Erik’s boots echoed against the cold, metallic floor as he followed Lena deeper into the foreboding structure. The dim light from his digitized body cast flickering shadows on the jagged walls.
“This place is… wrong,” Erik muttered.
“Stay sharp,” Lena said, her voice low. “Sanctum isn’t just a building—it’s a testbed. The devs use it to push the limits of the system. If the glitch started anywhere, it was here.”
Erik glanced at the glowing shard in Lena’s pack, its faint light pulsing in sync with the energy around them. The deeper they went, the brighter it grew.
“It’s reacting to something,” he said, pointing to the shard.
Lena nodded. “We’re close.”
They entered a vast chamber, its ceiling disappearing into darkness. Rows of enormous, floating screens lined the walls, each displaying fragments of the game’s code and distorted imagery. Erik caught glimpses of battles, NPCs interacting, and players exploring, but the scenes were fractured, like shattered memories.
“What is this place?” Erik asked, his eyes scanning the room.
“The Hall of Echoes,” Lena said. “It’s a recording hub. Every interaction, every event in Endworld Online—it all gets stored here. The devs monitor everything from this place.”
Erik frowned, stepping closer to one of the screens. He saw a familiar figure—himself, leading the Black Vanguard guild during a raid months ago. The image flickered, distorting as a strange symbol appeared over it: [?λ-G].
“They’ve been watching me,” Erik said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“They’ve been watching everyone,” Lena corrected. “But you’re different. You’re an anomaly now. You’ve caught their attention, and they’re not going to let you go.”
Erik turned away from the screen, his fists clenching. “We need to shut this place down.”
“Not yet,” Lena said. “We need to find the core. That’s where we’ll get answers—and maybe a way to stop the glitch.”
The Hall of Echoes gave way to a series of twisting corridors, their walls alive with shifting code. The air grew colder, and Erik could feel the tension mounting with every step.
“What kind of resistance are we looking at?” Erik asked, gripping his sword tightly.
“Sentinels,” Lena said. “Maybe worse. The devs don’t leave places like this unguarded.”
“Worse than sentinels?” Erik muttered. “That’s just great.”
As they descended, Erik’s senses sharpened. Every sound, every flicker of light, put him on edge. He could feel something watching them, lurking just out of sight.
The corridors opened into another chamber, this one dominated by a massive, pulsating sphere of energy suspended in the center. Unlike the fragment they had encountered in the Glade, this one was stable, its surface shimmering with streams of data.
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“Is that the core?” Erik asked, pointing to the sphere.
“No,” Lena said, her eyes narrowing. “That’s a regulator. It keeps the system in balance—or at least it’s supposed to.”
As they approached, the sphere flared brightly, and a voice echoed through the chamber.
“INTRUDERS DETECTED.”
Erik tensed, raising his sword as the sphere began to distort. Shapes emerged from its surface—humanoid figures formed entirely of glowing data. They resembled sentinels, but their forms were sharper, more refined.
“They’re constructs,” Lena said, drawing her daggers. “Pure code, designed to protect the core.”
The constructs moved with inhuman speed, closing the distance in an instant. Erik swung his sword, the blade cutting through one of them. It shattered into fragments, but two more took its place.
“There’s too many of them!” Erik shouted, dodging an attack.
“Keep moving!” Lena yelled. “We’re not here to fight them—we need to find the core!”
Erik followed Lena as she darted through the chamber, her daggers flashing as she cut a path through the constructs. The regulator flared again, unleashing a wave of energy that sent Erik sprawling.
“Erik!” Lena called, pulling him to his feet.
“I’m fine,” he said, though his health bar was dangerously low.
They reached the far end of the chamber, where a narrow passage led deeper into Sanctum. The constructs pursued them, their forms glitching and distorting as they crossed the threshold.
“Go!” Lena shouted, shoving Erik ahead of her.
The passage was narrow and twisted, forcing them to move single file. The constructs followed, their glowing forms illuminating the darkness behind them.
“Can we block them off?” Erik asked, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
“Maybe,” Lena said. “Can you manipulate the terrain?”
Erik nodded, reaching out with his mind. A terminal screen appeared:
[TERRAIN: STRUCTURE-PASSAGE_1123]
[STATUS: STABLE.]
[ACTIONS AVAILABLE: MODIFY // COLLAPSE.]
He selected COLLAPSE, and the passage behind them began to crumble. The constructs slowed, their path cut off as debris rained down, sealing the corridor.
“That should buy us some time,” Erik said, turning to Lena.
“Let’s hope so,” she replied. “The core isn’t far now.”
They emerged into a massive chamber, its walls alive with cascading streams of code. In the center of the room stood the core of Sanctum—a towering pillar of light, its surface swirling with symbols and energy.
Erik felt a chill run down his spine as he approached. The core was beautiful and terrifying, a manifestation of the game’s raw power.
“This is it,” Lena said, her voice hushed.
Erik reached out instinctively, and a terminal appeared before him:
[CORE: SANCTUM PRIMARY NODE.]
[STATUS: ACTIVE.]
[ACCESS: ADMIN PRIVILEGES REQUIRED.]
“Can you get in?” Lena asked.
Erik hesitated. “I don’t know. I can try.”
He placed his hand on the core, and the terminal flickered. Streams of data flooded his vision, overwhelming his senses. For a moment, he thought he might pass out, but then the terminal stabilized.
[ACCESS GRANTED.]
Lena’s eyes widened. “How…?”
“I don’t know,” Erik said. “But I’m in.”
The terminal displayed a series of options, each one tied to the core’s functions. Erik scanned the list, his heart pounding as he saw the words:
[EXPERIMENT ?λ-G: ACTIVE.]
[SUBJECT STATUS: HOST INTEGRATION COMPLETE.]
[DEPLOYMENT: PENDING.]
“They finished the experiment,” Lena said, her voice trembling.
Erik’s jaw tightened. “Can we stop it?”
The terminal offered two options:
[TERMINATE EXPERIMENT.]
[EXECUTE DEPLOYMENT.]
“It’s your call,” Lena said, her gaze fixed on him. “But whatever you choose, be ready for the consequences.”
Erik stared at the options, his mind racing. Terminating the experiment could stop the glitch, but it might destabilize the entire system. Deploying it might reveal the devs’ ultimate plan, but at what cost?
He took a deep breath, his hand hovering over the terminal.
“I’m ending this,” he said, selecting TERMINATE EXPERIMENT.
The core flared violently, streams of energy spiraling outward as the experiment unraveled. The chamber shook, and Erik could feel the system fighting against his command.
“Brace yourself!” Lena shouted as the core began to collapse.
Erik barely had time to react before the world around them shattered into a blinding white light.