window activated

The sky above was bruised purple, cracked with strange, shifting light like a broken LCD screen. Wind whispered through the tall silver grass as if even the land held its breath. I stood still, hands in my jacket pockets, watching them all start to come to—one by one.

My classmates. Twenty of them, scattered like loose save files dumped into a corrupted world.

And then it happened.

A soft chime, like the opening of a game menu.

> [SYSTEM BOOTING…] Welcome to New Horizons. Reality ID: Fractured 0001. All Travelers Registered.

Each of them blinked, and one by one, shimmering blue windows opened in front of their faces. Floating HUDs. Just like an RPG.

---

"What the hell is this?!" Rose Everhart gasped. Her bright green eyes flicked across the text, fingers trembling as if touching the air would close it.

> Name: Rose Everhart

Age: 16

Origin: Edinburgh, Scotland

Hax Ability: Crimson Thread — Control fate-bound threads. Can rewind events once per battle.

"This is… impossible," she murmured.

Jack Donovan let out a hoot. "Yesss! Called it! Isekai rules, baby! I knew it!"

> Name: Jack Donovan

Age: 17

Origin: Dublin, Ireland

Hax Ability: Iron Will — Creates barrier shields and enhances strength based on willpower.

"You've got to be kidding," Ivy McConnell muttered, trying to swipe hers away.

> Name: Ivy McConnell

Age: 16

Origin: Manchester, England

Hax Ability: Mirror Bloom — Reflect attacks and make mirror clones.

Lucas Stone was gawking. "Dude. This is… like we're inside a game."

> Name: Lucas Stone

Age: 15

Origin: Cardiff, Wales

Hax Ability: Pulse Core — Shockwaves that stun and shape terrain.

Sofia Clarke adjusted her glasses and read aloud. "Reality-based command input... Hax Ability: Mind Scriptor? Oh my god. I can write reality?"

> Name: Sofia Clarke

Age: 16

Origin: London, England

Hax Ability: Mind Scriptor — Writes single-word commands into reality.

Noah Walters slumped on the grass. "I'm way too tired for this."

> Name: Noah Walters

Age: 17

Origin: Glasgow, Scotland

Hax Ability: Shadow Skip — Teleport between any shadows.

---

The Asian side started registering as well.

Ayaka Sato stared at the window in disbelief. "Glass Dance? That's… poetic."

> Name: Ayaka Sato

Age: 16

Origin: Tokyo, Japan

Hax Ability: Glass Dance — Razor-sharp glass control and protective barriers.

Hana Kimura giggled nervously. "I got luck powers? That's totally unfair for the enemies."

> Name: Hana Kimura

Age: 15

Origin: Osaka, Japan

Hax Ability: Luck Stitch — Tweak luck for herself or others.

Kenji Arai pumped his fists. "Steel Roar! That sounds metal!"

> Name: Kenji Arai

Age: 17

Origin: Kyoto, Japan

Hax Ability: Steel Roar — Devastating sonic attacks.

Mei Ling Zhao watched stars float above her fingers. "It's… dreamlike."

> Name: Mei Ling Zhao

Age: 16

Origin: Guangzhou, China

Hax Ability: Dream Craft — Manifest beasts and fragments from dreams.

Daichi Hayashi clenched a fist. "Earthcall… huh. I'll keep us grounded."

> Name: Daichi Hayashi

Age: 18

Origin: Hokkaido, Japan

Hax Ability: Earthcall — Total terrain control.

Riku Yamamoto tapped his screen and smirked. "Code Breaker. Oh, I'm gonna love this."

> Name: Riku Yamamoto

Age: 15

Origin: Akihabara, Japan

Hax Ability: Code Breaker — Glitch manipulation and system hacking.

Yuna Tanaka whispered, "I… think I can trap people without them noticing."

> Name: Yuna Tanaka

Age: 16

Origin: Okinawa, Japan

Hax Ability: Silk Thread — Set invisible battlefield traps.

Satoshi Mori twirled his cracked watch. "Replay Reel? Like a save state?"

> Name: Satoshi Mori

Age: 15

Origin: Sapporo, Japan

Hax Ability: Replay Reel — Rewind own time up to 10 seconds.

Nari Choi scowled, flipping her bangs. "Veil Bloom. Sounds emo. I like it."

> Name: Nari Choi

Age: 17

Origin: Seoul, South Korea

Hax Ability: Veil Bloom — Total sensory illusions.

Haru Takeda cracked his knuckles. "Zero Shift? Guess I'm the trump card."

> Name: Haru Takeda

Age: 16

Origin: Nagoya, Japan

Hax Ability: Zero Shift — Nullify and reverse one attack per battle.

They all began to panic, awe, or geek out. Some were already comparing abilities. Some wondered what enemies we'd face. Some still didn't believe we weren't dreaming.

But none of them noticed my screen.

> Name: Jerry Age:14 (physically)

Origin: earth-001(status destroyed)