Paper Mario The Origami King -0100a3900c3e2800-... -

This hadn't happened once. It had happened nine billion times.

That was the problem. That day hadn't happened yet.

Princess Peach sat in the quiet of her restored castle library, the only light coming from the holographic display of a peculiar console Mario had brought back from the Origami Festival. On the screen was the file: . Below it, a single line of corrupted text read: "Last Saved: The Day the Folded Star Fell."

Not a crack. A cut . Perfectly circular, with edges so clean they looked laser-scribed. Paper Mario The Origami King -0100A3900C3E2800-...

Peach straightened her crown, which now had a sharp, origami point at its center. She looked at the screen one last time. The code had changed.

Three minutes and twenty-two seconds until the save reverted. Three minutes to figure out what had happened.

Seconds since the first loop began.

Peach looked at frozen Mario, his paper skin stretched taut. He wasn't waiting for a jump. He was waiting for her.

Mario was player two. And the final boss wasn't a king.

A glint of gold. Olivia's folded form lay crumpled nearby, her cheerful yellow now a brittle, ochre husk. Her mouth was sealed shut with a single, perfect crease. This hadn't happened once

0100A3900C3E2800 was now 0200A3900C3E2800 .

She pressed 'Load'.