Chapter 8: Chapter Five: They have me running these floors like the Energizer Bunny (Part 1)

The sky above the Mistwood Expanse had shifted from the faint gold of dawn to the dusky gray of early evening. Shadows stretched long across the uneven forest floor as Selene, Lucien, and I moved deliberately away from the ruins. My HUD continued to pulse faintly, the binary code I’d retrieved embedded deep within my interface.

The ruins were behind us, but their presence lingered—an oppressive weight clinging to the air.

Lucien walked close beside me, his lute still strung across his back, but his usual cheer was replaced with a quiet vigilance. Selene led ahead, every step careful, every glance sharp as she scanned the treeline.

“We should stop soon,” Lucien said softly. “My muse, even a bard must rest his feet and tune his lute occasionally.”

Selene paused near a crooked tree, her sharp amber eyes scanning the perimeter before nodding. “Fine. We’ll stop here. But not for long.”

The clearing was small, between a ring of moss-covered boulders and an ancient tree whose gnarled branches twisted like skeletal fingers.

The crackle of fire filled the quiet as Lucien strummed faintly on his lute, weaving a comforting and haunting melody. Selene sat across from me, sharpening one of her daggers with a whetstone. The flickering light illuminated her face, dancing shadows across her sharp features.

I sat cross-legged, scrolling through my HUD, trying to make sense of the new fragment in my interface. It was locked behind layers of unreadable text and glowing error messages.

[Fragment Status: Inert] [Decryption Progress: 0%]

Selene spoke without looking up. “You’re not going to figure it out staring at it like that.”

“I know,” I muttered, closing the window. “But it feels like it’s… alive. Like it’s waiting for something.”

Lucien glanced up from his lute. “Perhaps it waits for the next piece of its fragmented soul?”

Selene raised an eyebrow. “Not a bad metaphor, bard.”

A faint chime echoed through my interface as a notification appeared.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE: Incoming Party Invite]

[PLAYER: Overlord Ren]

I blinked. “Who?”

Selene stopped sharpening her dagger, her amber eyes narrowing slightly. “Is it Unknown?”

I shook my head. “Someone named Overlord Ren just messaged me.”

Selene smirked. “That's Devon’s avatar's name. A bit over the top, I always thought.”

Lucien adjusted his lute. “Ah, the brother returns! Shall we prepare a ballad for his grand arrival?”

Feeling elated that I could finally see my stepbrother after he'd been MIA. I accepted the invite, and the air near our campfire shimmered briefly as a figure materialized.

The avatar before us was taller than Devon looked in real life—broad-shouldered, armored in polished black and crimson plate mail. His weapon, a massive greatsword with glowing red etchings, was slung casually over his back. His face was hidden behind a dark helmet, but the cocky stance and faint tilt of his head gave him away instantly.

[PLAYER: OVERLORD REN/Devon] [CLASS: Shadow Knight]

“Kiera,” he said, his voice filtered through the helmet’s modulator but still undeniably Devon. “You’ve been busy.”

I blinked, half-laughing. “You look ridiculous. Since when did you go full ‘edgelord knight’ on me?”

He chuckled and removed his helmet, revealing his familiar grin and dark brown eyes. His hair, which was usually messy and untamed in real life, was styled into something that actually looked intentional.

I got up as he walked over to me, and we embraced each other tightly. I squeezed my arms around his metal gear, not realizing how much I had missed him.

“Gotta keep up appearances,” he said with a shrug. We separated from our embrace, and his eyes flicked to Selene. Selene, it's good to see you. Thanks for keeping an eye on her.”

Selene gave a slight nod. “Devon. Took you long enough.”

Lucien tilted his head. “Ah, the mysterious sibling enters the fray. Should I strike up a heroic ballad or a tragic elegy?”

Devon gave Lucien an amused look. “I see you still have the bard with you.”

“Lucien,” I said quickly. “He’s been… helpful.”

Devon’s eyes lingered on Lucien for a moment before he looked back at me. “Kiera… you’ve gotten yourself into something huge. And I mean endgame-level huge.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Yeah, no kidding,” I muttered.

Devon’s face grew serious. “The forums are losing their minds. Glitches popping up everywhere, operatives showing up in zones they shouldn’t even have access to, and now… the underground forums know your name. They know about you, Kiera. And they’re moving fast, and a lot of them are corrupted and up to no good.”

Selene spoke up. “We ran into three of them back at the ruins. They knew she was coming.”

Devon sighed, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t just about rogue developers or players exploiting glitches anymore. Something deeper is happening. They know what UNKNOWN had been doing, about the message that was accidentally sent to you, and now people who are even against them want the game code. And if they get all the fragments, they’ll have access to something bigger than we realize.”

I swallowed hard. “And what happens if they get it?”

Devon’s eyes met mine, his expression grim. “They’ll have control over the game’s entire infrastructure. Every player account, every AI process… they’ll be able to rewrite the rules. Not just bend them—rewrite them.”

Lucien’s lute made a faint, mournful sound as he strummed softly. “It sounds like the world itself hangs by threads thinner than a spider’s silk.”

Selene leaned forward, her amber eyes sharp. “Then we need to move faster. Kiera’s the only one with access to these markers. We can’t waste time.”

Devon nodded. “Agreed. Do you know where the next fragment’s marker is, Kiera?”

I checked my HUD map, and it already showed up on my map. “It’s deeper into the Mistwood Expanse, past something called The Hollow Gate.”

My HUD pinged softly, a new marker appearing on the map.

[NEW OBJECTIVE: Travel to The Hollow Gate]

“Then let’s move,” Selene said, standing and sheathing her daggers.

Devon extended a hand to me, resting on my shoulder. “Kiera, I’m not letting you out of my sight this time.”

I nodded, my HUD updating with the new objective.

Lucien stood as well, strapping his lute securely across his back. “And thus, our fellowship grows. Shadows deepen, the path narrows, and the stage is set.”

Selene gave him an exasperated look. “You know, bard, I could have sworn you said being quiet was a part of your “poetic nature.””

He winked. “It’s part of my charm, my lady.”

As we packed up our camp and began walking toward the next objective, I couldn’t shake the dread clawing at the edges of my mind. The underground was moving, the system was breaking, and now Devon was here too.

But I didn't feel alone for the first time in a while.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The Mistwood Expanse stretched endlessly before us, an ancient forest swallowing the horizon in gnarled roots and whispering leaves. The deeper we ventured, the more unnatural everything began to feel. Patches of glitching textures flickered in and out along the forest floor, and faint static occasionally crackled in the distance.

The four of us walked in uneasy silence: Devon—or Overlord Ren as his HUD displayed—at the front with his massive greatsword slung across his back; Selene, alert and sharp-eyed, walked beside him; Lucien trailed behind with his lute slung across his shoulder; and I stayed in the middle, my HUD pulsing faintly with the marker leading us to our next objective: The Hollow Gate.

“Devon,” I said softly, my voice cutting through the ambient hum of distant static. “How much do you know about what’s going on?”

He glanced back briefly, his crimson-etched armor glinting in the faint light filtering through the trees. “More than most people, but not enough to make a difference yet. The underground forums are losing their minds—leaks, rumors, players disappearing. People are piecing together fragments of what happened to you, but nobody has the full picture. And now you’re walking around like the literal epicenter of it all.”

Lucien whistled softly. “Our muse has become a legend in the making. If we survive this, I’m composing an entire symphony about it.”

Selene rolled her eyes but didn’t comment.

I sighed. “So… they know about me. They’re coming after me. I'm UNKNOWNs guinea pig and the only one who can see the fragments. Great. No pressure at all.”

The forest eventually led to a clearing dominated by an ancient stone gate embedded in a mountainside. The gate stretched impossibly high, cracked and weathered, its surface covered in faintly glowing runes. Jagged lines of glitching code flickered faintly across its surface, like corrupted veins spreading through the stone.

[Objective Reached: The Hollow Gate]

The marker on my HUD pulsed urgently, and faint binary text shimmered faintly around the gate.

“Is it… broken?” Lucien asked, squinting up at the enormous structure.

“No,” I said, stepping closer. “It’s locked. But… something feels off. Like it’s waiting for me specifically.”

Selene moved to my side, her amber eyes scanning the gate. “If this is where the next fragment is, and if the underground forums are getting wind of who you are, we’re not going to be the only ones who know about it.”

Devon crossed his arms, his crimson greatsword resting against his shoulder. “Do your thing, Kiera. Open it.”

I hesitated, shadows flickering faintly at my fingertips. I could feel the code I’d absorbed earlier reacting to the gate, like two magnets trying to pull toward each other.

Reaching out slowly, I touched the cold stone.

A sharp energy pulse erupted outward, and my HUD lit up with cascading error messages.

[System Override Detected] [Fragment Synchronization in Progress…]

The gate groaned and shifted, ancient stone grinding against itself as it slowly began to open. Behind it, an ominous dark corridor stretched endlessly into the mountainside, faint blue lights flickering far in the distance.

But my HUD also displayed something else:

[WARNING: Hostile Presence Detected]

Before I could react, a voice crackled through the shadows behind us.

“Well, well… looks like we caught up to the anomaly.”