The afternoon sky over Manila had been acting weird all day. Krad pressed his nose against his bedroom window, watching dark clouds swirl in patterns that didn't look natural. They twisted like someone was stirring soup, forming spirals that made his eyes water if he stared too long.
"Must be a typhoon coming," he muttered, though the weather reports hadn't mentioned anything. At sixteen, he'd seen plenty of storms roll through the Philippines, but this felt different.
Krad flopped onto his bed, pulling out his phone to check the social media. Maybe someone had posted about the weird weather. But as he scrolled through his feed, something else caught his attention. Other people were talking about it too.
"Anyone else seeing these crazy clouds? Looks like the sky is glitching lol"
"Weather's been acting up in Quezon City too. My dog won't stop barking."
"Bro the air feels electric. Like before a lightning strike but it's been like this for hours."
A low rumble shook the house, making Krad's gaming chair creak. He looked up from his phone, frowning. That didn't sound like thunder. It was more like... machinery? Like giant gears grinding together somewhere far away.
He went back to the window. The clouds were moving faster now, and he could swear he saw flashes of blue light dancing between them. Not lightning, something else. Something that pulsed in a rhythm that reminded him of loading screens in MMORPGs.
"Probably just some atmospheric thing," he said aloud, trying to convince himself. "Low pressure system or whatever."
By the time evening rolled around, Krad had given up trying to focus on anything. Every game he tried to play felt flat and boring compared to whatever was happening outside his window. The humming had gotten louder, and now he could see geometric patterns flickering in the clouds, shapes that looked almost like... interface elements?
"Okay, that's definitely not normal," he muttered, pressing his face against the glass again.
As if responding to his words, the patterns suddenly solidified. For just a moment, Krad could swear he saw what looked like a massive status window stretched across the sky, filled with text he couldn't quite make out. Then it flickered and disappeared, leaving him blinking spots from his vision.
"Did I just... did the sky just show me a game interface?" He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he'd been staring at screens too long. "I'm losing it. Definitely losing it."
But the feeling of wrongness only intensified as night fell. He tried to sleep around ten, but every time he closed his eyes, he felt like he was falling. Not the gentle drift into dreams, but an actual sensation of plummeting through empty space. His stomach would lurch, and he'd jolt awake, heart pounding.
"Come on, brain, work with me here," he groaned, flipping his pillow to the cool side for the third time.
But when he finally did manage to doze off, the falling sensation didn't stop. Instead, it got stronger.
At first, he thought he was dreaming. The falling feeling had become so intense that his whole body felt weightless, like he was tumbling through a void. But dreams didn't usually feel this real. Dreams didn't usually include the sensation of wind rushing past his face or the very real terror of having nothing to grab onto.
He tried to open his eyes, but there was nothing to see. Pure darkness surrounded him, broken only by occasional flashes of that same blue light he'd seen in the clouds.
"This is a dream," he said aloud, surprised to hear his own voice echoing in the emptiness. "Has to be a dream. People don't just fall through black holes in their sleep."
But even as he said it, he knew something was wrong. This felt too real, too detailed. The sensation of acceleration was making his stomach churn, and he could feel his clothes flapping in the wind of his descent. Dreams didn't usually include this level of physical sensation.
The blue lights were getting brighter, and now Krad could make out shapes in the darkness around him. Geometric forms that looked like they were made of pure light, spinning and rotating in patterns that hurt his brain to follow. They reminded him of loading screens, of progress bars, of all the visual elements that showed up when a game was processing something big.
"Okay, seriously, what is happening?" he shouted into the void.
The answer came in the form of solid ground rushing up to meet him. Krad had just enough time to see what looked like a stone platform surrounded by swirling energy before he slammed into it with enough force to knock the wind out of his lungs.
He lay there for a moment, gasping and trying to figure out if anything was broken. Everything hurt, but in the dull, achy way that suggested bruises rather than fractures. Slowly, he pushed himself up to his hands and knees, looking around at his new surroundings.
He was definitely not in his bedroom anymore.
"Okay," Krad said slowly, getting to his feet and dusting off his pajamas. "This is either the most realistic dream I've ever had, or something really weird just happened to me."
As if summoned by his words, a translucent blue screen materialized in the air directly in front of him. Krad jerked backward, nearly losing his balance again.
Player 143 ENTER Online [Click Start]
He hesitated, then pressed the start button. The interface expanded, offering two options:
[Clear the Game] or [Die in the Real World]
His heart felt like it was about to burst from his chest as he stared at the glowing options hovering in front of him:
"What is this? A prank? A dream?" he muttered under his breath.
He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, but no sound came out. His entire body felt numb, and the world he had known was gone.
The dark crimson interface shook violently, and cracks began to form on its surface.
Player 143, your selection is required. Failure to comply will result in termination.
He staggered, his knees buckling slightly.
"Termination?" he whispered, his voice trembling.
The cracks grew wider, and the interface began to crumble at the edges. He looked down, only to see nothingness---a void that seemed endless. The sight that made his stomach churn.
"This can't be real... this can't be real!" he shouted.
Make your choice: [Clear the Game] or [Die in the Real World]
He clenched his fists, his mind racing. The words felt like a death sentence either way. He didn't know what Clear the Game meant, but the alternative was clear. Death.
"Fine! I'll do it!" he yelled, his voice echoing into the void. "I'll play your stupid game!"