"Million Dollars Game?" a knight avatar shouted at the towering cube.
His armored frame looked small beneath the massive, grinning shape.
"Guys, are we hacked?" another player with glasses asked. His voice trembled, words spilling too fast.
"No, fool! Maybe it's just part of the game," another snapped. But even as he said it, his avatar's sword hand twitched.
The words echoed through the stone corridor.
Dozens of avatars shifted uneasily, their armor clanking, weapons twitching in restless hands.
---
"Correct! It's a part of the game. If I wasn't bored, you'd have gotten that fortune!!" The huge cube's laughter glitched across the sky.
The avatars wandered the dungeon, but its colors had already drained away, leaving it lifeless and pale. Stone walls dulled to gray, torches sputtered into static embers.
"It… is… maybe it is!" the guy with glasses said, placing a finger on his chin. His avatar's face flickered with static, making the gesture look clumsy.
"What are you talking about?" another asked him.
"Maybe it's a creator's surprise?!" the glasses guy suggested, but whispers of "that's stupid" spread until he stood alone. The crowd shifted subtly away from him, isolating him further.
A cold silence followed, broken only by the echo of pixelated static.
Some gripped their blades tighter; others drew away, their Names twitching in the pale light.
---
"Come on!! guys!!" His cheeks flushed red beneath the avatar's glow as he threw his hands up in a pleading gesture. The movement cut through the crowd, but no one answered.
No one met his eyes, and for a moment he looked smaller than his character's frame. The dwarf's bulk seemed to sag, diminished.
Alex's avatar froze in place.
GET OUT OF ME, GET OUT!!
Outside the game, Alex was desperately trying to remove the VR headset from his head. His nails scraped uselessly against plastic as panic roared in his chest.
Sweat slicked his palms, his pulse drumming so loud he could barely hear.
---
The pink names and glowing titles around him blurred, bending like heat waves.
"Oh yes… frozen avatars!" the cube said, its tone sliding directly into the idle players' ears. It felt like a whisper brushing the inside of their skulls.
"Do not try to struggle… It will only make it worse."
What's… going on? Alex thought.
It felt like he was drowning in an ocean—every wave of his arms only dragged him deeper. His chest tightened as if water pressed against his lungs.
Some players rubbed their eyes, while others staggered as if drunk.
The air itself seemed heavy, thick with static.
"Bad news, gamers!" the cube laughed.
"I know your rooms are closed, so no one can help you!!"
The cube floated around the glitching sky, each laugh more distorted than the last.
---
Avatars froze mid-motion, their glowing names flickering as though about to vanish.
For a heartbeat, no one even breathed.
Calm down, Alex… it's just a game. His body slowly relaxed, and with each passing second the image of the game sharpened before his eyes. His heartbeat slowed, though unease lingered.
---
The silence pressed down like a weight.
Alex snapped back into his dwarf avatar and started blinking.
"Alex, finally!" Zoe stared at him, her voice warm with gratitude.
"Where's the nearest pancake shop?!" Zara spun in circles without a care. Her laughter rang oddly hollow in the glitchy hall.
But Jax shouted up at the cube, "STOP FOOLING US!!"
A few players chuckled at Zara's randomness, but the laughter died quickly under Jax's furious roar.
For a heartbeat, Alex wanted to sink into her relief, to believe things were normal again.
But the cube's shadow loomed above them, too loud to ignore.
---
It's not the time for this cheerfulness, Zara, Alex thought, rubbing his beard. The motion grounded him, though it also fed his unease.
"Alex, you okay?!" Zoe asked, her voice warm. Her eyes fixed on Alex's dwarf like a child tugging at him, breaking through his thoughts.
"Oh, yes, yes… I'm okay."
The concern in her voice was a tether, pulling him back to the moment.
For an instant, he almost believed her presence was enough to steady him.
A smile drew across Alex's face. It was faint, but real.
His chest tightened, but not from fear this time. Something about the danger lit a spark he couldn't ignore.
But it's not that bad… no… for me…
It's a fortune.
---
As Alex continued rubbing his beard, lost in thought, he sensed a strange feeling.
Ouch!
This beard is scratchy.
Wait a minute. Alex stiffened in shock, staring at his hand.
The game's colors dulled around him, every sound fading under the weight of that single realization.
He rubbed again, slower this time. The prickly strands scraped his fingers. Real. Tangible.
Did I just feel my hand touch my beard?
---
Alex stepped toward Zoe, locking eyes with her. His small dwarf frame suddenly felt larger, weighted with intent.
"Zoe, can I tell you a secret?" His tone was unusually serious.
"A-ah… a secret?! Now?!" Zoe flushed, her hands twitching nervously at her sides.
"Just let me tell you!"
Zoe lowered her head, her elf ears twitching toward Alex. He pinched them directly.
The texture, warm, pliant, was unmistakably real.
"Oooouch!"
"Why would you do that?!" Zoe jerked back with a startled gasp, her eyes wide in disbelief. Her ears reddened where his fingers had pressed.
"Zoe? Didn't you realize yet?" Alex's eyes were cold—strangely serious for a dwarf.
The humor of his stout body clashed with the gravity in his voice.
Zoe staggered back with another gasp.
Her mind reeled, the dungeon around her suddenly too vivid, too sharp to be fake.
That's true… it felt so natural the other players didn't even notice…
"Zoe…"
Zoe's breath quickened, her fingers tightening around the edge of her robe.
---
Zara's carefree laugh rang out, echoing off the dungeon walls as she twirled her staff.
"Where's the pancake stand when you need it?!" she joked, her voice bubbling with cheer.
"Show yourself, coward!!" Jax roared at the cube, his fists clenched tight.
Alex's beard shifted as his lips curled into a grim line.
"We're part of the game."
Alex's words echoed heavier than the cube's laughter.