The sun was setting as Rodensky logged out of the game, his fingers still tingling with the excitement of the day's trials. His new Beast Tamer class felt real, almost as if it were a part of him now, and the possibilities seemed endless. He had Emmanuel's number now too, a connection that extended beyond the game—a real-life bond that felt both strange and exhilarating.
After exchanging a few messages with Emmanuel, Rodensky closed his phone and went to his window, staring out at the city below. It was a quiet evening, the streets bathed in the soft glow of streetlights. Everything felt normal, too normal. But inside him, something had changed. The line between the world of Astralis and the real world was beginning to blur.
---
It started subtly. At first, it was just a small notification on his phone—a video from a friend of a friend who lived in the countryside. It was a shaky, blurry clip, but Rodensky couldn't help but pause when he saw what was in it.
A monstrous creature—half-man, half-wolf—stalked through a small forest, its glowing eyes catching the camera's flash as it snarled at the unseen person filming. The figure seemed larger than any animal Rodensky had seen in the wild, its body contorted and unnatural.
Rodensky's stomach dropped as he watched the footage. He swiped to read the comments, expecting to see disbelief, but instead, there was a strange mix of excitement and fear.
"Is this real?" "This thing is terrifying, I saw it on the news last night!" "No way this is real. CGI or some crazy prank."
It was unsettling. But Rodensky didn't think much of it—until the next day.
---
The morning after:
Rodensky had just stepped outside for some fresh air when he saw something that made his heart race. A group of people had gathered near the park, pointing and talking in hushed, anxious tones. Curiosity pulled him over, and he approached a woman who was recording something on her phone.
"What's going on?" he asked.
She glanced up, her face pale. "You haven't heard? A bear... it's not a bear. It's like... a giant wolf. It attacked a guy earlier near the river. He barely got away."
Rodensky turned to see a crowd gathered by a fence. Police and animal control officers were trying to contain a massive creature that looked like a mutated wolf, its fur matted and its body bulging unnaturally. Its eyes glowed with an eerie, red light as it growled and snapped at the officers, who were keeping their distance.
Rodensky's breath hitched. The creature... it looked like something out of Astralis.
But this wasn't a game. This was real.
The more he watched, the more he couldn't shake the feeling that the world was beginning to warp—just like in the game.
---
Days passed.
The strange occurrences escalated.
Reports started flooding the media—shocking footage of mutated animals, strange and unnatural creatures appearing out of nowhere, and bizarre anomalies happening in various parts of the world. One video surfaced showing a herd of deer with unnaturally large antlers, moving in sync like an organized force. Another video showed a wild boar with a scaly hide and glowing eyes, rampaging through a forest and attacking a group of campers.
Rodensky couldn't ignore it anymore. He'd been following the news, watching the reports of "unnatural wildlife" and "strange mutations," and he felt a creeping sense of dread.
The worst part? He couldn't tell anyone. No one believed it. The media dismissed it as either hoaxes or some form of mass hysteria. The creatures were being called "mutants" or "misidentified animals." People laughed at the idea of monsters emerging from the shadows, calling it a viral stunt to gain views.
But Rodensky knew better.
Something was happening. And it seemed to be connected to the game.
---
One evening:
Rodensky sat at his desk, staring at his phone. He couldn't stop thinking about the video he had seen a few days ago—the one with the wolf-creature—and the odd sensation he'd had when he first saw it. His thoughts drifted back to the game, to the islands where creatures like the Beast Tamer guardians roamed.
Could it be... the game? Could the monsters be crossing over from Astralis to their world? His fingers trembled as he typed out a message to Emmanuel.
Player_Rodensky: "Have you noticed anything strange happening around you lately? I'm getting a weird feeling… like something from the game is bleeding into reality."
A moment later, Emmanuel's reply appeared.
Player_Emmanuel: "You too? Yeah, there's been some odd stuff going on around here. I saw something in the woods, a huge shadow moving between the trees. And I heard stories of wild animals behaving strangely. People think it's some sort of viral trend, but... something feels off."
Rodensky felt a chill run down his spine. "I saw that wolf at the park. It looked like something straight out of the game. A mutated bear, or... I don't know."
Emmanuel's response was almost immediate.
Player_Emmanuel: "No way. Dude, this is crazy. But it explains why I've been feeling so… off lately. Like, when we did the trial in Astralis, I felt something shift. It's like the world is changing, and we're part of it."
Rodensky's mind raced. Could the trial have triggered something? He had no idea how, but it made too much sense. The more they unlocked their hidden powers in the game, the more the line between their digital and physical worlds seemed to collapse.
Player_Rodensky: "We need to figure this out. We can't let this spiral out of control. But first, we need to find out where these creatures are coming from."
Player_Emmanuel: "I'm with you. Let's find the answers. Whatever this is, we're in it together."
---
As Rodensky closed his phone, his heart pounded in his chest. He had never imagined that something as innocent as a video game would come with consequences this severe. But now, with animals mutating into beasts and monsters from Astralis potentially bleeding into the real world, Rodensky knew he couldn't ignore it.
The adventure wasn't just confined to the game anymore. They were caught in something much bigger—and the question that burned in his mind was: How could they stop it?