see anything we can’t?”

I stepped closer to the door, and suddenly—

My HUD flickered, and faint lines of glowing fragmented code spread across the surface of the door, connecting to each pedestal like pulsing veins.

[FRAGMENT DETECTED: Connection Point Located]

“They’re… they’re connections,” I said. “It’s like the fragment I have is reacting to these symbols.”

“Then you’re the key,” Selene said firmly. “Focus, Kiera. We’ll cover you if anything shows up.”

I nodded and stepped forward, holding my hand out toward the door. Shadows curled faintly around my fingertips as I focused on the fragmented lines of code.

The runes flared brightly, and prompts began appearing on my HUD:

[ALIGN THE CODE NODES IN SEQUENCE: RED → BLUE → GREEN]

I focused on the red pedestal first, reaching out toward the glowing lines. Shadows danced along my arm as I touched the first symbol. The rune glowed brighter, and the red pedestal flared with energy.

[Red Node Connected]

“First one connected,” I told them.

“Good,” Selene said, her voice steady. “Keep going.”

I turned to the blue pedestal, focusing on the next set of symbols. My hand trembled slightly as the shadows extended from my fingertips, forming faint tendrils of energy that linked the glowing fragments.

[Blue Node Connected]

Static crackled faintly through the chamber, and the shadows along the walls began to shift unnaturally.

Something was coming.

“Something is coming, hurry up Kiera,” Devon said sharply, his greatsword raised as shadows began to form shapes along the edges of the chamber.

I focused on the final green pedestal, sweat dripping down my temple. The glowing lines of code twisted violently as if resisting my control.

“Come on… come on!” I muttered.

With a sharp crackle of energy, the final pedestal flared to life.

[Green Node Connected]

The chamber shook, and the massive stone door began to slide open with a low, grinding groan. But as it did, shadows emerged from the walls, forming into jagged, glitching figures.

The creatures lunged forward, their forms flickering and distorting like corrupted holograms.

[ENEMY ENCOUNTER: GLITCHED WRAITHS]

* Level: 16

* Status: Unstable

* Weakness: Energy-based Attacks

Devon stepped in front of me, his greatsword glowing faintly. “Get through the door, Kiera! I’ll hold them off!”

“No!” I shouted. “I can fight—”

Selene grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the door. “You’re the objective, Kiera. We cannot lose you.”

Lucien strummed a sharp chord, and a wave of energy pushed one of the wraiths back into the shadows.

“Through the gate!” he shouted.

With Selene dragging me and Devon clearing a path, we surged through the opening door and into the chamber beyond.

The door slammed shut behind us, cutting off the wraiths. The room we stepped into was impossibly vast—a cathedral-like space with towering walls etched in glowing runes and shifting code. At the center, suspended in mid-air, hovered another Fragment of Binary Code. It pulsed faintly, radiating power and… something else.

Something alive.

Selene let out a sharp breath, lowering her daggers. Devon caught up and rested his greatsword against his shoulder, his armored chest rising and falling.

My chest stopped beating so heavily, thankfully that he was okay.

Lucien stepped forward, his voice soft. “It’s… beautiful. And terrible.”

My HUD flared as the fragment recognized my presence.

[FRAGMENT DETECTED: RETRIEVE? YES / NO]

I hesitated, shadows flickering faintly at my feet.

“Do it,” Selene said softly. “This is why we’re here.”

I reached out.

The fragment flared brightly as it was absorbed into my HUD.

[FRAGMENT RETRIEVED: 2/???] [SYSTEM STABILITY -2%]

The cathedral trembled slightly, and my HUD displayed another notification:

[WARNING: SYSTEM ANOMALY DETECTED. FOREIGN PRESENCE APPROACHING.]

Devon tightened his grip on his sword. Selene’s amber eyes narrowed. Lucien’s lute hummed faintly in his hands.

Something—or someone—was coming.