LXY.

2

♤.♤.♤.♤

Kiera fell to the ground with a soft thud, landing on what felt like a smooth, warm stone. The air around her was thick with a scent she couldn’t place. She blinked, disoriented, trying to make sense of her surroundings.

Her world twisted and shifted as her eyes slowly adjusted. The feeling of smooth, warm stone beneath her fingertips grounded her for a moment, but when she lifted her head she realized She was no longer in her room.

Kiera pushed herself off the ground. The floor beneath her felt solid, yet unnervingly smooth, almost too perfect. She stood up, brushing herself off, her mind struggling to make sense of what had just happened.

Her apartment—her home—was gone. The familiar walls, the comforting clutter, the noise of the city outside—it was all absent. Instead, she found herself in what seemed like a large open square, surrounded by sleek buildings that stretched up into the sky. They were tall, their surfaces reflecting the soft pastel blue of the sky, but the lines were too sharp, the surfaces too clean. It almost felt like someone had taken a photo of a city and carefully airbrushed away every imperfection.

The sun hung low on the horizon, casting faint shadows, but something about the light didn’t feel quite right. It was warm but controlled, like it was coming from somewhere else entirely. There were no clouds, no gusts of wind, not even the faintest rustle of leaves or the sound of distant traffic. It was unnervingly still.

Kiera stood frozen for a moment, feeling the strange stillness around her. Everything seemed too calm. The buildings around her were just that—perfect. There were no cracks in the concrete, no chipped windows, and no signs of wear and tear. They seemed too polished, too... new.

She took a step forward, her shoes making a soft sound on the ground, but there was no echo. The square was quiet, save for a few other people scattered around, all standing still or looking down at their phones. None of them seemed aware of the oddities in the environment.

Kiera’s phone buzzed in her pocket, She pulled it out, fingers trembling as she unlocked the screen. A single message flashed across it:

"Welcome to LXY. Your escape awaits. Begin your journey by interacting with others or explore the world around you."

Kiera stared at the message, her pulse quickening. What the hell? Escape? What was this place? Was she dreaming? Her eyes darted to her surroundings, and that's when she saw them—others, like her, standing around in varying states of confusion. They looked as lost as she felt. A few people were already looking at their phones, seemingly unaware of the bizarre surroundings. A couple of others were looking around cautiously, eyes wide in shock.

Before she could process any more, her gaze met with a guy, he was standing a short distance away from her, they held eye contact for a short moment before his gaze fell back to what looked like his phone in his hands. He stared at it warily. Something about his body language seemed to speak volumes, mirroring the confusion she felt.

Kiera took a deep breath and walked toward him, unsure what to say or do."Hey," she called out. The guy looked up, startled, then relaxed when he saw she wasn’t some kind of threat. "Do you know what's going on? Where are we?"

He shook his head slowly, his eyes darting nervously around the square. "I have no idea. One minute, I’m just on my phone, and the next I found myself here wherever here is …"

"This is insane," Kiera said, shaking her head. "This is some kind of joke, right?" She wanted to laugh it off like it was a joke.

"I don't think so," he replied, glancing around once more. "I’ve never seen anything like this before. "

They stood in silence for a moment before another person—a girl in a sleek black jacket—approached them, her eyes scanning the surroundings with the same confusion. "Anyone know what’s going on here?" she asked, her voice laced with tension. "Where are we?"

Kiera opened her mouth to answer, but she realized she didn’t have any answers herself. "We don’t know," she said, feeling the weight of the unknown pressing down on her. "I think we’re all stuck here." The girl in the leather jacket slowly processed Kiera's words, a crease slowly forming between her eyebrows.

Kiera shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around it. "This place doesn’t feel right, but it looks so normal."

The guy sighed, rubbing his face. "Yeah, I don’t know what to make of it."

The three of them stood there in silence for a moment, each of them processing the strangeness of their new reality. There was no panic, no screaming, just a quiet, shared confusion.

Kiera glanced around, her mind racing. Whatever this place was, it wasn’t normal. It didn’t make sense, and it felt off in ways she couldn’t explain.

"We need to figure out what’s going on," Kiera said, finally breaking the silence. "This place—there’s something wrong with it."