The character select screen dissolves mid-click. Suddenly there is weight — real weight — in your limbs. The smell of pine smoke and cold northern air hits before your eyes adjust. You are standing in the streets of Susukino, and the screaming has already started. Players are stumbling, colliding, yanking at menus that flicker and refuse to close. A man nearby slams his fist into empty air, shouting at an invisible logout button. Someone is crying. Your own UI pulses at the edge of your vision — class requires selection, stats loaded, HP bar glowing a quiet, indifferent green. This is Elder Tale. Except the cobblestones are cold under your boots, the wind bites your ears, and nothing about this feels like a game anymore. You were mid-login when the Catastrophe hit. Whatever that means, someone already knows your name.