He pushed the stick forward.
His character stepped deeper into the room
and the hum followed.
Not loud.
Not directional.
Just… there.
Elric's eyes flicked to the corners of the screen.
"Ambient loop bug?" he murmured. "Audio desync?"
He rotated the camera slowly.
Pipes.
Crates.
Bodies on the floor exactly where they dropped.
Nothing moving.
"…Okay, come on," he said, a little louder now. "Where's the post-combat chatter? There's always"
A voice cut in.
"You're late."
Elric froze.
The subtitle popped up at the bottom of the screen.
[UNKNOWN]: You're late.
He blinked.
"…What?"
There hadn't been anyone left in the room.
He turned the camera.
Slowly.
Near the far wall half in shadow a figure stood.
Not there before.
Not entering.
Just… there.
Elric leaned forward, elbows pressing into the desk.
"…Okay," he said, quieter now. "Scripted spawn. Fine."
The figure didn't move.
Didn't idle.
Didn't breathe.
Just stood there, facing him.
Elric nudged the character forward.
One step.
The subtitle appeared again.
[UNKNOWN]: You're late.
Same timing.
Same tone.
No variation.
Elric frowned.
"…Dialogue loop?"
He stopped moving.
Waited.
No new line triggered.
"…Alright."
He pressed the interaction button.
The camera snapped conversation mode.
Close-up.
The figure's face came into view
and for a split second
It wasn't rendered correctly.
Features misaligned.
Eyes just slightly too low.
Mouth a fraction too wide
Then it corrected.
Perfect.
Normal.
Like nothing had happened.
Elric's fingers tightened around the controller.
"…Okay, I saw that."
Dialogue options appeared.
But...
There were too many.
Stacked.
Overlapping.
Some half-cut off.
Some repeating.
Some… not formatted like the others.
1. "Who are you?"
2. "Who are you?"
3. "[ERROR: RESPONSE NOT FOUND]"
4. "I'm not late. You are."
5. "…"
6. "Disconnect"
7. "Who are you?"
Elric stared.
"…That's new."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Mod conflict? No, I didn't install anything."
The cursor hovered.
He moved it down.
Up.
Options flickered slightly as he passed over them.
Not smoothly.
Like they were… resisting.
He stopped on one.
4. "I'm not late. You are."
"…Alright," he said. "Let's be disrespectful."
He selected it.
A beat.
The figure didn't respond.
Didn't animate.
Didn't blink.
Then...
The subtitle appeared.
[UNKNOWN]: You're late.
Elric blinked.
"…Okay."
He leaned closer.
"Let's try again."
The options were still there.
Unchanged.
He selected a different one.
1. Who are you?
A beat.
Then
[UNKNOWN]: You're late.
Elric exhaled through his nose.
"…Right."
He leaned back slightly, one hand coming off the controller to rub his face.
"Hard loop. Cool. Love that."
He glanced at the corner of the screen instinctively
Looking for a menu prompt.
Pause.
Settings.
Anything.
Nothing appeared.
"…Wait."
He pressed the pause button.
Nothing.
Pressed it again.
Still nothing.
The game didn't freeze.
Didn't stutter.
Didn't acknowledge the input at all.
Elric sat up a little straighter.
"…Okay, that's"
The screen flickered.
Not the environment.
Not the lighting.
Everything.
For a single frame
The dialogue box stretched.
Warped.
Like it was being pulled sideways.
And inside it
Text.
Different text.
Not part of the options.
Not part of the scene.
Just
There.
[SYNC IN PROGRESS]
Gone.
Back to normal.
Elric didn't move.
His thumb hovered over the controller.
"…Alright."
A small pause.
Then, quieter
"…that's not a bug."
The figure on screen tilted its head.
Slowly.
Too smoothly.
Not on a joint.
Not animated.
Just… rotated.
Elric's breath caught slightly.
"…Okay."
The subtitle appeared again.
But this time
It changed.
[UNKNOWN]: You're...
It cut.
Flickered.
Then reappeared.
[UNKNOWN]: You...
Again.
[UNKNOWN]: You found it.
Elric's eyes narrowed.
"…Found what?"
He didn't press anything this time.
Didn't select a response.
Just… watched.
The figure leaned forward slightly.
The screen… distorted.
Edges warping inward...
Sound stretching...
That low hum rising just enough to feel it in his teeth
Then...
Black.