Tales of the Eternal Core

Appearance

Universal Glitch Hunters: The Codebreakers ​

Group Name: The Codebreakers
Motto: "Patch the cracks, restore the code."

The Codebreakers are an elite, highly trained organization tasked with detecting, containing, and eliminating universal glitches. These beings, known for their corruptive effects on reality, can disguise themselves and evolve into increasingly dangerous forms if left unchecked.

Glitch Evolution Tiers ​

Glitches are categorized by their level of corruption and threat:

  1. Bug:

    • Description: The earliest stage of corruption, often minor disruptions in reality. Bugs may cause small inconsistencies, such as objects shifting positions or repeating events.
    • Abilities: Limited manipulation of their surroundings.
    • Containment: Easily neutralized using basic containment fields or patches.

  2. Glitch:

    • Description: Mid-tier anomalies that actively disguise themselves and manipulate reality. Glitches are capable of limited possession and environmental distortion.
    • Abilities: Can create false realities or small rifts in universal stability.
    • Containment: Requires specialized traps and harmonic resonators to weaken their hold on reality.

  3. Error:

    • Description: Advanced entities capable of large-scale corruption. Errors can destabilize universal laws, making areas unpredictable.
    • Abilities: Reality-warping, stronger possession abilities, and replication.
    • Containment: Requires coordinated team efforts and advanced nullification chambers.

  4. Virus:

    • Description: The apex of glitch evolution, viruses are catastrophic entities capable of collapsing universes. Viruses often manifest as highly intelligent beings.
    • Abilities: Full-scale universal corruption, massive possession powers, and the ability to infect other glitches to spread instability.
    • Containment: Only the most advanced Codebreakers and equipment can handle viruses. Often requires sacrificial containment methods.

Codebreaker Specializations ​

  1. Trackers:

    • Experts in detecting glitches and identifying their disguises. Trackers use Spectral Scanners to locate glitches based on unique distortions.

  2. Wranglers:

    • Skilled in capturing glitches using Resonant Containment Fields and Harmonic Cages. They often use Bug Nets for lower-tier entities.

  3. Patchers:

    • Engineers who stabilize corrupted areas post-containment. They use Reality Rewriters to restore universal consistency.

  4. Exterminators:

    • Specialists in eliminating glitches too dangerous to contain. They wield Nullification Cannons and Anti-Corruption Blades to ensure complete destruction.

Tools and Equipment ​

  1. Containment Devices:

    • Bug Nets: Basic containment for early-stage glitches.
    • Harmonic Cages: Mid-tier containment for glitches and errors.
    • Nullification Chambers: Advanced containment for viruses.

  2. Detection Tools:

    • Spectral Scanners: Pinpoint glitches based on corruption signatures.
    • Code Readers: Analyze disguises and expose glitches hidden in objects or people.

  3. Weapons:

    • Anti-Corruption Blades: Melee weapons that destabilize glitches on contact.
    • Nullification Cannons: Long-range energy weapons designed for virus-level threats.
    • Reality Stabilizers: Emit waves to reduce corruption in an area.

Glitches’ Impact on the Ulverse ​

  1. Corruption Zones:

    • Areas where glitches manifest become corrupted, creating unpredictable and dangerous environments. Time loops, spatial distortions, and anomalous events are common.

  2. Universal Instability:

    • If a glitch evolves into an error or virus, it can cause entire universes to collapse. This makes rapid response essential.

  3. Fear and Mistrust:

    • Since glitches can possess people, there is often fear and suspicion in affected areas. Codebreakers are seen as both heroes and harbingers of destruction.

Key Figures in the Codebreakers ​

  1. Shadow (People of the Code):

    • The enigmatic leader of the Codebreakers, Shadow is a tactical genius who oversees operations from their hidden headquarters. Shadow’s true form is unknown, as they prefer to operate through proxies.

  2. Null (Aspharion of Equilibrium):

    • An unofficial ally of the Codebreakers, Null ensures the balance between destruction and sustainment. Null provides advice and sometimes intervenes in critical situations.

  3. Byte (People of the Code):

    • A young, eager recruit who specializes in tracking. Despite her clumsiness, she has a unique talent for deciphering glitches’ disguises.

Headquarters and Operations ​

The Codebreakers operate out of Subverse Bastion, a hidden facility in the Ulverse Isles’ lower oceanic regions. The Bastion is equipped with advanced technology for glitch detection, containment, and research.

Interactions and Lore Integration ​

  1. Vixen and Voltt Asterion:

    • The Asterions provide cutting-edge equipment for the Codebreakers, ensuring they remain ahead of evolving glitches.

  2. Umbra (Aspharion of Void):

    • As a being tied to chaos and void energy, Umbra occasionally clashes with Codebreakers who mistake his presence for glitch activity.

  3. Red Palette:

    • Red Palette often aids in researching glitches, intrigued by their effects on universal laws.

Would you like to develop specific glitch-related events or focus on a particular Codebreaker’s storyline?

Expanded Codebreaker Equipment ​

The Codebreakers utilize a wide range of advanced tools and weapons to combat and contain glitches. Their equipment is designed to adapt to the ever-changing nature of glitches, from Bugs to Viruses.

Handheld Weapons ​

  1. Pulse Blades:

    • Lightweight swords infused with anti-corruption energy. Upon striking a glitch, the blade emits a pulse that destabilizes its form. Ideal for close combat.
    • Variants: Dual Pulse Daggers for nimble combatants.

  2. Conduction Gauntlets:

    • Electrified gloves that disrupt glitches’ possession abilities. A single strike can sever their connection to a host.
    • Feature: Energy shields can be deployed for additional defense.

  3. Phase Rifles:

    • Long-range weapons that fire concentrated beams of harmonic energy. Designed to pin down or immobilize glitches.
    • Modes: Stun, Contain, and Eradicate.

  4. Void Net Launchers:

    • Fires energy nets that bind and contain glitches, preventing movement and possession. The nets are reinforced with reality-stabilizing particles.

  5. Resonance Disruptors:

    • Handheld devices that emit soundwaves calibrated to shatter glitch disguises and weaken them. Effective against mid-tier glitches and errors.

  6. Chrono-Trap Grenades:

    • Devices that create a time-dilated field, slowing down glitches and freezing their corruption for a short period.

Specialized Suits ​

The Codebreakers wear advanced Voidguard Suits, designed to protect them from corruption and possession. Each suit is tailored for the wearer and integrated with state-of-the-art technology.

  1. Features:

    • Corruption Shielding: Built-in anti-corruption barriers to prevent glitches from interacting with the wearer’s body.
    • Reality Stabilizers: Emit a low-level harmonic frequency to stabilize the environment around the wearer.
    • Adaptive Seals: Prevent possession by creating a psychic barrier around the mind.
    • Glitch Scanners: Embedded in the visor, these scanners can detect anomalies in real-time.
    • Kinetic Boosters: Enhanced mobility through lightweight exoskeletons, allowing for faster reaction times.

  2. Appearance:

    • Sleek, dark designs with glowing lines of energy in varying colors, denoting rank or specialization. The visors resemble reflective mirrors, symbolizing their role as watchers of corrupted realities.

Additional Equipment ​

  1. Containment Orbs:

    • Small spherical devices that can be deployed to encase a glitch in a localized containment field.

  2. Reality Patches:

    • Portable devices used to repair minor corruption in an area post-glitch removal.

  3. Anti-Possession Implants:

    • Optional implants that reinforce the wearer’s mind against psychic intrusion.

  4. Glitch Jammers:

    • Worn on the wrist, these emit a signal that disrupts a glitch’s ability to disguise itself.

  5. Harmonic Drones:

    • Small, floating devices that assist in identifying and tracking glitches.

The Collapse of Sector 8 ​

  • Description: A mid-tier Error evolved into a Virus in Sector 8, corrupting an entire city. Buildings folded into themselves, time loops trapped citizens, and portions of the city existed in alternate dimensions simultaneously.
  • Resolution: A team of Codebreakers led by Shadow contained the Virus using a Nullification Cannon. The city was patched but permanently marked as unstable.

The Possession Outbreak in Machina Aeternum ​

  • Description: A Glitch managed to possess several Mechromorphs in Machina Aeternum, causing them to rampage and spread corruption throughout the city’s systems.
  • Impact: Vixen & Voltt Technologies temporarily shut down operations to assist the Codebreakers. Byte played a pivotal role in exposing the Glitch’s primary host.

The Fracture Event ​

  • Description: A rare subclass of Glitch, known as a Shard Glitch, infected an entire region of the Ulverse Isles, creating thousands of micro-corruptions.
  • Outcome: The Codebreakers developed new Resonance Disruptors specifically to target these fragmentary anomalies. The event marked a major advancement in glitch containment technology.

Kaylus and the Glitch Masquerade ​

  • Description: A rogue body of Kaylus inadvertently attracted several Bugs during one of his schemes. These Bugs evolved into a coordinated Glitch, using the body as a host to wreak havoc.
  • Outcome: The Codebreakers had to work with Kaylus himself to isolate and neutralize the Glitch, resulting in a tenuous alliance.

The Virus of Vortex Ruins ​

  • Description: The remnants of V.O.R.T.E.X. technology became infected with glitch corruption, forming a hybrid entity capable of wielding the weapon’s destructive power.
  • Outcome: Red Palette joined the Codebreakers to create an Anti-Corruption Resonator, neutralizing the hybrid entity before it destroyed the Ulverse Isles.

Would you like to expand on the details of any event or dive deeper into a specific glitch type or Codebreaker operation?

Glitch Subclasses and Types ​

Glitches are varied in their forms, abilities, and behaviors. As they evolve from Bugs to Glitches, Errors, and ultimately Viruses, their characteristics become more dangerous and complex. Subclasses often emerge due to environmental influences, the objects or beings they infect, or unique mutations during evolution.

Glitch Subclasses ​

1. Shard Glitches ​

  • Tier: Bug or Glitch.
  • Description: These glitches fragment into thousands of small pieces, spreading corruption across wide areas. Each shard acts as an independent unit, but they can reform into a singular entity when threatened.
  • Danger Level: Medium.
  • Abilities:
    • Infect multiple objects or beings simultaneously.
    • Difficult to fully contain without specialized equipment.

2. Parasite Glitches ​

  • Tier: Glitch or Error.
  • Description: These glitches primarily possess living beings, using their hosts to spread corruption and evolve. They often disguise themselves as minor ailments or personality changes.
  • Danger Level: High.
  • Abilities:
    • Stealth possession and control of hosts.
    • Can transfer to new hosts rapidly if detected.

3. Spatial Glitches ​

  • Tier: Glitch to Virus.
  • Description: These glitches warp the fabric of space itself, creating localized dimensional anomalies. Buildings may appear folded, gravity may fluctuate, or time may distort.
  • Danger Level: Extreme.
  • Abilities:
    • Manipulation of space and time within their corrupted zone.
    • Resistant to containment without specialized technology.

4. Mimic Glitches ​

  • Tier: Bug or Glitch.
  • Description: Mimics disguise themselves as objects, people, or even animals, blending into their surroundings until they can strike or corrupt.
  • Danger Level: Medium to High.
  • Abilities:
    • Near-perfect replication of appearance.
    • Can plant seeds of doubt and paranoia in their surroundings.

5. Hive Glitches ​

  • Tier: Error or Virus.
  • Description: A collective glitch that acts as a hive mind, controlling multiple corrupted entities at once. They can grow their "hive" by infecting others.
  • Danger Level: Extreme.
  • Abilities:
    • Command large groups of corrupted beings.
    • Rapid spread of corruption.

6. Data Glitches ​

  • Tier: Glitch or Error.
  • Description: These glitches primarily infect digital systems, wreaking havoc on technology and networks. Common in highly technological environments.
  • Danger Level: High.
  • Abilities:
    • Manipulate or destroy data.
    • Infiltrate and corrupt technological systems.

7. Phantom Glitches ​

  • Tier: Error or Virus.
  • Description: These glitches exist on the boundary of reality, appearing as flickers or shadows that distort perception. They are difficult to track and interact with.
  • Danger Level: Extreme.
  • Abilities:
    • Intangible and highly elusive.
    • Capable of generating hallucinations or altering memories.

8. Ruin Glitches ​

  • Tier: Virus.
  • Description: Ruin glitches are the pinnacle of corruption, capable of collapsing entire regions or universes into chaos. They are highly unstable and unpredictable.
  • Danger Level: Catastrophic.
  • Abilities:
    • Universal destabilization.
    • Rapid spread of corruption at an exponential rate.

Behavioral Types ​

Aggressive Glitches ​

  • Actively seek to spread corruption and destabilize their surroundings. They are hostile and difficult to contain.

Passive Glitches ​

  • Remain dormant or subtle in their corruption, spreading slowly and unnoticed until they reach a critical point.

Chaotic Glitches ​

  • Unpredictable in their behavior. They may act aggressively one moment and retreat the next.

Adaptive Glitches ​

  • Learn from attempts to contain or destroy them, evolving new traits to counteract Codebreaker efforts.

Glitch Evolution Progression ​

  1. Bug: Minor anomalies, localized corruption, easily contained.
  2. Glitch: Larger-scale corruption, capable of disguise or spreading instability.
  3. Error: Dangerous entities with advanced abilities, capable of corrupting living beings or entire regions.
  4. Virus: Catastrophic anomalies that can destabilize entire universes if not stopped.