Sunlight filtered gently through the curtains of Nicolas' room, falling across a desk scattered with notebooks, sketchpads, and a half-finished model of a bridge he had been building for hours.
Outside, the usual sounds of morning drifted in—birds chirping, distant cars, Arnold yelling for their mom, and the faint hum of the neighborhood waking up.
Nicolas leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers against the edge of the desk.
He squinted at his computer screen. Lord of the Abyss – Phantom Tales.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
He had always imagined himself as the main character of the game: the heir to the Seon Kingdom, destined to rise and become the most powerful king.
For two days straight, he had been lost in its world—streets, villages, halls of Seon—all alive in his head.
The weight of a crown, the thrill of power… for a moment, it felt real.
"Nick! You've been in there forever!" Arnold's voice cut through the haze, followed by the loud thud of him barging into the room.
"Oh, sh*t! You scared me!" Nicolas jumped, nearly tipping over his chair.
"But you have to visit the Lawrence family! Have you forgotten?" Arnold asked, smirking.
"Of course not!" Nicolas replied, forcing a laugh. Slowly, he shut down his PC.
The sinking feeling of being dragged back into reality returned—the hum of the computer fading, the faint warmth of the sunlight on his arm grounding him.
He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. Just another regular day, he thought.
Nothing extraordinary.
Nothing… yet.