Chainspire Tier 2 was unstable.
Zane Kael stepped onto the platform and immediately felt it—like the code beneath his feet was flickering, rewriting itself in real time. The towers here were taller, sharper, and pulsed with erratic energy. Players moved cautiously, their HUDs glitching every few seconds.
[ZONE: Chainspire Tier 2]
System Status: Fragmented
Trial Access: Restricted
Warning: Coin anomalies detected
Zane's Echo Coin pulsed. The Whisper Coin shimmered. But the Genesis remained silent.
He followed a trail of corrupted glyphs through the tier, past broken bridges and flickering data nodes. At the edge of a collapsed platform, he found it:
A coin floating in midair—black, cracked, and pulsing with unstable energy.
[UNIDENTIFIED COIN DETECTED]
Designation: Glitch Coin
Status: Unstable / Forbidden
Do you wish to sync?
Zane hesitated.
The coin felt… wrong. Like it wasn't part of Velaryn's design. But something about it called to him—like a missing piece.
He clicked Yes.
The world shattered.
Zane was pulled into a void of broken code—fragments of systems, corrupted trials, echoes of players who had failed. The Glitch Coin hovered before him, spinning faster and faster.
Trial: Glitch Protocol
Objective: Stabilize the anomaly
Zane activated MemorySync.
The fragments slowed. He saw patterns—failed coin fusions, rejected skills, broken HUDs. He reached out, channeling energy from the Genesis and Echo Coins.
The Glitch Coin cracked.
Then reformed.
Trial Complete. Glitch Coin Stabilized.
Zane gasped as the void faded.
He was back in Tier 2.
His HUD updated.
[PLAYER STATUS: ZANE KAEL]
Level: 6
New Skill: Glitch Surge
Coin Balance: 1.00 (Genesis), 1.00 (Whisper), 1.00 (Echo), 1.00 (Glitch)
Inventory: Null Dagger, Coin Fragment ×12
System Note: Anomaly Layer Unlocked
The air around him shifted.
Players nearby froze.
And above him, a new icon blinked:
[System Alert: Coinmaster anomaly detected]
Watchers dispatched
Zane looked up.
Three cloaked figures hovered above the tier— masked, silent, watching.
The same ones from the Lore Layer.
But this time… they weren't just observing.
They were descending.