Cracked Pillars of Fate

Chapter 13: The Search for the Life Code

The Synergy Compass in El Joe's palm pulsed with a painful rhythm, as if the object had its own heart in a state of panic. Its blue light glowed intensely, illuminating the long corridor formed by an arrangement of giant circuit crystals. Ahead, Archen Huge strode with tense shoulders. Every time his feet struck the metallic floor, a heavy clang echoed, telling the universe that the pillar of strength was demanding entry.

"Don't get too far ahead, Archen!" Joe called out, his voice reflecting off the shimmering crystal walls. "This compass is detecting changes in data density around us. This environment is unstable."

Archen didn't look back, but he slowed his pace slightly. A black aura of gravity enveloped his fists, making the air around his hands appear distorted. "The guide said the Brain is dying. I don't have time for a leisurely stroll like I'm at your flea market, Commander."

Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled. It wasn't an earthquake's tremor, but a high-frequency vibration that made their teeth chatter. From the digital darkness ahead of them, a giant creature that had previously blocked the path emerged. Its body was a churning black mass, supported by thousands of mechanical hands, each holding an encryption key shaped like a light prism.

[Warning: Encryption Guardian Detected.]

[Status: Locking Reality Access.]

The creature did not growl. It emitted a static sound that tortured the ears. Its thousands of hands moved in unison, hurling the light prisms toward them.

"Stay away from those prisms!" Joe shouted.

Archen tried to strike one of the prisms flying toward him. However, as soon as his fist made contact with the light, a chain of black code appeared out of nowhere, wrapping tightly around his arm. Archen groaned, feeling his strength being sucked into a vacuum.

"Damn it! My arm is locked!" Archen took a short breath, trying to exert gravity to crush the chain, but the more he resisted, the tighter the chain bound him.

Joe immediately activated Environmental Adaptation. His eyes caught the flow of energy connecting the chain on Archen's arm to the Guardian's core. "Archen, stop fighting physically! That chain is feeding on your energy!"

"Then what should I do? Just stand still until I become a statue?" Archen roared, his face flushing from the pressure.

Joe spotted a weak point on the creature's shoulder—an energy node pulsing with a slightly dimmer color. "You have to trust my instructions. I'll distract it. When I shout, release all your energy toward the point below its central core, not at the chain!"

Joe lunged forward, his iron pipe infused with sharp green energy. He moved nimbly through the rain of light prisms, using his leadership instincts to read the Guardian's attack patterns. He intentionally let himself become the target, baiting the thousands of hands to aim at him.

"Come here, you lifeless machine!" Joe struck one of the mechanical hands, triggering an explosion of electrical sparks.

The Guardian took the bait. Its central core spun rapidly, shifting its entire focus to Joe. The chain binding Archen loosened slightly as the data flow concentrated on the new attack.

"Now, Archen! Strike the bottom of its core!"

Archen didn't hesitate. He concentrated all the remaining gravity in his body into his free arm. He leaped, transcending the room's magnetic pull. "This is for all your damn chains!"

BOOM!

Archen's punch landed right below the core of light. The attack wasn't just physical strength; it was their first synchronization. The green energy from Joe that still lingered in the strike zone acted as a guide for Archen's gravitational explosion. The creature let out a digital shriek, its body shattering into millions of data fragments that then evaporated.

Archen fell to his knees, panting. The chain on his arm vanished. He looked at Joe, who was wiping dust from his shoulder. "You... you really could see that opening."

Joe reached out a hand, helping Archen up. "And you really have the strength to destroy it. We can't do this alone, Archen."

Archen accepted the handshake. A sense of respect grew there, a bond stronger than just being comrades-in-arms. "Alright, Commander. Lead the way."

They continued their journey for hours through the Data Reconstruction Structure. The terrain here was highly unpredictable. Sometimes the floor they stepped on turned into a narrow bridge of light over a bottomless abyss of code. Sometimes, gravity suddenly shifted directions, forcing them to walk on the walls.

"This system is trying to separate us," Joe muttered while staring at his compass. Its light needle began to spin wildly.

Suddenly, the wall beside them shifted with lightning speed. A massive crystal block descended from the ceiling, separating Joe and Archen in an instant.

"Joe!" Archen slammed against the crystal wall, but the wall only reflected his power back at him.

"Stay in your position, Archen! Don't move blindly!" Joe's voice sounded faint from behind the wall.

On Joe's side, a group of Data Sentinels—slender, faceless creatures armed with digital daggers—emerged from the shadows. They moved with organized tactics, attempting to surround Joe from all directions. Joe knew he couldn't win against such numbers in a cramped space with only his iron pipe.

Meanwhile, Archen felt frustrated on the other side. He could hear the thumping sounds of Joe's battle, but the wall in front of him seemed made of impenetrable reality.

Use your head, Huge. Not just your muscles, Archen reminded himself, repeating Joe's words.

He noticed that every time the Sentinels attacked Joe behind the wall, a vibration of energy traveled along the joints of the crystal wall. It was a dynamic structure, not a dead wall. Archen placed his palm on the wall, trying to feel the flow of its energy.

"I'm not a pillar of strength if I can't tear down this wall," Archen whispered.

He didn't strike the wall with his fist. Instead, he concentrated his gravitational pressure on a single hinge point that he felt vibrating the most. He pressed, and kept pressing, letting his black energy seep into the microscopic cracks of the crystal.

Crack!

The wall cracked. At the same time, Joe was being cornered by three Sentinels ready to stab him. Archen burst through like a storm, crushing Joe's enemies in one massive swing of his arm.

"Just in time," Joe breathed a sigh of relief, despite a small cut on his cheek.

"I learned one thing," Archen smirked. "Sometimes a door doesn't need a key, just the right amount of pressure."

They both nodded to each other, realizing that their bond of trust had reached a new level. The exhausting day-long journey finally brought them to the heart of the structure. The air here felt cold and silent, far from the static noise they had encountered before.

At the end of a grand hall resembling a technological cathedral, there was a giant virtual door surrounded by thousands of pulsing black chains. The door was transparent, and behind it, they could see the figure they were looking for.

Dylan Smith hung in mid-air, entangled by data cables glowing red. His face was deathly pale, and his eyes were closed as if trapped in an eternal nightmare. Beneath his feet, the digital floor began to crack, showing signs that his consciousness was being erased by the system.

"Dylan!" Joe shouted, about to run forward.

However, Archen held his shoulder. His eyes stared at the shadow beneath Dylan, where a formless entity began to manifest, holding a massive scythe made of pure darkness.

"It's a trap, Commander," Archen whispered, his black aura exploding with terrifying intensity. "Prepare your best plan, because it looks like we have to fight death itself to bring him home."

Joe gripped his iron pipe tightly, his eyes fixed on Dylan, who was slowly beginning to fade. Their time was almost up. In front of them, the virtual door trembled, as if preparing to close forever and erase the third pillar from existence.