The safe zone flickered like a bad connection. One second I was standing with Rina, Zell, and Bugsalot… the next, darkness swallowed everything.
And then—bam—I was standing in a void made of static, with nothing but broken code raining like snow.
In front of me?
My reflection. The corrupted me.
He tilted his head, grinning like a shark.
"Finally. Just you and me. No party, no cheats, no distractions."
---
Internal Arena
A red system window popped up in front of me:
[System Clash Detected]
Opponent: Corrupted Host – Yuto.exe]
Win: Maintain Identity. Lose: Get Replaced.]
"…So basically, if I lose, Evil-Me gets the keys to my body?" I muttered.
"Not evil," Glitched-Me chuckled, stepping closer. "Just… free. You cling to rules, to bonds, to humans. I can make us limitless."
"Yeah," I said, cracking my knuckles. "But limitless and insane isn't really my vibe."
---
The Battle
He moved first—faster than I could blink. A glitchy afterimage blurred across the void, and his fist smashed into my jaw, sending sparks flying from my HUD.
Pain spiked. Real pain.
"Ow! Okay, guess there's no 'practice mode' here."
My own system responded with a flicker:
[Skill Unlocked: Mirror Breaker Lv.1]
"A skill born from rejecting yourself."
"Well, that's poetic."
I swung. My fist connected, and the corrupted me shattered into a thousand pixels—only to reform right behind me, whispering in my ear.
"You can't kill me. I am you."
---
The Twist
But then, something odd happened.
The Debug Key… appeared in my hand, glowing bright blue.
Even here, in my mind.
Glitched-Me's smile faltered.
"That doesn't belong to you!"
"Funny," I said, gripping it tight. "Feels like it does."
I swung the Key. It cut through his glitchy form like a hot knife through butter, scattering him into static.
For a moment, silence.
And then my HUD pinged:
[System Clash – Temporary Victory Achieved.]
[Warning: Corruption not destroyed, only sealed.]
---
Back to Reality
The void collapsed. My vision snapped back to the safe zone, and I stumbled forward, gasping.
"Yuto!" Rina caught me. "What happened?!"
"…Nothing major," I said, forcing a grin. "Just fought myself in my own head. Totally normal Tuesday."
Bugsalot clapped. "Did you win?"
"Kind of," I admitted. "But he's not gone. Just… locked up for now."
Zell's eyes narrowed. "Which means
next time, it won't be just in your head."
I didn't want to admit it… but he was right.
---
To be continue...