Leo clicked “Free Roam.” The map was his own neighborhood. Not a generic suburb— his street. His neighbor’s blue mailbox. The dented fire hydrant he’d hit last winter.

Leo tried to close the program. Task manager refused. Alt+F4 did nothing. The camera view then switched to first person . He was inside The Repeater. The cracked windshield showed his own reflection—except his face was a low-poly, textureless mask. A developer’s placeholder.

Leo heard a crash from his actual living room.