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 woke up to the faint glow of daylight filtering through the cracked blinds, the distant hum of the city just beginning to stir. His mind was groggy, weighed down by the remnants of uneasy sleep. A dull ache pressed against his temples, but as he rubbed the exhaustion from his bones and went to wash his face, something felt... Off.

The apartment was silent. Too silent.

"Dee?" Miles called, waiting to see Diego appearing out of the living room with a [Novice Ration Pack] in his hands, munching on it excitedly as he always did. But no sound or movement came in response.

Frowning, Miles got out of the bathroom and glanced around, checking the clock. It was already well past dawn.

"He should've been back by nightfall, last night…" Miles sighed. "What's taking him so long in there…?"

Ch67. Where are you?