Ten years ago, the Midsoft Corporation introduced their first hyper-realistic virtual reality game called Heartstone.
The game garnered attention from every corner of the world, receiving near-perfect reviews from critics and audiences.
Heartstone not only made gamers immerse themselves in a world of fantasy and mystical beings but also enabled them to stimulate every sense with their avatars.
Upon launch, it broke countless records, including the fastest game to ever reach almost a billion users.
The game also features advanced AI and realistic NPCs, including dwarves, elves, fairies, and even high-ranking humans.
"Whoooo, after logging in, the registration and status screens are smooth sailing."
"Agree, no bugs. This game was literally perfect."
"I already pre-ordered the console; I hope the delivery arrives soon."
"Hello, this is Mark from beta testing. I have to say Heartstone was worth the hype. This game is the future of the next generation."
Everyone seems to have very positive reviews of the game upon release.
Ten years have passed, yet the hype never seems to die down; it's topping the charts as the most popular game of all time.
Until November 11, 2099, when Heartstone suddenly disappeared out of nowhere.
The game developers are working together to resolve the issue and find the missing deleted data; even the blueprint design suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye.
At midnight, people around the world began to feel something amiss about their surroundings.
The trees seemed to have gotten taller, the lion in the zoo was seen having two heads and five feet with a pointed tail that resembled a whip.
Numerous incidents started appearing around the world; some were broadcasting those weird phenomena and posting them on social media.
**********
In the outskirts of Star City, a young security guard started to notice a time portal that began to expand little by little.
Soon, the authorities began to take action and implement drastic measures to ensure the safety of citizens located near the sparkling blue portal.
Some citizens began filming, amazed by how the dungeon portal looked.
Then the guard patrolling near the dungeon saw a shadowy figure start coming out of the portal. As he began to observe, his body was immediately cut in half by a flying object in just a matter of seconds.
No one reacted for some time to how shocking the brutal scene was; then the shadow being began to slaughter every single human near its dungeon.
When some began to react, they immediately fled one after another.
"Whaaaah! Mon-mons-MONSTEEER!"
"Run for your lives!"
The people began to panic as piles of blood and corpses were seen along the outskirts of Star City.
The shadow spared no one, not even women, children, the elderly, or even pets, slaughtering every living thing it saw as if it were a berserk beast.
The soldiers fired their guns and ammo weapons in order to counterattack the shadowy beast, yet none seemed to hit the target because of its fast speed.
When they saw the shadow launching an attack towards them, they immediately tried to avoid it; yet when it actually did hit them, the wind felt like a knife cutting their lower halves.
The attack was so sudden that no one seemed able to avoid the one-sided slaughter.
The shadowy figure immediately revealed itself as a shadow hedgehog holding both daggers in its palms.
When the echoes of constant cries finally died down, the outskirt was seen in a miserable state, leaving no survivors behind.
The live streams were still playing among the cameras of those deceased bloggers.
The viewers began to grow wary; some began to doubt if it was edited, while others were speechless after witnessing such a devastating scene in their entire lives.
"Is this the end of the world?"
"Wtf is happening?"
"LoL nice movie bud."
"It doesn't look like CGI."
"Maybe they used practical effects?"
"Hey people, are y'all crazy? Can't you see what's happening around the world?"
"Is this real?"
Everyone in the comment sections burst into chaos after the horror ended.
**********
"Benjamin, have you seen Larry?"
Matilda asked, worrying nonstop about where her son might have gone.
"I don't know. Did something happen?"
"No, I just lost control over myself, and I think I went overboard about what I said to him this afternoon."
"You sure he's outside?"
"Yeah, I think he's still outside."
"Okay then, wait for me. I will find Larry and bring him here safe and sound."
"Honey, just be careful."
"Okay."
Just when Benjamin was about to open the door, Leni suddenly came out of her room and immediately showed her parents a certain video from countless accounts.
The family of three immediately turned on their news TV channel to see what was really going on.
**********
"Help, help me. My papa doesn't move anymore!"
"Papa, wake up, wake up!"
"Anyone help! My papa isn't responding!"
A five-year-old girl cried in despair after her dad suddenly lost consciousness, not knowing a goblin was approaching its prey with delight.
"Papa, papa, papa, papa....."
The girl kept sobbing in tears to wake up her dad.
Meanwhile, the goblin, holding a sharp knife, closed the distance near the sobbing girl, but when it was about to make its move, the girl's father opened his eyes.
When the father sensed their lives were in danger, something within him began to awaken; his muscles bulged in an instant, and he punched the goblin to death.
"Papa?"
The girl asked in confusion.