Leo tried to reset, but the ROM bypassed the command. He was trapped in a frame-perfect nightmare. Every time he missed a jump, the screen didn't fade to black. Instead, Mario would simply crumple, and the timer would begin to count

—across the screen. A text box popped up, not in the game’s font, but in a jagged, flickering script: STAY IN THE LINES.

He reached the final Bowser castle, but there was no King Koopa. There was only a mirror. In the center of the room stood a pixelated version of Leo’s own room, rendered in 8-bit limited color. Mario walked to the edge of the screen and looked out, pressing his white-gloved hands against the glass of the television from the inside.

"Frame perfect," a voice whispered, sounding like crushed static. or perhaps a different retro game setting for the next story?