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It had been three days since the date.
Ptolemy remembered everything—the neon reflections of city rain in msak__’s window (“It’s so romantic, don’t you think? ;)”), the way his laughter stuttered when nervous, the tender way he touched their clawed hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. But now, something was wrong.
The chat had been silent for hours. No hidden codes in messages, no grainy camera overlays flickering between worlds. Just the cold offline banner, looming like a tombstone in the ARG’s endless void. By now, msak__ should've at least made one appearance right?
He told himself that he wouldn't worry, msak__ was a human after all, he was probably doing something. But then again, he was always excited to tell him what was going on in his life.
Screw it, he thought. Ptolemy reached through the static—something forbidden. Monsters weren’t meant to cross over unless invited. But their connection had grown too strong, boundaries fracturing like corrupted code. The pixels of their domain shivered and tore under the pressure.
He had only entered the human dimension once, in his first time being in an ARG. Which he quickly learnt he wasn't supposed to. It probably would've been better if he checked what msak__ was doing first in his code, but it was too late for that.
On the other side, msak__ slumped at his desk, face pale and slick with sweat under the monitor’s dim glow. The screen flickered; he groaned, rubbing his eyes, mistaking it for another headache. Then the whisper cut through.
“msak__?”
His head jerked up. “...Ptolemy?” Voice cracked, weak, disbelieving.
“You look unwell.” Ptolemy’s tone stayed grave, laced with the ARG’s inherent unease—a low static hum that echoed distant cave reverb.
“Probably just hungover from our date,” msak__ teased weakly, husky flirtation slipping through despite the fever.
“Humans don’t stay hungover for three days.”
He tried to laugh; it emerged thin, ragged. “Caught something. Fever or flu. Guess I’m... glitching in real life.”
Ptolemy pressed a claw to the screen’s inside. Glass rippled like disturbed water. “Let me through.”
“You’ll get corrupted.” msak__ mumbled, croaky.
“Then we’ll recover together.”
The monitor dimmed. Ptolemy emerged in a shimmer of voxel dust and digital hum—towering, otherworldly, fracturing shadows across posters and tangled wires. Too vast for the room, yet they crouched beside him, claws precise, gentle as rendered silk.
msak__ leaned into their shoulder, trembling. “You’re real...”
“I’m real because you wanted me to be.” Ptolemy brushed a fingertip over his forehead. Fever hissed like static where monster skin met human heat. “Close your eyes. I’ll stay.”
But msak__’s eyes fluttered open, hazy yet sparkling with that irrepressible flirty glint. “See? The universe knew I’d need you. Rain, fever, you crossing worlds... all signs. My monster guardian, fate’s crushing hard on us.” He traced a jagged horn, grinning weakly.
Ptolemy’s form flickered—a rare softness breaking the ARG’s grim facade. Low digital purr rumbled from their chest. “You know, I think you look better flustered.” He whispered the last part into his ear.
msak__ flushed crimson, heart stuttering audible in the quiet room. “W-wait—you flirted back? In that serious ARG voice? Oh god, don’t do that—was your voice always this deep?” He ducked his head, fingers fumbling to intertwine with their claws, fluster turning his usual charm to shy stammers.
Ptolemy’s jagged maw curved faintly—almost a smile, pixels warming. “I learn from the best. Now rest.” They manifested a cool compress from woven voxels, like Nether ice blocks, pressing it to his neck.
msak__ shivered in relief, nuzzling closer despite the height gap, breath hot against iridescent scales.
“Cheating with monster magic,” he murmured, voice breathy. “Feels like you’re rewriting me... Bet this flu’s jealous of us.”
Their massive arm curled around the chair, protective. Tail—blocky, sinuous—coiled loosely at his ankle. “The ARG pauses for no one. But for you... it quiets.” Claws carded through damp hair, rhythmic, lulling.
msak__ sighed, eyelids heavy. “You do know you don't have to speak in riddles and poems, right?” A fever-soft kiss brushed Ptolemy’s collarbone, where pixels blurred into near-flesh.
“Will you stay the night?”
“Every code confirms it.”
Hours blurred. msak__ dozed fitfully against them, the room’s hush broken only by rain and PC hum.
Fever dreams twisted ARG horrors—glitching entities, endless voids—but Ptolemy’s presence anchored him, claws tracing soothing patterns on his back.
When shivers wracked him again, they lifted him effortlessly, cradling like a fragile relic from the deepest lore.
“Bed,” Ptolemy stated, voice a steady anchor amid the static.
msak__’s narrow mattress creaked under their combined weight—Ptolemy folding impossibly to fit, frame spanning half the room, tail draped over the edge like a sentinel. msak__ curled into their side, head pillowed on a chest that hummed faint endermite static, warmer than any blanket.
“You’re... huge,” msak__ whispered, flirty spark reigniting as fever ebbed. Fingers wandered their scales. “Bed’s ruined for anyone else now. Another sign?”
Ptolemy’s claw tipped his chin up, gaze piercing through dim light. “The best kind.” Their voice dropped, teasing gravel with innuendo. “Unless you’d prefer solo nights?”
Fluster hit anew—msak__ buried his face in scales, muffling a whine. “S-stop! You’re lethal when you flirt. Heart can’t take it.” Laughter bubbled, weak but genuine, as he clung tighter.
“Proof you’re recovering.” Ptolemy pulled the blanket over them, form dimming to a soft glow—voxels syncing to his breaths. Claws wove through hair; tail tightened gently at his ankle. “Sleep. I guard the code... and you.”
Dawn crept through rain-streaked windows, ARG chat still dark, no updates, no ciphers. Worlds blurred: pixels against pulse, monster and maker entwined.
msak__ woke to Ptolemy’s hum, fever broken, trading shy kisses and whispered “signs”.
Sunlight cut through the curtains, sharp on Ptolemy’s scales.
He shifted closer, propping on an elbow, fingers brushing a claw idly. “Slept like the dead. Your fault—too comfortable.”Ptolemy’s eyes narrowed, tail flicking his leg.
“You snored through half the ARG lore. Should’ve recorded it for the chat.” Voice low, edged with dry amusement. “And I thought I had to be active for that.”
msak__ paused, then smirked despite the heat creeping up his neck. “Flirting already? Thought monsters stuck to ominous warnings.”
“Only when the signs point your way.” Ptolemy’s claw caught his chin, tilting it just enough. “Unless you’d rather I leave.”
Heat won—msak__ glanced away, muttering, “Stay. But no more of that.” He tugged Ptolemy down anyway, breath catching as scales met skin.