"The price of the rune is never gold," a voice whispered, not from the speakers, but from right behind his ear.

He clicked download. The progress bar crawled, a blue line fighting against a sea of grey.

When the file finished, the air in Elias’s apartment shifted. A sudden, biting chill swept through the room, smelling of salt spray and old wood. He shrugged it off—bad insulation—and launched the game.