Two days later.

13 October 2170

The world held its breath as FNL went live.

The afternoon sun spilled across the campus courtyard, catching on glass towers and the slow drift of petals from the nearby trees.

Takara stood by the fountain, a small bag of sleek white cases tucked under her arm. One by one, she handed them out — to Mirai, Saiya, Issan, and Zenobia.

“Don’t say I never spoil you,” she teased, her smile faint but proud.

“Wow, you really didn’t have to,” Mirai said, holding the box like something sacred.

“I did,” she replied, brushing her hair back with a quiet laugh. “Because this one’s special. Remember that.”

They promised to meet online that night.

7:00 PM

When evening came, the city’s neon shimmered against their windows. In five different rooms, Sephoric prepared for launch — headsets ready, voices echoing through the shared call.

“Two minutes,” Saiya said, tone clipped and focused.

Zenobia giggled nervously. “What if it crashes?”

“It’s Square Phoenix,” Issan said dryly. “Of course it’ll crash.”

Takara laughed softly. “Confidence inspiring, as always.”

The clock hit zero.

“Alright — let’s go,” Mirai said, stretching back in his chair. “Moment of truth. Who’s going first?”

“Me, obviously,” Saiya shot back. “No way I’m letting you steal my username again.”

The others laughed — until the faint chime of a successful boot came through her mic.

Then silence.

Her call icon flickered once. Twice.

Disconnected.

Mirai laughed. “Saiya?”

Nothing. Only static.

Issan chuckled. “She probably clicked out in excitement. Typical.”

Zenobia hesitated. “Should we wait?”

“Nah,” Mirai said, forcing a grin. “We’ll see her in the lobby.”

He slid on his headset. “I’ll see you guys on the other side,” he said.

The line went dead.

A soft click.

A thin needle extended toward the back of his neck.

Mirai frowned. “My net dropped? Game’s not booting—”

Then came the jab.

Sharp. Precise.

Pain exploded through him. He lurched forward with a strangled yell, his hands clawing for the release latch.

His vision flickered—glitches of light and static bursting across his eyes before vanishing as quickly as they came.

The sensation left him stunned, his breath shallow and uneven. He blinked, trying to shake the phantom distortion, his pulse pounding in his ears.

Warmth trickled down his neck. He touched it.

Blood.

When he raised his hand in front of him his breath hitched. His fingers trembled uncontrollably, but it wasn’t just the shaking that froze him in place — it was the sight of his hand itself.

The skin was no longer the familiar texture of flesh but appeared fractured, like cracked glass.

Each movement caused bigger pieces to detach and smash onto the ground, blood dissolving immediately in contact with the air

The headset tore free from his head, and in its place, an ominous portal burst into existence.

A violent crash shook the walls. Air warped into a deafening roar.

Downstairs, a glass slipped from his mother’s hand and shattered. She didn’t notice.

“Mirai!” she shouted, sprinting for his room.

The door slammed open, and her heart stopped.

In the center of the room, chaos had taken shape — a swirling vortex of light and shadow, its edges alive with crackling arcs of otherworldly energy.

Papers, books, even the monitor ripped from the desk and vanished into the void.

And there he was, gripping the bed frame with white knuckles, his feet barely planted on the ground as the force of the portal dragged him closer.

“Mom!” he screamed, his voice raw with panic but still laced with determination. He wasn’t giving up. Not yet.

He shouted, every muscle in his body straining as he fought the pull of the vortex.

Her instincts kicked in. With a desperate cry, she lunged forward, her hands outstretched. “Hold on! I’m here! I’ve got you!”

Their fingers brushed, but the pull was too strong.

Before she could tighten her grip, a sickening crack of glass filled the air as the force shattered his arm apart. His limb completely disintegrated, flinging him into the air.

“NO!”

Her cry tore through the roar as the portal swallowed him whole. Their eyes met one last time — then he was gone.

A blinding flash.

A thunderclap.

Silence.

She stood trembling, tears streaming down her face, chest heaving—

then blinked.

A strange shimmer passed over her eyes. Her expression dulled, confusion washing everything blank.

“Why… did I come in here?” she murmured.

The room was spotless. Papers stacked. Monitor in place.

No blood. No light. No son.

She turned and left, closing the door as it rematerialized behind her.

The world shifted. Not in one place, but everywhere:

Sun Nation — a café:

Rows of glowing pods in a neon-lit gaming café hummed softly. Dozens of players slumped forward in eerie unison. A barista dropped his cup, steaming coffee splattering across the counter. Moments ago they’d been laughing. Now — silence.

United North — a suburban home:

A girl lounged across her bed, headset on, giggling into her mic. “No way, I totally dodged that—”

Static.

Her phone buzzed unanswered. Minutes later, her mother knocked, sighed, and opened the door.

The headset lay neatly on the pillow. Bed unmade. Room empty.

“Hm. Must’ve left early?”

Freya — a high-rise apartment:

A couple posed for a selfie before slipping their headsets on, their stove timer set for dinner.

Forty minutes later, the alarm blared, smoke curling from the oven. The apartment was empty. Plates still set on the table, glasses half full of water.

São Irelia — university dorm:

A student convulsed in his chair, clawing at the headset.

His roommate bolted upright. “Hey! You okay—?”

A flash of white swallowed the room. When it faded, the desk was tidy, the chair empty.

The roommate blinked, rubbing his eyes. “Weird… thought he was here.”

And then — silence.

People asked where their relatives had gone.

Office workers checked messages that no longer existed.

Livestreams stuttered into nothing, VODs erased, watchers forgetting they’d ever clicked.

Recordings erased.

Text logs, messages, schedules — scrubbed clean.

Across the globe millions of lives simply… stopped. No alarms. No footprints. Just absence, so clean it left only doubt behind.

And for those drawn inside their memories of the event snapped clean at the moment of entry.

When their eyes opened again, there was no portal, no blood, no terror.

Just a city of towering spires under a radiant sky.

Elysium's Reach.