Chaos Interface

The world didn't stop spinning after Ryo's desperate dodge. His vision blurred, and his chest heaved with the effort to stay upright. The massive beast, its body a patchwork of jagged scales and oozing black tar, roared again, shaking the crumbling wasteland. Its glowing red eyes locked onto him, unyielding, unrelenting.

Ryo's mind raced, grasping for answers, but all he had was the cold, sarcastic glow of the Interface hovering in front of him. The words flickered in and out:

Quest 01: Survive. Time Remaining: Undefined. Suggested Strategy: Don't Die.

"Brilliant," Ryo muttered, his voice a mix of panic and sarcasm. "Because that's so much easier than it looks."

The beast lunged again, its claws tearing through the rocky terrain like wet paper. Ryo barely managed to roll out of the way, his palms scraping against jagged stones. His body screamed in protest, but his mind screamed louder: Move, or you're dead.

"System!" he yelled, glaring at the glitching interface. "You're supposed to be my ticket to survival, not—whatever this is!"

The Interface glitched violently, static rippling across its translucent surface. A new message appeared:

Initializing Combat Functionality. Progress: 36%. Warning: Emergency Protocols Still Unstable.

"Still unstable?!" Ryo barked. "Do you know what's stable? That thing's claws going straight through me!"

The beast charged, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground. Ryo turned and ran, his legs burning as he darted between jagged outcroppings of rock. The creature's roar echoed behind him, growing louder with every step.

For a fleeting moment, he thought he might outrun it. But then the ground beneath him cracked.

A tremor surged through the wasteland, splitting the earth open in jagged lines. Ryo barely had time to leap away as the terrain behind him crumbled, swallowing the beast's massive forelegs. It roared in frustration, clawing at the ground to free itself.

Ryo skidded to a halt, his chest heaving. "Is this my chance?" he muttered.

The Interface chimed in, its tone infuriatingly smug:

Advice: Attack Now. Strike While It's Vulnerable.

"Oh, sure. Attack with what?! My sparkling personality?"

System Initialization: 65%. Emergency Skill Temporarily Enabled: Fragmented Disruption.

Ryo blinked as a faint, glitchy glow surrounded his hands. He didn't know what this "Fragmented Disruption" was, but he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.

The beast roared again, pulling itself free from the collapsing ground. Its eyes burned with renewed fury as it locked onto Ryo once more.

"Here goes nothing," Ryo muttered.

He thrust his arm forward, instinct guiding his movements. The glow around his hands flared violently, and a chaotic burst of energy ripped through the air. It wasn't clean or precise—it was wild, jagged, and completely out of control.

The blast struck the beast square in the chest, sending it hurtling backward into a crumbling rock formation. The impact shook the ground, and debris rained down in a cloud of dust and shattered stone.

Ryo staggered, the aftershock of the attack leaving his arm numb. He stared at the destruction, his breaths coming in shallow gasps. "Did… did I do that?"

New Message:

Congratulations! First Blood Achieved. Reward: Partial System Initialization. Progress: 75%.

"Partial?" Ryo snapped. "You call that—"

The ground trembled again. His heart sank as the beast's growl cut through the settling dust. It wasn't dead.

The creature clawed its way out of the rubble, one of its legs twisted unnaturally. Black ichor oozed from a gaping wound in its chest, but its eyes burned brighter than ever. It roared, a sound of pure rage, and charged again.

"No, no, no, no!" Ryo yelled, scrambling backward.

The Interface chimed in, this time sounding almost amused:

Advice: Try Not Missing Next Time.

Ryo wanted to scream at the system, but the beast was already upon him. It swiped with its massive claws, and Ryo dove to the side, barely escaping the blow. The force of the attack sent him sprawling, his body skidding across the rough ground.

His vision blurred, and his head throbbed. I'm not going to survive this, he thought, panic clawing at his chest.

The Interface glitched again, a new message flashing across its screen:

Combat Tip: Use Terrain to Your Advantage.

Ryo's gaze darted around the wasteland, desperation fueling his thoughts. The jagged rocks. The unstable ground. The crumbling formations. His mind raced, piecing together a plan.

The beast lunged again, and Ryo bolted toward a towering rock pillar. He skidded to a stop at its base, his chest heaving.

"Come on," he muttered, staring up at the precarious structure. "Please work."

The beast roared and charged. Ryo waited until the last possible moment, then dove out of the way. The creature's massive body collided with the pillar, and the weakened rock groaned under the impact.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a deafening crack, the pillar collapsed.

The beast let out a final, guttural roar as the debris buried it in an avalanche of stone and dust.

Ryo lay on the ground, his entire body trembling. He couldn't move. Could barely breathe. But he was alive.

The Interface chimed in, its tone dripping with faux cheer:

Congratulations! Quest 01 Complete. Reward: Basic System Unlocked.

The flickering screen updated with a new message:

Next Quest: Welcome to Chaos. Objective: Find Shelter. Timer: 10:00.

Ryo groaned, rolling onto his back. The gray sky swirled above him, and for a moment, he let himself believe he might catch a break.

But the distant sound of growling shattered that hope.

Ryo didn't know how long he lay there, the jagged stone pressing against his back as the dust began to settle. Every muscle in his body ached, and his arm throbbed from the recoil of whatever chaotic energy he had unleashed.

The sound of distant growling cut through the haze. It was faint but unmistakable. His stomach sank.

The Interface's screen blinked impatiently in front of him:

Next Quest: Welcome to Chaos. Objective: Find Shelter. Timer: 9:45.

"Great. So now it's a timed quest?" Ryo groaned, dragging himself to a sitting position.

The ground still felt unsteady beneath him, like it might split open at any moment. The jagged rocks that surrounded him offered no comfort—just more reminders of how dangerous this world was.

"Tick-tock, Little Pawn," the Interface chimed, its tone far too cheerful for Ryo's liking.

"I hate you," Ryo muttered, staggering to his feet. His legs shook, and the dull pain in his arm flared as he pressed a hand against the wound.

"Hate is such a strong word. Besides, I'm the only thing keeping you alive right now."

Ryo glared at the glitchy screen. "Is that supposed to be comforting?"

The Interface didn't respond, its timer counting down with ominous precision.

Ryo stumbled forward, each step a struggle as he navigated the broken landscape. He scanned the horizon, hoping for anything that resembled shelter—a cave, an overhang, even a pile of rocks large enough to hide behind. But the wasteland stretched endlessly in every direction, barren and unforgiving.

The growling grew louder.

He turned sharply, his eyes darting across the shadows. The beast he had buried under the rock pillar couldn't have survived. It was impossible.

Or so he told himself.

"Reminder: Monsters tend to travel in packs," the Interface announced, as if it had just remembered something important.

"What?!" Ryo hissed. "You're telling me now?"

"Better late than never!"

A low snarl came from behind him, too close for comfort. Ryo spun around just in time to see a smaller, sleeker creature slink out from behind a jagged rock. Its black, tar-like body shimmered under the pale sun, and its glowing red eyes burned with the same predatory hunger as the larger beast.

"Smaller doesn't mean less deadly," Ryo muttered, taking a step back. His heart pounded as more growls joined the first. Shadows shifted across the wasteland, revealing three—no, four—of the smaller creatures, each one moving with unnerving coordination.

The Interface flickered.

Combat Tip: Running is still a viable option.

"You're full of great ideas today," Ryo snapped, already turning on his heel.

He bolted.

The creatures gave chase, their snarls and growls blending into a nightmarish cacophony. Ryo's legs burned as he sprinted across the uneven terrain, the jagged rocks threatening to trip him with every step.

The timer in the corner of the interface ticked down mercilessly:

6:12… 6:11… 6:10…

"Where's this shelter supposed to be?!" Ryo shouted, the words barely audible over the sound of his own frantic breathing.

The Chaos Interface responded, its tone unhelpfully nonchalant:

"Keep running. I'm sure something will turn up."

Ryo wanted to scream, but his lungs were too busy keeping him alive.