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

The ringing in Miles' ears had barely faded when the newcomer's voice cut through the eerie silence of the battlefield.

"Do you mind if I crash your party?"

Miles twisted, his breath catching as he caught sight of a figure standing atop a pile of jagged wreckage, the silhouette framed against the fog. A man, or at least something close to one.

He was tall and lean, his frame wrapped in a long, tattered coat that fluttered in the wind. His messy brown hair was streaked with white strands, and a single, piercing silver eye glowed from beneath the shadow of his hood. The other eye was obscured by a bandage, messy and frayed at the edges.

But more than his appearance, it was the pressure oozing from him that sent a shudder through Miles' spine.

Ch93. Pain as a teacher (17) - Not alone