Gunshots rang out, jolting me from my stupor. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. The assassins were here, their presence a heavy, suffocating force. I spun around, desperate, but then... I saw their faces.
My heart stopped.
It was just as Kris had warned. The game had taken those we loved and twisted them into monsters. My parents, standing before me, their guns aimed directly at me and Karun. The warmth and love I had once known from their faces was replaced with cold, unyielding hatred.
Tears blurred my vision. Mama... Papa... My mind struggled to reconcile the people I had loved with the ones standing in front of me now. They were part of this game, and they were here to kill me.
I could barely think. Fear and grief overwhelmed me, the weight of my parents' betrayal crushing my chest. They had been twisted into something unrecognizable.
Their fingers tightened on the triggers.
I pulled Karun closer to me, My tears soaked into his shirt as I braced myself for the impact. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the pain, for the bullets to rip through us.
The shots rang out.
But nothing happened.
I opened my eyes, heart racing. The bullets had vanished into thin air. I looked up, confused, and saw it—the glitch. The corruption was spreading faster now, consuming everything in its path. My parents, the assassins, were being swallowed whole by the void.
The game was collapsing. The environment distorted and broke apart, the streets crumbling, the buildings disintegrating into pixels.
I held Karun tighter as the ground beneath us began to disappear, leaving only the empty white void.
The world was gone. And yet, we remained.
I gasped for air, my body shaking. The pain was dull but persistent. My shoulder throbbed, and I realized I was still bleeding, the bullet wound from earlier not fully healed. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional storm brewing inside me.
We were alone now, floating in the white void. The final level.
I couldn't breathe. Everything felt too heavy—the weight of what Kris had told me, the loss of him, the betrayal of my parents, and the sheer exhaustion of it all. My mind screamed for some kind of relief, some kind of answer.
Slowly, I rose to my feet, my legs trembling. I needed to understand. I needed the truth. I moved toward the glowing interface in the distance, the game's final menu.
My fingers hovered over the screen, hesitating. A congratulatory message blinked in front of me: "Congratulations, you've won!"
It felt meaningless. Hollow.
I ignored it and focused on the gear icon in the corner. There had to be something more. My hands, still covered in blood, trembled as I selected it. Two new icons appeared: a violet diamond labeled "About the Game" and a yellow one labeled "Exit."
About the Game. I needed answers.
I pressed the violet icon, and information began scrolling across the screen. At first, it was just technical jargon—details about the game's design, the mechanics. But then, my eyes fell on the names of the creators: K.K.
I frowned. That's not me...
But as I scrolled further, the truth hit me like a punch to the gut.
There, in bold, majestic letters, it read: "Kathyayini & Kris (K.K.)" — followed by our photographs.
My heart skipped a beat. It was real. Everything Kris had said was real. I… we… had built this game together. I stared at the photos, disbelief and overwhelming emotion crashing over me. My mind raced, but my heart… my heart ached. Kris. He had waited for me, all these years. For me. And I… I had unknowingly longed for him, too.
Tears flowed freely now, and with each memory that returned, the pounding in my head worsened. I couldn't stay here any longer. With a heavy heart, I selected the yellow Exit icon.
Pain engulfed me again, sharp and stinging. I held onto Karun, who was still unconscious, gripping him so tightly my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood. I didn't care. All I wanted was for him to be safe.
Finally, the pain subsided, and I felt the cool breeze against my skin. I opened my eyes to see the familiar sight of the island's beach. We were back. The sea stretched out before us, no more than 300 meters away I could see the moon, feel the air we are back in the real world. We had made it.
I hugged Karun close, whispering, "We made it back, Karun."
Pulling out the receiver Ryan had given us, I checked if it still worked. Relief washed over me when I saw it was intact. Help would come soon. We were safe. But even as I basked in that relief, a deep longing gnawed at my heart. Kris's face lingered in my mind, and the more I thought of him, the more the pain intensified.
Exhausted, I collapsed beside Karun, my body and mind too drained to keep going. As I drifted into unconsciousness, memories of the life I once had, of Kris and the love we shared, washed over me like the waves of the sea.