A dim hum buzzed from the old monitor as the prototype loaded — a relic of a time when their company still had a full team, a budget, and working equipment. Now, the room felt eerily quiet. Dust clung to unused shelves, and only one flickering bulb lit the testing station where Harsha sat, hands hovering over the keyboard.
This wasn't just another game.
It was the game.
The title glowed faintly on the screen:
THE ELEMENTAL – Prototype Access Granted
Harsha leaned closer. Everything about this game felt different — the atmosphere, the sound, even the colors seemed to shimmer unnaturally, as if the screen wasn't just showing the world… but breathing it.
Behind him, Shubham burst into the room, a half-folded paper in his hand and disbelief plastered across his face.
"Harsha!" he exclaimed. "You won't believe this."
Harsha looked over his shoulder, puzzled. "What happened?"
Shubham dropped the paper on the desk — a printed contract. "The client just sent an update. This prototype is... insane. We get 100,000 rupees for every quest cleared."
Harsha's eyes widened. "What?"
"One hundred k per quest," Shubham repeated. "And we don't even need to finish the whole game. Just complete quests. Each one's payout could change everything."
The numbers ran wild in Harsha's mind. That kind of money would pay for Shubham's university admission into game development — something he'd given up on weeks ago. And Harsha's own school return, the books, the fees — all suddenly possible. They could even hire back at least one of the staff members they'd lost. This was hope. Real, breathing hope.
"But," Shubham said, his tone suddenly dipping. "There's a catch."
Harsha blinked. "What kind of catch?"
Shubham pointed to a clause at the bottom of the page. "If the player dies even once inside the game, the prototype will terminate itself permanently. All progress — wiped. All reward — forfeited. It's a one-life system. You die, we lose everything."
A heavy silence settled between them. One mistake... and the dream vanished.
Harsha's voice was quiet but steady. "So I can't die."
Shubham nodded. "Exactly. This isn't just about skill anymore. It's about surviving — mentally, physically, and emotionally. No one's even made it past the first trial yet."
A pulse of nerves hit Harsha's stomach. This was no longer a test run. It was a mission. For Shubham. For their family. For a second chance.
He turned back to the screen. His fingers hovered once again over the keyboard. The "Start Trial" button now pulsed like a heartbeat.
"I'll do it," Harsha said.
Shubham hesitated. "Are you sure? You just turned twelve. We can wait. Maybe find a safer project—"
"No," Harsha interrupted, voice firmer now. "This is it. If I can make it through even one quest, we win. I won't let us lose again."
As his finger pressed the key, the screen flickered violently. A wave of static surged through the room. The lights dimmed. The game's logo vanished and was replaced by a single glowing message:
> "Only those who face their fear without falling… will awaken the elemental within."
Before Harsha could respond, the world around him began to dissolve — the desk, the dusty equipment, even the ceiling. Everything melted into light.
A vortex of color spiraled around him, and then — silence.
No loading bar. No menu screen.
Just a stone pathway beneath his feet, a silver sky above, and a distant rumble — like thunder on another world.
Harsha wasn't playing a game anymore.
He had entered it.
Next chapter:-7 Beyond the scene Part 2