The Iron Horse screeched to a halt exactly ten meters from the hooded figure. The heat from the brakes turned the gravel into glass.
The figure didn't flinch. They weren't wearing armor or royal robes. They wore a simple, oversized grey hoodie and cargo pants. Their face was hidden by a shifting static mask—a glitchy texture that prevented the System from identifying them.
[ENTITY: THE ARCHITECT]
[CLASS: ROOT USER]
[HP: 1/1]
"One HP?" Zayn whispered, squinting through his scope. "I could kill him with a sneeze. Or a particularly rude gesture."
"Look closer, Sniper," The Godfather said, his voice unusually low. "His HP isn't 1 because he's weak. It's 1 because he's a constant. He doesn't take damage; he defines it."
Bhy Khay stepped off the train, his [Sovereign Eyes] trying to peel back the static mask. "You've been watching us since the Science Block, haven't you?"
"I've been watching the data," The Architect replied. Their voice was a synthesis of a thousand different tones—some male, some female, some purely electronic. "Bhy Khay: The Admin who cheats to win. The Godfather: The Whale who buys his way to the top. A fascinating conflict."
"We're not here for a performance review," Bhy Khay said, his hand resting on his dagger. "We're here for the Source Code. Dr. Balogun's signal—"
"—Was a lure," The Architect interrupted. "Balogun is a variable I've already archived. He served his purpose. He brought the two most 'evolved' nodes of the Western Region to my doorstep."
The Architect raised a hand. The sky above Abuja didn't just change; it refreshed.
[INITIATING TRIAL: THE STRESS TEST]
"You want to fix the System?" The Architect asked. "Then prove you're more than just a bug in the code. Survive the Legacy Patch."
THE TRIAL: LEGACY PATCH
The ground beneath the train transformed. The high-definition gravel and steel rails dissolved into 8-bit pixels. The textures of the world downgraded.
"My hands!" Tomiwa screamed. "I have no fingers! I'm just a block of peach-colored pixels!"
"The rendering engine is rolling back!" Bhy Khay shouted, his own vision turning into a jagged, low-resolution mess. "He's forcing us into a legacy environment where our high-level skills don't exist!"
[DEBUFF: LEGACY MODE]
[SKILLS LOCKED: 90%]
[PHYSICS: SIDE-SCROLLING ONLY]
Suddenly, a massive, blocky dragon made of glowing green voxels descended from the Aso Rock Pyramid.
[BOSS: SYSTEM DEFENDER - VERSION 1.0]
"I can't aim!" Zayn yelled. He was now a flat, 2D sprite. "My bow only shoots in straight lines! I can't even jump that high!"
"It's a platformer!" Bhy Khay realized, dodging a pixelated fireball that moved in a predictable, rhythmic arc. "Godfather! Use your gravity!"
"I... I can't!" The Godfather was struggling to move his blocky legs. "My gravity orb is just a circle with a 'G' on it! It doesn't do anything!"
"Think in 2D!" Bhy Khay commanded. "The rules have changed! If you can't use skills, use the Mechanics!"
THE SOLUTION
The Voxel Dragon lunged, its mouth a jagged staircase of green cubes.
"Tomiwa! You're an artist!" Bhy Khay shouted. "In 8-bit, everything is just a grid! You don't need to draw details—just fill the pixels!"
Tomiwa looked at her blocky hands. She didn't draw a complex machine. She drew a [BROWN SQUARE] beneath the dragon's feet.
[ITEM CREATED: BLOCK]
The dragon tripped over the single pixel of terrain.
"Elara! The engine!"
Elara didn't cast a blizzard. She cast a [BLUE LINE].
The "Blue Line" hit the dragon, and since it was a legacy spell, it didn't freeze—it [STUNNED] the enemy for exactly 3 seconds.
"Zayn! The eye!"
Zayn didn't calculate wind or gravity. He waited for the dragon to reach the peak of its pre-programmed animation. He pressed the 'Attack' button in his mind.
Pew.
The pixelated arrow flew in a perfect horizontal line, hitting the dragon's eye.
BLINK. BLINK. RED.
The dragon's sprite flashed red, indicating it had taken damage.
"It's a pattern!" Bhy Khay laughed. "He's not fighting us; he's playing a mini-game! He thinks we've forgotten how to play without the fancy graphics!"
Bhy Khay timed his jump. He didn't use [Shadow Step]. He just pressed 'A' at the exact right frame.
He landed on the dragon's head. He didn't stab. He [BOPPED] it.
K-CHING!
The Voxel Dragon exploded into a shower of gold coins and tiny "1UP" icons.
THE AFTERMATH
The world snapped back into 4K resolution. The colors returned. Fingers returned.
[TRIAL COMPLETED.]
[XP GAINED: +10,000]
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: RETRO GAMER]
The Architect stood there, their static mask flickering faster. For the first time, there was a hint of a sound—a digital chuckle.
"Intelligent," The Architect said. "You didn't try to override the environment. You adapted to the constraints. Most 'Admins' try to break the cage; you just learned how to dance in it."
The static mask vanished.
Beneath it was a face that looked exactly like Bhy Khay's.
"Wait, what?" Zayn dropped his bow. "Why does the Creator look like our Boss but with better hair?"
"Because," the Architect-Bhy-Khay said, "the System isn't an invasion. It's a Mirror. I am the version of you that didn't stay in the Science Block. I am the version that won the first server merge in 2025."
Bhy Khay stared at his doppelganger. "You're a Player from a previous loop?"
"I am the Successor," the Architect said. "And now, it's time to see the Source Code. But be warned: once you see it, you can't 'Log Out'."
The Aso Rock Pyramid opened. A beam of white light shot out, illuminating a terminal in the center of the stadium.
"The Source Code is waiting," the Architect said, fading into pixels. "But there's only one seat at the console. Who's going to be the new Root?"
The Godfather looked at Bhy Khay. Bhy Khay looked at the light.
"Don't look at me," Zayn said. "I'm staying on the train. I've seen enough glitches for one life."
[FINAL QUEST: THE ROOT ACCESS.]
[OBJECTIVE: ENTER THE PYRAMID.]