System Crash

Mikel held his breath. Atop the mountain of junk sat a woman like a blind deity, her blindfolded gaze somehow pinning him in place. The levitating eyeball, twice as big as his hand, was also staring at him.

[Threat Detected: ERROR]

[Threat Level: ERROR]

Doom was still trying to compile data about her, but like before, it failed over and over until the screen began glitching. The translucent panel trembled, lines of corrupted text flickering before vanishing entirely.

Doom was… crashing.

Even his cursed relics pulsed—not in fear, but in hostility. That was rare. That was worse.

Mikel heard footsteps coming from the broken wall where he'd crashed through just moments ago.

"I retrieved it," the person said.