A strange shape hovered. Not quite a cube, and not quite a star. Pulsing with the same energy in Yuki's core—no, not just energy. It was resonance. It beat in rhythm with the hidden frequency he had started hearing ever since the memory sync in the ruined chapel.
The chamber around them was vast, cathedral-like, lit by spectral veins of blue that pulsed through crystalline supports. Walls folded and unfolded like breathing data, glitching in and out of the physical world. The Sky Bastion wasn't just a fortress. It was alive—and aware.
Kai growled low, fur bristling. The glitch-beast's instincts flared, and for a brief second, his body shimmered with static.
Selene had one hand on her blade. "That's… not just part of the Nexus. It's a Heart Core. But it's warped. See the pulse? It's asynchronous."
Asynchronous. Out of sync with the Nexus system. That meant it was… broken. Or worse, altered.
Yuki took a cautious step forward. The moment his boot touched the central platform, the air warped.
And then came the roar.
From behind the floating artifact, a serpentine creature unraveled—at least ten meters long, woven from light and shadow, scales like broken circuit boards and burning sigils spiraling down its sides. It didn't hiss or speak. It just launched.
[Boss Identified: Asynchronous Seraph Hydra]HP: ??? | Type: Glitched-Entity | Instability: 78%
"Kai—flank it!" Yuki shouted, instinctively stepping back and summoning Glitch Pulse. A shockwave rippled from his palm, distorting the hydra's approach just enough for Selene to dash beneath and slash upward, cleaving one of its lower heads.
The beast didn't bleed. It burst into light—then reformed, head intact.
"Regeneration confirmed," Selene called out. "We need to hit all cores simultaneously!"
Yuki narrowed his eyes. Through Echo Sight, he could see them—tiny distortions inside each head. Nodes. Data cores.
He activated Phase Drift, slipping sideways through the air, blinking behind the creature. Kai howled, unleashing Glitch Howl, disorienting the hydra just long enough for Yuki to slam his gauntlet into one of the cores.
The data screamed.Yuki screamed.
A surge of code flooded into him. Static visions. Something alien. No language, no words—just raw protocol.
Skill Gained: Null Rebirth (Lv. 1)Effect: Upon fatal damage, auto-restore 25% HP and become untargetable for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours.
He blinked, panting. "Selene! Kai! We can win this. Just one more push!"
Together, the trio danced in the light-streaked chamber. Blades flashed. Shadow howled. And finally, Yuki unleashed Shadow Step, appearing above the creature's final core.
He didn't strike.He merged.
Fused his Glitch Pulse directly into the code. The sky bastion shuddered. The hydra twisted—glitched—and froze.
Then, all at once, it disintegrated into pixelated dust.
Silence.A soft hum remained.
The strange cube-star drifted down toward Yuki and gently embedded itself into his arm. His status flickered.
Unknown Skill [???] has reacted to the Heart Core. Evolution Possible… Processing…Unlocked Trait: Quantum Resonance"You now pulse with the frequency of forgotten systems."
Selene approached him carefully. "That wasn't a monster. That was a memory guardian. A corrupted one."
Yuki exhaled. "Then why does it feel like… something recognized me?"
She glanced at the walls. "Because the Sky Bastion isn't done yet."
Far above, doors opened—revealing an ascending stairway made of shifting light.
The next floor awaited.