Darkness.
Not the normal kind.
This one felt thick… heavy… like it had weight.
Alex tried to breathe, but the air tasted artificial. Cold. Filtered.
His eyes snapped open.
White ceiling.
Wires.
A slow mechanical humming.
For a moment, relief hit him.
I'm alive.
Then he tried to move.
He couldn't.
Metal restraints locked his arms and legs.
Panic crawled up his throat.
"What… what happened?" he whispered.
A figure stood beside the bed.
Doctor's coat. Mask. Clipboard.
"You regained consciousness faster than predicted," the man said calmly.
Alex's heart pounded. "Where are Mia and Chris? Where's Lina?!"
The man paused.
"Mia. Chris. Lina," he repeated, like testing unfamiliar words.
He wrote something down.
Then he looked at Alex.
"Subject still shows attachment to hallucinated constructs."
Alex froze.
"What?"
The man turned the clipboard toward him.
At the top, in bold letters:
PATIENT NAME: ALEX RIVERACONDITION: ADVANCED REALITY FABRICATION SYNDROMESYMPTOMS: Believes he is trapped inside a game-like system.Creates recurring imaginary characters for emotional stability.
Alex laughed.
A broken, desperate sound.
"No. No, that's wrong. I just came from there. They're real!"
The doctor's eyes softened with something that almost looked like pity.
"You've been here for three years, Alex."
Three.
Years.
His mind rejected it instantly.
"That's impossible."
The doctor pressed a button.
A screen lit up on the wall.
Video footage.
Alex.
Screaming in this very bed.
Begging to be released.
Crying names.
Mia.
Chris.
Lina.
Over and over.
"I built WANPM," Alex whispered.
The doctor nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Ice filled Alex's veins.
"You created the simulation after the accident."
The accident.
Something shattered in the back of his skull.
Rain.
Headlights.
A hospital hallway.
Someone not waking up.
"You couldn't accept reality," the doctor continued. "So you made another one."
Alex's lips trembled.
"Where's my brother?" he asked.
The doctor hesitated.
Then—
"He visits every week."
The door behind them opened.
Footsteps.
Alex turned.
His brother stood there.
Older. Tired. Eyes red like he hadn't slept in years.
"Hey," he said softly.
Not cold.
Not evil.
Just… hurting.
"You almost stayed under again," he whispered.
Alex's voice cracked. "None of it was real?"
His brother forced a smile that broke halfway.
"It was real to you."
Silence filled the room.
Machines beeped.
Alex felt something collapse inside his chest.
If WANPM wasn't real…
If Mia wasn't real…
Why did losing her feel like dying?
His brother stepped closer.
"You can come back now," he said gently.
"We can finally go home."
Alex stared at him.
Home.
The word felt distant.
Foreign.
Because somewhere deep inside…
another voice whispered.
If this is reality…
why does it feel wrong?
The lights above him flickered.
Just once.
So small no one else noticed.
But Alex did.
In the reflection of the monitor—
for half a second—
he saw Mia.
Standing behind his brother.
Smiling sadly.
Then gone.
Alex's breath hitched.
"…I'm still inside," he whispered.
"What?" his brother asked.
Alex looked at him.
Terrified.
Certain.
"WANPM didn't end."
The heart monitor beside him began to beep faster.
Faster.
FASTER.
And on the black corner of the screen—
text appeared that no one else reacted to.
EMERGENCY PATCH FAILEDSUBJECT REJECTING EXIT REALITY
Alex started laughing.
Tears falling.
"Oh my god," he whispered.
"You're not here to wake me up."
His brother froze.
Alex's smile trembled.
"You're the final level."
🔥 END OF EPISODE 10 🔥