Gar Bashio sat cross-legged on his bed, eyes darting across three monitors like a conductor leading a symphony of chaos. Each screen displayed a different disaster: an FPS mod where enemies walked sideways, an RPG where swords occasionally spun like rotors, and a strategy game that had somehow forgotten which side he was on.
"Perfection," he muttered, grinning as a floating humanoid soldier walked through a wall and shot himself. "Absolutely perfect chaos."
Haptic gloves slipped slightly from his sweaty palms as he leaned back, scanning the trophies scattered across his shelves: games he'd broken, exploits he'd mastered, achievements unlocked through sheer audacity. He wasn't just a gamer. He was a glitch artist, and every broken mechanic was his canvas.
A faint chime drew his attention. His phone buzzed with a message from StopGames.
"Hey, Gar! You gotta see this one—finally a game that's not buggy. Trust me." – Liora
Gar froze. Liora. The girl he'd been pretending not to notice for months. She worked at StopGames, smiled like she knew secrets about the universe, and apparently had impeccable taste in games.
He frowned. Not buggy? Games weren't supposed to be clean. They were supposed to bend physics, break rules, make you feel like a god of chaos. And yet… curiosity pricked at him.
Flashback Montage – Past Glories
Gar's mind flickered through a highlight reel:
The FPS where he used wall clips to flank the final boss in three seconds flat.
The RPG where a scripted death sequence didn't trigger, letting him farm infinite loot.
The strategy game where the AI forgot he existed for ten turns, letting him conquer continents in silence.
The racing sim where a glitch let him drive on city rooftops, looping laps faster than physics allowed.
The platformer where a duplicate spawn exploit shaved half the levels off his time.
And the indie horror game that broke entirely when he solved a puzzle in reverse.
All perfect. All broken. All his.
And now, Liora was offering him… normal.
Gar grabbed his backpack, tossed a controller inside, and muttered, "Fine. Let's see if the perfect game is worth playing."
The street smelled faintly of rain and asphalt as he walked toward StopGames. The city hummed with life, but Gar's mind drifted. Every step seemed slightly off—streetlights flickered for a fraction of a second, a passing pedestrian's shadow warped unnaturally. Probably just nerves, he told himself.
Inside StopGames, Liora grinned, holding a small box with glossy art.
"Trust me. This one won't break," she said.
Gar raised an eyebrow, already itching to test the limits. "We'll see about that."
The glossy case felt unnaturally warm in his hands, as if it knew he was coming. A thrill ran through him—a strange mix of excitement and something he couldn't quite name—like the game was waiting… for him.
He shook his head. Probably just nerves, he muttered again, slipping the headset into his backpack.
Gar slammed his backpack onto his desk and carefully unpacked the AAA VR headset. Its glossy finish shimmered under his desk lamp, the edges vibrating faintly under his touch—as if it were alive.
"Okay, let's see how perfect this game really is," he muttered, strapping on the headset. The world went black for a heartbeat. Then, light.
Full VR Immersion
The black dissolved into a landscape that made him gasp. Jagged cliffs loomed over a crimson-lit valley. Rivers of iridescent liquid snaked through forests of obsidian trees. The air smelled faintly metallic, like iron and ozone.
A HUD flickered to life before his eyes, overlaying glowing stats, a minimap, and a pulsing icon labeled "Core Status: Unknown."
Gar flexed his fingers in the haptic gloves. Every movement of his hands translated perfectly into the world. He swung an imaginary sword. Sparks erupted from the blade's phantom edge. Okay… this isn't just perfect. This is insane.
A glowing doorway appeared before him, marked "Tutorial Dungeon – Enter at Will." A small floating AI, shaped like a polygonal bird, chirped instructions.
"Welcome, Player. Confirm class selection: Swordsman, Mage, or Rogue."
Gar smirked. Swordsman, obviously. He selected it. The HUD blinked. Class Confirmed: Swordsman. Core Detected: SSS?
He frowned. SSS? That can't be right. I'm just testing the game…
Before he could process it, an enemy appeared: a humanoid figure made entirely of flickering code. Its movements stuttered unnaturally. Gar laughed. "A buggy enemy already? Nice touch." He swung his sword. The figure fragmented… then reassembled behind him.
Glitch mechanics kicked in instinctively: a teleport roll, followed by an animation cancel, and a duplicate phantom of himself appeared mid-strike. The HUD flashed "Glitch Mastery Detected."
His pulse quickened. This… this is mine. I can feel it.
Horror Bleed – First Realization
A shadow moved in the corner of his peripheral vision. The dungeon floor seemed to ripple beneath his feet. The metallic taste of fear coated his tongue.
Probably just the immersion, he told himself. But the whispers came again—this time not in text, not in HUD cues, but faintly in his mind:
"Core… yours…"
Gar shook his head. He couldn't tell if it was the game or his imagination. Either way, the thrill was intoxicating.
First Mini-Boss – Core Insight
He rounded a corner and saw a shimmering figure with three sword arms. Every swing produced multiple afterimages. Gar's Sword Insight—the passive skill he didn't yet understand—reacted instantly. He copied the enemy's stance, predicted the next strike, and countered with a perfect triple combo.
The HUD flashed: "Core Level Up: Sword Insight Lv1."
Gar grinned. Okay, that's new. That's mine.
The enemy dissolved into sparks and code fragments, leaving a trail of floating loot. Gar looted a sword. It shimmered like liquid metal, humming faintly. This game isn't just perfect. It's alive.
Entering the Abyss
A floating sign glimmered: "Abyssal Gate – Level 1".
The moment he stepped through, the world seemed to inhale. Colors shifted, shadows stretched, and a low, resonant hum vibrated through his bones.
A HUD notification popped up:
"Partial Core Resonance Detected: Player bound to Abyssal Realm."
Gar blinked. Bound? Not fully… weird. Whatever, let's move.
As he rounded a jagged corner, a shimmering figure leapt across the corridor, swords flashing in perfect choreography. It stopped midair, hovering on a shard of floating stone.
"Finally found you," the figure said.
Gar's heart skipped. Liora?
"Yes," she said, grinning beneath her helmet. "I got the beta early. Figured I'd make sure you don't break it—again."
"Bet?" Gar scoffed. "You mean the unbreakable one?"
Her eyes sparkled. "Exactly."
Together, they advanced. Gar noticed that every time Liora struck an enemy, subtle ripples formed in the dungeon floor—like her Core was influencing the environment.
Looks like I'm not the only one with a special Core…
Partial Binding & Glitch Effects
Gar sprinted to flank a floating, code-glitched skeleton. His movements instinctively triggered glitch mechanics: a teleport roll through the enemy's attack, an animation cancel mid-swing, and a duplicate phantom swung with him.
But something new happened. As he struck, the world around him flickered, and for a fraction of a second, he glimpsed his real room superimposed over the dungeon—the monitors, the trophies, even his backpack.
A faint metallic taste returned. Shadows flickered in the corner of his vision, and he heard faint whispers:
"Core… yours… stronger…"
Gar shook his head, gripping his sword tighter. Okay, that's new. Definitely new.
Mini-Boss – First Real Threat
They reached a circular chamber where a humanoid construct floated, multiple sword blades orbiting like satellites. Its movements were smooth, calculated—but Gar noticed a pattern.
"Liora, cover me!" he shouted.
She nodded, stepping into position. Gar's Sword Insight flared. He replicated the construct's stance, predicted the next orbital swing, and executed a flawless counter. Sparks erupted, the mini-boss staggered, then reassembled partially, glitching violently.
HUD: "Core Resonance Increased – Partial Binding Strength: 12%"
Gar felt a shiver—not just in VR, but in his chest, real and visceral. His heart raced. The thrill was intoxicating, but the shadows at the edges of his vision made him uneasy.
After the fight, Gar slumped onto a floating platform, sweat beading under his VR headset.
"Note to self," he muttered, wiping the side of his face. "Don't mix real panic with fantasy adrenaline. Very bad combo."
Liora laughed, a soft, musical sound. "You've already made it through Level 1. Calm down, glitch artist."
"Glitch artist? That's my title now?" Gar grinned. "I like it."