The Tower of Decline stood before them, a towering monolith of corrupted data and flickering code. Its spires pierced the glitching sky like jagged shards of shattered memory. A thick mist of fragmented data swirled at its base, a fog that seemed to hum with quiet menace.
Rael's boots sank slightly into the hazy ground as he stepped forward, his eyes scanning the shifting patterns that danced like ghosts in the vapor. Kazen followed closely, fingers twitching near the interface panel on his arm, ever ready to access his Origin Code. Patchling hovered between them, its faint glow flickering irregularly, as if struggling against some unseen force.
"The system's defenses here... they're unlike anything we've seen," Patchling murmured, voice strained with static. "This is the core of the memory engine—where the past is replayed and corrupted fragments are trapped forever."
Rael swallowed the lump in his throat. "Hostile echoes, corrupted memories... They're not just obstacles. They're traps."
Suddenly, a surge of flickering shapes erupted from the mist. Ghostly warriors with half-formed faces and hollow eyes surged toward them, their motions jerky and unnatural. They wore the expressions of fear and rage—souls lost in endless loops of suffering.
Rael's heart pounded. He clenched his fists, feeling the surge of power ripple through his veins. "Get ready."
The clash was brutal. Each strike from Rael and Kazen caused the echoes to waver and dissolve, but they were relentless. The air filled with the metallic clang of weapons and the crackling of distorted code. Kazen's Origin Code flared, creating a shimmering shield, but even it strained against the endless tide.
"Patchling, can you create a safe zone?" Rael shouted over the chaos.
A burst of pure data radiated from Patchling, carving out a small sanctuary amid the turmoil. They regrouped inside, gasping for breath.
"The core data stream lies beyond this point," Patchling explained, voice steadier now. "If we can access it, we might discover the system's true purpose... and a way out."
Rael nodded. "Then no more hesitation. We break the cycle here."
Together, they crossed the threshold of the Tower's gate, stepping deeper into the heart of the fractured memory.