You know how in RPGs the last key item is always hidden in some cursed, impossible-to-reach place?
Yeah. Guess where our final Debug Key Fragment was?
Inside my own code.
---
System Glitch Message
That night, while trying to sleep (which is nearly impossible when your bed randomly flickers into polygons), my HUD lit up with another glitchy message:
[Location of Final Debug Key Fragment: Detected]
Warning: Fragment embedded in Host Core. Extraction may cause instability.
I sat up so fast I smacked my head on the glitchy ceiling. "Wait, WHAT?! The last key is inside me?!"
Rina rubbed her eyes. "Inside you… like… surgically inside? Or…?"
Zell deadpanned. "Of course. Because nothing about your existence is ever simple."
Bugsalot dramatically flapped his cape. "If it is inside you, Master, then we must embark on the noblest of quests: self-discovery!"
I groaned. "This is either going to be super deep and emotional… or kill me instantly."
---
Into the Code
With Rina's help, we set up a ritual to dive into my own corrupted code. Basically, it was like a dungeon raid—except the dungeon was… me.
The surroundings warped until I was standing in a massive digital landscape. Floating cubes, rivers of binary, and error messages raining from the sky like confetti.
My glitch-clones popped into existence immediately.
Serious Clone: "Focus. This is dangerous."
Goofy Clone: "Hey look, I'm made of spaghetti code!"
Sandwich Clone: still eating.
At this point, I didn't even question it.
---
Guardian of the Fragment
In the center of this broken world, I saw it: the final fragment, glowing brighter than the others.
But, naturally, it wasn't unguarded.
From the corrupted sky descended a huge figure—a glitched version of me.
[Error Copy: Yuto.exe]
Level: ???
Status: Corrupted Host Defender
It looked like me, but pixelated, distorted, with a twisted grin.
"Oh great," I muttered. "An evil copy. Classic."
Rina's voice echoed faintly from outside the code. "Yuto! If you fight it recklessly, it'll damage your core!"
Translation: if Evil Me wins, I don't just lose the fragment—I get deleted.
---
The Fight
Evil Me charged, glitching in and out like broken frames. His sword swung faster than my system could register.
I blocked, but sparks of code shredded across my body.
Goofy Clone jumped in, yelling, "I GOT THIS!" and immediately got yeeted into the sky.
Serious Clone fought alongside me, parrying strikes with precision. Sandwich Clone… threw crumbs at Evil Me.
Shockingly, it distracted him.
Bugsalot appeared out of nowhere (how did he even get inside my code?) and shouted, "Taste the power of BUG JUSTICE!" before ramming into Evil Me's face.
That gave me the opening I needed. I activated Fragmented Soul one last time—merging myself with my glitch-clones.
[New Temporary Skill Unlocked: Unified Glitch Form]
My body lit up with unstable, rainbow-colored static. I swung, breaking through Evil Me's corrupted code.
With a final scream of distortion, he shattered into data dust.
---
The Final Fragment
The last Debug Key Fragment floated down into my hands.
[Debug Key Fragment: 3/3 Acquired!]
[Debug Key Complete: Access to Locked Core Granted.]
I staggered back, barely holding my form together. My glitch-clones faded. Even Sandwich Clone gave me a thumbs-up before vanishing.
Back in the real world, I opened my eyes. Rina, Zell, and Bugsalot hovered anxiously.
"You did it," Rina whispered.
I weakly held up the glowing Debug Key. "Yeah… but now we've got the full set."
The air around us grew heavier. My HUD flickered again.
[Alert: Architect has noticed unauthorized access.]
[Core Protocol: Awakening…]
My heart sank.
We weren't just holding a key anymore. We had officially knocked on the Architect's door.
And he was waking up.
---
To be continued…