The Trial of Faith

The Glitched Garden was a sanctuary Cipher had built in the early days of the server, a place where he tested physics engines. Now, it was a nightmare.

Waterfalls flowed upward into a sky of jagged polygons. Flowers bloomed in bursts of pixelated static. The air smelled of ozone and burning plastic.

Cipher walked through the tall grass, which flickered between green and bright pink. Thorne walked close beside him, shield raised. Vesper trailed behind, watching the distortions with a mix of horror and fascination.

"The physics here are offensive," Vesper muttered, poking a floating rock. "Gravity is a suggestion."

"Stay close," Cipher ordered. "The corruption has spawned a Behemoth."

As if on cue, the ground shook.

From the center of the garden, a monstrosity erupted. It was a dragon, but wrong. Its head was missing textures, appearing as a smooth grey blob. Its wings were elongated triangles that clipped through the trees.

**[ENEMY: CORRUPTED\_DATA\_BEHEMOTH]**

**[LEVEL: ERROR]**

It roared—a sound like a modem screeching amplified ten thousand times.

"For the Architect!" Thorne bellowed.

The Paladin charged. He activated *[Holy Smite]*, his sword glowing with blinding gold light. He slammed into the Behemoth’s leg, carving a deep gash into the code.

The Behemoth lashed out with a tail that moved too fast, skipping frames. It struck Thorne, sending him flying into a tree.

"Thorne!" Cipher shouted.

Thorne scrambled up, blood—red pixels that resolved into liquid—streaming from his forehead. "I am whole! Do not fear!"

He charged again. He was Level 80. The Behemoth was effectively Level 150. It was suicide.

Cipher watched, his heart hammering. He needed to see it. He needed to see if Thorne was more than just a combat script. *Run,* Cipher thought. *Realize you can't win and run.*

Thorne didn't run. He threw himself between Cipher and the monster’s breath attack—a stream of white deletion code.

"Shield Wall!" Thorne screamed.

A golden barrier erupted. The white code hit it, cracking the shield instantly. Thorne groaned, his armor buckling under the pressure.

"Why?" Cipher whispered. "You can't stop it."

"Because you are my King!" Thorne gritted out, his knees buckling. "My life is currency to be spent for yours!"

Cipher felt a wave of nausea. It wasn't bravery. It was programming. *[Loyalty: Absolute].* Thorne literally could not choose self-preservation.

"Enough," Cipher said.

He raised his hand. He didn't cast a spell. He accessed the Admin Console.

**[DELETE TARGET.]**

Cipher snapped his fingers.

The Behemoth vanished instantly. No death animation. No loot drop. It just ceased to exist.

Thorne collapsed, gasping for air. The golden shield faded. He looked up at Cipher with wet, adoring eyes. "Your power... it is limitless. I am unworthy to stand in your shadow."

Cipher walked over and knelt beside him. He touched the dent in Thorne’s breastplate. It was his fault. He had coded Thorne to be this way. Saving Thorne would be like saving a favorite dog. It was selfish. It was safe.

"You fought well," Cipher said, his voice hollow.

Vesper walked out from behind a tree. She looked at the spot where the monster had vanished. Then she looked at Cipher’s hand.

"You didn't cast a spell," she said quietly. "You just... turned it off."

Cipher stood up. "Let's move. The corruption is spreading."