Prolog: Log-In Pending

Madoka slowly opened her eyes. Her entire body felt sluggish and wasn’t immediately responding. ‘What happened?’ She wondered, trying to move her head. ‘I was playing Night World with Mama, wasn’t I? Did I fall asleep? But I wasn’t tired...’ With effort, she was just barely able to turn her head slightly to the left.

‘Did I have seizure? I don’t know if it was the game or the tv itself, but the last thing I remember was the game crashing and strobing lights flashing on the screen.’ That’s the only way she could make sense of what she was seeing. Her vision was blurry and her eyes struggled to adjust. But she could see just enough to process that she was lying in what could only be describe as a dark liminal space covered in blue flashing code. It was a technological-themed fever dream.

Suddenly, the realization hit her. “M-a...mama...?” Where was her mother? It took ages to get her throat to form the sounds. “Wheeerree...?” She croaked. She heard a muffled groan from above her head. Out of the corner of her eye, Madoka could see a black mass. It was breathing.

“I’m...here...” Her mother’s forced whisper replied. “Can’t move.”

“Me...too...” Madoka responded slowly. She didn’t like this feeling; like she wasn’t in control of her own body. The familiar anxiety ache formed in the bottom of her stomach. ‘I want to see Mama. I want to know she’s ok.’ But her body refused to respond and she could only slightly move parts of it.

“I’m...scared” She whimpered, slowly inching her hand out in the direction of her mother’s voice. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of her arm. In hindsight, she would remember that it not only didn’t look like hers, but it also didn’t look like a realistic human arm. But in that moment, her mind couldn’t process what it was she was looking at, even though she knew it was her own body.

Her mother slowly shimmied her hand towards Madoka in turn, until the two’s fingers were finally brushing. As soon as they made contact, a whirring like that of a heavy-duty fan started up. Shortly after, the blue lights began flashing. “Mama...” Madoka croaked. “I can’t see.” As the frequency of the sound and light picked up, her vision progressively became even blurrier, as if it was starting to fade entirely. ‘Am I going blind?’

“Me either...Ma-Chan...” Her mother’s voice sounded exhausted. “I...think I’m going to black out...I feel...dizzy...”

Madoka whimpered. She felt it, too. An overwhelming feeling of exhaustion that made her feel like she couldn’t keep her eyes open, accompanied by a slight nausea. ‘Is this really a dream if mama is here with me?’ She wondered, but she was now losing her ability to even keep her own thoughts straight. The noise hit a fever pitch.

“It’ll be okay. I’m here.” Her mother’s whispered words were the last thing Madoka heard as she slipped into unconsciousness.

“Hey, everyone! Wake up! Can you hear me?”