Glitch

A fight to survive

"Gotcha."

The voice was a whisper behind her ear.

Lyra twisted on instinct, kicking backwards.

Too late.

"Tch. slow," Quinn said lazily, stepping aside as she caught Lyra’s leg mid-air and then with a fling, sent her sprawling across the training square.

Lyra hit the ground hard, face-first. Gritting her teeth, she rolled and sprang up quickly, ignoring the outstretched hand offered to her.

Dusting herself off, she glanced at the blonde woman leaning against the shadows of a stone archway. "How'd I do this time?"

Ava stepped forward, arms crossed, her golden dreads catching the light. "You're faster, definitely. But your mental defenses are still weak."

She gestured toward Quinn. "She sensed you were close to detecting her, so she used your fear. Made you think she'd already caught you—and it threw off your rhythm. You reacted, instead of acting."

Lyra’s lips tightened. Ava was right. The moment she heard Quinn’s voice, panic had taken over. Her thoughts scrambled, she’d acted purely on instinct—predictable and reckless.

With a sharp breath, she turned and returned to the center of the square.

"Again," she said, motioning to Quinn.

Quinn glanced uneasily at Ava. "Lyra... I think you should rest."

"Again," Lyra repeated, louder this time.

Ava approached her calmly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lyra, listen. Quinn's right. Rest, then train again. You’ve been at this since morning—"

"I don’t have time to rest," Lyra snapped, shrugging Ava’s hand off.

"If you push too hard, you’ll burn out. Your body will collapse," Quinn said, voice more firm now. A small frown tugged at her lips.

"I don’t care."

There was silence.

Quinn stepped back, clearly taken aback. "Why are you being so aggressive? We're just trying to help you..."

Lyra didn’t reply, but her rigid, tense stance, spoke volumes.

Quinn hesitated, then crossed her arms. "Well, if you’re not tired... I am." Her tone was final. "If you don’t have a partner, you’ll have to stop."

Lyra didn’t even blink. "Then Ava can train me."

Quinn’s eyes widened. "W-What?" She turned to Ava, who looked equally surprised.

"Lyra..." Quinn began, uncertain.

How could she put this..... there was a wide gulf of difference between hers and Ava's poweress.

But Ava held up a hand, eyes narrowing with interest. "Let her." Her smile was cool. "If she wants to test me—she’s welcome to try."

Quinn stared at Lyra for a moment then quietly retreated to the shadows, but her eyes still lingered on Lyra, filled with subtle pity.

Lyra didn't care to pay a thought to Quinn's expression as she got ready to face Ava.

Quinn was very strong but after a lot of training, Lyra could manage to hold her off without the element of surprise.

Ava would definitely be more skilled but Lyra believed she could stand her ground or maybe even land one blow in a direct battle.

Seeing her confidence, Ava smirked.

Confidence was easy, what mattered was the strength to back it up.

Lyra was about to learn that the hard way.

The moment they signaled readiness, Lyra darted forward, wind billowing behind her as she surged toward Ava.

Ava didn’t move. Her posture even seemed a bit... bored.

Lyra’s fist shot forward, fast and precise. The Wind strained under the weight of her movement.

As she swiftly approached Ava, it seemed like her fist was about to connect.

Then

Ava smiled leisurely—and with a flick of her finger, a force imploded that sent Lyra flying.

Lyra slammed into the stone wall and crumpled to the ground, every inch of her body screaming.

She didn't even see what Ava did. Everything happened so fast.

"Are you okay?" Quinn called out, hastily walking to her side.

Was she? Of course not. Lyra frowned in reply, 'at least still conscious.' she muttered internally.

Ava strolled toward her, towering over her writhing form. "Want a rematch? I’m waiting." She said, like she was offering to refill lyra's cup of tea.

Lyra felt mocked.

She clenched her teeth, pain flaring as she looked up. “Is that why you did this? Why you went all out? So I wouldn't be able to train?” she spat out.

Ava burst into laughter, eyes watering slightly. "All out? You think that was all out? This is the bare minimum I could supress myself. It’s not my fault you couldn’t take it, weakling."

Lyra’s lips twitched. She struggled to her feet, Quinn quickly moving to support her.

Quinn shot Ava a disapproving look, but even she couldn’t deny the truth.

Maybe feeling a little guilty, Ava softened. "Well… you’re not exactly a weakling. You did try. That counts for some—"

"No," Lyra cut in, eyes shut. "You’re right. I am a weakling."

Ava knelt, lowering herself to Lyra's level.

"Everyone starts out weak. The fact you want to change that makes you brave," she said gently. "You're making progress. Just... know when to stop. Pushing too hard does the opposite."

Lyra’s eyes snapped open. "You don’t understand."

Ava tilted her head. "What don’t... I understand?"

She and Quinn had grown close to Lyra since their chaotic first meeting.

What started as wary partnership had grown into something more. Structured training, when Lyra found out she was pretty strong, to the sense of camaraderie that developed between them. Maybe even friendship.

But now, staring at the ragged girl before her, Ava wasn’t sure if agreeing to train her was the right thing.

"You won’t understand." Lyra gave a tired laugh, pushing herself up with a grunt.

Ava scoffed. "I won't understand What? Your desire to grow stronger that's gradually turning to an obsession?"

"You think I’m doing this just because I want to be stronger?"

Lyra’s voice turned bitter. "No. I’m doing this to.... survive."

It had been twenty-one days since she found this town and she was no closer to escaping it—escaping this game world.

The tech keeping her stable inside this game was breaking down. Her expedition kit was only meant to last two months, max. Without adding the unknown time she had spent unconscious, almost a month was gone.

If she didn’t find a way out soon, her consciousness would erode—piece by piece—lost to the game’s code.

Æther's threat burned on her back

But now she faced something equally worse, the slow decay of her mind.

Every day felt like a countdown to her death.

And beyond this world, her brother Kiel should be preparing for college. She didn’t know if he was coping. Was he drowning under the pressure of taking care of their mother alone? Or was he feeling abandoned due to her disappearance?

.....If only she were there.

Tears welled up in her eyes. Her chest heaved.

She stared at Ava and Quinn—who both stood, stunned and silent.

Her strength bled out all at once. A tired sigh escaped her lips as Her eyes drifted beyond them.

"You wouldn't understand." she whispered bitterly. Her words tearing through the silence.

She couldn't die.

She had to live.

At that point, when she had given Mr Rhett her tag, she thought she had done it all.

That it was all over, But being alive pushed her old habit of overthinking and she couldn't help but feel she had so much to do now

So many scenarios of what could go wrong if she wasn't out there with her family kept replaying in her head

That time, she had no motivation to stay alive.

Now, she had so many reasons to not die.

Dragging her injured body forward, she passed the stunned pair—each step loaded with pain and weight, one she had borne for a long time.

Quinn reached out as if to stop her, but slowly dropped her hand, curling it into a fist.

Neither of them said a word as Lyra faded into the distance....