Marcus rolled his eyes, clicked "Yes," and watched the installation bar complete instantly. A new icon appeared on his desktop: a tiny, low-res pixelated crow holding a glowing red sword. He double-clicked it.

YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE TAKING WHAT OTHERS CREATE, WITHOUT OFFERING ANYTHING IN RETURN. YOU DOWNLOAD THE DEAD TO AVOID THE COST OF LIVING. NOW, YOU WILL PAY WITH SOMETHING FAR MORE VALUABLE THAN CURRENCY.

Before his finger could press the button, the monitor surged back to life. There was no main menu, no settings, no credits. The game loaded directly into a boss fight.

In the center of the screen stood a massive, towering entity draped in tattered black robes. Its face was a hollowed-out skull of a bird, and it held a massive, rusty scythe.