The moment they moved, the world seemed to tighten.
Not physically.
But perceptually.
Like everything outside the alley ceased to matter, like the rain, the city, the distant noise—all of it faded into irrelevance as Damián's focus locked onto the entity ahead, every instinct sharpening at once, every muscle coiling with tension that hadn't fully existed before.
Because this wasn't a fight he understood.
And that made it dangerous.
The corrupted player didn't rush them.
Didn't react like a human would.
It simply… adjusted.
Its body flickered, edges distorting, posture shifting in unnatural increments, as if it were recalibrating reality itself instead of moving through it, and then—without warning—it disappeared.
Not fast.
Not blurred.
Gone.
Damián's eyes widened slightly.
*…what—*
"Left!"
The shout came from the second player, sharp and immediate.
Damián reacted on instinct, pivoting just as something tore through the space where his neck had been a fraction of a second earlier, a distorted limb snapping into existence mid-strike, slicing through the air with a sound that didn't belong in reality.
Too close.
Way too close.
[REF in effect]
[Reaction speed increased]
Damián didn't hesitate.
He stepped in.
Not back.
Forward.
Because distance meant nothing if the thing could ignore space.
His fist drove toward where the entity *should* have been.
For a split second…
It connected.
And the feedback was wrong.
Not solid.
Not empty.
Like hitting something that was there and not there at the same time, the resistance fluctuating between real and intangible, and the moment that contact broke, the entity flickered again—
And reappeared behind him.
"Down!"
This time it was the first player.
Damián dropped instantly, feeling the rush of displaced air as something passed over him, the ground beneath his hands cracking slightly under the force that followed, and he rolled without thinking, creating space, forcing distance, forcing perspective.
They regrouped.
Three points.
Triangle formation.
Unspoken.
Instinctive.
The corrupted player stood at the center again.
Watching.
Always watching.
[Analysis in progress…]
[Data insufficient]
Damián exhaled sharply through his nose.
*…then we make data.*
The first player moved first this time, stepping in with controlled aggression, not reckless, not overcommitted, his movements precise, calculated, designed to provoke rather than destroy.
A test.
The entity reacted.
But not how expected.
Instead of countering…
It split.
For a fraction of a second, its form doubled, one version intercepting the attack while the other shifted position, forcing the first player to disengage immediately, barely avoiding a follow-up strike that came from the wrong angle entirely.
"Not stable!" he barked.
"No pattern!" the second added.
Damián's mind raced.
*No pattern… or too many?*
The system flickered again.
[New Trait Detected]
[Phase Instability]
[Description: Entity exists across overlapping positional states]
Damián's eyes sharpened.
*…it's not teleporting.*
It was overlapping.
Existing in multiple positions and collapsing into one when interacting.
That changed things.
A lot.
"Don't chase it," Damián said, voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through him. "Force it to commit."
A brief silence.
Then—
"…you figured that out fast," the second muttered.
No time to respond.
The entity moved again.
This time faster.
More aggressive.
Its form splitting repeatedly in rapid succession, creating afterimages that weren't just visual, each one carrying partial presence, partial threat, turning the alley into a layered mess of overlapping danger zones.
The first player cursed under his breath.
"Alright—new plan!"
He shifted stance.
Lower.
Grounded.
"Box it in!"
Damián understood immediately.
Not control the movement—
Limit the outcomes.
The three of them spread slightly, tightening the available space, not rushing, not panicking, forcing the entity into smaller and smaller positional options, reducing the number of viable overlaps it could maintain without collision.
The system reacted.
[Strategy Alignment Detected]
[Cooperation Efficiency: Increased]
The entity paused.
Just for a moment.
And that was enough.
It flickered—
Three positions—
Then two—
Then one.
"Now!"
All three moved at once.
The second player struck first, a fast, precise hit aimed not to destroy, but to anchor, forcing interaction, forcing the entity to choose a single state, even if only for a fraction of a second.
The moment it did—
Damián followed.
No hesitation.
No second guessing.
His strike landed clean.
This time…
It felt real.
Solid.
The entity's form destabilized violently, flickering erratically as if struggling to maintain cohesion, its outline cracking, distorting, breaking apart at the edges.
And then—
It screamed.
Not loudly.
But wrong.
Like sound tearing itself apart.
[Damage Registered]
[Corruption Threshold: 72% → 81%]
Damián's breath caught slightly.
*…threshold?*
The system didn't wait.
[Warning: Instability Increasing]
[Entity Evolution Risk: HIGH]
The first player's expression darkened.
"…we don't have time."
The second nodded once.
"Then we finish it."
Simple.
Brutal.
Necessary.
Damián steadied himself, ignoring the tension in his body, the fatigue creeping at the edges, the lingering pain that hadn't fully faded.
Because this wasn't over.
Not even close.
The entity's form began to shift again.
But this time…
It wasn't splitting.
It was *changing*.
Growing.
Distorting further.
Like something deeper was pushing through the cracks.
Something worse.
And Damián realized something in that moment.
They hadn't interrupted it.
They had accelerated it.
The system confirmed his fear.
[Phase Transition Initiated]
[New Form Incoming]
Damián clenched his jaw slightly.
*…of course it is.*
The rain hit harder.
The alley darkened further.
And whatever stood in front of them now…
Was no longer just a corrupted player.
It was becoming something else.
Something stronger.
Something that didn't belong.
And this time—
There would be no testing.
No probing.
Only one outcome.
Kill it.
Or don't walk out.