The room was quiet, save for the faint hum of Yuki's laptop cooling fan. Kaizen sat cross-legged on the floor, his expression unreadable but attentive.
Yuki stared at the screen, still feeling the weight of their recent battle with Vex pressing down on her chest.
"Did we really just survive that?" she murmured, voice shaky.
Kaizen smirked, brushing a stray lock of hair behind his ear. "Barely. But more importantly, you're the one who made the difference."
Yuki blinked. "Me? How?"
LUNA's digital voice echoed softly from her phone. "Your creativity is the key, Yuki. Your mind shapes the system in ways you have yet to discover."
"Speaking of which," LUNA added, "I've unlocked a new feature for you: Creative Manifestation."
Yuki's brows knit together. "What does that mean?"
"Think of it like… writing small reality changes into existence," LUNA explained. "But be warned: every change has consequences. Reality resists rewrites, so use it wisely."
Kaizen's eyes gleamed. "So, you're basically a game dev now. You write the world as you see fit."
Yuki couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips. "That sounds… terrifying."
She reached for her laptop and hesitantly typed a phrase: "The clutter in my room is gone."
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the piles of snacks and manga gradually faded out, replaced by neat shelves and tidy piles.
"Whoa," Yuki whispered. "It worked."
LUNA chimed, "Congratulations. Minor success. Ready for more complex tasks?"
Kaizen raised an eyebrow. "Let's see what else you've got."
Yuki spent the next hour cautiously testing her new power — changing the color of her curtains, altering the background music playing through her speakers, even tweaking Kaizen's hairstyle to something less dramatic.
Kaizen laughed. "Hey, watch it! That hair is iconic."
"But it's pink now," Yuki teased.
"Pink?!" Kaizen stared in mock horror, then chuckled. "Alright, fair."
Yet every small change brought tiny glitches — flickers, distorted sounds, brief static. Reality was pushing back.
Later, an alarm blared from LUNA. "Warning. Glitch attack detected in your neighborhood."
Yuki's heart raced. "Not again."
Kaizen stood, instantly alert. "We have to protect your home."
The two dashed outside, senses sharp. A shimmering distortion crawled over the street like a dark, pulsing virus.
"Use your power," LUNA urged.
Yuki closed her eyes, fingers trembling over her keyboard. She typed quickly: "The glitch fades away, powerless."
The distortion wavered, but then grew stronger.
"Reality is fighting back harder than ever," Kaizen warned.
Yuki swallowed her fear, thinking harder, pushing her limits.
"The glitch can't hurt those under my protection."
The air shimmered brightly around her and Kaizen, and the distortion recoiled, breaking apart into harmless sparks.
They both collapsed, breathless.
LUNA's voice was calm but serious. "You have caught the system's attention. Be careful what you write next."
Yuki's gaze met Kaizen's, the weight of her new role settling in.
This wasn't just a game anymore.
It was her life.
Yuki barely had time to catch her breath when a new message popped up on her phone, the screen glowing ominously.
"You're stirring things up, Yuki. But not all forces wish you well."
LUNA's voice softened. "We're not alone in this. There's someone watching—and waiting."
Before Yuki could ask who, a shadow flickered at her window.
Kaizen tensed. "Stay back."
Yuki peered through the glass and saw a figure—a girl, about her age, with sharp eyes and a confident stance.
The window slid open without a sound, and the girl stepped inside like she owned the place.
"I'm Rei," she said smoothly. "And I think we have a mutual interest."
Yuki's heart pounded. "Who are you? How do you know about the glitch?"
Rei smiled. "Let's just say I'm a... fixer. Someone who cleans up the messes the system leaves behind."
Kaizen narrowed his eyes. "And why come to us?"
Rei shrugged. "Because the glitch threatens us all. But I don't work for free."
Yuki swallowed her suspicion. "What do you want?"
"Information, access—and maybe a little trust." Rei's eyes glinted with something unreadable.
LUNA's alert sounded: "Caution: Rei's data signature is… unusual."
Kaizen whispered, "We need to be careful."
But Yuki's curiosity outweighed her fear. "Alright, Rei. Talk."
Rei pulled out a small device, projecting a holographic map of the city riddled with pulsing red nodes.
"Each node is a glitch hotspot," she explained. "If we don't stop them, the entire system collapses."
"And you want us to help?" Yuki asked.
"Together, we might just stand a chance."
The room felt charged, the stakes higher than ever.
Yuki realized this was only the concept of a deeper game.