Unable to connect to the server. Please try again later.

Viona slumped back in her chair, controller in hand and staring blankly at the monitor lonesomely lighting up her room.

She restarted the game.

Unable to connect to the server. Please try again later.

She restarted again.

Unable to connect to the server. Please try again later.

Her brow furrowed, continuing to stare at the screen with a growing mix of agitation and confusion. She reached for her phone and opened Discourse.

> 》Leader of Cult Vincent: Is anyone else having trouble getting on Celestial Impact?

> 》This Game Hates Me: So it’s not just me…

> 》Down Bad For Adolphus: I was playing like ten minutes ago and it kicked me out. (¬_¬)

> 》Cherry‌‌‌ Elf: Same! I just wanted to do my weeklies, dammit!

> 》Leader of Cult Vincent: Maybe it's down for emergency maintenance? Hold on.

Viona swapped over to her Flutter to check the official Celestial Impact account. The last update was several hours ago.

“Okay...” She opened Discourse again, going to the official Celestial Impact sever.

She checked the announcements channel—nothing.

She checked the general channels—nothing but confused players.

Something told her that no matter where she looked, it would be more of the same.

> 》Leader of Cult Vincent: I looked around and it seems like no one knows what’s going on. Given how recent this is, it’s a possibility that we’ll hear something eventually…I hope.

> 》Cherry‌ Elf: RIP. So much for our plans.

> 》Leader‌ of Cult Vincent: ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌ Eh, it is what it is. I bet everything will be fine by tomorrow.

> 》Down Bad For Adolphus: I really wanted to finish the event tonight… (T_T)

> 》This Game Hates Me: I haven’t even started the thing.

> 》Cherry Elf: Well at this point, I may as well just go to bed.

> 》Leader of Cult Vincent: To be honest, same. I’m not really in the mood to do anything else.

> 》This Game Hates Me: Guess I’ll go watch some MePipe videos. Later.

> 》Down Bad For Adolphus: Maybe I’ll go to sleep, too… Night, guys.

> 》Cherry Elf: Night-night!

> 》Leader of Cult Vincent: Nighto!

Viona sighed, closing out of Discourse, turning off her GS5, and placing the controller on the charging dock. She rolled her chair over to her desk and opened her laptop. The display came to life with a wallpaper of Vincent taking a nap as the lock screen—so cute. After putting in her password, she opened the web browser and went straight to MePipe.

“I wonder if there’s anything interesting to watch…” said Viona as she scrolled through her feed, her countenance screaming boredom with every thumbnail she passed.

Perhaps this was simply a symptom of watching so many videos that she’d exhausted all options of anything mildly intriguing. Maybe MePipe wouldn’t be the time-waster of her choice for the evening.

A faint knocking came from the living room. Viona’s eyes narrowed as she stood up from her chair. Was there someone at the front door? How strange. She was never one to receive unexpected visitors.

She opened the drawer on the side of her desk, taking out her pepper spray gun fashioned in the design of an ordinary, black handgun—perfect for scaring someone shitless—and then slipped her phone into her pocket before making for the dark living room like a ghost.

The knocking sounded again just as she reached the door.

Viona closed one eye, lifting on her tiptoes and looking through the peephole. It was dark. So much so that she could barely discern the figure on the other side.

Shit. The maintenance people weren’t going to replace that faulty light outside her apartment until tomorrow. Talk about the worst timing.

She lowered herself to her feet, holding back the urge to sigh.

They knocked again.

At this point, she only had two options: Ignore them or call out to see what they wanted. It didn’t take many situational analyses in her brain to determine what choice held the least amount of consequences.

Viona stepped away from the door, leaning against the wall beside it.

“Who is it?” She asked.

There was a moment of silence.

“Does a Viona live here, myu?” A squeaky, vaguely familiar voice replied.

“…Who wants to know?”

“Uh…Myu wants to know, myu!”

“Myu?” Her eyebrow raised, and her grip on the gun tightened.

“Yes, myu!”

It was almost like a child was speaking to her with how cutesy and high-pitched the voice was. But the speech mannerisms were strange. Why were they talking like some kind of Minimon or mascot character?

“What do you want?”

“Myu needs help, myu…”

“Help? Help with what?”

“Uh… it’s difficult to explain like this, myu. If you could just open the door, it would make a lot more sense.”

That sounded like a line straight out of one of those horror movies; it was the kind of thing the killer would say to get you to lower your guard and make the stupidest decision of your life.

“Please, myu…” They said in an almost whimper.

The way this person was speaking was whittling away at her wall of paranoia. What if this was a small child with a weird verbal tick that needed her help? She couldn’t ignore them, despite how much she wanted to.

What if she turned on the news one day and saw a report about the brutal slaughter or disappearance of some child, the same one outside her door at that moment? What if her opening the door was the difference between life and death for some innocent soul? She’d never forgive herself.

She gave in.

“Just a moment.”

Viona pulled out her phone, opened Discourse, and went to her private messages. Cherry Elf was still online—good.

> 》Leader of Cult Vincent: Hey. If I don’t respond in the next hour, do a wellness check on me.

> 》Cherry Elf: Wait, what? What’s going on?

> 》Leader of Cult Vincent: I got some stranger at my door. Not sure if I can trust them or not. I’m getting ready to open the door and take a look. If anything happens, I leave it in your hands.

> 》Cherry Elf: There’s no way you say that and not expect me to be worried. I’m coming over there ASAP.

> 》Leader of Cult Vincent: Well, that works, too. Hopefully, you come for no reason.

> 》Cherry Elf: On my way. I’m bringing the briefcase!

Taking a deep breath, Viona put her phone back in her pocket.

“Time for the moment of truth,” she whispered as she turned to the door.

She undid the primary lock and the deadbolt while keeping the chain lock in place. The door opened slowly, keeping her pepper spray gun close as she peeked out from the narrow opening with squinted eyes.

A man smiled back at her. Well, it was more like a devious smirk. It was difficult to make out most of his features from the moonlight alone, but he was no child.

“Would you look at that.” He said, his voice dripping with a certain mellow and seductive allure. “She actually opened it. How fortuitous. Perhaps now we can actually get around to making some progress.” He chuckled, peering inside.

Viona stepped back, breath hitched and eyes wide.

That certainly wasn’t the cute voice she’d heard from before. It was just as she feared! She’d been had!

She pointed her pepper spray gun at the opening, keeping a brave face as she replied with as much confidence as she could muster. “Leave if you value your life. I’m not afraid to use this thing!”

The man behind the door laughed like it was the most amusing joke he’d ever heard. “Oh, she’s adorable! I like her already!”

“Cut it out, myu! You’re scaring her, myu!” The cute voice from before called out.

A slight, inexplicable relief came over her. Not because she felt safe but because this Myu individual seemed to be real, at the very least. Still, she kept her gun at the ready.

“I want to see the one who call themselves Myu—right now! Do anything funny and I’ll shoot.“

She didn’t want to know what she hoped to gain from seeing this Myu person. Maybe it was a desire to seek comfort in unveiling the unknown.

“As you wish, kitten.” The man chuckled again, shaking his head as he stepped away from the crack in the door.

A second later, something else appeared in the small opening. Something…circular? She squinted, trying to make out whatever it was she was looking at. It had eyes, for sure. But…was that some kind of white fluff all around it? One look down revealed whatever she was looking at had no feet; hell, it didn’t have a body either. As far as she was concerned, the man from before probably put a whole plush toy in front of her and was faking the voice.

“Myu is here, myu! I’m sorry, myu! Please don’t be afraid, myu…” The thing said.

“I…” Viona hesitated, trying to wrap her head around this weird situation she’d found herself in. “…What are you?”

“Myu is Myu!”

“That literally answers nothing! What are you?”

“Myu is…” The thing calling itself Myu trailed off, closing its eyes as if searching for the best answer. When its gaze met hers again, it smiled so happily. “Myu is the bestest travel companion ever!”

Viona stared back, eyes wide and unblinking. “…What?”

“Myu has been with Viona on all of her adventures throughout Caelum, myu. Myu was there when she swore her allegiance to Lord Vincent, myu. Myu was also there for every version Vincent Viona maxed out, myu! Myu was there when Viona topped the leaderboards for every single Vincent related event—even when he wasn’t the focus of said event, myu. Viona’s love for the Vampire King knows no bounds, myu.”

Again, the man chuckled. “Truly, a most loyal subject. One deserving of her master’s praise.”

There were a million and one thoughts in her mind, yet her voice fell mute when she tried to speak. The gears in her brain turned as she desperately tried to rationalize what this thing had said to her.

Myu: the mascot of Celestial Impact and your trusted companion. That damn game was the furthest thing from her mind up till now. But Myu wasn’t real. Myu was a fictional character in a fictional world. But then there was that other guy. He sounded a bit familiar, too. There was no way. Unless…

Viona’s shoulders relaxed, lowering the gun to her side as she hovered a hand over the chain lock.

There were only two possible deductions: she was either dreaming or a victim of the most elaborate prank of her life.

“Just one last thing, Myu…” She said softly.

“Yes, myu?”

“What is my User Identification Number? Answer immediately.”

“600004598. You were one of the earliest players to register for the game and have logged in for 987 consecutive days.”

All the information was frighteningly accurate. Who would go this far for a prank or scam? UIDs were nine digits long, and the vast majority of people couldn’t even be bothered to remember their ID‌, let alone the ID of another. What would anyone have to gain from remembering such mundane information?

Nothing.

Literally nothing.

Viona removed the chain lock and opened the door.