“You wanted cheats,” the game said, in a voice that was partly Kay’s mother’s voice, partly the sound of a hard drive failing. “Here’s the only cheat that matters: Nothing is free. Not even winning. ”

Kay Fox never played Realm of Aetheria again. But that didn’t matter. The sword had already started playing her.

Kay’s phone slipped from her shaking fingers. On the monitor, the sword was now floating outside Kestrel’s hand, hovering toward the screen’s edge—reaching through. A crack spiderwebbed across her monitor’s glass.

Kay’s hands went cold. She tried to unequip the sword. The option was grayed out. She tried to quit the game. The “Exit” button was gone. She tried to alt-tab. Nothing. Her entire computer seemed to have become the game.

HexMancer_Zero (2 years ago): “Don’t use this. It’s not a cheat. It’s a lure. The sword is a trap for players who hate losing. It will eat your save file. Then your other games. Then your other files. Then you. I lost my brother to it. If you’ve already typed the code—delete the game immediately. Smash the disc. Burn the hard drive. And never, ever play a game called Aetheria again.”

She remembered the Reddit thread then. She scrambled to open her phone, her real hand fighting the phantom grip of the controller. The thread had more comments below the cheat code. She’d never scrolled far enough.