Kaito's breath came fast as the defense units advanced—metal limbs whirring, sensors glowing ominously. The Core chamber warped around him, shifting from endless streams of data code to jagged fragments of what looked like a shattered cityscape. Buildings flickered between solid and pixelated, roads twisted like corrupted files, and the sky above crackled with erratic bursts of static. This was the system's attempt at a final reset—a fractured reality designed to trap him in a loop of confusion and control.
He dodged a sweep of mechanical claws, landing on cracked pavement that instantly turned to liquid glass beneath his feet. Another unit surged forward, its voice a distorted monotone: "Contain anomaly: Arasaka, Kaito. Execute protocol: reboot sequence." The voice echoed endlessly, layered over itself like a broken record.
Kaito's mind raced. He felt the hybrid code inside him reacting, not just powering his body but syncing with the world around him. The fractured landscape bent and warped in response to his will, but so did the enemies. It was a dangerous dance—one wrong move could trap him in a digital purgatory forever.
He sprinted toward a collapsed building, its walls flickering in and out of existence. Behind him, the units closed in, relentless. Kaito slammed his hand against a jagged pillar, focusing his energy. The pillar shimmered, then exploded into shards of raw data that swept through the units, disrupting their circuits. They faltered, sparks flying from exposed wires.
But it wasn't enough.
A massive shadow loomed above—the Core itself was responding. The chamber trembled, threatening to collapse the entire illusion. Kaito gritted his teeth, knowing this fight was far from over. Somewhere deep within the system, the reboot process was still running, resetting timelines, erasing memories, rewriting truths.
He had to break the cycle.
With a roar, Kaito leapt upward, fists glowing with charged code. As he collided with the nearest defense unit, a shockwave rippled through the fractured reality, sending waves of corrupted light cascading across the crumbling landscape. The system screamed in protest, but Kaito's will was stronger. He was no longer just a glitch. He was the key to something far greater.
And the system knew it.