A Reality Shattered
Sable's pulse hammered in his ears as the walls around him warped and twisted, the shadows closing in like a suffocating blanket. He stumbled, his breath ragged, but he couldn't stop. The creature, that thing—it was following him, its presence growing stronger with every step he took.
But the real horror wasn't just the monster. The real horror was the feeling that the world was no longer his own. The familiar streets of his childhood, the once comforting walls of his room—everything had started to change.
Sable's hands were shaking, his fingers trembling as he reached for the nearest object—anything to ground himself. But when his fingers brushed the desk, the sensation was wrong. The laptop's screen was cracked, leaking data like black ink, and the once-clear images of his friends were now pixelated horrors. They weren't just avatars anymore; they were trapped souls—each of them twisted, screaming.
"What the hell is happening?" Sable's voice cracked as he backed away from the screen, his mind racing. It wasn't just the game. The glitch was bleeding into his world.
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The Escape
But there was no escape. Sable tried to breathe, to focus. He had to get back to the game. He had to finish it—for his friends. For himself.
He gripped the edges of the desk, closing his eyes. The pulse in his chest was rising. It was becoming unbearable. Was it the game? Or was it his heart, the connection between the game's system and his body?
Sable opened his eyes, the sensation of weightlessness overwhelming him. Everything was spinning, and his vision blurred. The room around him dissolved, breaking apart like shattered glass. He was falling again. Falling deeper into the glitch.
He could hear Leah's voice, echoing from somewhere far away. "Sable, don't let it pull you in."
But it was too late.
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The Labyrinth of Codes
When Sable's feet hit solid ground once more, he found himself standing in a place that was both familiar and alien. It was a labyrinth—a maze of jagged walls that seemed to pulse with the same dark energy as the glitch. There was no sky here. No floor beneath his feet—only endless corridors of shifting data.
Sable stepped forward, his senses on high alert. The air was thick with tension, the digital hum of the labyrinth vibrating beneath his skin. The pulse inside his chest was louder than ever now, a constant reminder that this wasn't just a game.
As he moved deeper into the maze, Sable began to feel it—the pull of the game, the connection that tied him to Eidolon. The glitch was more than just a virus; it was a force, a presence that was alive and hungry. It wanted to consume everything.
"Leah, Ashen, Zeke, where are you?" Sable's voice was strained as he called out. He needed them. He wasn't sure if they were still alive, if they were still in the game. But he couldn't do this alone.
The walls around him shifted, closing in, as if the labyrinth itself was reacting to his voice. He pressed forward, the labyrinth shifting its shape with each step he took.
And then, suddenly, he felt it—a cold chill running down his spine.
A figure appeared before him, silhouetted against the glitching background. It was too dark to make out clearly, but there was no mistaking the shape.
"Sable," the voice was like a hiss, cold and cruel. It was a voice Sable knew all too well.
"Zeke?" Sable's breath caught in his throat as the figure stepped forward, revealing a twisted version of his friend. Zeke's eyes glowed with an eerie, unnatural light, and his face was stretched into a grotesque grin.
"You shouldn't have come here," Zeke said, his voice distorted, like it was coming from a distant place. "This world… it's no longer just a game."
Sable stepped back, heart pounding. No, this wasn't possible. Zeke couldn't be like this. But the glitch had twisted him—just like it had twisted everything else.
"What do you want?" Sable demanded, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. He wasn't ready to face this. Not like this.
Zeke's laugh was hollow, chilling. "What I want?" His smile widened, showing teeth too sharp to be human. "I want to see you fail. I want to watch everything fall apart. The glitch doesn't care about you, Sable. It doesn't care about any of us."
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The Truth of the Game
The walls of the labyrinth seemed to bend and twist around them, and the world itself seemed to be collapsing in on itself.
Sable's mind raced. What was Zeke talking about? Had the game been more than they realized from the start? Could the glitch be part of a greater scheme, a deeper corruption that they hadn't understood?
Zeke's eyes flickered, and for a moment, Sable saw something more than just the corrupted avatar. He saw the real Zeke—broken, desperate, and staring out from the void.
"You don't understand," Zeke whispered. "The game... it's not just a game. It was never just a game. The glitches, the corrupted data, the bosses—it's all a test. And you're part of it. We all are."
Sable froze. "Test? For what?"
Zeke's face twisted again, and the glitch spread, covering his body. "The glitch is a filter, a way to sift through the players. Only the strongest will survive. But even the strongest… don't make it out. The system is designed to break you down, to see how far you're willing to go to win."
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A Choice
Sable's pulse was growing louder, almost deafening now. It was as if the game itself was inside him, pressing down on him from all sides. He had to make a choice—right here, right now. Go forward, continue the game, and risk losing everything? Or give in to the glitch, to the darkness, and accept that there was no escape?
Sable's heart raced. He knew what he had to do. He couldn't let Zeke win. He couldn't let the game consume them.
"I'm not giving up." Sable's voice was firm, his hand tightening around his sword.
Zeke's laugh was cold, cruel. "Then we'll see. We'll see if you're strong enough to survive."
With that, the labyrinth seemed to collapse, and the world around Sable shifted once more, throwing him back into the heart of the game—where the true test awaited.
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End of Chapter 11