The sound tore out of my throat, visible as a jagged blue shockwave.
It hit the platform V was standing on.
There was no explosion. No sound of breaking glass. The platform simply... ceased to exist.
One second, V was standing on solid ground, ready to crush my skull. The next second, she was standing on air.
Her eyes went wide. The "Wile E. Coyote" realization hit her.
"Huh?" she grunted.
Gravity reasserted itself.
V plummeted. She didn't even have time to scream before the darkness swallowed her whole. A second later, a small text pop-up appeared from the abyss: [PLAYER ELIMINATED].
Silence.
I pulled myself up from the ledge, gasping for air. The red warning lights in my vision were fading. The code-vision receded, leaving me with the normal, grimy view of the arena.
Then, the noise hit.
It started as a low rumble and exploded into a roar.
[LIKES: +500]
[LIKES: +2,000]
[LIKES: +10,000]
The counters spun so fast they blurred. A waterfall of pink hearts and thumbs-up icons rained down from the stands, burying me in digital validation.
“Did you see that?!”
“She hacked the map!”
“Glitch Queen! Glitch Queen!”
I stood up, my legs shaking. I felt... incredible.
The rush was instantaneous. The "Like" notifications hit my system like a shot of pure dopamine. The pain in my scraped knees vanished. The itch of the Pixel Rot on my neck soothed into a dull hum. My energy bar refilled instantly.
I looked at my hands. They were glowing with a faint, blue light.
I had just deleted a person. Well, an avatar. But still. I had rewritten reality because I wanted to.
And they loved me for it.
"WINNER!" the skull announcer screamed, shooting confetti cannons that fired pixelated skulls. "THE GLITCH TAKES IT ALL!"
I threw my head back and laughed. It sounded a little manic, even to me. I raised my arms, basking in the applause, letting the adoration wash over me. It was better than the Sky-Dome. It was raw. It was real.
A notification chimed in my ear.
[ACCOUNT BALANCE: 12,400 LIKES]
[SYSTEM STATUS: STABLE]
[SKIN REPAIR: INITIATING...]
I felt a cool sensation wash over my face. The rot on my cheek knit itself back together. The gray, flaky patches smoothed over, returning to perfect, porcelain skin. The Beauty Filter re-engaged with a soft snap.
I was beautiful again. I was powerful.
I looked toward the exit gate. Static was standing there. He wasn't cheering. He was watching me with his arms crossed, his LED eyes narrowed.
I walked off the floating platform, strutting like I owned the place. The bridge extended automatically to meet my feet.
"I did it," I said, breathless, wiping a stray digital petal from my shoulder. "Did you see that? I saved myself."
Static stepped out of the shadows. He didn't look impressed. He looked worried.
"You showed your hand," he said quietly, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the service tunnel. "You used source code in a public server. You think the Admin didn't hear that?"
"Let him hear it," I said, the high of the victory making me reckless. "I just deleted a Brawler class with a single note. Maybe he should be scared of me."
Static tightened his grip, his static-fingers stinging my skin. "Don't let the applause get to your head, Nova. The crowd loves a monster until the monster jumps the fence."
He shoved a datapad into my chest.
"We got the Likes," he said. "Now put on a mask. We’re going to the High-Bit District before the Moderators trace that deletion command."
I looked down at the datapad. It was a map of the upper city. The penthouse level. The place where the Admin lived.
My smile faltered, but only for a second. The adrenaline was still pumping.
"Fine," I said, tapping the map. "Let's go crash a party."
ns216.73.216.10da2
and then Add to home screen.