Ren sat cross-legged on a patch of floating grass, staring at the fake blue sky like it owed him answers.
The sun still hadn't moved. Days ago he'd dropped two sets of humans into this world, and not once had the light shifted. No time, no rhythm. Just stuck in golden hour like a paused movie.
It felt wrong. Still. Lifeless.
He opened the shop menu, flipping through categories again. Same old options—terrain, animals, weather. But this time something new had unlocked:
[Time Functions – Unlocked]
Cost: 10 coins
He tapped in.
Enable Day/Night Cycle
Add Celestial Bodies
Time Speed Options
Ambient Lighting Adjustments
A soft System hint appeared beneath the options, flickering like a whisper:
"Let them know the world breathes."
Ren exhaled. "Okay. Let's make it breathe then."
He clicked Enable Day/Night Cycle.
Then added a moon—medium size, pale white, orbit synced with the sun. Cost: 4 coins.
He confirmed the changes.
Planet Rock gave a small tremble. Barely a ripple. The sun began to move, just a little, like it had finally remembered how. And behind the mountains, the moon rose slow and quiet like a thought finally finishing.
Far below, deep in the forest, Lira noticed it first.
She stopped walking mid-step. "Kobb?"
He poked his head out from behind a tree, chewing on a strange vine. "What?"
"Look."
The light was changing.
Shadows stretched across moss and dirt. The golden light faded to something cooler, darker.
Kobb stared at the sky. "Whoa. The sun's moving?"
She nodded, slowly. "It's setting."
They stood there, side by side, silent as the forest changed around them. Branches rustled in new wind. The trees whispered in tones they hadn't before.
Kobb frowned. "Why now?"
Lira squinted toward the sky. "Maybe the world just woke up."
They didn't speak again as the light faded. Only watched as a soft white glow began to rise over the trees.
The moon.
Round, unfamiliar. Perfect.
Night deepened.
The forest turned quiet. Cold crept in fast.
Kobb crouched beside their lean-to, arms hugging his knees. "I don't like this."
Lira sat nearby, listening. "Me neither."
There was no fire. No stars they recognized. Just the moon, hanging like a ghost.
Somewhere in the trees, something screamed—distant but alive.
"Do you think this is punishment?" Kobb asked quietly.
Lira didn't answer.
They both watched the sky as the last bit of gold slipped away.
Across the river plains, Sasha watched the same sun sink.
She sat near their half-built shelter, dirt under her nails, arms wrapped around her knees. Dylan stood beside her, mouth slightly open as if trying to speak but forgetting how.
"This is new," he finally said.
Sasha nodded. "Yeah. First time it's felt like time exists here."
The moon rose behind him. Smooth, white. Familiar, but off. Too clean. No craters. Just a glowing marble in a made-up sky.
She squinted. "That's not our moon."
"Nope," Dylan said.
The light dimmed. Wind swept through the tall grass. The river lost its shine.
Night came fast.
Dylan lay wide awake.
He gripped a stick like a sword. Every crunch in the grass made his breath catch.
Beside him, Sasha lay still. Not asleep. Just quiet.
He stared at the moon again.
"It's like someone added it on purpose," he muttered.
Sasha opened one eye. "What?"
"Nothing."
He looked back at the stars. None of them made sense. Just static dots pretending to be constellations. The whole sky felt designed.
His chest tightened.
"I miss streetlights," he said.
Sasha didn't respond.
Because she missed them too.
Up above, Ren watched from his system view.
The dots on the map—Lira, Kobb, Sasha, Dylan—moved slower now. Less exploring. More huddling. The night had cornered them.
He opened the shop again. Five coins left.
A new item appeared.
[Moonlight Aura] – 5 Coins
"Adds ambient light across surface. Calms early human instincts. Slight emotional regulation."
He hesitated.
Then tapped Buy.
The effect was instant. A faint glow spread across the land, not bright, but gentle. Shadows pulled back. The moon's light deepened. The air felt less sharp.
It wasn't warmth. But it wasn't cold, either.
Just… presence.
Lira noticed it first again.
The darkness softened. She looked up at the moon and felt her chest loosen.
"The sky's helping," she said quietly.
Kobb raised a brow. "Helping how?"
"It's less scary now."
He didn't argue. Just scooted closer and sighed. "Wake me if something bites us."
Dylan saw it too.
Not all the way. But something had shifted. The night wasn't as cruel anymore. The air didn't cut. The silence didn't press.
He didn't let go of the stick.
But he let his eyelids droop.
Sasha looked up one more time.
That moon. Still hanging, still wrong. But somehow, now… it felt protective.
Like maybe someone was still out there, watching. Not to harm.
Just to see.
The moon hung over Planet Rock like it had always belonged there.
Its soft white glow blanketed the land—across the tall trees of the forest, the wide grass plains near the river, and every shadow in between. It wasn't strong light, but it was enough to make the night feel less empty. Less fake.
Ren watched it all unfold from above.
He sat in the air, legs crossed, floating just under the cloud layer. His system screen blinked now and then, showing the humans below. Four dots. Still alive. Still adapting.
No one was screaming. That surprised him.
He expected chaos once darkness hit. Panic. Crying. Maybe a fistfight. But instead... they got quiet. Scared, yeah. Confused. But not broken.
He zoomed in.
Two humans huddled near a rough shelter made of sticks and leaves. The other two sat by the river, not moving much. Just watching. Waiting.
The forest rustled. Something howled in the distance. Night sounds filled the gaps.
One of them tried to sleep. Another kept looking at the sky. One whispered something. Another poked at the ground with a sharp stick like it was a sword.
None of them knew why they were here.
They didn't know about him.
Didn't know they were copies.
Didn't know the real versions were still back on Earth, breathing normally in some lab bed, unaware this whole world was a simulation.
Planet Rock was a lie dressed in nature.
But to them, it was real.
They remembered Earth. Their names. Their pasts. Everything. But none of them questioned how they got here yet. Maybe their brains were still catching up.
Ren opened the shop again. The moon had cost him 4 coins. The glow effect cost another 5. He only had one coin left now. Not enough to do anything.
A small ping sounded.
Hint Unlocked:
"First fire brings first fear. Balance warmth with risk."
Another ping followed right after:
New Quest Available
Gift Fire to Any Group
Reward: 25 coins
Bonus: Unlock Elemental Weather
Ren rubbed his face. "Fire, huh. That's a jump."
He scrolled through the shop options. Fire could be given directly—just drop a campfire with some dry wood—or he could add flint stones to the environment and let them figure it out.
He hovered over both options but didn't press anything.
Not tonight.
They weren't ready. He wasn't ready.
Down below, the moonlight spread across the grass and dirt. Shadows softened. The humans still looked up every now and then, like they were trying to understand if the sky was friend or threat.
They were cold. They were hungry.
One of them tried sleeping and kept waking up every few minutes, shivering under a big leaf. Another leaned against a tree and stared at nothing for a long time. Two of them whispered something back and forth, voices low and shaky.
At one point, one of the humans jolted awake from a dream, eyes wide. Another sat up seconds later, like the same dream had touched them both.
Ren saw the logs in his system.
Shared dream patterns. Emotional sync. He didn't program that.
The simulator was adapting on its own.
Weird. Cool. Creepy.
He leaned back, pulling up the weather tab. Not available yet. Still locked. But the icons were there—rain, thunder, fog, snow, even custom magic weather types. He couldn't wait to try those. Later.
He looked down again.
A moth the size of a hand floated past one of the groups. Its wings glowed faint blue, reacting to the moon. Ren didn't even remember spawning it. Must've come with the moonlight effect.
Neat.
The humans noticed it, too. Their heads turned to follow it. No one moved to swat or chase it. Just watched it flutter around like a living lantern.
The tension dropped a little after that.
One of them finally lay down again and stopped shaking. Another curled beside their partner, sharing what little warmth they had. The stick sword guy lowered his "weapon" and stretched out his legs.
Still no fire. Still no tools. Still no answers.
But something about the moon, the soft light, the glowing moths—it settled the night just enough to get through it.
Ren checked the time.
Five hours until sunrise.
That would happen now, thanks to the day/night cycle.
He hadn't set alarms or control points. The system handled it now, like a real world would. The sun would return. Light would come. Shadows would shrink.
But tonight was about watching.
He didn't spawn any threats.
No wolves. No wild beasts. No accidents. This first night wasn't about survival—it was about adjustment.
They needed to feel the weight of the dark.
They needed to feel small, unsure, scared—but not crushed.
He opened a notepad and typed something:
Night 1 — No contact. No interference.
Fire quest accepted, but wait.
Let them earn warmth.
He saved the note, leaned back, and sighed.
Planet Rock was quiet.
The first night rolled on.
And for now... that was enough.