Kai's heart was pounding in his ears as he stood over the defeated creature. The monster's glitching form collapsed into pixelated fragments, slowly fading from existence as its corrupted essence unraveled in the system. The sound of its dying roar was replaced by the low hum of the city—a stark contrast to the chaos of his battle.
System Notification:
You have defeated the Corrupted Glitch.
XP Earned: 500
Skill Unlocked: Critical Strike Level 1
Reward: Glitch Purge Token x1
A sudden, eerie silence fell over the square, the crowd of NPCs and players oblivious to what had just transpired. It felt wrong, almost like the glitch had been too real, too dangerous for a game meant to be perfect. Kai's hands hovered above his virtual HUD, fingers twitching in hesitation. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to level up normally, like every other beta tester.
His first instinct was to check his status. He had gained XP, which was expected, but the feeling in his gut told him there was more to it. He had just defeated a monster that was far too powerful for a beginner. This glitch wasn't just some random bug; it was something deeper, something hidden beneath the surface of the game.
He opened his inventory, scrolling through the items. The Glitch Purge Token was the only new item, glowing with a strange aura. It looked like a standard in-game item, but something about it felt… different. Kai had been in the testing phase long enough to know that no item, not even a special quest reward, should have felt this off.
Item Description:
Glitch Purge Token
This token can be used to purge corrupt data from the game. Use with caution.
He tapped the token's icon, and immediately, a holographic menu popped up in front of him. The options were simple, yet the words caused an unease to settle in his stomach:
Use Token
Discard Token
Inspect Token
Kai's gaze flicked between the choices. He wasn't sure what the right call was, but he wasn't going to discard it—he needed every advantage he could get. As a beta tester, he knew better than anyone that things in ZeroPoint were never as they seemed.
He pressed Inspect Token, and the world around him seemed to blur for a moment. The air felt charged, and the bright neon lights of the city flickered. The Token pulsed, a strange energy radiating from it as a small text box appeared:
Token Analysis:
Corrupted Entity Detected. Targeting anomalies within the code.
Warning: Potential irreversible damage to game integrity.
Activate Purge? Y/N
Kai swallowed hard. The warning was clear. The system was acknowledging the glitch's severity, but there was no telling what it would do to the game if he activated the purge. Still, it didn't seem like he had a choice. If this was affecting the game at a deep level, the longer he waited, the worse it could get.
His finger hovered over the Y option, but before he could confirm, a voice cut through the static.
"Hey, you okay?"
Kai turned to find a player walking up to him, a towering figure clad in black armor, his face hidden behind a sleek visor. He wasn't one of the beta testers Kai recognized. This guy had to be someone new, just entering the game.
"I'm fine," Kai said quickly, brushing off the stranger's concern. "Just dealing with some weird glitches."
The armored player tilted his head, clearly intrigued. "A glitch? In ZeroPoint?" He stepped closer, lowering his visor slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be testing the last phase of the game? No glitches should even be possible. Something's not right here, man."
Kai hesitated, glancing at the Token again. The decision to activate it was weighing on him, but this stranger's presence unnerved him. He didn't like being watched, especially not after what had just happened.
"I'll figure it out," Kai said, turning away from the player. "Thanks for the concern, but I've got it handled."
The armored figure didn't press further. Instead, he simply nodded, the sounds of his footsteps fading into the distance as he walked away.
Kai exhaled a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He couldn't let anyone know how badly the glitch was affecting him, especially not other players. They were all here for the same reason—to level up, to unlock abilities, to be the best. But for Kai, this wasn't just another beta test. This was his shot at something bigger, something he couldn't risk failing.
With a sense of finality, he tapped Y on the screen.
Purging Glitch…
Suddenly, a surge of light exploded from the Token, enveloping the entire area. Kai stumbled backward, his hands shielding his eyes from the blinding brightness. When the light finally faded, the world around him had changed.
The city square, once bustling with NPCs and players, was now eerily silent. The neon lights that had illuminated the streets were flickering violently, and the sky had turned a sickly green. It was as if the entire game world was beginning to collapse under the weight of the glitch.
Kai's HUD flashed with multiple system notifications.
System Alert:
Warning: Integrity of game data compromised.
Warning: Multiple errors detected. Rebooting required.
He looked around, and for the first time, he realized that the game's NPCs—characters that had been nothing more than walking mannequins moments ago—were now looking directly at him. Their eyes were wide, unblinking, and far too human for comfort. It felt like they were aware of him, of what he was doing, as though they weren't simply part of the game's code anymore. They seemed…alive.
Suddenly, a new message appeared in front of him:
System Notification:
You have triggered the Glitch Event.
Objective Update: Find the Source of the Corruption.
New Quest Available: "Game Over."
The world around Kai shifted once more, the once-vibrant city now distorted and corrupted, its edges bleeding like something from a nightmare. Buildings flickered in and out of existence, and the ground beneath his feet began to crack open, revealing a deep abyss.
And then, a voice.
It was low and mechanical, like something that wasn't meant to exist in the game at all.
"You shouldn't have activated it."
Kai spun around, heart racing. His breath caught in his throat when he saw who was speaking. The figure that appeared before him wasn't another player, nor was it an NPC. It was something else—something made of raw, glitching data, a figure composed of broken code.
"Who are you?" Kai demanded, his voice trembling despite his best efforts to remain calm.
The figure's glowing eyes locked onto him. "You are the last one. The one who can fix this. You're the only one who can stop it… or let it all burn."