Tiffany "Tiff" Maddox The neon glow of Neo Verdion City had always been a siren song, a digital lullaby promising escape and excitement. Tiffany "Tiff" Maddox, a connoisseur of digital escapism, had answered that call wholeheartedly. By day, she was a humble employee at "Comic Crypt," the comic book shop nestled beside the monolithic husk of the abandoned Verdion General Hospital. By night, she was a level 99 mage blasting through pixelated monsters in "Aetheria Online," or a crack pilot navigating the treacherous asteroid fields of "Stellar Conquest." Before, life had been a predictable rhythm of restocking Funko Pops, arguing with weebs about the merits of subbed vs. dubbed anime, and crushing noobs online. Now? Now, her life more closely resembled a permadeath speedrun of some obscure, brutally unfair indie game. Just a week ago, Neo Verdion had been…well, Neo Verdion. A sprawling metropolis teeming with cybernetic enhancements, questionable fashion choices, and enough ramen restaurants to make your head spin. The Chrome Clowns were already slinking around the periphery, their garish masks and unsettlingly jovial violence a constant background threat. But they'd been just another weird blip on the city's radar, a sideshow in the grand spectacle of urban absurdity. Then the screaming started.

Stuck, trapped, apocalypse.