WebNovels

Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: Viral Anomaly

I sat on the bench in the safe room. Chest still burned. The implant warning had faded. But the heat lingered. Like a brand under my skin.

Lyra paced. Slow steps. "We bought time. Debt's clear. But the System's message was clear. No more safe pockets. They're coming harder."

Kira checked the healing station again. Green light swept over me. "Stability's holding at four. Barely. One more hallucination and you're done."

Elara sat cross-legged on the floor. Eyes on the door. "The chorus. That's what they called it. In my loops. When the System tests groups. It spawns waves. Personalized. Pulls from everyone's fears."

I rubbed my temples. "Great. So we're a walking buffet now."

Lyra stopped pacing. "We can't hide forever. Forums are exploding. Your name's everywhere. Clips from the crypt. The guardian fight. People calling you glitch king. Cheat. Hero. Dead man."

She pulled up a shared overlay. Holographic feed floated between us.

Titles scrolled fast.

"Anomaly spotted in East Ruins – Bounty 15k and climbing"

"Lyra Voss teams with glitch? Rank drop incoming?"

"New class or hack? System breaking?"

Comments flooded underneath. Thousands.

"Bro that Overwrite is insane. Teach me."

"Report him. Ruins the grind."

"Anyone hunting? Split the bounty?"

One post caught my eye. Verified high-rank tag. "Spotted anomaly team in upper ruins. Coordinates attached. 20k for proof of kill. Guild backing."

Lyra closed the feed. "They're coming. Fast. We need to move. Higher floor. Lose the tail."

I stood. Legs steadier now. "Then we move. But first… we use the momentum. Viral means eyes. Eyes mean distractions. We draw them in. Farm while they chase ghosts."

Kira frowned. "You want to bait them?"

"Exactly. Let the hunters come. We pick the battlefield. Control the fight. Level up. Credits. Gear. Stability recovery items if we're lucky."

Elara looked up. "There's a seasonal event node nearby. Labyrinth floor. Rewriting traps. High risk. High reward. I died there often. But the shortcuts… I know them."

Lyra smirked. "You're turning into a real strategist, anomaly boy. Fine. Labyrinth it is. But we set rules. No solo heroics. No pushing Stability past zero."

I nodded. "Deal."

We left the safe room. Back into the ruins. Air felt charged. Like static before lightning.

The path to the labyrinth twisted upward. Broken stairs. Collapsing bridges. We moved careful. Quiet.

Halfway up, voices echoed below.

"Over here! Coordinates say they went this way!"

"20k split four ways. Easy money."

Lyra cursed under her breath. "Hunters already. Faster than I thought."

I glanced back. Four players. Mid-rank gear. Swords out. One had a scanner drone buzzing ahead.

Kira whispered. "We can't fight here. Too open."

Elara pointed left. "Side vent. Narrow. They can't follow easy."

We ducked in. Tight squeeze. Stone scraped armor. Drone buzzed closer.

I triggered Rollback. Three seconds. Put us back at the entrance. Hunters still below. Confused.

We slipped through. Faster now.

The labyrinth entrance appeared. Massive stone arch. Runes glowed red. Warning text hovered.

"Seasonal Event: Maze of Echoes. Traps rewrite mid-run. Death penalty doubled. Rewards tripled."

Lyra read it aloud. "Perfect. High stakes. Just what we need."

We stepped through.

Darkness swallowed us. Then light. Walls shifted. Stone to metal to glass. Paths forked. Forked again.

First trap triggered. Floor dropped. Spikes rose.

I Overwrote the tag. Lethal Drop → Harmless Pit. Floor sealed. Safe.

Stability three.

Hallucinations flickered. Mom's face again. Smiling. Then gone.

I shook it off.

We pushed deeper.

Second fork. Walls closed in. Crushing trap.

Lyra slashed. Blue swords cut stone. Bought time.

I Overwrote again. Crushing Walls → Slow Compress. Walls slowed. We slipped through.

Stability two.

Whispers louder. "You're breaking, Aren. Stop fighting."

Kira healed. "Your bar's red. We need to stop."

"No," I said. "Almost to the center. Big reward there."

We reached the heart chamber. Huge dome. Center pedestal. Glowing orb. Reward chest.

But the trap was alive.

Walls pulsed. Echoes of our voices bounced back. Distorted.

"Failure."

"Glitch."

"Contain."

Faces appeared in the stone. Ours. Screaming.

Guardian formed. Not one. Three. Copies of us. Twisted. Lyra's copy had dead eyes. Kira's had cracked staff. Mine… mine had Stability zero. Hollow.

They charged.

Lyra met her copy. Swords clashed. Blue sparks.

Kira threw barriers. Blocked hits.

Elara darted. Dagger flashing. Hit my copy's leg.

I faced mine. Hollow eyes stared back.

It spoke. My voice. "Give up. You're already gone."

I swung. Sword met sword. Sparks.

I dodged. Rolled. Stabbed.

It countered. Fast. Too fast.

Health dropped. Forty percent.

I Rollbacked. Rewound. Tried again.

Stability one.

Whispers screamed. "Last chance. Stop."

I ignored them.

Overwrote the copy's tag. Hollow Anomaly → Fragile Echo.

It cracked. Shattered.

The other copies faltered.

Lyra finished hers. Blue slash through the chest.

Kira healed us all. Green light flooded.

Elara stabbed the last one. It dissolved.

The dome quieted.

Chest opened.

Rewards poured out.

Credits. Gear upgrades. Stability potion. Rare.

I drank the potion first.

Stability jumped to twenty-five.

Relief hit hard.

But the forum alert pinged.

New post. Viral.

"Anomaly team clears Maze of Echoes. Live clip attached. Bounty now 30k."

Comments exploded.

"They're OP."

"Cheaters."

"I'm joining the hunt."

Lyra closed the alert. "We're legends now. And targets."

Kira smiled weak. "At least we're rich."

Elara looked at me. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Better. For now."

Then the private message flashed.

Unknown sender.

"Impressive. You survived the echoes. Now face the choir."

Attached: new waypoint. Deeper floor.

And a live feed.

My apartment.

Collectors gone.

But the black code figure still stood there.

Visor red.

It raised a hand.

Typed in the air.

Words appeared on my overlay.

"Time's up, anomaly. Log out. Or we come in."

The feed cut.

I stared at the team.

They looked back.

Waiting.

My choice.

Push deeper.

Or face whatever waited in the real world.

More Chapters