Omar pressed the "Start" button again, but this time it felt different. The screen wasn't just light and color anymore—he could feel heat and cold at the same time, as if the air in the room had changed. His heart sank with fear, and with every breath, he felt the game slowly swallowing him whole.
The light from the screen engulfed him completely. When he opened his eyes, he could no longer see his room. Everything around him was dark and hazy, filled with the sounds of zombies and movement, yet more real than he had ever expected. The ground beneath his feet was cold, the air thick with the smell of dirt and dampness.
"Where am I?" Omar muttered, his voice small, as if getting lost in a world bigger than sound itself.
In the corner, something moved. A shadow, tall and mysterious. Not an ordinary zombie. Two eyes glimmered in the darkness, watching him silently, crossing the line between the game and what he didn't yet understand.
Suddenly, he remembered his grandmother's movement from last night. It wasn't just a ritual. It wasn't just a routine. It was something bigger, something synchronized with the game in a way Omar could hardly believe.
He tried to move, but his feet felt unnaturally heavy, as if the ground itself held him back from any clear path. At that moment, the first layers of the game began to reveal themselves:
Zombies advanced quickly, not randomly, as if partially aware.
Doors appeared and disappeared, floors shifted beneath him.
Strange sounds interwove with the usual noise, muffled whispers calling his name.
Omar tried to scream, but his voice traveled too far, then returned distorted, warped. He realized: this was no ordinary virtual reality.
With every step, he sensed something behind him, something connected to the house, his grandmother, and perhaps her mysterious ritual. The game was no longer a game—it was an open system, a world of its own, with its own rules. Every mistake here would leave a mark on the real world.
Suddenly, another figure appeared before him, half shadow, half body, carrying a symbolism he didn't understand, eyes radiating mystery. An inner voice whispered:
"The journey hasn't even begun… and the chance to escape is slim."
Everything around him became charged with tension. There was no turning back, no escape. The boy had entered the game completely, and reality began to dissolve
around him.