Chapter 121: The Volcano of Infinite Loops and the Time-Glitch
The transition from the sunken, logical waters to the 'Volcano of Infinite Loops' was like jumping from a refrigerator into a blast furnace. This wasn't a normal volcano; the lava didn't flow downward, it flowed in circular rings around the peak, resetting every ten seconds.
"Wait... didn't I just step over this rock?" Aki asked, pausing as he looked at a jagged basalt stone. He stepped over it again. And then, ten seconds later, he found himself standing back in front of the same rock. "Von! The world is broken! I'm walking but I'm going nowhere! It's like a treadmill made of fire!"
Von (Volt) stood still, his eyes closed, feeling the temporal distortions. "The Node Beta is using a 'Time-Loop' protocol to protect itself. Every ten seconds, the local reality resets to its previous state. If we don't break the cycle, we'll be stuck on this slope until the sun dies."
Rena was sweating, her emerald robes singed at the edges. "It's not just the path, Von. Our memories are starting to loop too. I've said this exact sentence four times already, haven't I?"
"Five, actually," Sai grumbled, leaning on his shield. "And I've wiped the sweat from my forehead fifty times. My arm is getting tired of the same movement."
[TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED: Loop Duration: 10 Seconds. Reset Count: 842. Warning: Prolonged exposure may lead to 'Data-Degradation' of the soul.]
The Strategy of the Glitched Luck
Aki pulled out the 'Luck Algorithm' crystal. It was glowing a frantic, pulsating red. "Hey, if I'm a 'Manifestation of RNG,' maybe I can introduce a random variable that the loop can't predict!"
"Do it now, Aki!" Von ordered. "Before the next reset!"
Aki didn't just activate the crystal; he threw it directly into a pool of looping lava. "Come on, give me a 'Critical Success'!"
The crystal hit the lava, and instead of resetting, the fire turned a chaotic shade of violet. The 10-second timer on the system interface began to glitch, jumping from 3 seconds to 99, then back to 0.
"The loop is breaking!" Rena shouted. "Run! While the time-stream is tangled!"
They sprinted up the slope. But the volcano had its own defense. From the lava emerged 'Temporal Sentinels'—warriors made of obsidian who moved at three different speeds simultaneously. One second they were a mile away, the next they were swinging a blade at your throat.
Sai stepped forward, blocking a strike that hadn't even happened yet. "I can't see them! They're everywhere and nowhere!"
"Don't look with your eyes, Sai!" Von roared, his twilight sword erupting in flames. "Look at the shadows! The shadows don't loop, they only follow the light!"
The Battle of the Peak
Von moved like a blur. He wasn't fighting the Sentinels; he was fighting the time they occupied. Every swing of his blade cut through a different second of the loop.
Slash. A Sentinel from 5 seconds ago vanished.
Thrust. A Sentinel from 2 seconds in the future was shattered before it could spawn.
Aki, meanwhile, was experiencing 'Time-Drunkenness.' He would trip, fall, and then find himself standing up again before he even hit the ground. "This is great! I'm invincible! I can't fail because the world forgets my mistakes every ten seconds!"
He used this to his advantage, sprinting through a hail of obsidian arrows. If an arrow hit him, he just waited for the 10-second reset to heal the wound instantly. "I'm the 'Invincible Thief'! Fear me, you overgrown rocks!"
But Von knew the danger. "Aki! Stop! If you're at the center of the loop when I destroy the Node, the world won't reset your wounds anymore! You'll be stuck with every injury you've taken in the last hour!"
Aki froze. He looked at his arm, which had about twenty 'reset' arrow grazes. "Oh... that would be a very painful way to end the day. Right! Moving faster now!"
Capturing Node Beta
They reached the summit. Node Beta was a massive, rotating clockwork gear made of molten gold, suspended over the crater. It was the heart of the time-loop.
Von didn't smash it. He used the 'Luck Algorithm' to inject a sequence of prime numbers—the only numbers a binary system can't easily divide.
The gear groaned. The ticking sound that had been echoing in their heads stopped. The lava fell back into the crater, and the air suddenly turned cold.
"Loop... terminated," Rena whispered, falling to her knees in exhaustion.
Aki checked his pockets. "And I still have my cheese! And my limbs! Today is a good day!