Echoes of the Real

In the year 2153, society has collapsed into a decaying sprawl of VR addiction and corporate control. The megacorp SynapseCorp rules what remains of the real world through its totalitarian grip on NeuraNet, a neural interface system that keeps most of the population trapped inside the virtual fantasy MMORPG known as Vitality. Cassian Drayke—once the visionary programmer behind Vitality—was betrayed, erased, and exiled after SynapseCorp stole his creation and turned it into a weapon of mass compliance. Now living off-grid in the ruins of New Cascadia, he secretly reenters his former game under the masked alias The Architect. His goal: dismantle SynapseCorp from the inside before his sister Mira, stricken with early-stage NeuraFade, succumbs to the neurological plague caused by prolonged VR exposure. As Cassian builds alliances and destroys enemies in both the virtual and physical world, his legend begins to spread. But power attracts attention—from rogue guilds, black-market rebels, and the enigmatic Crimson Phantom of the Crimson Syndicate. With time running out and Mira’s condition worsening, Cassian must choose between revenge, redemption, and rebellion—before reality itself is overwritten.