It was hard to describe, when they ventured into the System with four others in hopes of retrieving their kin. Their surroundings were completely unlike anything on the Interface, covered from ground to sky with floating books that could not be opened. A strange red labyrinth that was so, so unreal. As the group took a turn, they were met face to face with an ethereal, almost god-like creature. They had believed Them to be friendly, so when their friends attacked, and They attacked, they had defended Them. Hurting their friends, watching as blood started to pour out from all sides, the red floor becoming more crimson than it already was. They could only watch as their hands seemed to move unusually, abiding by their will yet seemingly alien. Then, a strike. A single thrust into the virtual's chest, and they slowly started to fade away. A direct hit into the core.

As their friends watched, a realization of new fear overwhelmed them as they processed what they just did. It wasn't intentional, was it? The last thing they could do was to simply watch the virtual they called 'friend' be deleted, their last action to furiously stab Sirius repeatedly in their left eye, shouting, screaming, crying. Why? Yet they stood there, their eye fluids bursting before flowing slowly to the ground. Like bloodied tears.

But time waits for no one, because as everyone's gaze returned, They had already attacked, striking them all off-guard. Waves upon waves of energy poured, slowly corroding them all. It had seemingly avoided Sirius, as all they could do was kneel whilst their kin fought breath after breath against Them. They're my friend. They didn't mean harm. They- What? Seconds turned to minutes as the fight continued. The beam of energy was worn down as the other virtuals continued to attack. Blood, so, so much blood. Staining everything, the Entity, their friends, themself. Strange abominations of flesh coagulated towards their battlefield, too many eyes staring straight at them.

Was it over?

...

Yes.

Their hand trembled to pick back up their rapier, trying to grasp the surrounding code for skills. It failed. They tried to grasp their surroundings directly instead. It... succeeded. Corpses. Three, lining the ground, fading away. The Entity was also on the limit, and in a second, They flickered away, as if They had never existed at all, only the surroundings giving a source of what had occurred. Sirius stood up, albeit slowly. The amalgamations still flowed, more and more, like water.

Anger, fear, sadness, longing. All of them could be felt at that moment. Rage, terror, misery, craving. More, and more. It started to spill out, from their broken eye, from their wounds, from everywhere. Fury, panic, torment, desire. They shred through the amalgams, running. Running away from the monsters, running from the deletions, running from everything. Anything to get through, to evade.

...

They wandered the System alone, and it was only by chance did they encounter the virtual they were looking for. It was only their luck again that they somehow escaped and made it back to the Interface. When the higher-ups asked about the four others, they had simply responded with an accident. Many creatures wandered through the System, bearing immense power. Enough to delete four off the surface, and leaving only one wounded. Their new fault was acquired because of it; the horrendous damage leaving their eye permanently scarred, starting to crack down their face.

Yet, Yin knows everything. There would be a permanent scar in their code, what was invisible to everyone, was not to her. A small record denoting the deletion of a virtual. When they were called into a private meeting with her, all they could feel was fear. Fear, horror, terror, everything. They knew what it was about, and their coding privileges were to be suspended, as well as being placed under imprisonment. Many wondered why, but there was never an answer, not one from the Division Leaders, not one from themself, not even one from Yin.

During their imprisonment, they were part of the creation for the new fear surrounding the System. Absurd creatures capable of deleting in a second's notice, endless monsters of flesh, blood, and eyes. It was a horrifying sight that no one would be able to forget.

No matter what, though, no matter what they say, it will always one day come back to them. They hid their fault away from prying eyes, hid their secret only Yin and Yang knew, hid away everything. They started to change so drastically, and others would wonder what was wrong. The others didn't know, didn't know what had truly happened. It would be a burden for them to carry forever, something that could never be lifted. But perhaps one day, they'd finally break, and spill the ugly truth.

But deep down, they will forever harbour a friendship, a strange and twisted form of amiability, intimacy, and understanding, with Them.