Nyxphiria

A shot of pain surged through Madoka’s head, and she let out a pained grunt. A tension headache was brewing behind her eyes. ‘I don’t wanna get up...I feel sick...let me sleep more...’ She was curled up in a warm, fluff blanket and about as comfortable as you could be when your whole body ached. She tightened her eyes, trying to ignore the hum around her.

“Ma-Chan! Ma-Chan! Wake up, Ma-Chan!” Something cold and damp repeatedly poked her head as her mother screamed in panic.

“Mhhff...Why’d you have to wake me up?” Madoka whined sleepily as she stretched. “Oh, thank God! You’re okay! I didn’t know what was happening!” Her mother blubbered. Madoka’s blanket tightened around her. ‘Wait...what?’ The girl's eye’s snapped open and she stared at her mother in shock. Or rather, at what sounded like her mother. What she thought was a blanket was in fact a black and silver wolf the size of a horse. The wolf, wrapped protectively around her, stared at the girl anxiously. Madoka was too baffled to be scared. ‘Wait, I know this wolf!’

“S-sel?” Madoka stuttered in shock. “Mama? ” The wolf looked stunned. “I-I’m Selena Suzuki.You’re Mahannana the mage. Then...you’re my daughter Madoka, right?” The two stared at each other in a daze. Her mother’s question sunk in. “Mahannana?" Madoka looked down at herself. "Wait, what is this?”

It was her body, but not her body. She was wearing the same pink robe-dress-thing that her character had been wearing. Her hair was now to her knees; more hair than she’d ever seen on a live person. Madoka didn’t want to believe that it was hers; couldn’t believe it was hers. Her hair was a honey-brown color, not lavender! She grabbed a handful, yanked it, and yelped. It was her hair, alright! She lifted her hands and scrutinized them. Her body looked familiar, but there was an uncomfortable dissonance in looking at it. She couldn’t process and accept that it was hers because it wasn’t the body she had existed in for fifteen years.

She looked up at the wolf. “M-my mom turned into a wolf. A wolf. “She repeated. “Not just a wolf, but the character you played in the game. And I look like the mage I played as. What the heck happened? Where are we? What...what...? I don’t even have words, mama. How is this a thing that is happening?” Selena took a deep breath. “Ma-Chan, Mama is honestly scared right now because she can’t understand this, either. But this is really happening...and don’t think we’re alone.” She gestured with her snout, causing Madoka to gasp in shock.

They were in the kind of town that the girl could only describe as a standard fantasy town; what you’d see in a fantasy MMORPG or manga about heroic adventurers. While it wasn’t a carbon copy, it was similar enough that she knew exactly which town it was. “We...somehow...ended up in Nyxaria.” She said, the words sounding like a crazy person ranting to her ears. While a chicken-or-the-egg question that didn’t matter right now, it was obviously that this place and the game world were based off each other. 

But the most shocking part wasn't that realization but how, all around the town center, dozens of people were seemingly having the same rude awakening. Individuals encompassing every sort of fantasy character, creature, and occupation possible were sprawled out as far as she could see. She was surrounded by people screaming, crying, checking their bodies out, and screaming for answers.

“Mama?” Madoka looked over at the wolf. “I know this is scary but stay calm. I’m with you. Thing’s will be okay.” Selena said slowly. “I’ll tell you what I’ve heard and observed. Everyone is freaking out because they became their characters from a game. And I’ve heard people drop the name Night World Odessey. I think they were beta testers like us. And they’ve all ended up as their characters, too. But I’m not sure that this is the Nyxaria of the game because it not only feels different, but its physical appearance is difference.” Madoka stared at her mother, mentally shutting down because she was so overstimulated.

“H-hey...” A timid voice asked. Selena looked up to see a young man leaning over them with a look of concern. His simple clothes were that of an ordinary villager. “A-are you two okay?”

“I think so. Excuse me, but are you a native of this place?” Selena acted on her hunch.“Y-yes.” The man stuttered. “What...what happened? Who are all you people?” He gestured around at the panicked individuals spread about. “I’m not entirely sure what’s going on myself.” Selena admitted. “Can you tell me what happened from your perspective?”

“S-sure...” The man fumbled with his words. “It was a normal day but then some sort of...astrological event...? Well, whatever it’s called, something weird showed up in the sky with no warning. A swirling black spot that looked like portal. Then the square started glowing blue and, suddenly, a bunch of unconscious strangers materialized on the ground. We were...a-a lot of us came out to look at the sky and saw it happen. You people just... appeared.”

Selena took another look around. Interspersed with the people who were likely other players were villagers offering aid. Around the perimeter of the center, more locals were gathering; looking on and chattering nervously. “What is the name of this place?” Selena inquired. “Umbria, in the Kingdom of Aetheron.” The man answered. “We-we’re the town of beginnings, where adventures come to prepare and start their journeys.”

‘So, this isn’t Yamia, but the name is similar. Functionally, it’s the same as the town of beginnings in Night World Odyssey.’ Selena thought. ‘We became our characters, and everything is familiar, but it’s not a one-to-one comparison. Are we in the actual game itself, or somewhere else?’ She looked up at the man, who was waiting expectantly for some sort of explanation.

“My name is Selena. This is my daughter Madoka. As hard as this is to believe, we are just normal humans. But we’re not from this world. We were playing a game and, after there was a bright flash of light, we woke up here in different bodies. These bodies aren’t how we really look, but they are characters from the game we were playing. And I’m pretty sure that all these other people are in the same situation; playing the same game and waking up as characters from their version of the game.” Selena tried to make her story as simple as possible for the man to understand, as this world clearly didn’t have the technology of theirs. “What’s your name?”

“Oh, ah, I’m Aqua!” The man jumped and squeaked out a response. “Is your...daughter...okay?” Madoka was sitting frozen in her mother’s furry embrace, her face stuck in an empty glare. “As okay as you would be if you were in our situation. This is how she acts when she gets overwhelmed and confused. She’s just scared.” Selena explained. "Another world...” Aqua mused as he studied the strangers who’d descended upon his town. “I mean, everyone is sure that other worlds and dimensions exist, but the idea of there actually being contact with one...not even the best mages have been able to verify the existence of other worlds yet!”

“It’s the same in our world.” Selena agreed. “Many people believe in other worlds, but scientists have no concreate proof. Hell, not even all scientists believe in the idea or think it’s worth researching.” That was all the explanation Selena could offer, and it satisfied no one. The three sat in silence; Madoka because she was still in an overstimulated shut-down, Selena and Aqua because they didn’t know what to do. 'Where do we go from here?’ Selena thought. ‘Literally and figuratively. We have no money, no shelter and no idea what this world is like. Forget figuring out what happened or getting back home; how do we take care of ourselves in the short term?’ She held her daughter tighter. ‘How could this happen? Why us? We didn’t do anything! We were just playing a game...how does that turn into something as incomprehensible as this?’

“Hey, everyone! Wake up! Can you hear me?” A man’s voice boomed suddenly. Everyone, whether a player or resident, looked around in confusion.

“Up here!” Everyone stared at the sky. Where the portal had supposedly opened earlier there was now a blue square flashing. It was a hologram, but there was no person visible

“I know this is sudden, but I need everyone to listen carefully, whether you're a subject or an inhabitant of this world.” ‘Subject?’ Selena wondered, confused at the unseen speaker’s ominous terminology.

“I know you’re all confused but let me put it simply. All you gamers were participating our experiment. And, regretfully, project Dark Odyssey has taken a turn we were unprepared to deal with.”

The word “experiment” set off a frenzy among everyone present; hundreds of voices and bodies all responding at once. “Shut up!” The sky voice bellowed, betraying the speaker’s frustration. At the angry command, an eerie silence settled over the crowd.

The projection crackled and a sunken, sneaky-eyed face with a dissonant smile appeared.

“Calm yourselves and let me shed some light on your... situation.”