Omar opened his eyes, but he wasn't in his room. Everything around him was dark and hazy, yet terrifyingly real. The ground beneath his feet was solid, and his own sounds echoed strangely, as if the place itself was breathing.
He raised his new console, pressing the buttons slowly. The first movements were difficult, as if the game itself controlled him. But after a few moments, he understood: every button had a function, every action had an effect. Every step, every small jump gave him a sense of power… but didn't keep him completely safe.
A single zombie appeared at first, slow, seemingly semi-aware. Omar remembered the commercial: movement patterns, weak points, escape skills. He dodged the first attack, then started experimenting with strikes and kicks. His fingers grew faster, more precise.
"This… feels real!" he muttered, a mix of fear and excitement.
Minutes passed, and he noticed additional rules:
Touch the shadow, and part of your energy disappears.
Some doors only open after solving certain codes.
Zombie sounds change with distance and direction.
Simple rules, yet they gave him a sense of control, something he hadn't felt since the accident.
Then he noticed a mysterious symbol on the ground, a small glowing circle. He didn't know what it meant, but he felt that something in the game—or perhaps in the house—was trying to grab his attention.
He approached it. The moment he touched it, everything around him trembled. The zombie sounds intensified, as if they knew he'd discovered something he wasn't meant to.
He stepped back quickly, heart racing. Everything felt sharper, more real. A small mistake carried big consequences.
Suddenly, a whisper rose in his ear, faint but clear:
"It has begun… the real path is still ahead."
Omar turned—but no one was there. The world around him felt more mysterious, as if warning him, whispering: "Every move, every step, comes at a cost."
Before he could take a deep breath, a new gate appeared before him, glowing, larger than anything he had ever seen. He didn't know what lay beyond, but he sensed that crossing it would chan
ge everything.