The file was exactly 4.04 megabytes. In the corner of a dying internet forum, buried under threads from 2004, sat a single link: Eternal Hope Free Download. No screenshots. No description. Just a flickering cursor and a download button that looked like a bruised eye.

The game window closed itself. Leo tried to find the file to delete it, but his "Downloads" folder was empty. He went back to the forum, but the thread was gone. Even the website URL returned a "404 Not Found" error.

“Hope is not found,” a synthesized voice crackled through Leo’s speakers. “Hope is earned.”