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

Miles stared at Cheshire, his pulse hammering in his ears. The cat's words sank in like lead in his stomach, twisting something deep inside him.

"That girl…" He muttered, his voice barely a whisper. "You're telling me Sarissa is the one you've been looking for?"

"That's right." Cheshire's luminous grin didn't waver, but his piercing blue eyes held something different this time. Something serious.

"Okay, can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?" Diego shifted uncomfortably in his chair, glancing between the two.

Miles exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair before turning back to Cheshire.

"You told me that you were looking for someone… That you needed my help to find them." He clenched his jaw. "I thought it was about finding Alice's incarnation on Earth, like you told me before, not… Her."

Ch56. Rearrangement of priorities