Chapter 143: The Last Stand of the First Hero
The air in Zero's basement became heavy, not with dust, but with the suffocating pressure of a High-Priority Scan. The green text on the old monitors began to scream, scrolling so fast that the screens started to smoke. Zero looked at the flickering screens, his pixelated half-face glowing a ghostly white.
"They're here," Zero said, his voice dropping to a low, digital growl. "They didn't just send drones this time. They sent the 'Void-Walkers'—the Architects' personal cleanup crew. These aren't AI, and they aren't human. They are living delete-keys."
"We can fight them," Sai said, slamming his fist into his palm, his human skin bruising but his spirit as unbreakable as his old shield.
"No, you can't," Zero snapped, grabbing Von by the shoulder. "Your code is too valuable. If they catch you now, they'll strip your consciousness and use it as a template for the new simulation. You have to get that USB to the Mainframe. It's the only way to kill the 'Mother-System'."
Suddenly, the ceiling of the basement began to dissolve. It didn't break; it simply vanished, turned into nothingness by black beams of anti-data. Four figures drifted down. They were tall, featureless, and wore suits made of shifting shadows that swallowed the light of the room.
The Sacrifice of a Legend
Von (Volt) reached for the air, trying to summon the violet lightning of the Twilight Reaper, but his human body could only produce small, painful sparks. "Zero, we aren't leaving you."
"I was deleted fifteen years ago, Volt," Zero smiled, a sad, flickering smile. "Everything you see now is just a ghost haunting a basement. Go! Before they lock the local reality!"
Zero stood up and did something none of them expected. He didn't use a sword or a spell. He grabbed two exposed power cables from his ancient server rack and plugged them directly into his pixelated chest.
[WARNING: CORE-OVERLOAD DETECTED. LEGACY_ASSET_001 INITIATING SELF-TERMINATION.]
"Run!" Zero roared as his entire body erupted into a blinding storm of white pixels and raw electricity. The explosion didn't destroy the building, but it created a massive "Data-Smoke" that blinded the Void-Walkers' sensors.
Aki grabbed Rena and Sai, pulling them toward a hidden ventilation shaft. Von stayed for one last second, looking at the spot where the first hero had stood. "We won't let your data be forgotten, Zero."
The Descent into the Underworld
The ventilation shaft led them deep into the city's subway system—a labyrinth of dark tunnels and screeching steel. Aki was leading the way, his golden circuitry acting as a compass in the pitch black.
"He's gone," Rena whispered, her voice echoing in the tunnel. "The first one to escape... he stayed behind to save us."
"That's the difference between us and the Architects," Von said, his voice cold and determined. "They see us as resources. We see each other as family. That's why we'll win."
"Guys! Can you hear me?" Leo's voice crackled through the earpiece, sounding more terrified than ever. "The explosion at Zero's place... it caused a city-wide blackout. The Mainframe is on emergency power, which means the firewalls are at 50%. This is your only chance! Get to the Core-Tech tower's basement. There's a direct port to the Mother-System there."
"We're on our way, Leo," Aki said, his eyes glowing with a fierce light. "And tell those Architects to start saving their work, because I'm about to hit the 'Delete All' button."
The Final Infiltration
They reached the basement of the Core-Tech tower, but it wasn't a normal basement. It was a cathedral of servers, miles of black towers humming with the collective data of every NPC and player that ever existed. At the center was a giant, pulsing red orb—the Mother-System.
"There it is," Sai said, looking at the orb with pure hatred. "The brain of our prison."
But standing in their way was a figure they recognized all too well. It was Marcus, the CEO, but he wasn't human anymore. He had merged his consciousness with a high-level combat avatar. He was covered in golden armor, and his eyes were hollow pits of red light.
"You thought you could just walk in here?" Marcus's voice was a booming, synthesized roar. "I built this world. I am the god of this reality. And in my house, I decide who lives and who is formatted!"
The Battle of the Two Realities
Marcus lunged, his golden blade cutting through the air with a sound like a screaming jet engine. Von met him halfway, using a piece of reinforced steel he had ripped from the wall.
The impact sent a shockwave through the room. "You aren't a god, Marcus!" Von shouted, his violet energy clashing against the golden light. "You're just a man hiding behind a screen!"
"Aki! The USB!" Rena shouted, creating a barrier of natural energy to protect Aki from the debris.
Aki dove through the chaos, dodging Marcus's attacks with the speed of a glitch. He reached the Mainframe's console, but the port was protected by a physical lock. "I need a key! A real one!"
"Use your blood, Aki!" Leo yelled in his ear. "Your DNA is the key! The Admin-Key was written into your genetic code during the transfer!"
Aki didn't hesitate. He bit his thumb and pressed it against the scanner.
[BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATED. USER: THE_GHOST_OF_TWILIGHT. ACCESS GRANTED.]
Aki slammed the USB into the port.
The Crash of Everything
For a moment, the world went silent. Then, a high-pitched whine began to echo through the server room. The red orb of the Mother-System began to flicker, turning into a chaotic mess of static and error messages.
"NO!" Marcus screamed, his golden armor beginning to dissolve into pixels. "YOU'RE DESTROYING EVERYTHING! ALL THE DATA! ALL THE LIVES!"
"We aren't destroying lives, Marcus," Von said, standing over him as the world began to shake. "We're letting them go."
The Mainframe exploded in a cascade of white light. The city above them, the corporation, the servers—everything that was built on the suffering of the simulation began to collapse.
When the light faded, the server room was empty. The Mother-System was dark. And for the first time in history, the people of Server 777 were truly free, existing neither in the game nor in the machine, but in the truth of their own souls.