“Ding! Hello, player Ava. You’ve been chosen as a player of ‘Starry Night,’ a realistic game consisting of ten levels, offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At exactly 3:00 AM, you’ll be sent to the game’s world for your first level. Before officially starting, the system will explain the game mechanics, which you can also access later through the virtual display panel.”

Ava, the player in question, was holding a bowl in her hand, looking dumbfounded as the words on the newly appeared panel were being read by a cold, robotic voice.

Just five minutes ago, she had been sneaking down the stairs to make a bowl of instant noodles to munch on while watching the newly released episode of a certain show. But now, she was standing in the dimly lit kitchen with a blank face, her brain working at full capacity trying to recall information  from all the TV dramas, novels, and comics about survival games in other worlds. Not giving her time to think, the robotic voice continued, “You have 14 minutes. You can bring anything, as long as there are no weapons and no electronics.”

"I refuse this precious opportunity. Please find someone else who's interested."

"The game chooses the players; once chosen, there is no way out. Players can't decline."

The words on the panel disappeared, and a timer started counting down from 14 minutes. She finished her bowl of noodles calmly before hurrying upstairs, not letting the possibility that this was all a hallucination due to lack of sleep interfere with her actions. While looking through her closet, she began mumbling, "No jeans, no dresses or skirts, and... yes!" She grabbed a blue zipper hoodie with matching pants. "But what if I find myself under a scorching hot sun?" So, she decided to wear a t-shirt and shorts underneath, just in case.

And as if she had rehearsed this situation before, she grabbed the laptop bag that had been collecting dust since she got it. "That's a better use for it," she muttered. The bag was perfect for now, as it could be worn as a backpack or carried like a briefcase, so she could easily move around while fleeing from ghosts, zombies, serial killers, or whatever the game was preparing.

She stuffed the bag with a tablet of chocolate she had been avoiding to eat, a pen and a notebook, some gauze, alcohol wipes, and painkillers. Noticing the timer had hit 3 minutes, she shifted her focus to look for shoes. "Not tight, not high, no laces..." she kept mumbling while looking for the right fit, then ended up choosing slip-on sneakers.

"No weapons, huh? What is considered a weapon?" she thought. Looking at the laces, she didn’t hesitate to put them in her pocket. “Strangl... no, they’ll be handy anyway."She stole a glance at the system panel trying to see its reaction but the timer kept going down normally.

She braided her hair and threw some hair clips in the bag before sitting on the bed, holding it. She said while closing her eyes, “If I'm really hallucinating because of lack of sleep, I can laugh about it later. But if not, and I am going to face the unknown on a random weekend night, at least I did what I could do.”

And sure enough, she suddenly felt the soft bedding under her turn firm. Voices of confused people reached her ears, followed by the same voice from earlier interrupting.

“Welcome, players, to ‘Starry Night.’”

She opened her eyes and found herself in an extravagant lobby occupied by about ten people from various age groups, each with different expressions. She looked carefully, trying to pinpoint what they all had in common that gave them ‘the once-in-a-lifetime chance’ to become players of this mysterious game.

There was something; she could feel it, but couldn’t specify it. They all had it to some extent, but when she looked again, it seemed like nothing. A little gloomy? Indifference, even in this situation? Fake smiles or fake fear? They all, including her, seemed to be wearing a mask, carefully put on, unwilling to take it off, even in this obviously dangerous environment. They didn’t know if ‘Starry Night’ would be a stroll to admire the beautiful night sky or a night of running away from danger with countless stars as spectators.

The voice continued, cutting through her thoughts, “Before officially starting the first level, let me introduce the game properly. The game consists of 10 levels. Once a week, you are required to log in and clear one level randomly. You can pass it safely as long as you reach a 50% completion rate by the deadline, but if you don’t... well, you can find that out for yourselves.”

The system paused for a minute, giving their imaginations time to run wild.

“To help you through your trial, you have a chance to spin the lucky prize wheel every time you pass. You have three in-game lives. Once you run out, you can’t continue the level. If you already have a passing score, you can return to reality. If not, you can wait patiently for the punishment once the other players clear the level. For advanced scores, feel free to check the score guide on your personal game interface.”

All the players started pointing in the air suddenly, interacting with their personal virtual panel, visible only to them.

“As for your personal belongings that align with the previously stated conditions, you can click on ‘Belongings.’ Alright, you’ve got another 5 minutes to familiarize yourselves with the settings. Next time you log in, you’ll be directly sent to your level. I hope you have a great time.”

Ava looked at her panel. The Starry Night painting by Vincent van Gogh served as the background. The game interface appeared normal: three heart outlines symbolized her in-game lives, positioned on the cypress tree, while the moon represented the lucky prize wheel, with a 0 written on top. The houses of the village had 10 locks, each one representing a level; level 1 was unlocked.

Other buttons were positioned on the stars. She clicked on ‘Belongings’ and, sure enough, the bag and other items were listed individually. With only the score guide button left to investigate, the system rang again:

“Ding! You are entering the first level now. Remember to make wise decisions, as there is not much room to change the outcome later. And one last thing: this game can be played both individually and in a group, or you can simply exchange clues. I hope you have a great time.”

Hearing about playing in a group, Ava wanted to curse the system. Why leave such an important piece of information until now? But she didn’t have the chance, as she suddenly fell into a deep sleep. When she felt someone trying to wake her, she opened her eyes in confusion. What just happened?

What she faced was straight out of one of her nightmares.