Once again, Jarreth sprang into action, leaping high and slamming his sword into the Main Computer's screen. His follow-up strikes came fast and relentlessly, each one carving through fractured glass and sparking metal. The machine reeled, its systems stuttering, its movements growing erratic.
While it was struggling to move after the assault, its wires lost tension, their grip loosening just enough. One by one, the party members dropped to the floor with heavy thuds, gasping for air, their bodies weak but still alive.
Faye dashed from one party member to the next, helping them to a safer place with quick, efficient movements. She barely checked their conditions, as there was no time, but they each shared a look of relief that they were still breathing.
With the others out of immediate danger, Faye spun on her heel and sprinted back towards Jarreth, where he was still fighting against the Main Computer.
☽
From behind the bookshelf, Ashlyn and the others watched everything unfold, their eyes focused on the battle that surged around them. The chaos had brought them a moment, a sliver of opportunity, and they knew what they had to do next.
They had long been ready.
Before Faye had rushed forward, the group had agreed on their next move. Nox, being the strongest among them, had been handed the signal jammer. As the former boss of the dungeon, he was no stranger to pressure. Combat was second nature to him, and if anyone could get close enough to plant the device, it was Nox. Now, with the Main Computer distracted and dizzy from Jarreth's assault, it was time for him to move.
Nox exchanged a glance with Ashlyn, then slipped out from cover, moving low and fast. His steps were silent, his focus razor-sharp as he closed the distance to the Main Computer. The buzzing grew louder with every stride, the air around him humming with a static energy that prickled against his skin. But nothing fazed him—not now.
He had one shot. One.
Wires lashed out at him, each one deadly and fast. He leapt over the first, twisted past the second. Sparks erupted where they struck the floor behind him. He didn't look back.
He controlled his breath, and he calculated his movements. A spin here, a slide under a sweeping cable there. He flowed through the chaos with surgical precision. Every step brought him closer to the machine's back, where a tangle of glowing conduits pulsed with faint, rhythmic light.
Nox waited, poised like a coiled spring, as Jarreth's sword arced through the air once more. The moment the blade struck, drawing the machine's attention, Nox's feet found the wall. With a powerful push, he launched himself onto the back of the Main Computer.
It reacted instantly; the wires whipping wildly as its sleek frame bucked beneath him, trying to shake him off. But Nox held firm. His fingers closed around the disruption device, and without hesitation, he slammed it onto the machine's back.
A high-pitched whine split the air. The machine spasmed violently, its limbs locking, its cables twitching in confusion. Then it all stopped. The ever-present buzz in the air faded. The static electricity prickling along their skin vanished. And just like that, the game world resumed.
NPCs went back to their routines as if nothing had happened. Players glanced around, confused for only a heartbeat, before carrying on, utterly unaware of how close they'd all come to disaster.
Nox dropped to the ground, the pulsing of the device still faintly felt in his hand. "Signal disrupted," he muttered, allowing himself the smallest, satisfied grin. "We've done it."
Jarreth, still airborne, didn't hesitate. His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword as he drew it back, then drove the blade straight into the centre of the Main Computer's screen.
A sharp crack split the air as the machine shuddered. Its form, woven from lines of shimmering code, fractured like glass under the weight of his strike. Sparks and fragments of corrupted data burst outward as the machine glitched and flickered, then dissolved entirely, vanishing into nothing.
For a fleeting moment, there was silence. But then, they felt it. A deep, unsettling shift, like the floor of the world itself had buckled beneath them. The air warped. The walls of the bookshop rippled as though reality itself had turned brittle.
The victory never had a chance to settle in. The ground vanished. The ceiling faded. And without warning, everything was swallowed by darkness.
The game world had broken apart.
☽
In the real world, there was an apartment. It was modest, tucked above a row of bustling shops in a lively part of the city. Outside, the streets pulsed with movement and chatter. Laughter spilt from open café windows, footsteps tapped out a rhythm on the sidewalks, and the scent of roasted coffee mingled with blooming flowers.
Sunlight streamed between tall buildings, casting golden patches across the pavement and warming the faces of passersby. It was a good day, the kind that felt effortless and full of promise.
Up in the apartment, far above the noise and colour of the street, the air was still. No light could enter, as the curtains seemed to be permanently closed. A soft hum filled the room, and dust blanketed every surface.
In one corner stood a large game pod - it was sleek, enclosed, and faintly glowing. It pulsed with quiet energy, casting a faint blue hue across the floor. The rest of the apartment was bare, lifeless, as though the room itself had been waiting for the owner to appear.
Then the air thrummed, and something within the pod began to shut down. The soft hum slowed down, lights dimmed, and with a gentle hiss, the lid slid open, revealing the person inside.
A red-haired woman lay quietly on the soft, contoured surface of the pod's interior. Her eyes fluttered beneath closed lids, lashes casting faint shadows on her pale skin. She breathed steadily, untouched by the dust that gathered outside. Slowly, she stirred, and her eyes opened to a familiar ceiling. A vague haze clouded her mind, like waking from a dream she couldn't fully grasp.
She felt as if she had been somewhere far away, a place both distant and endless, and hadn't returned in what felt like an eternity. The quiet stillness of the room contrasted sharply with the chaotic memories flickering just beyond her reach.
Then, she slowly realised that she was back in reality, and she might never return to the game again.
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