The faint hum of the VR rig died as I pulled the helmet off, blinking against the sudden brightness of my bedroom.

I rubbed at my face, my skin slightly damp from the hours spent under the helmet. My body was stiff, and the faint smell of stale coffee filled my room. My clock read 2:37 PM, which meant sunlight was still legal, and I had no excuse not to go outside.

With a groan, I flopped backward onto my bed.

I could still hear Hollowcrest’s lively outpost in my head—the chatter of NPCs, Mason and Fi bantering, Selene’s sharp yet gentle voice cutting through the noise. But here? Nothing but the faint honk of a car outside and the neighbor's dog losing its mind.

Okay, Kiera, you promised Dev you'd do something productive. Like… socialize. Or touch grass. Or both. Preferably in that order.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

I found myself wandering into The Page & Brew, the hybrid comic book shop and coffeehouse nestled on a side street downtown. Its creaky wooden floors, endless rows of colorful comic spines, and faint smell of hazelnut coffee made it my favorite hideout on days I wanted to pretend to be a functioning adult.

I walked up to the counter, where a barista with dyed purple hair and thick round glasses was pouring latte art into someone’s drink.

“Hey, Kiera! Long time no see.”

“Hey, Dani. Long time indeed.”

The barista grinned, her lip piercing catching the light. “You’ve been MIA. What’s been eating you? Let me guess… existential dread, caffeine dependency, or some wildly addictive video game?”

“Bold of you to assume it isn’t all three,” I replied, managing a grin.

Dani laughed, tapping her pen against the register. “Alright, what’s your poison today?”

“Caramel macchiato, extra caramel, and a blueberry muffin,” I said, pulling out my wallet.

“Coming right up, sugar gremlin.”

While Dani prepared my drink, I wandered over to one of the small corner tables, plopping my bag down and pulling out my sketchpad. Flipping through the pages, I caught glimpses of Selene’s piercing amber eyes, Lucien’s roguish grin, and even Fi and Mason in the middle of an argument.

I paused on a half-finished sketch of Devon’s avatar, Overlord Ren, his usual smug smirk etched across the page.

The bell above the door chimed, and I glanced up. A group of teens in rushed in, chattering excitedly about the new Eidolon Nexus patch.

One of them—probably fifteen—was talking about some insane anomaly boss they’d encountered in the Rift, waving their arms as if reliving the entire battle.

I tried not to smile.

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“Order up!” Dani called, placing my drink and muffin on the counter.

I was halfway through sketching a corrupted anomaly creature when someone cleared their throat next to me.

“Uh, excuse me? Is that… Eidolon Nexus fan art?”

I looked up, blinking at the guy standing awkwardly beside my table. He had shaggy brown hair and wore an Eidolon Nexus hoodie with the logo faintly glowing across the fabric.

“Oh. Yeah. Kind of,” I said, flipping the sketchpad closed instinctively.

“That’s so cool! Wait—did you base that on the Rift anomalies? Because it looks exactly like them.”

I hesitated, clutching my pencil tightly. “Yeah… I guess I was inspired after running into one. With my party. In-game, I mean.”

“Wait, you play?!” His eyes lit up, and I internally cringed at how enthusiastic he was.

“Uh… yeah. A little.”

“Same!” he said, practically bouncing on his heels. “What’s your username? Maybe we’ve run into each other!”

Oh no, panic mode. Engage evasive maneuvers.

“Uh, I don’t think so. I mostly play solo. Casual stuff, you know?”

The guy nodded, still grinning. “Cool, cool. Well, if you ever need a party or something, my guild’s always looking for people!”

He scribbled something on a napkin—his in-game username, presumably—and handed it to me before walking away.

I stared at the napkin like it might self-destruct in my hand.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

After escaping the comic café and successfully avoiding further awkward social encounters, I wandered into the nearby park. Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting shifting patterns on the gravel paths.

A street musician played a soft melody on their guitar near one of the benches, their case open for tips. Children chased each other across the grass, and an older couple fed ducks by the pond.

I sat down on an empty bench and leaned back, closing my eyes briefly.

The wind was cool against my face, carrying with it the faint smell of flowers and freshly cut grass. For a moment, the chaotic noise of Eidolon Nexus faded from my mind—the weight of UNKNOWN’s messages, the glitching shadows curling at my feet, and the fragments I was supposed to find.

But it wasn’t gone entirely.

I pulled my phone out and checked the time. The game called to me—a persistent hum in the back of my head.

By the time I made it back to my apartment, the sun was dipping below the horizon, casting my small living space in hues of gold and pink.

I dropped my bag on the couch and flopped onto the cushions face-first.

After a moment, I turned my head just enough to peek at the sketchpad sitting on my coffee table.

Reaching out, I flipped it open to one of the unfinished drawings of Selene. Her sharp gaze stared back at me, her daggers glinting faintly in the grayscale shading.

My chest tightened slightly.

There was a knock at my door, and I flinched.

“Devon, if that’s you and you’ve forgotten your keys again, I swear—”

But when I opened the door, it was Dani from the café, holding something in her hands.

“You left your wallet on the counter, space cadet,” she said with a smirk.

I blinked, staring at the Japanese Hime wallet. “Oh. My, geez… thanks.”

She shoved my wallet in my hand and gave me a knowing look. “You okay, Kiera? You seem… distracted.”

I hesitated before nodding. “Yeah. Just… caught up in stuff. Y’know. Life. And games. The usual.”

Dani chuckled. “Alright, space cadet. Don’t disappear on us again, okay? We actually like seeing your face once in a while.”

She turned and disappeared down the hall, leaving me clutching the wallet like it was a precious artifact.

Later that night, after a quick shower and changing into fresh pajamas, I sat cross-legged on my bed, my VR headset resting in my lap.

The apartment was quiet, save for the distant hum of cars outside and the faint ticking of my wall clock.

I took a deep breath, slipping the headset over my head.

The soft boot-up screen glowed faintly before the world of Eidolon Nexus began to bleed into view.