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

Mara exhaled through her nose, dragging a hand through her silver-dyed hair as she watched the last wisps of blue light fade from where Miles had disappeared. The corridor still hummed faintly with residual energy, the space between reality and wherever he had gone was now warped in some imperceptible way.

"Son of a bitch really did it…" She muttered.

Beside her, Sarissa remained unnervingly silent. Her expression, usually so composed and arrogant, had twisted into something unreadable. Not anger, exactly. Not disappointment, either.

It was something in between. But Mara was not about to waste time deciphering it.

"Come on, Ice Queen. Let's get out of here before we draw more attention." She turned, hands slipping into her coat pockets.

Ch88. Pain as a teacher (12) - Left behind