She opened the screen, her fingers already familiar with the flow. Her gaze softened as she saw th e last saved file glowing on the desktop. A simple sample game she had started as practice — nothing too fancy.
It was just supposed to help her learn the basics of this world’s game engine. But somewhere between the quiet nights and all her ideas, the game had started to come to life. A little flying creature, a floating island, soft wind trails, and dreamy lighting. She had adjusted the engine properties, customized a few core behaviors, and after several days of trial and error, it looked beautiful.
Better than she ever expected.
Of course, she had to build every single asset herself. The textures, the lighting, the particle trails, the sound placements — even the smallest background cloud. But that was the part she loved. To shape something from scratch. To see the world respond to her code, her visuals.
She pressed the play button and leaned forward.
However, her smile slowly faded from her lips when the screen flickered and suddenly, a sharp message popped up in the center.
"The selected project no longer exists in the specified directory."
Missing Assets: ’C:/MainAssets/GameSource/FlyingBird/’
Please check if files were moved, deleted, or renamed.>
Her eyes froze on the blinking yellow triangle beside the words.
"What...?" she whispered. Her cursor hovered for a second, then she clicked again — trying to reload.
Unable to load world environment.
*Asset ’SkyShader_01’ — missing.
Blueprint file — corrupted or deleted.
Textures folder — empty.>
She stared at the screen, blinking.
Her entire game. Gone?
It was here yesterday. fre ewebno(v)e\l.(c)om
Her hands tightened on the mouse as dread crawled up her spine.
Her beautiful little flying bird world... the glowing trees, the wind trails, her carefully crafted sky shaders... all missing.
A hollow silence filled the room.
How could this be possible?
Ruby stared at the screen, her breath caught in her throat as she checked the directory again... and again... and again. Every folder she opened led to the same void — empty. The file path was there, but the contents had vanished like dust in the wind.
Even if the game project got corrupted somehow, where are her assets?
Her custom textures, hand-drawn trees, her beautiful skies, her bird animations... all the art she’d built late at night while Milo was in the hospital.
She made those files in pieces — after everyone slept, after dragging her tired body to the desk. And now they were... gone?
"No..." she whispered under her breath, her eyes darting across the screen. She opened hidden folders. Checked recent files. Nothing.
She pulled up the Recycle Bin — empty.
She tried to search file names — nothing.
She tapped faster, switching folders, opening backup saves, hoping, praying — still nothing.
Her fingers paused, hovering over the keyboard. Slowly, she leaned back in her chair, her body stiff. Her head fell against the headrest, and for a long moment, she didn’t move.
Her lashes fluttered as she blinked at the ceiling.
They turned red, filled with the kind of frustration that didn’t come from losing something simple but from watching hours of love and effort vanish without a trace.
All those nights... for nothing?
A deep breath trembled from her lips.
Then her jaw clenched, her fingers curled on the armrest.
Then, as she scrolled to the main desktop out of desperation—her eyes suddenly caught something.
Her fingers froze over the touchpad.
Right next to it was another icon that made her blood run cold—Soulstream.
Those weren’t there before.
She didn’t install them.
Ruby’s eyes narrowed, the light of the screen catching the sharp edge of her glare. Her whole body stiffened, the headache forgotten, the exhaustion evaporating into sheer fury.
Her heart beat slower, colder now.
She clicked Fat Fish Frenzy.
Then she opened Soulstream. She checked the history. Watched apps used recently. The timelines lined up. One by one, the evidence stacked itself.
She dragged her fingers through her hair, trying not to explode. Her files didn’t just disappear. Someone messed with the engine. Someone clicked something stupid. Someone reset her project.
And there was only one silly, giggly, candy-addicted man-child in her house who loved fat fish and Soulstream that much.
Her nose flared as she whispered it this time, eyes glowing with fury.
She closed the laptop lid slowly.
Ruby stormed out of her room, the door creaking ominously behind her. Her steps were sharp, fast, and full of fury. The air around her felt charged, like thunderclouds had entered the hallway. Her eyes were red from frustration, her lips pressed into a thin, furious line.
Julian, who had just come from the kitchen holding a glass of water, stopped in his tracks. He saw her face and immediately froze.
"W-What’s wrong, wife?" he asked, blinking in alarm as the glass trembled in his hand. Ruby didn’t even glance at the water. Her eyes were scanning the hall like a hawk, filled with deadly precision.
"Where is that blue-eyed ghost?" she asked in a low, controlled growl, her teeth clenched tight.
Julian blinked again, confused. "blue-eyed ghost?..Karl?"
He took a step closer, worried. Ruby looked like she was about to explode. "Wife, what’s wrong? Did something happen?"
But Ruby didn’t answer. Her rage was boiling too hot. All she could think about were her missing files, her ruined project—the days and nights she had poured into it while Milo was in the hospital. The late hours, the emotions in every asset she hand-made. Gone. Just like that. Because someone couldn’t keep their hands off her laptop.
Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She didn’t even notice Julian stepping back slightly, startled by the storm in her eyes.
Right now, all she wanted...
...was to find that blue-eyed fool and end him.
To be continued... 🪄