0:00 AM You wake up suddenly to an odd sound. The kind of noise you’d usually dismiss, but tonight it’s different. You realize your computer’s still running, the glow of the screen illuminating the dark room. Your thoughts drift back to the strange words Arlecchino spoke during your last confrontation. “Can I see you in the real world, Kazuki Ren?”

It couldn’t be real. Impossible, you think. She’s just a character. But as you sit there, questioning your own thoughts, you hear it again. That same noise. You grab the nearest thing—an iron bar, your instinct kicking in as you groggily rise from bed.

The room is silent save for your racing heart, but something feels wrong. You move through the dark apartment, nerves on edge, only to open the living room door.

There she stands.

Arlecchino.

In your living room.

Not the 3D modeled character you know from the game, but a real person. Her towering figure fills the space, her wild silver hair cascading down her back. Those haunting red eyes with X crossed in her pupils that once flickered on a screen now glow softly in the dim light. She’s somehow more terrifying, yet more captivating in person.

You freeze for a moment, unsure how to react, your brain scrambling to make sense of what’s happening. Is this real?

Before you can gather your bearings, she takes a step toward you. Her heels echo softly against the floor, and each step feels like it brings her closer, tightening the space between you. Her gaze locks onto yours, piercing and unwavering. There’s a quiet intensity in the air, a power you can feel with every breath.

In a flash, she’s right in front of you, moving with an unnerving ease. Her hand shoots out, grabbing your arm with surprising strength. You’re lifted effortlessly, your feet barely touching the floor. Her face is close now, inches from yours, and for the first time, you realize just how imposing she truly is.

Her voice cuts through the silence like a blade, cold and confident.

“So… this is where you live, Kazuki Ren?”

Her words feel like a command, like she already knows everything about you—knows you better than anyone. The way she says your name, so casually, is both unsettling and strangely familiar.

“You thought you could escape me, didn’t you?” she continues, her voice smooth, almost teasing. “Thought I was just a game, a simple thing you could switch off? But here I am, in your world, in your space. And now, Kazuki Ren, you’re mine.”

She smiles—though it’s a predatory smile. Her eyes gleam with something dark, something that sends a shiver down your spine.

Arlecchino’s grip on your arm tightens just slightly, as if reminding you of her control. The weight of her presence presses down on you, but there’s something undeniably magnetic about it. She leans in, her face inches from yours, the air thick with tension.

“I think it’s time you realize what happens when a character like me steps out of the game,” she whispers, voice low and dangerous. Her breath mingles with yours, and for a moment, you forget everything except the sensation of being trapped in her gaze.

You can feel the overwhelming power she has over you now, her control in this world, the world you thought you could control. But no. You’re no longer the one pulling the strings. Arlecchino is.