Sarya didn't sleep much.
Not because of guilt or fear, but because her body was still remembered.
Every touch, every whisper.
Every breath against her neck.
She tried distracting herself at work, but her phone buzzed twice more that morning.
Unknown Number.
[Emotional Overflow is unstable above 40% affinity.]
Another message came twenty minutes later.
"Do not exceed 3 hours".
Her stomach twisted.
Was this the sender?
A developer?
A watcher?
She didn't reply, she couldn't.
There was no reply option.
That evening, she logged in earlier than usual.
VALERIS — Level 9
Affinity: Crown Prince Altheryn (36%)
She materialized in the palace corridor, but something was different.
The lighting felt dimmer.
NPC movement slightly delayed.
A system notification appeared:
[Server Instability Detected]
Her pulse quickened.
Altheryn approached from the far end of the hall.
"You look troubled," he said immediately.
"Something feels off."
He nodded slowly. "The northern border has gone silent."
New quest triggered.
[Emergency Royal Defense — High Risk]
High risk meant high reward…and danger.
They rode out immediately.
Halfway to the Ravine, the sky fractured, literally.
A jagged crack tore across the horizon like broken glass.
Red light seeped through.
System alarm blared.
[Temporal Boundary Strain Detected]
Her vision flickered.
HP bars glitched briefly.
Altheryn's hand gripped her wrist.
"Stay close," he said.
For the first time, his voice carried something other than royal composure
Fear.
Monsters poured from the crack in the sky.
Not wolves.
Not bandits.
Shadow constructs with no visible HP bars.
Unknown enemies.
She struck one.
Her blade passed through, but no damage was registered.
Another system alert:
[Entities Not Recognized By Current Patch]
Patch?
The game was evolving… or breaking.
One of the shadows lunged at Altheryn, she stepped in front of him instinctively.
The shadow struck her chest.
Sharp pain exploded through her.
Her real body jerked violently in her apartment.
HP dropped to 12%, warning sirens blared.
Emotional Overflow triggered automatically.
Buff surged.
She screamed and drove her blade through the shadow's core.
This time it screamed back.
Coins didn't drop, XP didn't register.
The sky crack widened.
Timer flashed in her vision.
2:47:33
Too much was happening too fast.
"Valeris!" Altheryn shouted.
Another shadow pierced through his side.
His HP plummeted.
If he died—
Mission failure, affinity reset.
She couldn't let that happen, not again.
She moved recklessly, emotion overtaking strategy. Each strike grew stronger as panic intensified. Her damage output spiked unnaturally high.
Shadows dissolved under her blade.
But each hit she took felt more real than before.
Her body trembled violently in reality.
Sweat soaked her shirt.
2:55:02
The crack in the sky pulsed.
A voice echoed through the battlefield.
Not system-generated.
Not NPC.
"You were told to play safe."
Her blood froze.
The voice was calm;
"You're exceeding projected adaptation speed."
Projected adaptation?
This wasn't just a game.
This was an experiment.
Another shadow struck her from behind.
HP: 4%.
2:58:49
Altheryn staggered toward her.
"Leave," he said hoarsely.
"I won't."
Timer turned red.
2:59:41
The voice returned.
"Log out now."
She hesitated.
If she logged out, he would die.
If she stayed—
She didn't know what would happen.
2:59:57
She ripped the headset off.
Her body collapsed onto the floor.
Heart racing violently.
Chest aching where the shadow had struck her.
She pressed her hand there.
It hurt.
Actually hurt.
Her phone buzzed again.
[You are crossing the boundary.]
Another message followed.
[Next time, you may not be able to log out.]
Her breathing slowed gradually.
Crossing what boundary?
Between game and reality?
Or between safety and something irreversible?
She looked at the headset lying beside her.
For the first time—
She felt afraid of it.
And for the first time—
She knew she would log back in anyway.
What are the shadows?
Who is watching her progress?
And what happens if the log-out option disappears?