Project Chimera

The tug-of-war inside Admin was brutal. Forget a simple choice; it felt like a full-blown war. One part of him screamed to go home, to reassure his folks he was alive, that he was okay. The other part, just as loud, insisted he couldn't. Not yet. He needed to know *why* he vanished in the first place. This back-and-forth twisted in his gut, making it hard to even breathe.

He stood there, hands clenching, his heart a drum solo against his ribs. Finally, his voice shaking with need, he spoke to Reyus.

Find anything about my disappearance,” he said, the words rushing out like a dam burst. “Anything. Even if it seems tiny, a little clue might matter. Please, Reyus.”

Reyus, solid and reliable as always, just nodded. No hesitation, no questions. She turned to the glowing computer screen, her dark hair catching the light, her eyes narrowing in focus. She was diving into the internet, something so normal to most people but a total mystery to someone like her, yanked from another world.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, like the thing might bite. Then, slowly, she began. She typed. She clicked. She read. With each move, confidence grew, her hands smoothing out until it looked right.

The rest hung back, watching. Mirai, usually bouncing off the walls, sat quietly on the arm of the chair, her golden eyes full of worry for Admin.

We will figure this out, Admin, she whispered. You're not alone. We're here.

Tundra stood back a bit, as stiff as ever, her frosty gaze scanning everything. While Reyus and Mirai focused on Admin, Tundra's attention jumped around – him, the computer, the room. Her mind wouldn't shut off. The ratty carpet, the dust floating in the light, the old posters crooked.

This room, she said, her voice heavy. It looks like no one's been here in months. Someone's been gone, not a year but not long! Someone's got to be looking for him.”

Admin closed his eyes. He swallowed hard, turning away, unable to speak.

Eyrie, quiet as a ghost, lingered near the shimmer of the portal. She carried her grief, It gave her weight. She looked at Admin, her gaze soft, sending a silent wave of caring.

We all have stuff in the past, she murmured. Her voice was fragile but firm, But we can't let it control us. We have to think about now.

Admin only nodded. He’d heard her, but not sure he was ready to listen.

Reyus kept digging. News stories, forum posts, social media – she skimmed it all. The tension in the room got thicker.

Suddenly, her eyes went wide. She stiffened. She gasped.

Admin, she said, her voice tight with disbelief.

That tone got him moving. He took a step. What?

There's... Reyus stopped, like she didn't believe what she saw. ...there's a game.

Admin blinked. A game? he repeated, the word sounding weird. What does that have to do with any of this?

Reyus typed, and clicked her way through. It's called Re:Admin, she said, her voice full of something like fear. And... the news stuff about it... it isn't good.

She clicked, and the screen changed. The headline, she highlighted a spot, and read out loud.

'Re:Admin creator puts Admin McGilvray in the game to make fun of him for disappearing.' Her voice broke.

Admin felt like he was falling. His blood turned to ice. Without thinking, he pushed past Reyus, staring.

The screen showed the article, The Addition to the popular game, a new character Admin, a victim who's story mirrored his own disappearance almost perfectly. Not Respectfully, the character was portrayed as ridicule.

Rage exploded, so strong he went blind for a second. Then came humiliation, a heavy weight made his stomach flip. He couldn’t believe it. How could anyone be so twisted? To turn his family's pain into a joke for strangers?

His shaking fingers scrolled down, trying to find who did this. And then – there it was.

Created by Vanessa Aeriys.

The name hit him like lighting. Aeriys. The Goddess Aeriys. The one who brought him to Mishanter’s World, who seemed like a god, who gave him power.

He stumbled back and fell into the gaming chair, his body heavy, his mind spinning. It all clicked into place, and he knew how it will happened. The game. The joke. The disappearance. The summon. It all pointed to her.

It was her, he whispered, his voice thin, horrified. Vanessa Aeriys... She made that game. She used it to... to bring me here.

Mirai frowned. Bring you here? What do you mean?

Admin met her eyes, his face a mess of rage. In Mishanter’s World that Aeriys brought me, she tell me I was chosen, he explained. She told me I had a thing to do. I thought she was a goddess. He pointed at the screen. But now... now I get it. The game. A twisted game. She used all of it to make her own fun. She pulled me away from everyone I love, and made me a joke.

The room fell silent.

Tundra's face darkened. She crossed her arms, her voice cold. So this Vanessa Aeriys... isn't a goddess. She just a game maker. She tells lies.

Admin nodded, bitterness making his jaw tight. That's what it means. The self-proclaimed goddess... was just a person pretending to be a god.

He stood up, his gestures abrupt. His eyes burned.

I need to find her, he said, his voice low but hard. I need to see her, and ask her why.

He turned to Reyus. Search for her. I need to know everything. Where she is. What she's done. How she made this. I need answers.

The hunt for Vanessa Aeriys got a serious kick in the pants. Turns out, she wasn't some divine being; she was a game dev pulling strings. This made Admin see his time in Mishanter's World in a totally messed-up light. He was ticked off and hungry for answers, so he pushed Reyus to dig even deeper into the internet's dark corners.

Reyus, now a pro at surfing the digital waves, worked non-stop, searching for any dirt on Aeriys. The search turned up a complicated story. Vanessa Aeriys was a whiz kid, a coding master, and the indie game scene's rising star. Her big hit was Re:Admin, which stirred up some controversy. People loved the game's original ideas and gameplay, but the Admin character and his supposedly insensitive backstory got a lot of flak.

She's a total recluse, Reyus said after hours of searching. She almost never does interviews and stays out of the public eye. Most of the stuff out there is just rumors and gossip.

But there has gotta be something, Admin pressed, his voice tight with frustration. An address, a phone number, anything that can help us find her.

Tundra, ever the realist, had a different idea. Instead of chasing her down, we should figure out how she does what she does. How did she pull you into Mishanter's World? What tech did she use? If we understand her process, we might get a clue about why she did it.

Admin thought that made sense to him. He remembered what it felt like being pulled, ripped out of his life and thrown into the unknown. He felt a surge of energy, like he was being controlled, and connected to something beyond human comprehension. It was like she was experimenting on game components before his disappearance

He plopped down in front of his old computer, the whirring of the machine was somehow calming in all the chaos. He hesitated for a moment. This computer held the key to understanding everything that had happened to him. It was as if she had experimented on him to create the game.

He started clicking through folders on the hard drive, each click echoing in the quiet room. He went deeper and deeper into the Re:Admin files, past tons of assets and game stuff. He kept digging until he found a hidden file with a weird name: Project Chimera. It was very experimental in nature.

A chill went down his spine. This felt different, important.

He double-clicked the file, and a text document popped up. It was filled with techy stuff, science equations, and weird symbols. It talked about quantum stuff, dimensional cracks, and messing with people's minds. It looked like a plan for building a bridge between different worlds.

As Admin read, he started to get a sense of how far Vanessa Aeriys was willing to go. She wasn't just a game developer; she was a scientist, a dreamer, a crazy genius who thought she could push past the limits of reality. And he, Admin McGilvray, was her guinea pig.

Suddenly, a rush of memories flooded back. He remembered messing around with different components, and how he used to play the game before he disappeared. No... it can't be, he said to himself, his eyes wide with shock. He also now recalls his old address being similar to the address in the game.