The buzz of the virtual reality console hums in the corner of Kai’s room. He sits on his worn-out chair, headset in hand, his fingers hovering over the control pad. It’s been months since he last logged in, but tonight something pulls him back. Maybe it’s the memories of the MetaVerse—a world where he could leave the real one behind. Maybe it’s just the itch to escape.

He puts the headset on.

---

His vision goes black for a moment. Then, light pours in—the MetaVerse welcomes him back with a dazzling display of colors. The city of Nexon, sprawling with neon lights and towering buildings, greets him like an old friend. The bustling streets hum with the voices of players in their avatars, completing quests, trading goods, and chatting.

Kai exhales. It’s like nothing changed.

His avatar appears in the middle of The Central Hub, the heart of Nexon. It’s sleek, futuristic, wearing a black leather jacket, and it matches the mood perfectly. He feels like he belongs here.

He starts moving, weaving through the crowd, heading toward the usual vendor booth to buy supplies for his next mission. His fingers move fluidly, as if his body remembers exactly how to navigate the digital streets.

But then…

---

A glitch.

It’s subtle at first. He notices a shopkeeper NPC with a frozen smile, staring at him blankly. At first, it feels like a bug, but then she speaks, her voice distorted, off-key.

“You’ve returned.”

---

Kai stops in his tracks. The NPC’s expression changes, her eyes briefly flickering as though glitching in and out of existence. Then she smiles again, as if nothing happened.

“Would you like to buy something?” she asks, returning to her programmed line.

Kai’s heart skips. He doesn’t remember this NPC. They’ve never spoken before. What was that?

But there’s no time to dwell. Shaking off the unease, he moves on. It's probably just a bug. These things happen.

---

As Kai walks deeper into the city, the atmosphere starts to feel… off. The usual hustle and bustle of The Central Hub seems muffled, as if the world is holding its breath. The sky overhead flickers like a glitching TV screen, and for a moment, everything stops. Players’ avatars freeze in place, their movements stilled in mid-action, as though someone hit pause.

Then, just as quickly, the world resumes. The sounds return. The players continue walking.

---

“Weird,” Kai mutters under his breath.

He pulls out his comms device and sends a quick message to his teammates—Rhea, Zane, and Luna—who are waiting for him at the entrance to a nearby dungeon.

As soon as he meets them, Rhea raises an eyebrow. “You good?” she asks, noticing Kai’s distracted expression.

Zane chuckles. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Kai shrugs it off, his unease growing. “There’s something weird happening. I swear, I just saw something glitch.”

Luna looks up, concern in her eyes. “Weird? Like what?”

Kai hesitates. Should he tell them about the shopkeeper? About the frozen avatars? He shrugs again, trying to shake it off.

“Nothing serious,” he lies. “Let’s just focus on the mission.”

---

They head into the dungeon, the doors sliding open with a soft hiss. The familiar darkness swallows them, and the usual eerie ambiance fills the space—ominous whispers, faint glowing torches, and shadows dancing across the stone walls. But the silence is unsettling. Normally, there would be the sound of skittering creatures or distant battle cries, but now... nothing.

They move forward in silence, the sound of their footsteps echoing unnervingly loud.

---

It’s not until they reach the boss room that things go wrong.

The dungeon’s boss, a massive shadow knight, stands at the center of the room, his sword raised high. His armor is jagged, dark, and covered in cracks. But there’s something wrong with him. As they approach, the knight glitches—his form flickering and distorting like static on an old television.

The air grows thick with tension. Kai’s fingers tighten around his controller. This isn’t normal.

---

The knight’s voice echoes, distorted, as he speaks, “The time has come. You shouldn’t be here.”

---

Before Kai can react, the knight’s form flickers again, and then—he disappears. Just like that. Gone.

The room is eerily silent.

“What the hell was that?” Zane whispers.

“This isn’t just a bug,” Luna says, her voice tight with unease. “We need to figure out what’s happening.”

---

Suddenly, the dungeon starts to collapse.

The ground shakes. The walls crack. The once-solid stone begins to break apart, revealing the game’s source code—glowing lines of binary floating in the air. The once-stable environment shatters like glass.

---

“We have to get out, now!” Kai shouts.

The group sprints toward the exit, but the glitches intensify, the world warping around them. Reality is starting to bleed into the game.

---

They barely make it out, only to find themselves in The Central Hub once more—only it’s different. The streets are empty. The NPCs are gone. The city is eerily silent, like the life has been drained from it.

---

Kai takes off his headset in a daze. His heart pounds in his chest. He blinks, staring at the blank screen of his console.

What the hell just happened?