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 silence that followed the Master's words was suffocating. The masked figures surrounding them remained motionless, their unreadable expressions only adding to the tension. The only sound was the faint hum of the flickering neon lights embedded in the chamber walls, casting sharp, angular shadows across the shifting floor panels.

Miles kept his stance firm, his fingers tightening around the shaft of his scythe. His heart pounded, but his voice remained steady.

"I need to prepare before I challenge The Last Verse."

"A bold claim." The Master's masked face tilted slightly, his dark eyes glimmering with amusement, or perhaps curiosity.

"You really don't do subtle, do you?" Kurt let out a low whistle.

"The Last Verse is not a place one simply walks into. It is the heart of The Horizon, the culmination of all roads. Do you even understand what it is you seek?" The Master got up and took a step forward, his presence heavy.

Ch120. Test