Chapter 25: The Origin Core Guardian
The glitched glyph shimmered in the air like cracked glass, warping the blue sky into something colder—something older.
A pulse of deep blue energy surged from beneath the lake. The waters below churned unnaturally, spiraling inward into a perfect whirlpool. DarkZero and I instinctively pulled back, hovering in mid-air with weapons drawn.
"That's no regular boss," DarkZero muttered. His usual cool demeanor had shifted into something sharper. "That thing's not even in the spawn tables."
Before I could ask what he meant, a black window forcibly overrode our interface.
> [System Alert: Origin-Class Threat Detected]
Designation: [REDACTED]
Codename: Origin Core Guardian
Level: ???
Combat Type: Adaptive AI – Prime Directive Execution Mode
Engagement: Forced
Escape: Disabled
A swirling void opened at the center of the lake. A strange, coffin-like structure rose slowly from the vortex—metallic, angular, and humming with ancient code. Crimson lines blinked across its surface like veins pulsing with corrupted energy.
"It's like… the boss gate itself is alive," I whispered.
Then it cracked open.
The creature inside looked nothing like the last boss. It was humanoid—but barely. Seven segmented arms floated around its back like broken clock hands, each glowing with chaotic energy. Its face was half-mask, half-wireframe, and its body flickered between armored plates and raw data fragments.
> [Origin Core Guardian – EXECUTION MODE: ACTIVE]
"I've only seen footage of these," DarkZero said. "Endgame-tier anomalies. They purge corrupted data from broken zones. Problem is…" He glanced at me. "Sometimes players count as 'corrupted'."
The boss moved.
One moment it stood still—and in the next, it was in front of DarkZero, one of its segmented arms swinging down.
CLANG!
He blocked it just in time, sparks flying as his dual guns clashed with the blade-arm. He was pushed back, slamming into a tree behind us.
"DARKZERO!"
"Don't worry, I'm—ugh—still breathing!"
The boss's segmented arms rotated, forming a ring of light. Symbols danced across its chest and a new energy pulse began charging.
My system chimed:
> [Skill Lock Field Activated – Skill Use Disabled for 10 seconds]
"Are you kidding me?!" I shouted.
I could only watch as the Guardian fired the pulse. A beam of compressed code shot straight at me.
No time to dodge.
"Vastro, Barrier!" I shouted.
My falcon dove between us, spreading his wings wide as a green wind barrier flickered into existence. The beam struck it, shattering it instantly, but it gave me just enough time to move.
I rolled aside, hitting the edge of the water. My HP dropped by nearly 40%.
DarkZero reappeared beside me, one side of his jacket torn and blood trickling from his forehead. "We're not winning this with conventional attacks."
"Then how do we stop it?!"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he pulled out a different kind of card. It was old—glitched at the edges and glowing with chaotic red.
"You ever heard of a Chaos Fragment?" he asked.
"…I've heard rumors."
"They're supposed to destabilize AI systems for a few seconds. Enough to make a difference. Problem is, it might trigger something worse."
I narrowed my eyes. "Do it."
He smirked. "You've got guts."
DarkZero threw the fragment into the sky.
The moment it touched air, the world glitched. The lake flashed red. The Guardian staggered, its arms twitching erratically as corrupted symbols scrambled across its face.
> [Anomaly: Chaos Fragment Detected]
[Countermeasure: Activated – Failsafe Protocol Breach]
The lake beneath us cracked—yes, cracked—as if the water was glass.
A red pulse surged through the zone. I felt my whole body freeze as a wave of pressure hit me. The sky turned violet.
Then a new window popped up:
> [Hidden Quest Activated: Unshackled Echo]
"Confront the remnants of the AI cleansing system and uncover the truth behind Vault Sector 9."
Objective: Survive the Origin Core Guardian (Phase 1)
Rewards: ???
"I hate that word," I muttered. "Survive."
The Guardian let out a sound—a blend of a siren and mechanical shriek. Then it lunged at me again.
I activated my emergency dash skill, barely avoiding a razor-thin blade. I circled to the side, trying to find an angle.
"DarkZero!" I shouted. "Go high! I'll pin him down!"
He understood immediately.
He launched upward, wings glowing black as he entered a temporary invulnerability phase. Meanwhile, I shot a Tangle Arrow at the Guardian's leg.
It worked—partially. The arrow slowed its movement, causing it to stagger slightly.
Then came the combo.
DarkZero dropped four more cards. Each hovered above the boss like satellites.
"Stellar Cross: Zero Judgment!"
The sky exploded with black lightning as all four cards discharged. The Guardian was hit dead-center, forced to stagger. Its health bar—if we could even call it that—ticked down by a mere 3%.
"This thing is insane!" I cried.
And then I felt it.
A sudden vibration.
My HUD pinged.
A message from... Gwydox?
> [Incoming Interference Detected – Channeling…]
[Voice Link Established – Gwydox (Fragmented)]
"Yo. Kid. Zaphro told me to watch your back. That thing you're fighting? Not a boss. It's a gatekeeper. You don't kill it. You outsmart it."
"…Gatekeeper?"
> "That Guardian's coded to reset corrupted terrain. You need to trick it into triggering a self-reboot loop. There should be a Sigil nearby. Scan the lakebed."
I shouted to DarkZero, "There's a sigil under the lake! We need to scan it—force a system loop!"
"I'll cover you!"
He went in with a distracting flurry of slinger bullets while I dove into the lake, eyes scanning every inch of the strange rippling floor.
There—beneath the vortex. A symbol carved in stone, glowing faintly red.
I placed my hand over it.
> [Data Sigil Detected – Force Trigger: Y/N?]
I pressed yes.
Immediately, the world paused. The Guardian froze mid-motion.
> [Failsafe Triggered – System Loop Engaged]
Resetting Core AI Thread...]
A loud hum filled the air as the Guardian's body began to destabilize. Fractured code spun around it, tearing off its segmented arms.
> [Origin Core Guardian – Shutdown in Progress]
We surfaced again, panting, soaking, but alive.
The monster let out one final sound before collapsing into a heap of gray polygons and shattered code.
Silence fell.
Then—
[QUEST COMPLETE: Unshackled Echo]
Reward Unlocked: System Key Fragment – Vault 9
I turned to DarkZero. "We're alive?"
"For now," he said, falling back on the grass. "But that wasn't even the main event."
Just then, my HUD lit up with a new message.
> [WARNING: USER 'ZAPHRO' HAS ENGAGED HOSTILE CODE ENTITY IN SECTOR 12 – REQUESTING SUPPORT]
I blinked. "Zeke's in trouble?"
DarkZero stood slowly, cracking his knuckles. "Then let's return the favor."
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