Gray crouched behind his sofa, barely daring to breathe, peeking cautiously over the edge of the cushion like a frightened child hiding from monsters. The dim glow of the computer screen illuminated his apartment in a pale, cold light, but it no longer felt like home. It felt like something else. "Is this… a supernatural phenomenon or something?" he whispered to himself, eyes darting back and forth between the monitor and the darkened room.
Just as he dared to peek again, a voice—familiar and yet eerily disconnected—rang in his mind. 「You are not out of your real world yet.」
Gray's body froze, his breath catching in his throat. "Huh?" He blinked, trying to process the words, his heart pounding in his chest. "I'm not… out? If you're still here, does that mean I'm still in the game world?" His voice trembled, disbelief clear in every syllable. There was a long, terrifying silence before the voice responded.
「Yes.」
