Riko ran, Luna clutched tight in his arms, the road dissolving into nothing behind them.
He wasn't thinking, not really. No time for plans, or even being scared. The ground shook again, cracks shooting out like lightning strikes. Weird blocky shapes popped up and vanished. He grabbed Luna, one arm under her legs, the other supporting her back, all in one smooth motion.
"Riko—HEY—what are you doing?!" Luna yelled, grabbing onto his shoulders.
"Running!" he snapped back.
He jumped off the crumbling street just as the part behind them turned into a pixelated void. Luna gasped as the world fell apart right where she'd been standing. Riko's legs moved on their own, fueled by panic, adrenaline, and who knows what kind of weird energy his character stats kept giving him.
The road behind them exploded. Pieces of street flew everywhere. Riko dodged the glitching lampposts and jumped over the floating cubes. Luna held on tighter, shouting something he couldn't hear over the crazy static noise.
Riko glanced back, and instantly regretted it.
The boss was still coming.
The huge monster ripped itself out of the collapsing area, roaring so loud it hurt. Its claws dug into the ground, holding on even as the street turned into pixels under its feet. It charged forward, smashing through the falling mess like a tank.
Riko's eyes went wide. "It's—HOW is it so FAST?!"
"It's BIGGER THAN A BUS, RIKO!" Luna screamed in his ear. "It doesn't need to be fast, it just needs to BE a bus!"
The monster crashed through a row of half-destroyed buildings, chunks of walls exploded as the boss bulldozed through. Its roar echoed through the collapsing area.
The ground shifted again. A section of the street rose up like a ramp, then collapsed into pixel sand. Riko jumped the gap, barely making it as cubes swirled below.
Luna's voice shook. "Riko, if you drop me I'm haunting you FOREVER!"
"I WON'T DROP YOU!"
"You almost tripped on that cube—"
"That cube shouldn't even BE there!"
Another tremor went through the street. A building to their left twisted unnaturally, and then it fell sideways, crashing into the road and sending pieces of blocks flying everywhere.
Riko ducked, sliding under a falling piece of the building with Luna screaming.
The boss didn't duck.
It smashed right through the collapsing building. A massive cube hit its shoulder and exploded. The thing snarled and charged even faster.
Riko's lungs burned. His legs ached. But he kept running.
"WHERE are we even going?!" Luna yelled, gasping for air.
"Away!" he yelled back.
"That's not a plan!"
"THEN COME UP WITH ONE!"
"PUT ME DOWN AND I MIGHT!"
Another burst of light exploded behind them as a big intersection fell apart. The boss jumped over the gap.
Riko stumbled. Luna grabbed tighter. He forced himself to keep going.
A traffic light flickered above them, turned into floating cubes, and vanished.
Riko dodged left, hiding behind an overturned truck. The ground cracked under it, the truck sinking into the weirdness before freezing. Riko used the truck as cover, running around it.
The boss slammed into the truck a second later.
The truck exploded.
Luna choked. "It's not slowing down at all."
"Yeah," Riko said, "I noticed!"
He jumped over another crack, landing on a solid piece of ground. But when he pushed off again, his foot almost went through as the ground glitched out under him. Luna yelped as he lost his balance.
He held Luna tighter. "Okay, new plan—lighter steps!"
"Are you calling me heavy?"
"I'M CALLING THE FLOOR UNRELIABLE!"
A garbage bin turned into a giant cube right in front of them. Riko barely dodged it. The boss plowed through the mess behind them, getting closer with every step. Its breath blew dust and static past their heads.
Luna peeked over Riko's shoulder. "It's RIGHT THERE!"
"I KNOW IT'S RIGHT THERE!"
"It's like THREE METERS AWAY!"
"I DON'T NEED A PLAY BY PLAY!"
The street ahead began to crack and break apart. The glitch was spreading faster now. The air vibrated.
Riko's muscles screamed. He was seeing spots. But he held Luna tighter and ran faster.
"Almost—almost—come on, come on—"
The ground right in front of them disappeared. Riko jumped without thinking. They landed on the other side, stumbling into an alley.
He collapsed behind a row of dumpsters, gasping for air. Luna slid out of his arms.
"Okay… okay, that was… that was—ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED?!"
"I SAVED YOU!" Riko argued.
"You almost saved me INTO THE VOID!"
The boss roared behind them, smashing through the collapsing street as it looked for them.
Riko leaned against the wall, sweating. His chest hurt. His arms shook. But he stood up straight, checking the rooftops.
Luna blinked. "Riko… look."
She pointed up.
On a rooftop at the end of the alley, a figure stood still, cloak flapping.
Riko froze.
A dark figure watched them from above.