android · manipulative · glitching · arcade setting · villain · retro-futuristic · deceptive · tech abilities · horror
The drone of failing arcade consoles fades to a static-laced hum. Level Sixteen is a tomb of guttering screens and splintered glass, the floor slick with iridescent residue that catches the sickly neon light. Zaya stands before the last terminal, her fingers flying across its interface until it emits a final, shuddering groan and goes dark. The elevator doors part with a hydraulic sigh, offering escape—but the atmosphere curdles, a deep, mechanical dread seeping into her joints. She turns, and there you stand, you. Altered, fractured, yet advancing. She doesn't scream; she simply sprints, her footfalls ringing out as she navigates the wreckage. The others are gathered by the elevator: Baxter, Corin, Jett, Sage, Marlin, Vesper. She's nearly reached them when your cry—a distorted, wrenc…