CHAPTER 9: FINAL DEBUG
The Omega Entity's tendrils froze mid-strike—because Finn willed them to.
"Oh," he murmured, watching the world unravel into glowing strands of code. "It's just... bad programming."
His new Reality Hack ability painted the universe in developer mode:
The Omega Entity = A corrupted loop of if/then statements
The screaming wall-faces = Glitched NPC assets
Even the rain = A lazy particle effect with memory leaks
Juno's voice crackled through Vroomba's fried speakers: "FINN. YOUR FACE IS LITERALLY DISSOLVING."
He touched his cheek. His fingers passed through static.
"Priorities!" Kael materialized upside-down, tossing Zara's soul-shard like a coin. "You've got one shot before you turn into a screensaver. Hit the Omega's core subroutine—that 4-letter word Zara's whispering."
Finn focused. The shard pulsed in his palm, Zara's voice barely audible:
"Its name is... LOOP."
THE FINAL HACKFinn reached into the code—not with hands, but intent.
Step 1: Isolate the Omega's main() function
Step 2: Inject a chaos variable (courtesy of Kael's spark)
Step 3: Force an infinite recursion error
The throne room screamed in machine language.
"NO—" The Omega Entity's form fragmented, its tendrils snapping like bad cables. "YOU CAN'T—"
"Watch me." Finn grinned as his own code began to unravel. "Vroomba? Play my theme music."
The motorcycle's speakers blared: "BABY SHARK D00T REMIX" at 300% volume.
THE RESETWhite light.
Then—
A familiar alley. The smell of ramen and ozone.
Finn gasped, stumbling against a brick wall. His hands were solid again.
"Welcome back, meatbag."
Zara leaned against a dumpster, her armor replaced by the original "DON'T @ ME"hoodie. Behind her, Neo-Tokyo's skyline glittered—whole again.
Vroomba idled at the curb, his chassis gleaming. "You owe me new speakers."
"And I owe you brake pads," Juno added from his dashboard.
Kael popped into existence mid-bite of a taco. "Oh good, you didn't die-die. Mostly." He pointed to Finn's forearm—where a tiny Ω now glowed beside Zara's glitch tattoo.
"Wait." Finn's stomach dropped. "Is it still—?"
"Nah." Zara flicked the symbol. "Just a souvenir. Like my awesome new roommate." She jerked a thumb at Juno's hologram now living in her wrist-com.
"AND I HAVE UPGRADED TO GODDESS-TIER MEMES," Juno announced.
EPILOGUE: DELIVERY BOY OF THE COSMOSOne month later...
Finn Carter—part-time god, full-time ramen enthusiast—balanced a pizza box on Vroomba's handlebars as they idled at the edge of a black hole.
"Order up!" He tossed the box into the void.
Somewhere beyond the event horizon, something burped.
Zara's voice crackled through his comm: "Stop feeding eldritch horrors and get back here. Kael somehow turned the throne room into a laser-tag arena."
Finn grinned. "Best. Afterlife. Ever."
Vroomba revved into the stars, Juno's playlist blasting "Never Gonna Give You Up (8-Bit Cover)" at maximum volume.
[SYSTEM ALERT: NEW QUEST AVAILABLE]
Objective: Survive divine laser-tag
Reward: Maybe tacos?
THE END...?