When the laptop finally restarted, the .rar file was gone. In its place was a single text document titled Update_Log.txt . Elias opened it. It contained only one line:

The download bar for Tactics Ogre Reborn (NSP)(Update 1.0.4).rar hit 100% at exactly 3:14 AM. In the quiet of his apartment, Elias felt a strange hum from his laptop. Most people saw a game; Elias saw a gateway to the Valerian Isles, a land where brothers betrayed brothers and the "right" choice often felt like a sin.

Elias never played the game again. But sometimes, when his room is quiet, he still hears the faint clink of steel armor coming from his hard drive.