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The calm after the storm was unnerving. Sable stood in the middle of what was once a chaotic battlefield, now eerily still. The ground beneath his feet had stopped shifting, the monstrous glitches fading into nothingness. His heart hammered in his chest, but not from fear—he was alive. He had done it. For now.
He glanced down at his hands, which were still glowing faintly from the code he'd absorbed. The shard he had touched was now gone, its power flowing through him. He felt… different. Stronger, but not in the way he expected. There was something deeper, something ancient, pulsing inside him, like he was linked to something far beyond the game itself.
A sharp crack echoed through the air, shattering the moment of peace.
Zeke.
Sable's head snapped toward the sound. Zeke's figure loomed ahead, but he wasn't the same. His body had warped again, his form distorting, glitching violently with every step he took. The corruption had consumed him even further. He was no longer just a player; he had merged completely with the game's code.
"No… this isn't possible," Sable whispered under his breath. He tightened his grip on his sword. "I've rewritten the game. You can't—"
Zeke's voice cut through the air, now more distorted than ever. "You think you've won? You can't erase me, Sable. I am the game. I am Eidolon now!"
Sable felt a pulse of dread. He had underestimated how deep the glitch ran. Zeke was no longer bound by the game's rules—he had become part of the very fabric of Eidolon. His very existence was code, glitching at will, a nightmare made real.
The world around them began to distort again, the sky twisting into jagged patterns, the ground warping under Sable's feet. The game's core had been fractured, and now the environment was beginning to break apart in response to Zeke's unstable power.
But Sable wasn't done yet.
"I'm not just a player, Zeke," he muttered, eyes narrowing. "I'm the one who will end this nightmare."
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A New Weapon
The battlefield began to crack like glass as the code itself rebelled against the constant manipulation. Sable could feel the pressure building again, the force of the corruption pushing against him. His mind raced.
The shard had given him power, yes, but it hadn't told him how to truly control it. He was connected to Eidolon's core now, but it wasn't just Zeke he had to defeat—it was the entire twisted ecosystem of the game.
Something deep within the fragmented world caught his attention—an ancient temple, half-sunken into the collapsing ground. The structure pulsed with a dark light, the faint glow of a forgotten artifact hidden within.
It felt like a call. A summons.
Sable sprinted toward it, dodging the collapsing environment, as Zeke's distorted voice echoed through the space. "You can't escape me. There's nowhere left for you to run."
Ignoring Zeke's taunts, Sable reached the temple's entrance. His heart raced as the doors creaked open, revealing the artifact at its center—a crystal sphere surrounded by ancient symbols. This was no ordinary item; it felt as if it was linked to the game's very origin.
Sable reached out, his hand trembling. As his fingers brushed the surface, a surge of power coursed through him, filling him with an overwhelming sense of purpose. The crystal cracked, revealing a hidden weapon within—a data blade, shimmering with raw energy.
The weapon was unlike anything Sable had ever seen. It wasn't a traditional sword, nor a weapon made of metal. It was pure code, vibrating with the power to rewrite reality itself.
"This is it. This is my chance." Sable whispered, gripping the blade tightly.
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The Final Confrontation
He turned back toward Zeke, who was now hovering above the battlefield, his form flickering and distorting as the game's foundation shattered. The two forces were on a collision course, the endgame was near.
"You won't stop me," Zeke snarled, his voice vibrating with the glitch. "You're just a glitch yourself, Sable. A part of the code. This is my world now!"
Sable's eyes burned with determination. The power inside him swelled, connecting to the blade as he stood ready. His whole body hummed with the energy of the rewritten world. "You're wrong. You're just a virus, Zeke. And I'm the cure."
With a single step, Sable surged forward, the data blade crackling with energy. Zeke's form shifted violently as he tried to strike, but Sable was faster. He slashed the blade through the air, and reality itself bent in response. The force of the strike cut through Zeke's glitching form, sending ripples of energy through the environment.
Zeke screamed, his body distorting further, but Sable didn't hesitate. He swung again, each strike cleaving through the corrupted world, each slash rewriting the game's broken code.
And with one final, powerful blow, Sable struck the heart of Zeke's glitch.
There was a blinding flash of light.
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End of Chapter 16
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