"Vaxien! Get up! They’re coming back!" Zeryth yelled."I can't!" I choked out. "The hell you can't! Move your feet!" I looked at my shoulder. Silver fluid leaked from the stump. It wasn't red anymore. It was bright, glowing silver. It dripped onto the grid and turned into smoke. "Is that blood?" Nyxra asked. Her voice was high and thin. "I don't know," I said. "It’s glowing, Vaxien.You’re leaking your code," Zeryth said. He kicked a shark as it tried to snap at his boots. "Get the mouse! Click something!" "I can't reach it," I said. "Reach harder!" Nyxra snapped. She swung her fist at a shark. Her knuckles hit gray, slimy skin. "Ugh! It feels like wet rubber!" "Keep them back!" I shouted. "With what?" Zeryth roared. "My gun is a paperweight! My skills are locked! We’re fighting literal monsters with our bare hands!" "Just punch them!" "I am punching them! It’s like hitting a brick wall made of snot!" The largest shark circled me. It ignored the others. It wanted the silver

"Get back!" I yelled.I shoved Zeryth and Nyxra toward the edge of the balcony. The giant deity, Ludos, raised a hammer that looked like a falling building. The air around the gold head of the weapon groaned. The space near the hammer warped. It looked like a heat haze on a road."Vaxien, you're Level 1! You can't take that hit!" Zeryth screamed."I know!" I shouted back.I tried to trigger the void. I opened my mouth to pull in the air."Void-Lungs! Now!" I commanded.A red box popped up right in front of my face.[INSUFFICIENT MANA. COST: 500. CURRENT: 10.]"Ten? I only have ten mana?" I choked."We’re all at base stats, you idiot!" Nyxra cried. "Run!"Ludos laughed. The sound made my teeth ache. "Mortals and their skills. You think a glitch can breathe in the presence of a god?"He swung the hammer down. I dived to the left. The hammer hit the marble. The stone turned into white dust. The shockwave sent me rolling."Is that all you got?" Zeryth yelled at the giant. He threw a ro

"Is he dead?" Zeryth shouted. He leaned over the broken marble balcony."I don't know," I said. "He stopped moving after that crash."I looked at the floor. The gold pieces of the broken halo pulsed like dying fireflies. I reached out with my black arm. The stars in my skin began to spin."Vaxien, don't touch that stuff!" Nyxra yelled. "You're Level 1! It might blow your hand off!""It’s just data, Nyxra," I said. I grabbed the shards. My arm drank them. The gold light flowed into my pores. It felt like needles."What does it feel like?" Zeryth asked. "Like I ate a brick," I said. "Heavy and hot.""Look up," Nyxra whispered. Her face was pale.A gold circle appeared over my head. It looked like a giant target. [BOUNTY: 10,000,000 CREDITS][LOCATION: BROADCASTING...]"Ten million?" Zeryth whistled. "I’d kill you for that kind of money.""Try it and I'll break your leg," I said. "Fair enough," Zeryth shrugged."Vaxien, look at the sky," Nyxra said. "The whole layer is moving. Every Ad

The dragon’s head hit the light-blade and everything turned white.My ears rang with the sound of snapping code. Then, the wind stopped. I hit the ground hard. "Is everyone alive?" I coughed."I think my ribs are a puzzle," Zeryth groaned. He was face-down in a fountain."Vaxien, look where we are," Nyxra whispered.I stood up and wiped blood from my mouth. We were in a street made of solid pearl. Tall towers reached into the clouds. They were made of gold and glass. People walked past us in silk robes. Some had wings. Some had four arms. "Is this it?" Zeryth asked. "Olympus-Prime?""Keep your head down," I said. "We look like trash in a jewelry store.""We need the tower," Nyxra said. She pointed at the center. A spire sat there. It pulsed with a blue light. "That’s the Palace of the All-Father. It’s the Main Server Tower.""How do we get in?" Zeryth asked. "There are guards with flaming swords.""We can't walk in as glitches," I said."Look at those three," I said. I pointed at

My fingers gripped the staff. The blue light burned my palm. It felt like a live wire. "You think you can change the game?" The All-Father asked. He didn't pull the staff back. He stared at me. His eyes were not eyes. They were lines of scrolling code. Green, red, and white. Moving too fast to read. "I'm going to try," I said. "Release it," Nyxra whispered. She was trembling. "Vax, he's going to wipe us!""Let him try," I said.The All-Father stopped the light. The room went quiet. He stepped back. The staff turned into a walking cane. He straightened his white suit."You have spirit," the All-Father said. His voice was cold. "Most bugs delete themselves when they get close to me.""I'm not a bug," I said. "Aren't you?" He asked. "You are a piece of broken data. You live in the trash folder.""I'm still here," I said. "True," he said. He looked at Zeryth, who was hiding under the table. "And you brought two other trash files.""Hey!" Zeryth yelled. "I'm a premium user, you glowing