The Code Reaper surged toward us — a twisting mass of corrupted files and jagged polygons, dragging the floor into broken pixels wherever it moved.
I barely had time to react.
> SYSTEM PROMPT: [Debug Menu Accessed.]
> Available Commands:
[Force Freeze] (Cooldown: 30 sec)
[Error Scan]
[Patch Attempt] (Risky)
[Reboot Target] (Locked)
"Scan, scan, scan!" I yelled in my head, slapping the floating [Error Scan] command.
A new window flashed:
> [CODE REAPER]
Threat Level: Catastrophic
Structure: Fragmented Data Heap
Weakness: Stability Points (SP)
Notes: Highly Resistant to Physical Attacks. Debugging Required.
In short: punching it was suicide.
The Reaper lunged.
I grabbed Elara and dove sideways. The tower's floor exploded into cubes of broken geometry where we stood seconds ago.
Elara coughed, her body glitching in and out of focus.
"Stay here," I muttered.
"Or... phase into the wall. Whatever you can do."
She gave a shaky nod.
I faced the monster again.
This wasn't like fighting normal enemies in games — no HP bars, no neat little "boss patterns."
This thing was pure chaos.
I had only one shot.
Force Freeze.
I slammed the command without hesitation.
> [Force Freeze Activated.]
[Target: Code Reaper]
[Warning: Instability May Cause Freeze Failure.]
The Code Reaper jerked mid-charge, pixels locking mid-air.
The whole world shuddered — reality itself freezing like a corrupted video.
I had five seconds.
"Patch Attempt!" I barked.
The Debug system opened a crude overlay — a swirl of broken code wrapped around the Reaper's core.
"Find the stability points... stabilize the code..."
My mind raced.
SPOT 1: Core Fragment Detected.
SPOT 2: Memory Leak Error.
SPOT 3: Looping Audio Crash.
Three points. Three patches.
No time to think.
I jabbed at SPOT 1 — [Patch Core Fragment] initiated.
The Reaper twitched violently.
Its body stuttered — parts of it de-rezzed like sand blowing away in a hurricane.
Two seconds left.
SPOT 2: [Patch Memory Leak].
The Reaper's shriek warped into a hollow whimper.
One second.
SPOT 3: [Patch Audio Crash].
Pinging Patch...
> [SUCCESS: 3/3 Stability Points Patched!]
[Severe Instability Resolved.]
[System Force-Reboot Triggered.]
The Code Reaper screamed one last time —
Then its entire form folded inward, collapsing into a black hole of broken code.
The ground shook.
My teeth rattled.
I clutched Elara as reality bent around us—
And then—
BOOM.
The Reaper imploded, vanishing in a burst of pixelated dust and glitchy after-images.
Silence.
Real silence this time.
No static. No reversed cows. No broken trees.
Just... eerie, fragile calm.
---
> SYSTEM UPDATE:
> [Threat Neutralized.]
[Patchbearer Rank Increased: Novice → Stabilizer.]
[New Skill Unlocked: "Patch Pulse (Lv.1)"]
---
I collapsed onto my back, heart hammering so hard it hurt.
Elara crawled over, blinking slowly.
"You... saved us," she whispered.
I laughed, exhausted. "I think the system saved us. I just clicked a lot of buttons really fast."
She smiled — a genuine, glitch-free smile — and offered me a hand.
"We must move," she said. "The Reaper's death... it will attract worse things."
My stomach twisted.
There were worse things?
Of course there were.
Because nothing in World Error 404 was finished —
Everything was just barely holding together by corrupted threads.
As we staggered out of the shattered tower, the horizon flickered again —
And something even more terrifying loomed in the distance:
A massive, floating city made of broken system files.
Above it, flashing error text screamed into the sky:
> [FORCE RESET INITIATED.]
[ALL PATCHBEARERS: REPORT TO LAST CITY.]
I stared.
"Patchbearers..." I muttered.
Was I really one of them?
Or just a bug with admin access, flailing around in someone else's nightmare?
Either way, if I wanted to survive,
I had to reach that city.
Before the world erased itself completely.