"They were never your friends. Just pieces on a board."
Game #3 has ended. Aiden stands alone by the burned-out campfire, blankly staring into the lifeless flames. The game title vanishes from his phone, replaced with a message:
Game #3 completed — "Pawns".True Objective: Realize your 'friends' were burdens.
A cold silence falls. The survivors are gone.
The air vibrates. Aiden's surroundings begin to warp and twist—trees stretch like rubber, the ground crumbles into sand. The forest disappears entirely.
He's in a desert now.
Aiden is flabbergasted.
"What is this? Wasn't I just in a forest?"He breathes heavy. The heat is unbearable.
"Tch... Of course. I'm living in an illusion. None of this is real anyway."
A notification flashes on his phone:
Game #4 started — "Refugee".
With only a few grapes left, barely enough for a sip of hydration, Aiden continues across the endless sands. Hours pass. His lips crack. His throat is dry.He eats the grapes. 10ml of water is better than none.
Eventually, in the shimmering horizon, he sees it:A village — medieval, fantasy-like — sitting dead center in the desert.
He rushes forward, only to stop cold.
No guards.Only corpses at the entrance. The gates, shattered.Ash blankets the road. Buildings are crumbled.
Cautious but desperate, Aiden enters.
"Where have you been… my son?"
As Aiden walks through the desolate village, the silence is suffocating. No footsteps but his own. No movement except the wind.
He stumbles upon a house in the center. Unlike the others, it stands perfectly intact — yet gives off a chilling aura.
He walks in without hesitation.
Inside lies a skeleton, positioned on what looks like an old, metallic medical bed. Wires and ancient instruments surround it.
Before Aiden can investigate, the door slams shut behind him. It won't budge.
Then — the skeleton's eye sockets glow red.It raises a trembling arm and looks at Aiden.
"M-my… s-s-son… where… have you… been… I… waited…"Its voice fades. The light dies out. It collapses.
Confused, disturbed, Aiden approaches.A red aura seeps from the skeleton's chest and floats toward Aiden.
He stumbles back—but it's too fast.
The aura pierces into him.
"Body not suitable. Beginning body reconstruction."
Aiden screams.His bones feel like they're breaking, reshaping.Blood flow halts. His vision darkens. He collapses.
Nightmare Sequence Begins
In the dream, Aiden sees an old version of himself. The one who once loved the girl
"Where is she...?" he asks, dazed.
Then realization hits him like a blade.
"Oh… I see. So you abandoned her."
He looks up, tears streaming — but it's blood.His eyes burn red.
"Then it's only logical… I abandon myself."
The nightmare cracks like glass.
And Aiden's transformation begins.