The Null Ascent floated silently in the sky behind him. The battle with the corrupted entity had left behind not just wounds, but a seed. A question that burned inside him:
Who was Kai really meant to become?
He traveled down to the outskirts of the kingdom of Virellen—a tier-five kingdom known for its mage towers and airborne merchant cities. Unlike the last realm, this one wasn’t infected by obvious glitches.
But as Kai walked through the capital’s streets, he noticed it.
People flickered. Only for a moment.
Their shadows glitched at impossible angles. Whispers echoed where no mouths moved.
This world wasn’t clean. It was simply masked.
[Observation: Shadow Cache Detected – Hidden anomalies in civic code layer]
He followed the threads deeper into the merchant district. Stalls, banners, glowing market sigils… they were all illusions. Beneath them, something fed on the fantasy.
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He walked into an alley.
And there, waiting for him, were five individuals in ceremonial robes—faces hidden beneath glyph-masks.
“Glitchspawn,” one of them intoned. “The Kings decree that you walk no further.”
Kai cracked his knuckles.
“I’m not walking. I’m investigating.”
The robed figures dropped their pretense.
[Boss Encounter: Codebound Purifiers – Sync Level: 88%]
Weapons appeared—made of memory fragments and data leeches. One threw a spear that phased through space. Another cast a locking algorithm on the air around Kai.
Kai responded with no hesitation.
[Skill Activated: Memory Echo – Replicates the last offensive ability used within 30 seconds]
He caught the phased spear midair and threw it back at triple velocity. The lockdown algorithm? He reversed its vectors and trapped the caster instead.
The fight was short.
Too short.
[Enemies Eliminated. Civic Code Masking Layer Damaged. Virellen System Integrity Lowered. Consequences Incoming.]
And then came the real issue.
A pulse from the sky.
Not natural.
A king’s signal.
[System Broadcast: King Noctavius of Virellen has issued a Class-A Threat Alert]
[Bounty Placed: EX-Class Glitchwalker – 15 Million Credits / Royal Decree of Execution]
Kai tilted his head.
“Now we’re having fun.”
He turned his back on the smoking alley and walked calmly into the heart of the city.
If they wanted a threat…
They were about to get one.
End of Chapter 20