Rendering Point

Glitches are parasites that have affected our reality. They are corrupted invaders that suck the essence of our world, turning it into a scattered hellscape that resembles their own world. Unfortunately for us, we're just regular humans. We're not monsters from the PNW or robot posing as politicians. How can we fight them? If there's a way to stop them, I'll find it.

—Lyra Moth

Closing in on destination.

The text fades to reveal a dot grid map, filling the screen. A single red dot darts across the map. In the top right corner, the faint, pulsating edge of a blue circle drifts into view. A girl watches, her eyes fixed on the two-inch screen. Sounds of clicking fill the vehicle as she zooms out. The map recedes, revealing the vast distance between the red dot and the blue destination. She lets out a sigh and shoves the candy bar phone into her skirt pocket. She pulls her mantis themed bucket hat over her eyes and gives in to the minibus's relentless jostling.

The compact vehicle races down a vast, empty highway. There is not another soul nor car in sight. It continues until the warm autumnal sunset gradually becomes populated with rows and rows of towering cornfields.The minibus slows down and makes a series of sharp turns before plunging into the golden-brown sea of cornstalks. Its speed decreases drastically, ensuring that the familiar jostling does not turn into a violent shake. It drives on uninterrupted through the rustling corridor until it emerges onto a narrow back road. There, the minibus slows to a crawl, then stops completely.

"We're here!"

The loud voice jolts the girl upright. She pushes the bucket hat back from her eyes and takes in her surroundings. As she moves toward the exit, a heavy weight falls on her shoulder. It is the towheaded Jitney Man, whose fat hand pins her in place. She can feel its clammy heat through her mesh shirt. He fixes his green eyes on her.

"Be careful out there, girly."

The girl nods briefly, then hops off the vehicle. She watches the minibus execute a swift U-turn and pull away down the road. She watches it recede into the setting sun. A harsh vibration from her skirt pulls her attention away from the sight. She takes out her phone and sees a new alert on the screen.

Hello, Atwixen! Objective: Kill the glitch! Reward: 1,335 Scoria.

Atwixen stares into the darkness at the end of the road. She adjusts her hat before venturing into the unknown to complete her objective.

For a while, she notices nothing out of the ordinary, just the same scenery repeating endlessly. Then, a simple speck of light becomes visible in the distance. Atwixen quickens her pace. As she draws near, the world shifts. The fiery orange sky bleeds into a harsh, sterile icy blue. The golden cornstalks warp into towering violet-azure monstrosities flanking the brightly lit road.

At the end of the road, the sky itself is broken. It is a shattered circle that emanates a piercing olo glow. Right in front of it stands a perfectly ordinary scarecrow with a pure white crow perched on its shoulder. Atwixen pulls out her phone and slides down the cover to unveil the camera lens. She opens the scanner app and steadies her hand to frame the strange sight.

After a couple of seconds, the phone displays:

Scan Complete! Glitch: Corvus Lvl: 1

"Level 1. This should be a breeze."

She switches from the scanner to the app beside it. Quanta's Flash. Its icon resembles a sigil: an asterisk over a psi enclosed in a circle with four ℓ branching from its corners. Clicking on the icon sends a bright flash from the phone that knocks the white crow off the scarecrow.

Atwixen notices that the initial flash didn't kill the crow. She advances to deliver another flash, but the crow lets out a shattering screech. The sound causes a ringing in her skull, stunning her. Atwixen fights to steady herself when a murder of crows erupts from the surrounding cornfields. They swarm around the fallen crow, coalescing into a single, shifting, anomalous blob.

Realizing the situation, Atwixen fires another Quanta's Flash. This time, the flash does little to affect the collective form. She switches back to the scanner app, where a warning flashes on the screen.

Warning! Glitch has evolved to Level 2. Proceed with caution.

The blob collapses inward, reforming into an even larger, more distorted crow. It spreads its vast, four-winged body, flapping and sending a concussive gust of wind that forces Atwixen back. She braces herself, holding on to her hat with one hand while fiddling with her phone with the other. She moves past Quanta's Flash to another app beside it. This icon resembles Quanta's Flash, but it is bound by chains. Unlike the previous app, it is nameless.

She selects it, sending out a brighter, sharper flash. This time, it works, and the distorted crow flinches and screams in pain. All four of its blazing red eyes lock onto Atwixen. It takes off toward her with terrifying speed, even toppling the scarecrow in the process.

She tries to perform another attack, but her phone screen shutters. It's frozen, a side effect of using the sigil. Atwixen turns around and sprints toward the distant sunset. She frantically clicks the unresponsive keys until she hears the app selection chime. She spins on her heels, selecting the chained sigil again.

Unfortunately, the crow is ready this time. It banks sharply, spinning clockwise to maneuver around the flash. It seizes on her delayed reaction, accelerating to the point that it resembles a white arrow. Atwixen tries to dodge it, but the crow is too fast. Its sharp beak clips her shoulder, tearing through her mesh shirt and sending a jolt of white-hot pain through her arm.

The force of the impact sends Atwixen tumbling head over heels down the road. She is abruptly stopped by an invisible wall. It is the self-form boundary that seals off the normal world from the rending point. Atwixen struggles to her feet, pressing one hand to her stinging shoulder. She sees blood staining her fair skin as it wells through her fingers.

The crow circles triumphantly in the air. The cornstalks thrash in the wind from its wings, creating a grotesque cheering audience. Atwixen turns around to face the setting sun. As she subtly presses the keys on her phone, she takes in the tranquil sight.

She moves away from the bound icon to the next one. The new sigil is drastically different from the others. Its glyphs shatter everything except the asterisk, which remains intact. Its display of destruction is befitting of its name: Quanta's Wrath.

Atwixen waits. She waits until she can feel the shifts in the wind. When the crow breaks off its celebration to attack her again. The crow soars toward the cracked sky, entering a sharp fall and using its momentum to slingshot itself forward with obliterating speed. Its velocity tears the glowing road, sending rubble into the air. The glowing bits cast shadows on the cornstalks, giving the monstrosities ghastly, grinning faces.

Without wasting a moment, Atwixen spins around. Blood flies as she steadies her shoulder and raises her phone. A flash engulfs the rending point, eclipsing the icy sky. From the searing heat of the light, a colossal hand forms. It flies and seizes the crow before it can get close to Atwixen. The crow tries to unleash its stunning screech, but it comes out as a strangled whimper. The incandescent hand tightens its grip.

There is a final, sickening crunch as the hand squeezes the crow, exploding it into a cloud of pixelated debris. The scattered remains float toward the cracked sky, retreating back to their world. The sky slowly knits itself back together. The harsh blue sky quietly softens, and the monstrous cornstalks shift back into their regular shape. Finally, as the last bit of debris pulls the scarecrow with it, the sky returns to normal.

Atwixen glances at her phone. The screen is black; not even the lights behind the keypad are on. She begins to walk toward the nearly set sun. Her slow pace is a testament to the battle's toll. Some time passes before she returns to where the minibus emerged. A welcome vibration rattles her hand. She lifts her phone to read the message on the screen.

Objective complete! Adding Scoria to your wallet!

She quickly dismisses the message and moves toward an app whose icon resembles a car, selecting it. Within moments, the familiar minibus emerges from the sun's glare. The door hisses open as Atwixen makes her way to it. The Jitney Man's face did little to hide his concern about Atwixen's state. Before he could say anything, Atwixen gives him a thumbs-up. The Jitney Man throws his head back, laughing as he reaches for a first aid kit.

"Not bad, girly! Come on lets get you home!"

He hands her the kit, waiting until she slumps down in her seat before pulling away. Atwixen starts to clean her wound, but another vibration buzzes against her leg.

New job! A strange anomaly is growing in Pak Falls. It seems the Rendering Point will occur around October 31. The reward is 4,000 Scoria. [Accept?]

Without a second thought, Atwixen clicks "yes." After bandaging her arm, she pulls her bucket hat over her eyes and succumbs to the minibus's relentless jostling.