“On a scale of 1 to 10, she’s an 11, and she’d give herself a 12.”
These were the words the purple rabbit head said to me. The luminescent hexagons glowed under the enigmatic, laser pistol-wielding protagonist as I approached the boss arena. The sniper called The Burst awaited me.
After dealing with drones and the massive red line pointed at me from her rifle, she taunted me. “I like the way you take me out of my comfort zone”. This line gave me faux confidence. I was doing a good job dodging her orbs and parrying at the slightest glint of her blade.
Then came her last phase.
The arena turned into a bullet hell section. Surely, I can handle this one, I thought. I was dead wrong. Waves of blue and orange orbs filled the screen, choking any hope of escape. When I managed to survive this onslaught, The Burst then proceeded to aim her one-shot at me once more, which required me to cower. I was the rat and she was the exterminator.
I keep retrying the phase, humbled but determined. Once I learned when to dash through the lines, the waves transitioned from a threat to a light show. This time, I could taste victory. I could feel the heat from my hands and my head throb. Pixels on a screen were actively making me sweat. I was not reflecting on the past or worrying about the future. I am intensely in the present.
I overcome the inferno and the euphoria flows through my body. But the adrenaline stays. I put the controller down and the feeling intoxicates me. I stretch my limbs and ready myself for the next boss.
