MrBoness

-- WSA 2025 Entry --

“Five… Four… Three… Two… One…”
As the countdown towards the new year went on to the last second, Miles looked up to the sky, just as everybody else did.

In the middle of the crowded street, Miles for once felt like he belonged. Being a teenage gamer, living with his parents, and trying to build a life as a streamer, he did not feel like leaving his room every day.

But there, in the middle of that crowded street, with everyone around him paying attention to the sky, the countdown on the digital billboard, and mostly anything else but him., Miles felt like a ghost.

A welcomed ghost, but a ghost, after all.

With a smile on his unseen face, he looked up as the countdown reached one, and everybody sang in unison.
‘HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

But Miles’ eyes widened as he watched in utter horror, and curiosity, even, hovering above him, a holographic screen with a few lines of text written in it.

All around him, although he did not pay much attention to it, a few other people seemed to experience the same situation.

[Updating home-world 39515’s version]

[Version 20.25 update brings a lot of fun and games with the new and improved survival mode]

[Do you want to convert your previous avatar to home-world 39515’s latest version?]

[Yes] [No]

“Survival… Mode?” Miles’ lips quivered.

Before he could think of anything else, though, the people around him began to scream…

Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game

For the first time since the fight began, there was no laughter, no taunting, no smug amusement coming from Miles. Just the slow, unsettling sound of something shifting beneath his skin.

Sarissa took a cautious step back, her fingers tightening around her blade as she watched him. Something was wrong. The eerie glow in his mask's eyes had vanished, replaced by something darker, something deeper.

Not a clean break. Not like something breaking in two. No, it split, from the mouth outward, the carved, stitched grin splitting apart as though something inside him was tearing its way free.

Sarissa barely had time to react before Miles began to change.

Ch54. RE: [World Quest] (12) - Do it