Walking into a physical Games Mania location feels like a library for games.

The neon sign sputtered above the entrance of the strip-mall storefront, buzzing with the frantic, dying energy of a trapped fly. , it screamed in jagged, electrified script. Beneath it, in smaller, peeling letters: Your Reality is Boring. Ours is Forever.

Elias took the box. It was heavier than it looked, vibrating with a faint, sub-audible hum.