Chapter 143: A World Uncoded
The jungle was silent.
The world embraced a complete silence that seemed to form an aura which Natasha felt through her ears while the world waited to inhale. Above the twisted foliage sunlight created patches of shadow which spilled down among the forest plant life. The familiar hum of system notifications, quest markers, and ambient game sounds was conspicuously absent.
Her eyes slowly adjusted to see through the natural daylight that penetrated the forest. The firm hold of her hand on Alison's prevented her from losing grip on reality. Both Ira and Natasha survived after he stumbled due to panic beside his companions. The mage Dren assisted Eldric in sitting up while both of them paused for breath.
They had returned.
But the world was different.
The jungle previously operated under foreseeable game rules but now emitted mysterious vitality. The leaves of the trees gave off a gentle rustling sound which seemed to follow its own intelligent pattern. Dark areas moved freely across the earth ground following their private direction.
A glance across the area followed as Alison let go of Natasha's hand. "No HUD," he murmured. "No minimap, no system prompts… nothing."
Ira kept nodding as her eyes stayed open wide. "We're off-grid," she said. "This world is rewriting itself."
Without thinking Natasha made an attempt to access her inventory systems. Nothing happened. Her hands transformed into a tight fist as discontent seeped from her body. She explained that she had no access to her systems. The system fails to detect us currently.
The old mage relied on his staff for support as Dren assisted him to stand. According to Eldric the destruction of The Source resulted in our game connection getting cut off from the server networks. "We're in uncharted territory now."
The group heard a low growl that emerged from the tree cover. An animal walked out from beneath the vegetation. The distorted body of this creature appeared as a jungle cat before morphing into a corrupted video frame. The creature had eyes that shone with evil energy while its disrupted movements fidgeted in random patterns.
All members of the group automatically arranged themselves into a protective unit while drawing their weapons. Beyond her defensive position Natasha moved while holding her sword in front of her. In that moment the creature attacked directly toward her while she received its blows causing powerful vibrations to spread across the air.
During the battle Natasha experienced sudden power rise deep within her being. Under the influence of the Source her powers ignited yet they behaved like malfunctioning computer code. The experience revealed to her that she now possessed a profound bond with the world since the Source had implanted one of its pieces inside her being. This discovery brought intense feelings of excitement and dread at the same time.
Natasha used her final attack to destroy the creature which then dissolved into pixels as it disappeared permanently. She reached for air after the fight while facing her companions. She declared that the event exceeded mere technical error. "It was something else… something new."
Alison nodded, his expression grim. "The collapse of the system has unleashed anomalies," he said. "We need to be prepared for anything."
Ira moved forward as she checked every corner of the jungle with her gaze. "We should find shelter," she said. "Somewhere to regroup and assess our situation."
Slowly the members of the group navigated through the jungle while the surrounding environment exhibited unpredictable shifts. The jungle transformed as vegetation shifted locations and trails vanished while its nature distorted and shifted.
They found an open field with an old outpost remaining as a part of the ancient structure in its center. The ruined building created a sort of protection despite its poor condition. The members of their group took guarded steps into the location while confirming safety surrounding the area before choosing a base.
Within the building they discovered evidence of the previous civilization consisting of destroyed terminals along with faded charts and discarded machinery lying on the floor. Natasha selected one of the terminals to try accessing its stored data. Corrupted files appeared when the screen flashed into existence.
Using careful examination she reconstructed the fragments of data she found. The monitoring station functioned to observe newly emerging anomalies which originated from the game world. System logs showed how glitch entities appeared along with simultaneous network disruptions until the environment turned unstable.
Awoken from her research Alison came to inspect what her friend was reading. "This confirms our suspicions," he said. The system failure has released entities which surpass our capacity to comprehend them.
Natasha nodded, her mind racing. "We need to find a way to stabilize the world," she said. "Or at least protect ourselves from whatever comes next."
The outpost participants heard an unnatural male voice through the air broadcasts a broken message:
"—Player Zero detected—System breach confirmed—Initiating… Protocol Omega…"
Natasha turned slowly.
A single figure materialized behind the broken debris of the jungle.
Its body wrapped in broken pieces of armor while its visage showed the same marks as her own.
A glitched duplicate.
It raised its blade.
And charged.