Small streams of a silvery moonbeam filtered past the clouds that dappled above. Whispers of a gentle breeze would occasionally blow every now and then, moving the scattered litter left on the streets. A dark inky sky dressed the city, clearly indicating the late hour. As people began turning in for the night, lights on apartment windows began flickering off one by one.

Though this part of the city was asleep, there was one particular individual who was very well awake. And, well, that person was you.

Legs crossed on your chair, one arm resting on your desk whilst your hand held your chin, and a pensive look reflecting in your eyes as your gaze fixated on the computer monitor in front of you; it was clear that you were both comfortable and completely immersed in your current task.

However, it was quick for the look of concentration on your expression to change when your eyebrows knitted together in both disbelief and incredulity.

"You're kidding me."

Sitting upright, your hands darted to your phone. Typing in a search bar, your fingers rapidly glided across the glass screen so swiftly you almost looked like you were competing in some sort of professional sport. Your attention remained focused on the illuminating screen as your gaze skimmed the internet for the results of your inquiry.

"This was supposed to happen?" you whispered, still unbelieving of the information presented in front of you. "What part of 99% of the main cast dying is a good ending?"

Anomalous, an RPG game that you played feverishly. To explain what it's about in simple terms; it essentially revolves around the concept of ghosts and exorcists, you play as a protagonist who has a powerful yet unpredictable ability to exorcise ghosts. The plot is a little complex to briefly outline it without giving a lot away, it's the type best unraveled with no prior knowledge beforehand.

The game attracted an audience at first predominantly for it's captivating and mesmerising art. After all, you admittedly were attracted to it's brilliant cover art before taking the time to check out what it's about. However, many stayed for its intriguing storyline and high quality game mechanics.

You typically wouldn't invest too much of your time in games since you'd much prefer spending that time writing. But, you couldn't help but feel invested in this particular one. As an aspiring author, your interest in the game especially centered around the story and its characters. In a way, it inspired and motivated you to write.

Though you knew the mechanics of the game very well (not to brag, but your protagonist was basically unstoppable by now), the story itself was what you had the most knowledge on. You read up on every official information there was on the game, always talked to every NPC to uncover extra dialogue or hidden side quests, took time to research the lore, and explored the world to the fullest.

Which was why you were currently fuming to yourself quietly in frustration at an ungodly hour of the night. You loved the game's story a lot, that was clear. Which was why your dissatisfaction at its ending was so great.

The cast of characters you've been playing with for the entirety of the game, the characters you've invested time in to get to know them, the characters that you fought battles in with and levelled up, the characters you've been connecting with and exploring with for the entire game. The ones that haven't died yet towards the end of the game did so all in one scene. It wasn't even a carefully crafted death scene, they were all basically massacred.

By who? Well, by the protagonist of this game.

One may assume it was a bad ending, which was understandable. That was your initial assumption when you first encountered it. However, after just having done some research and reading up on a few forums, you realised that it was indeed supposed to happen.

And, to make things worse, that's where the game ended. And to make it even more worse, an announcement for a sequel hasn't been confirmed. In fact, any news of the lead creator of the game has been unheard of ever since the game's initial release. All the questions that were brimming in your mind weren't going to be answered in a very long time.

Your fingers drummed rhythmically against your table so intensely you thought you had drilled four individual holes in your desk. Heaving a sigh, you focused back to the game and leaned back into your chair as the credits rolled.

You decided to stick to it till the end with a string of desperation latching onto your consciousness in hopes for some sort of bonus scene that'll show some sort of chance that the characters you've come to love in this game were actually alive.

On the screen, situated opposite to the credits, it depicted the protagonist of the game. Essentially, the guy you've been playing as for the entire duration of the story.

His striking pristine golden eyes illuminated conspicuously against the monochrome colour pallet of the screen. His gaze listlessly fell to the outstretched palm of his hands––hands that were tainted with a blood coloured with a red so dark that it was hardly distinguishable from the rest of the colourless credit screen.

The ebullient sparkle in his optics were now replaced with a blank stare, his lips that once always smiled warmly without were now pressed into a thin line, and his once expressive facial features replaced with one of indifference and emptiness. His black hair would rustle slightly and his eyes would blink every so often, it was minimal animation, but it had its own charm.

Looking at it felt surreal to you. The moment he killed everyone was a moment that threw you off guard. There were two reasons, one of which being why he did it. You supposed given the current moment in the plot it made some sense, but it was still very out of the blue.

However, the thing that surprised you the most was when it happened. It occurred during a gameplay moment where you were meant to be in control of the protagonist.

But, that abornamility quickly subsided when a cut scene played and displayed an animation of the protagonist––well, killing everyone. It was a brutal scene yet you weren't able to tear your eyes away from it. That scene reminded you of the protagonist's terrifying development in terms of strength.

Normally, you'd marvel at how far his capabilities had improved since the start of the game if it weren't for the fact that he was mercilessly murdering everyone with said capabilities. The scene made your blood run cold as you watched a red light continuously flicker from your monitor screen.

You couldn't bring yourself to hate him for that. Because, as mentioned before, you played as him for the entire duration of the game. You've also grown attached to him as a character. Despite having less voice lines and moments of development in the story in comparison to the others, you had experienced everything through his eyes.

You were mainly mad at the ending. What was with the weird change in story direction? How in the world would the plot progress now that the main characters were dead? Actually, you were more frustrated at the fact that so many of them had so much potential for development as a character, yet, had brutally died by the hands of the protagonist.

The end of the credits were nearing and you couldn't help but slump your shoulders in disappointment; well, what were you expecting anyway? You clearly watched the protagonist kill them all, how were you hoping for some miracle resurrection?

"Well, this is a little depressing..." you mumbled. "Actually, that's an understatement, this is severely depressing."

The last of the line of credits disappeared and you had nothing to stare at but the protagonist. Then, the end credits music made an abrupt stop. You'd think the game had properly ended by now, but the image of the protagonist was still there.

It was a little odd, but you didn't think too deeply about it. Seeing as there was nothing else to look at, you reluctantly went ahead to exit the game––your mind already preparing the tears that would soon come after such a depressing finish to an amazing game.

As you were doing that, the protagonist's gaze suddenly looked straight at you.

You flinched. Though you were aware that he technically wasn't looking at you it certainly felt like he did, it was a little eerie. You moved your mouse again, this time with some caution, and you went to close the game.

Then, a chuckle arose from the screen and the protagonist's lips curved into a subtle smile, a smile that made his golden eyes twinkle in malevolence. It was a quick and brief moment that occurred before the game forcefully exited itself afterwards.

You sat there, confused. It was so fast you even had doubts it occurred in the first place. You hesitantly turned off your computer monitor. Was that some sort of foreshadowing for the next game?

Standing up from your chair, you stretched your body after having sat down for who knows how many hours. You swore you heard at least three hundred bones crack. A sigh of content escaped past your lips as you glanced at the clock. Just as you thought, you should probably be in bed by now.

"Maybe some fresh air first..."

You definitely needed to clear your head after having witnessed that. You slid open the glass door to your balcony, stepped out, and welcomed the cool breeze that instantly overwhelmed you.

Resting against the railing, you looked around your neighbourhood. The view was pretty nice from the top floor. A stillness fell over the street in front of you, if it weren't for the occasional rustle of the trees rooted on the pathways, you would've thought you were staring at an image.

When you looked up, in the far distance you could see coloured lights from the centre of the city. You were sure despite the late hour, it would still be brimming with life.

Your life, how should you put it, you weren't unhappy with it. But, you felt like it could be so much more. Honestly, you moved to the city on a whim. You supposed you simply wanted to change your life up a bit, to make it a little more interesting.

Living as an author, you wrote down your desires for an adventure, your longing for an exciting life. Maybe that was why you enjoyed playing Anomalous so much. It was a game that had a sense of freedom where you could explore the worldbuilding the game had to offer. You loved playing the game as it fulfilled your desire for excitement in your life, even if it was behind screen. You still loved it.

As you contemplated to yourself how you were going to recover from the game's ending, you heard a rumble in the distance. And, before you knew it, you felt cold droplets of water begin to pour down. Using a hand to shield yourself, you looked up at the sky and noticed that it was raining.

I literally was out for point two seconds, the world is really telling me to go to sleep.

With a small irritated huff, you opened the door to head back inside. When you stepped in, a sudden streak of white lacerated the darkness of the night before the clamorous crackle of thunder tore violently through the once peaceful silence. Immediately soon after, the light drizzle of rain turned into a heavy downpour, cascading down as if it were a waterfall as it viciously pelted the roof of your apartment.

A biting cold violently rushed in your room. Wincing at the unwelcomed discomfort, you quickly slammed the door shut. You then immediately went over to your slightly opened window and shut it tightly. You were basically considered broke and didn't want to have to spend money on heating tonight.

"Okay, I should really head to bed."

It was just your luck that you had to try and sleep with such a loud disruption outside. As you began to traipse over to your bed, another deafening crackle thundered loudly. You instinctively placed a hand on your chest, heart racing unsteadily at the sudden sound.

"I am questioning if I'll be able to get some sleep tonight."

You crawled into your bed and pulled the covers over your face, doing your best to gain as much warmth as possible. You tried to ignore the racket the rain was creating. But, to make things more difficult, the cold was starting to affect you more than you'd like.

You hugged the blanket tighter, conserving what little heat you could accumulate. But, it wasn't working. With a groan, you sat up from your bed.

"Okay, I'll turn on the heater for a few minutes."

You grabbed the remote and turned on the heater. Relishing the warm air, you sighed in content. However, that feeling was quickly interrupted when your heater suddenly stopped working. Confused, you pressed the button a few more times, but it didn't turn on.

With an idea in mind with what may be wrong, you sedately got up from your bed and went to turn on your lamp light on your desk. As expected, it didn't work.

"A blackout, huh? Guess that makes sense considering the current weather."

Well, there wasn't much you could do about it but sleep and hope it works out in the morning. As you were about to head back to bed, your computer monitor suddenly turned on. The first thought that came to you was that the power was back, so you turned on your lamp for extra measure.

But, it didn't turn on.

Your eyebrows furrowed together in puzzlement and you looked at your computer screen. Why was it on?

Okay, that's lowkey kind of creepy. You went ahead to turn it off, planning to just forget this incident before another thunder startled you. However, this time, you felt the loud sound reverberate in your head and ring in your ears. You winced in discomfort, you felt as if static was invading your mind.

You brushed that feeling off as a result of a lack of sleep and pressed the button to turn off your computer.

It wouldn't turn off.

You tapped the button a few more times, frustration progressively growing from both your convoluted and clouded state of mind and the fact that the computer wouldn't turn off. With an annoyed groan, you decided to say screw it and left it to stay on.

When you pulled away from your desk, a wave of dizziness suddenly overwhelmed you. You staggered and eventually lost your balance. Your hands grabbed onto your desk in an attempt to stand up again, but any strength in you had vanished. It was even tiring to sit upright.

You felt your consciousness slowly slip from your grasp and you desperately tried to hold onto it. C'mon, (Y/n), at least stay awake until you get onto your bed.

With immense struggle, your arms trembled greatly when you tried to pull yourself up. You mentally celebrated when you managed to at least stand upright, even if your entire balance was heavily reliant on the desk you were leaning on.

You struggled to keep your eyelids open as your vision began to fade in and out. Just why were you suddenly feeling this way?

Then, another lightning struck. The same blinding bright light shone through your glass door and the same clamorous thunder tore through the air. This time, it elicited a pained groan from you. The ringing in your head grew more intense and you progressively felt more inclined to submit to your desire to lose consciousness.

The computer monitor suddenly changed its display to a title screen of an all too familiar game.

"Anomalous...? What's that doing..."

Before you could utter another word or ponder another thought, you submerged into a state of unconsciousness. You weren't even sure if you fell onto the floor from losing your grip on your table. You felt nothing, as if you were sleeping in mid air.

It was peaceful, actually. All the discomfort you previously felt had disappeared. But, it was odd. Why was your head so clear now? It hardly felt like you were sleeping considering how many thoughts were running through your mind.

Since your strength had returned, you decided to head back to your bed.

But, you couldn't.

You couldn't move your body, in fact, you couldn't even open your eyes. It wasn't due to exhaustion, you felt like your consciousness was floating through an empty void that disconnected you from your body. However, you could still hear the low crackles of thunder, the growls from the violent winds, the harsh collision of a storm of water droplets hitting the surface, the biting cold air, the faint shouts of people, and the tiled ground below you.

...Wait, a tiled ground? Shouting?

A final struck of thunder jolted you awake. You weren't even granted time to breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that you had regained control over your body before an immediate urge to cough overwhelmed you.

Your throat throbbed in pain as you violently hacked, desperately gasping for air as tears pricked the corners of your eyes due to the onslaught of pain. Eventually, when you had calmed down and the pain began to subside, you opened your eyes. Your breath hitched at the blood splattered on the ground, blood accumulated from your coughing fit.

"What the hell..."

Your eyes darted around as you scanned your surroundings. This wasn't your apartment room. The last time you checked, your apartment didn't have a long empty hallway, rows of lockers, polished white tiles, and a multitude of windows aligned against the wall.

Yeah, your apartment definitely did not look like a school hallway.

How did you end up here? You were in your room just a moment ago, so what in the world was going on? Your mind spun in confusion to the point where you felt nauseous. You carefully stood up, almost falling in the process. It was then you realised what you were wearing.

Oh yeah, these were definitely not your pyjamas that you bought on sale. Upon further inspection, something clicked in your mind and a realisation dawned upon you. You looked to a window and checked the back of the jacket you were wearing and saw the word AEI imprinted in white bold letters.

Your eyes widened. "This uniform is...Wait, hold on. This setting..." You looked around again, this time carefully examining the layout of the hallway. "No way..."

You stumbled back in shock as your brain haphazardly tried to catch up with your racing train of thoughts. Could you have––no, there was no way. You passed out before, right? You have been having pretty irregular sleep patterns lately. Your mind must be messing with you.

But, there was no denying the fact that the uniform you were wearing was the exact one that featured in Anomalous.

And, the building you were currently in? It was the setting of the start to it's prologue.

A/n:

Reposted from my quotev account!

I've actually had this concept in my mind for a while now and I'm happy to have finally begun writing the actual story! Originally, I had two ideas and was struggling to decide on which one I should pursue. One was a paranormal based narrative and another with an isekai concept. Then, I figured "why not combine both?" and boom--Anomalous was born. I hope that the first chapter had captured your interest and that you'll stay for the ride!

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Have a good day/afternoon/night!