The world outside was still quiet—dark, washed in the first pale hints of dawn. Streetlights buzzed faintly, windows glowed with the soft hue of sleeping homes.
Earth was asleep.
However, in three separate homes across different cities, something clicked open.
Three capsules—Zeno units—let out low hisses as they slowly unsealed. Soft lights blinked from red to green.
The interior mist of nutrient-rich gas dissipated, revealing the players within.
Zack.
Evan.
Carmen.
Their eyes fluttered open.
It took them a second to register what had happened.
The system didn't log them out. Something had forcibly cut their connection.
For a while, they all thought about what had happened. The first two to remember were Zack and Evan.
They first saw what happened and then got involved.
But it didn't take Carmen to understand what happened to her.
And as if pulled by the same instinct, all three of them turned back to their Zeno units.
And tried to log back in.
Again.
And again.
