THE TRAP OF NULL

Our heroes entered the final and enormous room. Before them, Null stood, locked in combat with Sting, who was clearly struggling.

"Sting!!" Ken and Rick's voices echoed through the chamber.

Null, however, merely glanced at the arriving group, completely ignoring Sting's desperate attempts to attack. A smirk played on his lips. "I never expected you to make it this far," he drawled, his gaze lingering on them. "This little fly," he gestured dismissively at Sting, "has been foolishly tailing me in the shadows ever since the encounter with Sharon. You lot, stay out of this."

With a casual flick of his wrist, Null made our heroes vanish into thin air.

"Where did you take them?!" Sting roared, his voice laced with fury and desperation.

Null chuckled, a dark and chilling sound. "It shouldn't concern you, little shadow," he said, his eyes glinting with amusement. "But I'll indulge your curiosity. I've sent them all to different dimensional cubes. Shimmon and Rick are together, Haytham with Ken, and Saland and Christy are each facing their own trials. In each cube, there's a 'glitch' tailored specifically for them. But," his smile widened, a predatory edge to it, "for Haytham, there's a special surprise waiting."

Sting's rage boiled over. With a guttural cry, he lunged at Null, his white sword a blur of motion. But Null simply raised a hand, and his fingers pierced through Sting's chest as if it were air.

A strange smile bloomed on Sting's face, even as Null's hand remained embedded in his body. "You think you've killed me?" he rasped, his voice gaining an eerie, ethereal quality. "You know nothing of the power of shadow."

In the blink of an eye, Sting's form shimmered and dissolved, becoming one with the very shadows of the room. Null's hand passed harmlessly through the space Sting had occupied. Like a phantom, Sting moved, his shadowy form passing through Null's attack and materializing just long enough to leave a thin scratch on Null's cheek, which instantly healed.

A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Null's face. "Not bad," he conceded, a hint of respect in his tone. "But tricks like that always have a weakness. Yours is that I can't directly strike your incorporeal form. However," his eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint appearing, "what if I channel energy into my attacks? Let's see..."

Null shifted his stance, his right arm beginning to glow with a dark, crackling energy. Yet, when he lunged, he struck Sting with his unenergized arm. The blow passed right through the shadowy form. Before Null could react, Sting attempted to retaliate, his shadowy tendrils lashing out. But Null was swift. With a sudden, lightning-fast punch from his energized arm, he slammed Sting in the face.

Sting was sent hurtling across the room, crashing into a wall and slumping to the ground, unconscious.

"A useful ability," Null mused, retracting his hand and watching Sting's fallen form. "But one that won't save you forever."

With a silent command, a chair of swirling darkness materialized beneath Null, and he settled into it with an air of dark regality. From the floor beside him, a holographic monitor shimmered into existence, displaying four distinct feeds, each showing one of the separated groups facing their own trials.

The first feed focused on Saland. He stood within a stark, dark cube. Before him materialized a bizarre glitch – a completely gray, featureless humanoid figure. It possessed no discernible face, only a smooth, blank expanse where eyes, nose, and mouth should have been. In its hand, it held a simple, unadorned sword.

Saland's eyes flashed with determination. He activated his Elf Dive Pure Light, and a radiant aura enveloped him. He moved with blinding speed, launching a relentless assault on the glitch from every conceivable angle. For a fleeting moment, the glitch seemed overwhelmed, struggling to keep pace with Saland's devastating velocity. But slowly, almost imperceptibly, the glitch began to adapt, learning and predicting Saland's movements. Saland tried to exploit blind spots, shifting his attacks, but the glitch's learning curve was unnervingly rapid.

The glitch, which had been mostly stationary, suddenly shifted its stance. To Saland's astonishment, it began to mirror his speed, its movements becoming eerily synchronized with his own. Then, with a sudden burst of speed that matched Saland's, the glitch managed to land a blow, a sharp, stinging cut across Saland's arm.

Panic began to flicker in Saland's eyes. He didn't know what to do. Desperation fueled his next move. He unleashed his X Light, a concentrated beam of pure energy, but the glitch effortlessly parried it with its sword. Thinking quickly, Saland attempted a new technique, conjuring multiple spheres of light and launching them at the glitch with tremendous force. The glitch deftly dodged and sliced through the projectiles with its sword. Then, with an impossible swiftness, it closed the distance and delivered a deep gash across Saland's chest. Saland stumbled backward, collapsing to the ground. He pushed himself up with difficulty, clutching his bleeding chest, and muttered, "This one... is truly strong."

The next feed showed Shimmon and Rick facing their own challenge. Within their dark cube stood another glitch – an anthropomorphic figure, this one powerfully built, with bulging muscles and the same unsettling gray skin and featureless face.

Shimmon stared intently at the glitch, a strange expression on his face. Rick, mistaking his comrade's focus for hesitation, nudged him. "What are you doing!? Don't just gawk at our opponent, get ready to fight!"

Shimmon blinked, his gaze still fixed on the glitch. "But... it possesses a rather intriguing aesthetic. How can I not be interested?"

Rick shot him a bewildered look before delivering a sharp chop to the back of Shimmon's head. But Shimmon reacted instantly, catching Rick's hand with surprising speed. "Alright, alright," Shimmon said, a playful grin spreading across his face. "Now I'm ready."

The two allies took their stances. Shimmon exploded forward in a lightning-fast dash, his fist connecting with the glitch's chest with a resounding thud. The glitch stumbled backward. Rick followed up with a flying kick, but the glitch effortlessly parried the blow, its grip like iron as it seized Rick's leg. With a powerful heave, it hurled Rick towards Shimmon, who caught him in his arms.

Shimmon gently set Rick down, winking playfully before turning his attention back to the glitch. He launched another swift attack, aiming a punch, but the glitch parried and retaliated with a powerful blow to Shimmon's face. Shimmon stood his ground, absorbing the impact, and unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of punches. The glitch managed to block most of the strikes before delivering a devastating punch that sent Shimmon skidding backward.

"Conventional techniques won't work against this one," Shimmon grunted, wiping blood from his lip. "I'll have to use my secret technique, the one I learned after the fight with the black dragon! Dragon Arm Mode!"

His right arm began to transform. The skin darkened and hardened, growing larger and thicker, covered in sharp, golden and silver dragon scale spikes. His hand expanded, his fingers elongating into sharp, golden claws. Shimmon took a low stance, his draconic arm radiating a potent golden aura that visibly intimidated the glitch.

Rick, though surprised by the sudden transformation, also powered up, his own aura flaring.

Shimmon shot forward, a blur of motion. His left arm shot out, blocking the glitch's anticipated counterattack, while his draconic arm slammed into the glitch repeatedly. The enhanced arm granted Shimmon increased speed and strength, but the glitch was quickly adapting to his movements. Closing the distance, Shimmon channeled all his power into his draconic arm, unleashing a devastating punch to the glitch's chest that nearly sent it crashing to the ground.

But the muscular glitch, surprisingly resilient, staggered back to its feet. A powerful aura erupted from its body, an oppressive force that made both Shimmon and Rick uneasy. With a terrifying burst of speed, the glitch lunged at Shimmon, who couldn't react in time and was struck hard in the stomach. The force of the blow sent Shimmon flying backward. The glitch then turned its attention to Rick, who managed to raise his arms in a last-second parry, but the glitch followed up with a brutal kick that knocked him unconscious.

Shimmon, bruised and battered, struggled to rise. "How... how can I possibly defeat a monster like this...?" he gasped.

The third feed showed Christy within her own dark cube. Facing her was another gray, anthropomorphic glitch, this one wielding a long, slender spear.

Christy surveyed her opponent with a confident smirk. "Is that all? I would have expected better." She took a fighting stance, and a vibrant green aura erupted around her as she activated Quantum Unlock.

She moved with incredible speed towards the glitch, her initial attack met by the glitch's swift parry. But Christy was relentless, following up with a sharp kick to the glitch's featureless face. The kick connected, empowered by Quantum Unlock, but to Christy's surprise, the glitch seemed completely unfazed. With a sudden, lightning-fast thrust of its spear, the glitch grazed Christy's side, drawing blood.

Christy's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly regained her composure. Focusing her mana, she created swirling currents of energy around her hands and launched a series of rapid, precise strikes at the glitch. However, the glitch was slowly but surely adapting to Christy's techniques. It began to rotate its spear with increasing speed, creating a defensive whirlwind. Then, with a sudden, powerful sweep, the spear slammed into Christy's stomach, sending her crashing to the ground.

Gasping for air, Christy pushed herself up, her body aching. "This glitch... it's truly strong," she admitted, her earlier confidence wavering.

The final feed displayed Haytham and Ken's predicament. Within their dark cube, however, they didn't face a typical glitch. Instead, standing before them was someone resembling a player, cloaked in a black mantle with a hood that obscured most of his features. A few strands of black hair peeked out from under the hood. He wore a black mask that distorted his voice, and his eyes glowed with an unsettling red light. In his hand, he held a katana with a stark black blade and a deep blue hilt.

Ken and Haytham immediately adopted combat stances, their senses on high alert. Ken moved first, launching a swift attack towards the mysterious swordsman. Their blades clashed, sparks flying in the dim light. Surprisingly, the masked figure conjured black flames that erupted from his katana, swirling around the dark blade. He struck at Ken, who managed to parry with his own sword, but the force of the blow sent him stumbling backward.

Haytham, having observed his opponent's movements, activated his ability, slowing down time around himself. Moving at an impossible speed, he closed the distance, his blade aimed at the swordsman's neck. But with an equally astonishing reaction time, the masked figure parried Haytham's strike and unleashed a swirling vortex of black fire.

Haytham was forced to retreat, the intense heat radiating from the flames making him wary. He then launched a frontal assault. When the swordsman parried his blade, Haytham swiftly drew his pistol, aiming a shot. But the masked figure tilted his head, the energy beam narrowly missing, and with his free left hand, delivered a fiery punch to Haytham's chest, sending him reeling back towards Ken.

"We need to fight at our best," Haytham said, his voice strained, "and together!"

Ken nodded grimly, his hand gripping his sword tightly. They stood side-by-side, ready to face the enigmatic foe.

Back in his dark chamber, Null watched the unfolding battles with a cruel amusement. "You've all improved considerably," he murmured, his red eyes gleaming. "It's true. But without the unlock... you are all ultimately worthless to me."