Alarms screamed. Red lights flashed. Leo stood alone in Vance's command room, frozen. On the big screen, the picture broke into messy lines. The thing – the Void Reaver – was inside Bastion. It had just… killed a guard with a look. Not with claws or teeth. It broke his mind. ⌈ SANITY OVERLOAD! ⌋
Leo felt it too. A sharp pain stabbed his head. ⌈ SANITY: 49% ⌋ The number felt like a warning light blinking red. His thoughts felt shaky, like a bad radio signal.
He clutched the ⌈ MYSTERIOUS DATA FRAGMENT ⌋. It felt warm in his hand, humming like it was alive. Down with the Disciples, surrounded by their strange purple light and humming rocks, it had felt stronger. Now? It just felt… strange.
Boom! The command room door slammed open. Sergeant Brennan charged in, his face hard. He saw Leo. "Chen! Move! That thing is heading for the storage block! Where we put the Tier-2 Shard!" He grabbed Leo's arm, pulling him roughly out into the chaos.
Outside, Bastion was pure panic. People ran screaming. Militia soldiers yelled orders, forming shaky lines. The air tasted like fear and burning wires. Brennan dragged Leo towards the west side of the camp.
"There!" Brennan pointed.
The Void Reaver moved like bad TV static. It wasn't quite solid. One second it looked like a blurry person, the next it flowed through a metal storage container like smoke. Where its face should be was just… swirling grey noise. It made a low, grinding sound that vibrated in Leo's bones.
It was heading straight for a heavily guarded storage shed. The bright purple ⌈ TIER-2 ENERGY SHARD ⌋ from the Burrower was inside. The monster wanted it. Badly.
Militia soldiers fired laser rifles. The beams passed through the Reaver like it wasn't there. It didn't even slow down.
"Disrupt its pattern! Hit it with sonic pulses!" Commander Vance's voice crackled over loudspeakers. He stood on a platform nearby, directing the fight.
A soldier aimed a bulky device. THUMP-WHOOOOMP! A wave of sound hit the Reaver.
The static-monster flinched. For a second, it looked more solid. More real.
"NOW! FOCUS FIRE!" Vance yelled.
Lasers hit the solid spot. The Reaver shrieked – a sound like tearing metal and breaking glass mixed. Its weird body flickered violently. ⌈ HP: 320/350 ⌋ flashed briefly above it.
It worked! Leo thought.
But the Reaver turned its swirling grey "face" towards the soldier with the sonic gun. The soldier screamed, dropped the gun, and clutched his head. Blood trickled from his nose. ⌈ SANITY OVERLOAD! ⌋ He collapsed.
The Reaver flowed forward again, untouched by the lasers now. It was almost at the storage shed door. Guards fired uselessly.
Brennan shoved Leo behind a stack of crates. "Stay down!" He raised his own rifle, firing at the Reaver. No effect. He cursed. "We need bigger sonic blasts! Or something to really shake its core!"
Leo crouched, heart pounding. He could see the Reaver's weird energy with [Reality Editor]. It wasn't like monster code. It was broken. Messy. Like shattered glass made of light. He saw the spot where the sonic blast had hurt it – a tiny point of connection in the mess.
Could I…? He remembered the Burrower slipping. Make that spot… bigger? Weaker?
He focused. Hard. The world wobbled. His headache spiked. ⌈ SANITY: 48% ⌋ He pushed past the pain, aiming [Reality Editor] at that fragile point in the Reaver's chaotic core.
⌈ TARGET: VOID REAVER (ANOMALY CORE). EDIT: LOCAL STABILITY. CURRENT: LOW. DESIRED: VERY LOW. CONFIRM? Y/N ⌋
Cost screamed at him: ⌈ ESTIMATED COST: SANITY -8%! ⌋
YES!
He pushed mentally. Hard. ⌈ EDIT SUCCESSFUL! COST: SANITY -8%! ⌋⌈ SANITY: 40%! ⌋
Agony exploded in Leo's head. He cried out, doubling over. Colors flashed behind his eyes. He heard whispers – nonsense words, like voices from a broken radio. The world looked… thin. Like a cheap painting.
But the Reaver? It SCREAMED. A terrible, mind-breaking sound. Its whole form shuddered violently. The messy light inside it flared bright, then dimmed chaotically. It became very solid. And very hurt. ⌈ HP: 250/350 ⌋
"FIRE! FIRE EVERYTHING!" Vance roared.
Lasers, bullets, even thrown chunks of metal hit the now-solid monster. It staggered, shrieking, its grey-static face swirling wildly. ⌈ HP: 180... 110... 50... ⌋
Brennan looked down at Leo, who was gasping on the ground, holding his head. Understanding flashed in the sergeant's eyes. "You… you did that? You hurt it?"
Leo couldn't speak. The whispers were louder. Fracture… key… find the lost eye… Nonsense. Terrifying nonsense.
With a final, grating howl, the Void Reaver dissolved. Not into blood, but into streams of dark, oily smoke that vanished into the air. It left behind only a small, pulsing black crystal. ⌈ OBSERVE: VOID ESSENCE SHARD (ANOMALY GRADE) ⌋ - Concentrated instability. Handle with extreme caution.*
Silence fell, broken only by moans and the crackle of fires. Vance jumped down from the platform, striding towards Brennan and Leo. His face was hard. He saw Leo on the ground, shaking. He saw Brennan's look.
"Report, Sergeant," Vance ordered, his voice cold.
Brennan hesitated only a second. "Reaver destabilized after Chen… had some kind of fit, Commander. Seemed to weaken it right when we hit it with sonics again." He avoided mentioning Leo's power directly, but Vance wasn't fooled.
Vance looked at Leo. "Get him to the medical tent. Now." His eyes were chips of ice. "We'll talk later, Chen. After you've… recovered."
Brennan helped Leo up. Leo felt dizzy, sick. The world kept flickering. He saw faint, ghostly lines over everything – the broken code beneath reality. The whispers wouldn't stop. The lost eye opens… price must be paid…
As Brennan half-carried him towards a large tent with a red cross, Leo felt the ⌈ DATA FRAGMENT ⌋ pulse hotly in his pocket. It felt angry. Or… excited? The whispers seemed to swirl around it.
Mia, he thought desperately, clinging to her name like a life raft in the madness. *I need to find Mia.
***
The medical tent smelled of antiseptic and blood. It was crowded with people hurt by the Reaver's attack – not physical wounds, but blank stares, twitching limbs, people muttering nonsense. Sanity damage.
A tired-looking woman (⌈ OBSERVE: MEDIC LARA - LVL 4 (HEALER) ⌋) checked Leo. "No physical injuries. Severe mental strain. Sanity depletion." She gave him a small cup of bitter liquid. "This will help you sleep. Rest is all we can offer for… that."
Leo drank it. The world faded. The whispers quieted. He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
***
He woke up hours later. The tent was quieter. His head still hurt, but the sharp agony was dulled. The whispers were gone. For now. ⌈ SANITY: 40% ⌋ The number glowed like a threat.
He sat up. Someone had placed a tray with water and a bland energy bar beside his cot. He drank the water, feeling slightly better. He pulled out the ⌈ DATA FRAGMENT ⌋. It felt cool now, quiet.
What are you? he thought. Why did you hum near the Disciples?
As if answering, a soft voice spoke near his cot. "It recognizes its kin."
Leo jumped. Disciple Thorn stood silently in the shadows near the tent flap. How long had he been there? His hood was up, hiding his face, but Leo could feel his eyes.
"The fragment… it resonates with the Veil's power," Thorn whispered. "With the true shape beneath the System's lies. Silvana believes it could be a key. A way to find stable paths through the broken places… like where your sister is held."
Leo's heart pounded. "How? How can a rock find Mia?"
"Not just a rock," Thorn said. "A piece of the Tower's hidden truth. Align it with the Veil Aperture. Focus your… gift… through it. It might show you the way. Might even shield your mind, a little, from the cost." He stepped closer. "Vance will lock you up. Study you. Use your pain as a weapon. He will never help you reach Mia. He fears the Fractures too much. Come back with us. Try the fragment. See the truth for yourself."
Leo looked at the black crystal in his hand. It felt heavy. Dangerous. But Thorn was right about Vance. The Commander saw him as a tool or a bomb. Mia was trapped now. His sanity was cracking now. Waiting felt like giving up.
He thought of Mia's smile. Her laugh. The way she'd tease him about his messy room. He couldn't leave her in some System prison.
"Okay," Leo said, his voice rough. "Show me."
A small smile touched Thorn's lips. "Good. The Oracle waits." He turned and slipped silently out of the tent. Leo followed, the Data Fragment clutched tight, hope and fear twisting together in his gut. He was stepping off Vance's path and onto Silvana's. He just hoped it wasn't a path off a cliff.
***
Back in the underground temple, the purple light felt… stronger. The humming rocks vibrated gently. Oracle Silvana stood before the shimmering, unstable energy hole – the Veil Aperture. She turned as Leo and Thorn entered.
"You carry the key, Glitch-Walker," she said. Her violet eyes glowed faintly. "And your mind touches the breaking point. The time is now. Place the fragment near the Aperture. Focus your power. Seek the Lost One."
Leo walked towards the swirling energy. It crackled, making his skin tingle. The whispers started again, faintly, at the edge of his hearing. Find the seam… see the hidden door… He held out the ⌈ DATA FRAGMENT ⌋.
As he got close to the Aperture, the black crystal flared with sudden, intense purple light! It hummed loudly, vibrating in his hand. Lines of purple energy snaked out from it, connecting to the swirling hole.
⌈ DATA FRAGMENT ACTIVATED! RESONANCE WITH VEIL APERTURE DETECTED! ⌋
"Now, Leo!" Silvana urged. "Focus on Mia! Use your gift! See through the cracks!"
Leo took a deep breath. He ignored the throbbing in his head (⌈ SANITY: 39% ⌋). He pushed [Reality Editor] towards the Aperture, through the glowing fragment.
The world vanished.
He wasn't in the cave anymore. He floated in a storm of broken light and swirling colors. It was chaos. Madness. He felt his mind starting to tear apart.
MIA! he screamed inside his head, pouring all his will, all his love, all his fear into the thought. SHOW ME MIA!
The storm seemed to… focus. Like a lens turning. The wild colors blurred, then cleared.
He saw a room. Small. White. Very clean. Empty except for a simple bed and a chair. Sitting on the bed, hugging her knees, was Mia. She looked pale, scared, but unhurt. She wore simple grey clothes. Her wheelchair was gone. She looked… whole. **⌈ OBSERVE: MIA CHEN - STATUS: QUARANTINED - LOCATION: FLOOR 1.5 (STABILIZED HOLDING CELL) ⌋
FLOOR 1.5! She was here! Not on Earth (Floor 1), not on the next Floor (2), but *between* them! Trapped!
"Mia!" Leo tried to shout, but no sound came out. It was just an image.
Mia looked up suddenly, as if she'd heard something. Her eyes widened. "Leo?" she whispered, looking around the empty room. "Leo, is that you?"
He tried to push closer, to reach her. But the image started to flicker. The storm of chaos pressed in. The cost was too high. The pain in his head was a white-hot knife. ⌈ SANITY: 35% ⌋
He saw something else. A door in Mia's white room. It wasn't a normal door. It was a shimmering, vertical rip in the air. Like a smaller version of the Integration fracture. ⌈ OBSERVE: INSTABILITY CONDUIT (ACTIVE) - DESTINATION: FLOOR 2 ACCESS HUB ⌋
The door pulsed. It was opening! Someone was coming for Mia!
Leo tried to see who. Tried to warn her. But the connection snapped.
SNAP!
Leo gasped, falling backwards. Thorn caught him. The *⌈ DATA FRAGMENT ⌋ fell from his hand, clattering to the stone floor, its light gone out. The Aperture swirled violently before calming.
He was back in the temple. His nose was bleeding. His vision swam. ⌈ SANITY: 34% ⌋ The whispers screamed: TOO LATE! THE EYE OPENS! THE PRICE! THE PRICE!
Oracle Silvana stepped forward, her violet eyes blazing with fierce triumph. "You saw! The Fracture! The path! And the Conduit! It confirms everything! The System is moving her! To Floor 2!"
Leo pushed himself up, wiping blood from his nose. "Someone was coming through the door! For Mia! Who?!"
"Agents," Silvana hissed. "System enforcers. They clean up anomalies. They will take her deeper into the Tower. Make her vanish forever!" She grabbed Leo's shoulders. Her grip was surprisingly strong. "You found the path! Floor 1.5! The Stabilized Holding Cell! And you found the way in! The Instability Conduit!"
She pointed a sharp finger at the now-dull Data Fragment on the floor. "That fragment… aligned with your power and the Veil… it didn't just show you the path. It is the key! It can open a temporary door! A door to Mia's cell!"
Leo stared at her, hope battling terror. "We can go there? Now?"
"Yes!" Silvana's voice was urgent. "But the Conduit we saw is active now! The enforcers are coming now! If we go, we must go immediately! Before they take her!" She looked at Thorn. "Prepare the Aperture! Focus the resonance! We pierce the Veil!"
Thorn nodded, moving quickly towards the humming purple crystals around the energy hole.
Leo felt dizzy. Go? Now? Into a crack between worlds? With his mind already breaking? To fight System agents? It was crazy. Suicidal.
But he saw Mia's scared face. Heard her whisper his name. She was right there. So close. And someone was coming to take her away forever.
He picked up the cold Data Fragment. It felt heavy. Dangerous. His only key.
He looked at the swirling Veil Aperture. Thorn was adjusting the crystals. The light grew brighter, humming louder. Silvana watched him, waiting.
His head screamed in pain. His sanity hung by a thread.
But Mia needed him.
"Okay," Leo said, his voice rough but steady. "Open the door."