Luca never expected the end of the world to start with a broken controller and a bag of stale chips.
"Bro, I swear this thing dodges on its own," Luca groaned, tossing his controller onto the couch. His curly hair bounced with the motion, and he slumped back dramatically. "This game is cheating."
Marc didn't even look up from his phone. "You're just bad."
"I'm not bad. I'm… skillfully inconsistent."
"That means bad."
Luca threw a pillow at him. Marc caught it without looking, like he had reflexes coded in from birth. Tall, light-skinned, curly-haired, and calm to a fault—Marc was the type who could watch his house burn down and still complain about the smoke smell.
"Alright, alright," Marc finally said, locking his phone. "What do you wanna play now?"
Luca grabbed his laptop and flipped it open. "Let's run a dating sim. Something stupid. Something we can roast."
Marc squinted. "You mean the ones with like… fifty endings and seven girls all falling for one NPC with no personality?"
"Exactly. Peak comedy."
Luca clicked open the folder where they kept random games. Marc leaned over his shoulder.
That's when they saw it.
A new icon.
One neither of them had ever seen before.
Clean white heart on a red background.
Love Reloaded.
Marc frowned. "Did you download that?"
"Nope." Luca clicked it. "Probably one of those demo games."
The screen turned black.
A single line of red text appeared:
Initializing routes… do not turn off.
"Bro, what kinda horror VN opens like this?" Luca laughed nervously.
Marc leaned in closer. "Wait—why can't you exit out?"
The entire screen began glitching—sharp pixel tears, flickering lights, distorted chimes like music played backward. Luca slammed his keys.
Nothing responded.
Another message blinked in:
Save point created.
Player 1 and Player 2 registered.
Marc's expression hardened. "Luca, click out. Now."
"I'm trying—"
Begin your route?
[Yes]
The "Yes" button pulsed, then selected itself.
"Yo, what? I didn't press anything—"
The laptop emitted a sharp BZZZT, like electricity popping. Light spilled out from the screen, too bright, swallowing the room. Luca felt the ground tilt, like gravity flipped sideways.
Marc reached for him. "Luca!"
Luca grabbed his hand—
The world shattered into white.
No sound.
No air.
Just a falling sensation that felt endless.
Then—
Thud.
Luca's back hit something solid. Grass? Dirt? He opened his eyes to sunlight stabbing his face.
For a moment he thought they'd just blown a fuse and passed out.
But then he saw the school courtyard.
The cherry blossoms drifting in the wind.
The giant pop-up tutorial window floating in front of him.
Welcome, Player.
Love Reloaded has begun.
Someone groaned next to him.
Marc pushed himself up, eyes wide, staring at the floating text. "Tell me this is a joke."
Luca could only whisper:
"…what did we just click on?"
The tutorial window flickered—
Then a voice echoed through the courtyard:
"Hey! Are you two okay? You kinda dropped out of nowhere!"
Luca turned around.
A girl stood over him—short hair, athletic build, school uniform slightly messy, eyes sharp and bright.
The sporty tomboy.
Before he could speak, another figure walked up behind her:
A tall boy with anime-protagonist energy written all over him.
Messy hair. Sparkly eyes.
Main character aura.
He stared at Luca and Marc like they were enemies.
"I don't remember choosing rivals," the boy said.
The screen behind him flashed:
MAIN CHARACTER: ROUTE COMPETITION INITIATED.
Luca felt his stomach drop.
This wasn't a game anymore.