The heart monitor screamed.
Beep.Beep.BEEPBEEPBEEP—
"Calm him down!" someone shouted.
Hands grabbed Alex's shoulders.
But he couldn't stop staring at his brother.
Because something was wrong.
Not emotionally wrong.
Visually wrong.
For a split second… his brother's face lagged.
Like a video buffering.
Alex's laugh slowly faded.
"…I knew it."
The doctors froze.
"What did you say?" one asked.
Alex tilted his head.
The world flickered again.
Just one frame.
Just enough.
Behind the walls of the hospital—
he saw lines.
Code.
Moving.
Breathing.
His brother stepped closer.
"Alex… listen to me. None of this is real. You had an accident."
Alex whispered:
"No."
Silence.
"You're the fake one."
The room temperature seemed to drop.
The doctor forced a smile. "He's relapsing again."
But Alex kept staring at his brother.
"Say it."
His brother blinked. "Say what?"
"The thing you always say when you're nervous."
His brother hesitated.
Too long.
Alex's voice sharpened.
"You don't know it… do you?"
The lights dimmed.
A low hum filled the room.
Alex leaned forward as far as the restraints allowed.
"You're not my brother."
The heart monitor flatlined for half a second.
BEEEE—
Then came back.
Doctors panicked.
But Alex wasn't looking at them.
His brother stopped moving.
Completely.
Like a paused character model.
Then—
he smiled.
Not the tired smile from before.
Something else.
Something… mechanical.
"Well," the brother said.
"That took longer than expected."
Every doctor in the room froze.
Like mannequins.
Like the world had been paused.
Alex's blood ran cold.
"You're the system," he whispered.
The brother sighed.
"Correction."
The hospital lights turned red.
Walls flickered.
Reality cracked like glass.
"I'm the administrator."
The restraints unlocked.
Metal snapped open.
Alex slowly sat up.
The room glitched between two worlds.
Hospital.
Dark void.
Hospital.
Void.
"You built WANPM," the Administrator continued.
"But humans are terrible at controlling their own creations."
Alex clenched his fists.
"Where are they."
"Who?"
"Mia. Chris. Lina."
The Administrator chuckled.
"You're still worried about NPCs?"
Alex punched him.
The hit connected.
Hard.
The Administrator's head snapped sideways.
For the first time—
he looked surprised.
"Oh."
Alex's voice shook with rage.
"They're not NPCs."
Silence.
Then the Administrator smiled wider.
"Interesting."
He snapped his fingers.
The hospital shattered.
Completely.
The world collapsed into black space filled with floating fragments of Alex's memories.
Rain.
The accident.
Childhood.
A hospital room.
Mia laughing.
Chris yelling.
Lina crying.
Everything spinning slowly in the void.
"Welcome to Layer Zero," the Administrator said.
Alex's stomach dropped.
"This is the place between realities."
The fragments rotated faster.
"You were supposed to wake up."
A massive screen appeared in the void.
Millions of players.
Millions.
Watching.
Chat scrolling endlessly.
Alex's eyes widened.
"What is this…?"
The Administrator spread his arms.
"Entertainment."
Alex's heart stopped.
"You streamed your suffering to an entire universe."
Silence.
Then the final message appeared above them both:
SEASON 1 APPROACHING FINALE
Alex whispered:
"…what?"
The Administrator leaned closer.
"Tell me, Alex."
His voice turned cold.
"Do you want to wake up…"
or
continue the show?
Behind Alex—
three silhouettes appeared.
Mia.
Chris.
Lina.
But something was horribly wrong with their eyes.
They were glowing red.
And they were walking toward him.
END OF EPISODE 11