Rain hammered the neon-soaked streets, turning the city into a blur of reflections. 16-year-old Kael sprinted through the alleyways, heart hammering and lungs burning. His footsteps splashed in puddles, echoing against the walls—but it wasn't the chase that terrified him.
Something was following him.
A shadow, humanoid but jagged like a corrupted image, slithered behind him. Its edges flickered, constantly glitching, and its faintly glowing eyes seemed to pierce Kael's very soul. Every move Kael made, the shadow mirrored—but always slightly delayed, as if reality itself was broken.
Kael skidded to a stop, pressing against the cold brick wall. "What… are you?" he whispered.
His phone vibrated violently in his pocket. Pulling it out, his eyes widened at a message that made no sense:
> "Reality Error 0xF12: YOU HAVE BEEN MARKED AS A GLITCH."
Glitch? He didn't understand. Reality had rules. Normal rules. And now… the rules didn't apply to him.
The shadow lunged. Time slowed. Kael's body reacted instinctively. For the first time, he realized something astonishing: he could manipulate the glitch.
He clenched his fists and willed the shadow to rewind. Its movement jerked backward like a corrupted video file, staggering in confusion before vanishing into the rain-drenched streets.
Kael sank to his knees, chest heaving. His mind raced. This isn't just a shadow. It's reality itself breaking—and I'm the glitch.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed inside his head:
> "Glitch detected. Unauthorized. You will be debugged."
Debugged. The word made his blood run cold. He didn't know what it meant, but instinct screamed danger.
Looking around, he noticed subtle distortions. A streetlight flickered, showing the same graffiti twice. A car drove backward. A pigeon hung in midair, wings trembling unnaturally. Every detail screamed that something was very wrong.
Kael's thoughts spun. If I can control the glitch, I can survive. If I fail… I won't just die. I'll cease to exist.
The shadow returned, larger and faster this time. Its glowing eyes burned like coals, and its movements were precise, deliberate. Kael swallowed hard, fear sharpening into focus. There was no room for panic.
Lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating the alley. For the first time, Kael smiled. Fear was still there, but now it was edged with determination.
"This… is going to be fun," he muttered.
Clenching his fists, he readied himself. The shadow lunged again—and the rules of reality bent around him.
The game had begun.