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 hesitated for a moment, a drop of cold sweat sliding down his neck.

How could he summon the hat and mantle when he knew what would happen? When he almost died the first time he dismissed it?

"I can do that..." Miles broke the silence, hesitantly. "But if I do, I won't be able to dismiss it because it-"

"Because it feeds on your essence, and you already noticed it, right?" Kurt interrupted, a smirk curling his lips upward. "Good. You're one step ahead by knowing it. However-"

"I know it sounds repetitive, but how do you know so much about it, about the Hatter and Wonderland?" Miles cut Kurt mid-sentence, tilting his head as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

Kurt fell silent, and for the first time since Miles had met the guy, he looked down. There was no trace of any identifiable emotion in his eyes, other than cold, distant fear.

Ch103. Pain as a teacher (27) - Boogeyman