The ground shuddered again, less a tremor and more a deep, resonant hum that vibrated through Caden's dream-bones. One of the skeletal structures, a twisted spire that had seemed impossibly distant moments ago, now looked unnervingly closer, shedding dust and small chunks of what looked like solidified light.
"That thing's unstable," Vex stated, her voice flat, devoid of panic but laced with urgency. She squinted at a glowing, almost invisible interface projected from her wrist-mounted device. "Energy readings are spiking. We need to get clear of this 'fallout zone' or whatever it is. Now."
Gronk, the barbarian, shifted his massive axe, his eyes constantly scanning the debris-strewn landscape. "Which way, boss-man?" His tone was gruff but deferential, a clear acknowledgement of Caden's impromptu leadership.
Caden looked around. The sky, a sickly green, offered no directional cues. The towering structures were everywhere, blocking sightlines. "Elara, how's that kid?" he asked, nodding towards Lily, who was still clinging to his arm, and the disoriented player Elara had been tending to.
"Disoriented, some minor energy drain, but he'll recover," Elara replied, her serene avatar strangely calming amidst the chaos. "I can stabilize him, but he can't move fast. Neither can Lily."
The immediate objective solidified: find immediate shelter from the collapsing environment. "We need high ground," Caden decided, pointing towards a less damaged, flatter, elevated section of the ruined landscape in the distance. It wasn't exactly a mountain, but it looked more stable than their current spot. "Somewhere we can see what's coming, and where we won't get buried."
"The way there looks clear enough, for now," Lyra reported, having already scouted ahead with her rogue-like stealth. "But it's open. Anything hostile… we'll see it, but it'll see us too."
"Better than being rubble," Elias grumbled, hefting his chrome hammer.
As they began to move, guiding the two dazed players, Caden felt the bizarre contrast of his skill set. Back in the real world, his problem-solving involved complex game mechanics, perfect rotations, and reading enemy player movements on a screen. Here, it was primal: lead, protect, survive. His Ice Magic Swordsman abilities felt less like a game mechanic and more like an extension of his will. He conjured a small shield of shimmering ice in his free hand, not for combat, but to deflect some of the gritty dust and stray debris that continued to fall.
He glanced at Vex, still tinkering with her wrist device. "Vex, you got any map data, comms, anything useful from that thing?"
Vex snorted. "Map data's corrupted. Comms are pure static outside immediate proximity. This tech was built for access, not for deep-dive exploration when the whole damn plane goes sideways." Her fingers flew across the holographic interface, seemingly trying to brute-force a connection. "But I'm working on it. My real-world job was data forensics and network security. You wouldn't believe the holes some of these corporate 'innovators' leave." A grim smile touched her lips. "If there's a back door to this nightmare, I'll find it."
As they picked their way across the shifting ground, the groaning of the broken world grew louder. Every step was a gamble. Caden felt the weight of the others, the desperate trust in their eyes. This was just the first step. The first tiny move in a game that had no clear rules, no pause button, and no easy way out.