Date: July 17, 2025
I kept asking myself the same thing as I ran:Was I really pulled into the game?
The smoke stung my lungs. The sky above looked like golden dusk smeared with charcoal, and yet... none of this felt real. I had just spent my entire school break playing Backrift for seven days straight. I knew every scene, every glitch.But now?This wasn't just game graphics.This was a real world—one without a pause button.
"Stay calm, Jessic," I told myself. "Stick with the silver-haired boy. If I survive, maybe I'll understand everything."
I tried speaking. "My name's Jessic. What is your name?"
He didn't reply. He just kept moving—quick, sharp, fluid, like someone running a well-practiced tactic. I followed, dodging past shattered wagons, scorched wood planks, and fallen beams. And then—
The ground shook.
The monster appeared.
It exploded out of the ground like a giant armored worm, thick-bodied, its mouth spinning with saw-like teeth. It looked like something straight out of a nightmare.
"Down!"
The silver-haired boy's voice cut through the chaos like an alarm.
I dropped instantly, heart hammering in my chest.
"One Style."
He whispered it like a code.
His black sword sliced the air, leaving a streak of light behind. It felt like the wind itself had been slashed. In the next second, the creature collapsed, shivered—then crumbled into ash and blew away.
"Don't freeze. Move!" he snapped.
I jumped up, legs still trembling.
Okay.
This wasn't a game.Not anymore.
We'd made it to the edge of the village. Just a few more steps and we'd be out of danger.
"We're almost at the safe zone," he said, glancing back at me.
But—
I wasn't behind him anymore.
He looked around and spotted me—I was walking out of a half-collapsed house, a little girl clinging to my back. She looked four, maybe five, barefoot, trembling, her face streaked with tears.
"You're safe now. I'll protect you," I whispered softly, offering her a smile.
The silver-haired boy suddenly shouted, "Jessic!"
The second threat…They are coming....