It didn't vanish. It didn't update.
It just... lingered.
'What the hell is this supposed to mean?' he thought, narrowing his gaze at the translucent notification.
'Character doesn't exist? What kind of joke is that? This isn't how it's supposed to work.'
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, staring at the floating message like it had just cursed him out.
'Usually, it's straightforward. Task completed. Task failed. Maybe a fancy status update or achievement unlocked. But this? "Character does not exist"? That's not just unusual. That's impossible.'
He exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face.
'She was there. I saw her. I spoke to her. I touched her. And I sure as hell wasn't the only one. The other girls saw her too—interacted with her like she'd been there the whole damn time.' He pondered.
'So she's real. She has to be. Which means… what?'
He frowned.
'...She lied.'
