Chapter 127: The Admin's Sandbox and the Army of Feathered Terror
The valley was silent after the Architect's retreat, but the air still hummed with the residue of 'Static Energy'. Aki sat on a rock, staring at his right arm. The glowing circuitry patterns weren't just on his skin; they felt like they were part of his nervous system. Every time he blinked, he saw a flickering 'Command Console' in the corner of his vision.
"Aki, be careful," Rena cautioned, keeping her distance. "You're not just a thief who found a key anymore. You are a 'Write-Enabled Entity'. If you think too hard about something, you might accidentally manifest it into reality."
"Oh, come on, Rena! How hard can it be?" Aki grinned, though his hand was still shaking. "It's like being the Mayor, but instead of taxes, I control the physics! Watch this. I'm going to spawn a small snack. Just a simple, non-magical apple."
Aki closed his eyes and concentrated. He pictured a red, juicy apple. He saw the 'File Name' in his mind: Item_Food_Apple_01. He whispered, "Execute."
POP.
Instead of an apple, a three-foot-tall chicken with glowing blue eyes and a miniature suit of plate armor appeared on the rock next to him. It let out a metallic squawk and performed a perfect military salute.
"Uh... Aki?" Sai asked, slowly drawing his shield. "Why is that bird wearing a helmet? And why is it looking at me like I owe it money?"
"I... I think I had a typo in the code," Aki stammered, his golden eyes flickering. "I was thinking about 'Apples' but then I remembered that 'Fried Chicken' I had in Twilight City, and then I thought about Sai's armor... and... well, meet Unit_Soldier_Poultry_01."
The Glitch in the Food Chain
"Delete it, Aki! Before it does something!" Rena shouted.
Aki tried to find the 'Delete' command in his mind, but the more he panicked, the more his thoughts spiraled. "I can't! Every time I try to think of 'Delete,' I think of 'Duplicate'!"
POP. POP. POP. POP.
Within seconds, the valley was filled with a hundred armored chickens. They began to march in perfect formation, their tiny metal boots clinking against the stone. One of them even started playing a tiny trumpet.
Von (Volt) watched the scene with an expression that was half-impressed and half-horrified. "Aki, you've just created a 'Script-Error Army.' If an Admin sees this, they'll think the server has finally lost its mind."
"I'm working on it! I'm working on it!" Aki yelled, his hands glowing gold. "Wait... I see the 'Group Settings.' If I change their 'Aggression Level' from 'Neutral' to 'Defender,' they might actually be useful!"
The Ambush of the Void-Stalkers
Aki's timing couldn't have been better. From the shadows of the gray mountains, a pack of 'Void-Stalkers' emerged—beasts sent by the remaining Admins to recover the Key. These creatures were made of pitch-black liquid and had no eyes, only mouths filled with glowing white code.
"Target identified," the Stalkers hissed in unison.
"Chickens! Form a perimeter!" Aki roared, pointing his glowing arm at the beasts.
The armored chickens didn't hesitate. With a collective "BWA-KAA!", they charged. It was a sight that defied all logic: high-level void monsters being pecked to death by a hundred tactical birds. The chickens were fast, their beaks reinforced with 'Admin-Tier' sharpness.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Sai said, watching a chicken perform a backflip-kick onto a monster's face, "but those birds are better warriors than the City Guard."
The Master of the Console
As the battle raged, Von stepped toward Aki. "Aki, don't just watch. Feel the flow. The Key isn't just a tool for making jokes. It's a bridge. If you can tap into the 'Mainframe,' we can see where the other Architects are hiding."
Aki nodded, his face turning serious. He sat down and 'plugged' his mind into the reality around him. He saw the 'World Map'—not as a drawing, but as a massive, glowing network of data.
"I see them, Von," Aki whispered, his voice echoing. "There are seven of them. The 'Council of Architects.' They aren't in this world. They are in the 'Root Directory'—a space between dimensions. And they're preparing a 'Full System Format'."
"A format?" Rena gasped. "That would mean... everything. The people, the cities, our memories... everything would be erased to start over."
"Not on my watch," Von said, his violet eyes meeting Aki's golden ones. "Aki, can you open a portal? Can a 'Living Admin' break into the Root?"
Aki looked at the golden Key, now deeply embedded in his palm. "I can. гэت... but it's a one-way trip. Once we enter the Root, we are no longer 'Characters.' We are 'Variables.' If we die there, there is no respawn. No ghost. Just... Null."
The Final Decision
Sai looked at his shield, then at his friends. "I was a soldier who followed orders. Then I was a rebel who followed a King. Now... I'm just a man who wants his home to stay real. Let's go."
Rena gripped her staff. "The world is finally beautiful without the System. I won't let them turn it back into a math equation."
Aki stood up, his army of chickens standing at attention behind him. "Alright then. Next stop: The Root Directory. And I promise... no more chickens. Maybe."
Aki raised his hand, and the air in front of them began to tear open, revealing a bright, glowing white void that led to the heart of creation.