The first thing Adrian Sainz felt felt was the absence of weight.
Not the kind of lightness one might feel when floating in water, but something far stranger, a sensation of being pulled through a void that had no shape, no sound, no end. His stomach twisted, his chest tightened, and the world seemed to fold around him like a collapsing star.
What's happening to me?
A flash of static burned his vision. His ears rang as if thousands of distorted voices whispered at once, speaking a language too fragmented to understand. Then came the message, carved into his skull like molten fire:
"Survive. Grow. Return. Or be errased."
And then the void spat him out.
Adrian slammed into hard earth, gasping, his lungs screaming for air. He clawed at the dirt beneath his fingers, tasting cooper and soil. For a moment he just lay there, trembling, waiting for the dizziness to fade.
When he opened his eyes, the world made no sense. A blood-red sky stretched above him, the sun pale and distant as if filtered through smoke. Trees loomed like skeletal giants, their branches twisting into grotesque shapes. The air was heavy with the scent of iron and rot. Somewhere far off, a guttural roar echoed, deep enough to rattle his bones.
He forced himself to sit up. Same hoodie, same jeans— exactly what he'd been wearing in his apartment before the world had ripped open.
"This... this isn't real," he whispered.
But the dirt was real. The ache in his back was real. The air burned in his lungs. And as the echoes of the roar faded, he realized something terrifying. This wasn't a dream.
He stumbled forward on an overgrown path, trying to piece together what had happened. He remembered his laptop, the strange file had opened, code that spiraled like a moving pattern. Then blackness. Then this.
"Simulation," he muttered. The word felt heavy. If this was a simulation, then where was the exit button? Why did it hurt so much just to breathe?
A sharp crack of branches snapped him out of thought. Something was watching him.
From the shadow of the trees stepped a man. His clothes were tattered, armor rusted and mismatched. His hair hung in filthy strands streaked with white, his eyes hollow and sunken, glimmering with madness.
"Well," the man croaked, voice rough as gravel, "another fresh one."
Adrian's chest tightened. "Who... who are you?"
The man grinned, revealing broken teeth. "Names don't matter here. Not anymore. All that matters is how long you last before the world chews you up."
Adrian tried to steady his breathing. "This is a game, right? A simulation. How do i log out?"
The man's laugh was hollow, bitter, echoing through the trees. "Log out? There's no logging out. No unless you've found the key. And nobody has."
The weight of those words sank into Adrian's stomach.
"You mean... people have been stuck here?"
"For years," the man said. "Some forget their old names. Some stop caring. The kill, they steal, they survive. That's all this place allows."
The way he looked at Adrian made his skin crawl. Less like a survivor, more like a predator. "I should kill you now," the man muttered. "Before you learn too much. Before you become competition."
Adrian's pulse thundered in his ears. His legs screamed to run, but fear held him frozen.
The world itself answered before the man could move. A roar split the forest, louder than before. The ground trembled. Eyeless birds burst from the canopy, shrieking into the red sky.
The man cursed. "Damn it. One of them followed me."
Trees snapped as a hulking beast tore into the clearing. It looked like a wolf, but monstrously wrong— twice the size of a horse, its hide bristling with bony spikes. Its mouth stretched too wide, lined with jagged teeth, drool sizzling where it hit the ground.
Adrian's blood turned cold. Every instinct screamed run.
The man drew his rusted blade. "Stay out the way, fresh blood. If you want to live, you learn by watching."
The beast lunged. The man swung sparks flying as his blade scraped its armored hide. The wolf snarled, claws gouging trenches in the dirt. The fight was brutal, but the man's movements were slow, worn by years of survival.
Adrian staggered back, heart hammering. This wasn't possible. Monsters like this didn't exist. But the weight of its steps, the stench of its breath— it was real.
The man shouted, "Don't just stand there— find a weapon!"
Adrian's eyes darted wildly. His hand closed around a jagged branch torn form a tree. It wasn't much, but it was all he had.
The beast slammed the man into the the ground, his blade scattering from his grip. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Without thinking, Adrian charged. He swung the branch with a cry, smashing it into the beast's eye. The wood splintered, but the creature howled and staggered back.
Pain shot through Adrian's arm, but adrenaline kept him moving. The man seized the chance, scrambling for his weapon and driving the blade deep into the beast's throat. The monster thrashed violently, then collapsed in a shuddering heap.
Silence. only Adrian's ragged breaths filled the air.
He had survived.
The man wrenched his blade free, wiping blood form his face. He looked at Adrian with something unreadable in his gaze. "You're lucky. Most fresh ones don't survive their first encounter."
Adrian's hands shook. His heart refused to slow. He couldn't let this man see his fear.
"What's your name, Boy?"
Adrian froze. He couldn't give his real name. In a world like this, names carried weight. They could be twisted, used. The man's stare felt like a knife.
"Hermes," he said, forcing the word out. Then, stronger: "Hermes Sonic."
The man tilted his head, then gave a crooked smile. "Strange name. But fitting, maybe. Doesn't matter. Names here are masks anyway."
Adrian nodded slowly. Inside, his thoughts raced. Adrian Sainz had to disappear. If he wanted to survive, only Hermes Sonic could exist.
Night fell quickly in the twisted forest. The man built a crude fire, its glow casting long shadow. Adrian sat across from him, staring into the flames.
No logout.
No escape.
No guarantee of survival.
But the message had said: Survive. Grow. Return.
Return meant there a way. Somewhere in this nightmare, a key existed.
He clenched his fists. He wouldn't die here. He wouldn't become hollow like the man across the fire. He would grow, he would fight, and he would find the path home— even if it meant spiling blood.
The firelight flickered in hid eyes as he whispered into the night, "I'II find a way out. No matter what it takes."