The tornado of fanfiction howled, spitting out rogue tropes—enemies-to-lovers angst, poorly tagged slow burns, and a swarm of misplaced coffee shop AUs.
System Alert:
[COMBAT MODE: BETA ECHO ENGAGED]
Weakness: None detected. Suggested strategy: Scream creatively.
Alex ducked a flying "miscommunication" trope. "Kairo! Can't you admin-delete this thing?!"
Kairo's scar blazed as he parried a tendril of overused clichés. "The Echo's too entrenched. It's feeding on the Core's—"
A [Tragic Backstory] module exploded, nearly vaporizing Finn. "Uh, less lore-dumping, more stabbing?!"
Nyx lunged, her glitched hands tearing into the Beta's Echo. The static recoiled, screaming in a thousand voices—"STOP. RESISTANCE. FUTILE."
System Alert (Glitched):
[Nyx's Sync Rate Dropping!]
Warning: Anti-Narrative Pulse usage at 87%. Critical failure imminent.
Lucien watched from the shadows, arms crossed. "You're all going to die."
Alex hurled a [Plot Hole] grenade. "Then perish with style, edgelord!"
The grenade detonated, shredding the Echo's form. For a heartbeat, the static cleared, revealing a flickering figure—the real Beta, its form a galaxy of dying stars.
Beta's Echo: "Join us, Kairo. The Storyweaver will discard you. We… we remember your screams in the lab."
Kairo froze, Lyra's quill dimming.
Memory Fragment Unlocked:
Younger Kairo (codenamed: 7.3) strapped to a table, the Storyweaver's scalpels rewriting his code. "You'll be perfect. Unfeeling. A scalpel for my worlds."
Alex tackled Kairo as the Echo struck. "Snap out of it! We need you!"
Nyx's glitched scream split the air. The Echo recoiled, its form unraveling.
Quest Update:
[Beta's Echo HP: 10%]
Finish it! Suggested method: The power of friendship (just kidding—stab it).
Finn hacked a terminal, fingers flying. "I'm rerouting the Core's power! Hit it now!"
Kairo roared, Lyra's quill flaring gold. He plunged it into the Echo's core.
Critical Hit!
[Beta's Echo Defeated!]
Reward: [Beta Fragment] (A shard of primordial chaos. What could go wrong?).
The Core shuddered. Lucien vanished, but not before muttering, "You've only made him angrier."
Nyx collapsed, her pixels fading. Alex caught her, hands trembling. "Hey. Stay with us, Glitch Girl."
System Alert:
[Nyx's Sync Rate: 12%]
Immediate narrative stabilization required. Suggested: [Plot Armor Injection] or [Cheap Resurrection Trope].
Kairo knelt, pressing the Beta Fragment to Nyx's chest. Her glitches slowed. "It's temporary. We need the Storyweaver's core code."
Finn pulled up a hologram—a massive manuscript titled Final Draft. "He's not just destroying worlds. He's rebooting them. Starting with… ours."
The hologram zoomed in—Alex's homeworld, frozen mid-collapse.
New Quest:
[Shatter the Final Draft]
Objective: Reach the Storyweaver's throne. Stop the reboot.
Reward: ??? (Probably trauma).
Alex's cybernetic arm glitched, replaying their mother's voice: "Why can't you write something normal?" They clenched their fist. "Let's end this."
A portal ripped open, revealing a cityscape of floating text—The Storyweaver's Throne: Genre Unknown.
Nyx stumbled, pixels fraying. Kairo gripped her shoulder. "Stay close."
As they stepped through, the System screeched:
[FINAL DRAFT INITIALIZED]
All unauthorized narratives will be erased in 10… 9…
Alex smirked. "Cool. We've got time for a monologue."
The throne room awaited.