He tapped the spacebar again. This time, Mario turned his head. Not the programmed turn of a 3D model. Mario’s digital eyes—flat, texture-painted things—seemed to focus through the screen. Directly at Leo.

The screen flickered. The image of Delfino Plaza melted. The palm trees bled into the cobblestones. The sun became a white, featureless orb. And then Mario himself began to dissolve—not from damage, but from the feet up, turning into a stream of glitchy blue particles that swirled toward the floating Fludd nozzle.

He stood in the alley, gasping. His hands were solid again. The sky was the real sky. A siren wailed in the distance.

"You got out. Good. But you opened the door for it. Sunshine is seeded now. Not on torrents. In reality. Check any mirror. Any puddle. Any glass of water left out overnight. It's watching from the reflection. And next time, it won't just flood your apartment. It'll wash away the save file."