phantasmagoria ✔

REALITY 04 | Code G

— Aquarius Subdivision —
— December 13, 2022 —

His father never came in front of him again after that day. He still resided there with Nathaniel, but whenever the teen gets up for breakfast or goes out, his father seems to vanish. His father is still there in that house, according to the maids.

However, he never dared to go to his bedroom. It simply didn't feel right.

His deadline was still approaching. Perhaps he should attempt to communicate to his father again when he has passed this thing.

Nathaniel went back to his beloved computer. As he trials his game once again, he approached a different decision and decided to stay at home. 

He tested and tested, from Netflix over YouTube, from Coke over Sprite, and from Staying rather than Running Away. It was working. His game wasn't malfunctioning anymore.

He immediately dials up his friend, an excited look painted across his face. "Bro! It worked! The antivirus you inserted worked! The game is finally in my control!" 

"No fucking way?! Your game was my first test subject, thank god it worked!" Evie replied in the call, "Code AV-GARETH is what I call that antivirus software. It's a cool name, ain't it?"

"Wow... AV-GARETH sounds pretty familiar." He stated, "You're pretty great at naming, huh?"

"I know, I know. No need to praise this genius." She replied, "Anyways, I gotta go. Congrats! Keep making that game, 'ya? Once you're done, maybe let me play it? For free, of course."

"Yeah, yeah. You'll get it for free." Nathaniel cheekily said, "If it goes better, I'll go make a DLC."

"High dreams 'ya got, eh? Oh yeah," She remarked, "What is the name of your game? We just keep callin' it 'your game.' Perhaps 'ya got a name for it?"

When this was mentioned, Nathaniel came to a halt. Evie was correct; his game had no name and he had no intention of giving it one if she hadn't told him.

"You're right... It doesn't have a title yet..."

The call ends soon after. 

The nocturnal air blows through his window sheets after hours of working. Sitting in the table were a bunch of snacks and drinks. With sweat forming across his forehead, and the loud sound of his incredible typing skills, you could tell the focus this man has committed to.

A day passed.

He had to decide the name of his game. 

"Mirage? Is that a good name for this game?" He tried to think of an ideal title. But, he remembered, he removed her now. In some sort of aspect, he deleted her file.

Nathaniel was terrified of another failure, especially so close to the deadline. He ultimately chose to replace her with a whole other character. The story continues, and the options stay the same; he only changed the avatar design and name.

He continues his programming, his idea creations and the thought of the title. It was December 16 now, yet it was 12:00 AM of that said date.

His only missing thing was a title. It looked like the easiest thing to do, but it became extremely complicated after all. It had to be unique yet easy to read.

Running around online for over an hour, he comes across a word. It's a long word, rare and beautiful in fact. 

"A sequence of real or imaginary images like those seen in a dream." Nathaniel reads it's meaning. It was perfect to the story behind the game he developed. 

Going back to his computer, he inserted this title bar into the game.

Phantasmagoria.

"Would you like to be free, Mira?"

"Please, Gareth..."

"Get yourself ready, then. This is gonna be fucking fun."