The air inside the hospital was tense and thick with the feeling of an impending storm. The walls seemed to hum with the silent buzz of corrupted data. Every corner, every shadow felt alive with the potential for attack.
The warning signs had been there for hours, messages, glitches, shadows. But now, the reality of it was unavoidable. Something had gone horribly wrong.
Ryker's fingers were moving against the cracked window. His mind was racing as he was piecing everything together the cryptic message from the corrupted data crystal.
"You should've stayed an observer."
It lingered in his thoughts like a ghost refusing to be shaken or leave.
Who was the figure in red?
Were they the extra Ryker had to eliminate?
And, more importantly, why had they been left behind in this twisted simulation?
If the extra wanted to kill them why not just do it?
What was the meaning behind everything that was going?
.
.
.
The clock was ticking. Every second felt like a century and Ryker could feel the pressure growing slowly. He wasn't the only one on edge. His team was, too. But they hadn't spoken of it directly. The looming threat was something they all understood instinctively.
"We need to move." Arthur's voice broke through the silence, the weight of his words a stark reminder of their situation.
"Whatever's controlling this…."
"This simulation has shown its hand. We can't keep sitting around waiting to be picked off."
Dean cracked his knuckles, his gaze steely as he looked toward the door.
"Agreed"
"The longer we wait, the more of us they will pick off one by one."
"We're not just sitting around," Ryker corrected, his voice sharp.
"We're figuring out how to break free. We are not just going to survive, we are going to end this."
Lucas stepped forward, his eyes narrowed as he was still processing the explosion and the cryptic data they had uncovered. "You've got a plan, then?"
Ryker didn't hesitate.
"We need to get to the heart of this. Whatever or whoever's behind this. They are manipulating everything. We need to find the source and break it. We need to destroy the control system."
Lia looked at Ryker, her brows furrowed. "But how? Do we even know where to start?"
The question hung in the air like a weight.
Ryker's eyes flicked over to the terminal they had used earlier. The data crystal had exploded and left them with little to work with, but he felt the pull of something more. There had to be a way.
"I am going to tap into the simulation's core," Ryker said as he finally made up his mind.
"I have been marked for a reason. It's time to find out why."
There was a brief moment of hesitation. Everyone knew the risks. But in this place, there was no choice but to push forward. Ryker stepped away from the window and gestured to the team.
"Gather up. We leave in five minutes."
*******
The hallway outside the hospital was awfully silent except for the soft shuffle of boots against the dusty floor. The distorted sky above cast a sickly red hue on everything. There was no sun, no moon, only a false twilight that never ended. An oppressive, constant reminder of the twisted reality they now inhabited.
Lia led the group, her fiery magic crackling faintly around her. Ryker kept his focus forward, his senses on high alert. His team flanked him, Arthur and Dean taking the front, Lucas and Sasha moving like shadows behind them and Lia bringing up the rear. Their plan was simple,
Find the source of the corruption, destroy it and get out.
The path they took led them deeper into the heart of the simulation. Every street corner, every building they passed, seemed to shimmer with the same false reality. The world they were walking through felt more like a fever dream than a place they could touch or hold.
And then, they saw it.
A tower in the distance, towering over the broken city like an unnatural monument. It pulsed with the same dark energy they had seen in the corrupted monsters and the figure in red also the glitching data.
"There it is," Ryker muttered under his breath. He could feel his pulse quicken as he stared at the structure. It was familiar, yet alien at the same time. The corrupted data surrounding it seemed to reach out, beckoning them.
"We move fast," Arthur ordered, his voice low but firm.
"Cover all angles."
The team moved in synchronization, weapons drawn. They were ready to fight.
Dean's Earth Bastion skill manifested once again, his stone armor forming as they approached the base of the tower. Ryker was prepared for anything, he was prepared to cast any skills he had at any moment.
As they reached the entrance to the tower, the air around them seemed to distort, like the world itself was warping in response to their presence. The doors of the tower were massive. It was covered in cracked, blackened stone and adorned with symbols Ryker didn't recognize. They were ancient, etched into the very fabric of the structure as if warning anyone who dared enter.
Ryker stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the door. "Stay alert. This is where it ends."
With a slow push, the doors creaked open. The moment they crossed the threshold, a flood of corrupted data surged around them, wrapping them in a cloud of shifting codes and glitches. The tower was alive and its walls pulsing with dark energy.
"It's like the tower is breathing," Lia whispered, her voice filled with awe and fear.
"We need to move together," Ryker said. "Search for the core and don't leave the team behind."
The group nodded, each of them moving together in a single directions as they delved deeper into the tower. The further they went, the thicker the corrupted energy became.
It was clawing into their minds, clouding their thoughts but they pushed forward. Each step brought them closer to the heart of this distorted reality.
Crunch!!!!
Suddenly, a loud crack echoed through the tower and followed by the hiss of static that tore through the air.
A figure appeared before them, a silhouette in red. Its face is obscured by a dark, swirling mist. The figure moved with unnatural speed, flickering in and out of existence like a glitch.
"Stay back" Ryker shouted, holding his ground. His voice rang out, but the figure seemed unfazed.
The team fell into position, instinctively flanking the figure as it advanced.
But before they could strike, the ground beneath them shook, and the entire tower began to distort further. The figure in red flickered again and then.
With a sudden rush of energy, it vanished. Leaving only the faintest trace of its presence behind.
"Where did it go?" Sasha hissed, her daggers in hand.
"Don't let your guard down," Ryker warned. "This is only the beginning."
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the tower, loud and clear.
"You've come too far."
Ryker froze. The voice was unnervingly familiar.
"Who are you?" Ryker demanded.
The voice responded, its tone mocking.
"I am the architect of your fate. You should've stayed an observer. Now, you will witness the true end."
With that, the tower's walls seemed to explode outward, sending waves of corrupted data cascading toward them. The ground cracked, and the world around them began to collapse.
"Move!!!" Ryker yelled.
The team leapt into action, racing through the crumbling tower as it fell apart around them. Every second counted now. Ryker knew they had to reach the core before the entire structure imploded.
"Don't stop!" Arthur bellowed, cutting through the data storm with his sword as they pushed forward.
Ryker's mind raced. The countdown had begun and they were running out of time.