Blake took a breath.

"Let the games begin."

And with that Rose pressed a button. Blake felt as if he was thrown off the chair and was falling down for some time. When he looked around he only saw pure, suffocating darkness.

Suddenly lights started appearing and logos quickly moved in front of Blake. The light illumination also revealed Rose who stood next to him, looking bored. Seconds passed and he wanted to speak up.

"Ho..?"

He was immediately stopped by his sister.

"Don't talk. Just relax and watch for the moment."

He tilted his head with a puzzled expression but didn't manage to say anything because of a sudden change.

The darkness around him was rapidly turning into an endless blue expanse with blinding light. The temperature also started to turn cold and Blake took a step backwards only to realise that his foot was failing to reach solid ground. His eyes widened and he desperately tried to lean on his other leg but it also wasn't standing on anything solid anymore.

Cold winds whipped Blake from every direction, tossing and turning him. Terror gripped Blake's heart tightly and his thoughts were both incredibly fast and immobile while trying to cope with what was going on.

He tried looking around himself but the wind was so strong and cold that he barely managed to squint for a second before throwing his arms up and trying to warm his painful eyes. The freezing air made his skin seemingly burn from shock and every breath he took only increased his agony. It was as if it wasn't air but icy water.  

A shadow appeared out of nowhere and picked him roughly out of the air. Blake felt light pain go through his body which seemed wrong, but he still couldn't manage to think straight.

(What is happening?!)

A bright flash appeared in front of him and a wave of extreme heat enveloped Blake. He quickly covered his face with both arms and waited for it to be over. It stopped after a few seconds which felt like an eternity for Blake and he finally decided to put his arms down. His heart was beating like crazy as he opened his eyes again.

He was still in the sky but he was now being held by something. He tried to look up and his heart nearly stopped when he realized his position. The reason why he wasn't falling anymore was that he was being held by a paw with giant claws. Claws of which every single one was at least thrice his size. The paw was covered in dark green scales which were all half his total size. He looked up and saw the head of the beast that picked him up. Blake just kept looking at it and didn't even dare to move.

(DRAGON! What?!)

Blake recognised the monster but it wasn't as other games and movies illustrated it. The general appearance was nearly the same but this one made most others that he knew look like tame pet lizards in comparison to this intimidating demonic appearance. The dragon’s eyes were devoid of anything humanlike or civilised. Blake’s heart started pounding even harder and he felt like a speck of dust in front of the dragon, powerless, insignificant and paralyzed with fear.

Suddenly the jaw of the humongous beast opened and revealed a row of teeth which could probably crunch a skyscraper in half and a stream of fire appeared from it. An infernal cloud formed instantaneously in a line in front of the dragon and Blake covered his face quickly.

(Ugh, again!)

Just as he did that the dragon dived straight down and the sudden movement caused Blake's head to crash painfully right against a claw. Dull pain spread inside his head, but he didn't have any time to wonder about that. The dragon was still diving straight down and Blake's already numbed mind came to a standstill again.

He noticed mountain peaks steadily gaining in size and the green land beneath him quickly coming closer. Hills, forests, pastures and even castles slowly started appearing and parallel to that Blake came closer and closer to a heart-attack while hugging a dragon's claw for dear life and screaming his lungs out.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

After a few seconds he also started noticing people which were moving here and there like ants. The dragon stopped just seconds before crashing into a small village underneath and made an air U turn. He did it in such a forceful and fast way that not even Blake's gripp helped and he was sent crashing into another claw. Bloody wounds appeared this time on his body and his head had a pretty deep cut. Dull pain bothered him now in his whole body but it wasn't excruciating.

He tried to take a look again to see what the dragon was doing and he saw just in time how another infernal blast came from the monster's mouth and engulfed the whole village. It had such force that it turned into a huge explosion the moment it came in contact with the ground. Nothing was left except ash near the spot where the flame directly hit and everything else was bathed in flames and covered in thick smoke. Screams and the sound of falling buildings filled the air.

Blake watched everything with a pale face and widely opened eyes. He didn't scream even once, his fear was far too strong for that. He felt as if he was choking and despite the unbearable heat, he shivered from the cold feeling that froze him to the core.

He couldn't move his body nor did he want to. He was overwhelmed by everything that happened.

(No...)

He felt that the dragon was now moving his paw and suddenly hurled him into the air in front of it. He helplessly flew through the air and after a second found himself facing the dragon eye to eye. The cold, bestial gaze of the monster had a hypnotising effect on Blake. He desperately tried to look away but no matter what he couldn't.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The horrifying jaws of the dragon opened again, facing the direction of Blake's fall. A thunderous roar erupted from the dragon and the very being of Blake shook along to that roar, seemingly stopping his heart and his thoughts. He was still unable to look away. Smoke started coming from the dragon's mouth.

(NO!)

A pillar of infernal flames appeared from the dragon and crushed Blake before he could even cover. Dull pain spread through his whole body for a moment and everything around him turned black.

Letters slowly started appearing in front of him.

-Welcome to Alteration-

Rose appeared next to the immobile Blake and smiled lightly at his terrified expression.

"Welcome indeed."

Blake was lying on a pure black floor, the letters in front of him being the only illumination source. Shadows appeared behind him because of the light but his trembling made them flicker strongly. His heart was still beating with such force that it seemed as if could jump out any second. He slowly looked up to his sister and tried to say something but his ragged breathing made that quite a task.

"I f-fell... The dragon!"

Rose leaned down and put her hand on his shoulder with a complicated but also amused expression.

"I know. I also saw it when I first started, just let it sink in for a minute or two."

He was still in shock and didn't seem to notice his sister’s words because he just continued mumbling with a pale face.

"So...real. The environment, village... The attack! All the screams..."

She lightly massaged his shoulder and tried to calm him down.

"It's over, take deep breaths. Virtual reality really is something else, your reaction is pretty normal. You expected something a lot more imperfect, but the real thing is..."

Blake put himself in a sitting position and rested his head in his arms. He listened to his sister and continued in a dreamlike tone.

"... perfect ..."

Rose blinked a few times with a stunned expression on her face. She then nearly burst out laughing but managed to suppress it just barely. She patted her brother a few times roughly on the back and spoke up in a joking way.

"You must really be emotional to call it that, you usually hate using that word. I think you should first calm down, play a bit on the guest edition and then give a judgement. This was just a foretaste."

Blake's breathing slowed down and his voice was a bit firmer but still not quite back to normal.

"...play on the guest edition? And what was that just now then?"

Rose helped him get up on his feet and a wolfish smile spread across her face.

"That, my dear brother, was just the opening cutscene when you start the game for the first time, an appetizer if you want. Here to hook people and prepare them for the heavy hit of what VR can offer you."

Her brow rose a little and her smile turned mischievous.

"There was also a slower and more tame opening sequence for more sensitive players but I chose this one. Did I maybe make a mistake? I was sure you could take it."

Blake crossed his arms for a second as if thinking and then an awkward smile formed on his pale face.

"A mistake? This was the most exciting, scary and mind riddling thing I’ve ever experienced! I wouldn't do it again, but damn! That was certainly something else."

Rose rolled her eyes but giggled lightly.

"Talk about mixed emotions, huh? I guess we can then continue now straight to the game and use your adrenaline rush?"

He looked a bit confused and shook his head.

"What about the 'cutscene' I just played through? I have a few questions!"

Rose puffed and waved her hand as if to dismiss the remark and started talking with an excited voice.

"Questions later. Just trust me, the guest edition has a few features that let you make a running start. You will love it!"

Blake threw her a slightly sceptical glance but nodded.

"I'm a bit scared after what just happened, but yeah, sure. The main point is the excitement and fun I guess. Onward I say!"

He exclaimed the last, joking part quite loudly and pointed with his hand forward.

Rose rolled her eyes again but smiled loudly and played along.

"As you wish!"

She then made a motion towards the -Welcome to Alteration- window and it disappeared. Immediately afterwards the darkness that surrounded them started flickering and thousands of different color tones switched with it and moved wildly everywhere, making it look a bit like an explosion in a paint store or a tornado of colorful petals.

Blake looked around himself completely fascinated with what he saw. In a few seconds the colors started settling and it seemed like every color went to the right place, leaving him behind in the midst of a beautiful mountain.

Pines surrounded him and filled his nose with their aromatic smell which he deeply inhaled a few times. Blake looked ahead and noticed a beautiful scene that stretched in front of him.

He could see a big clearing which was beneath the mountain that turned out to be part of a mountain chain. The clearing was surrounded from nearly all sides and a few small streams flowed from the mountain to its bottom where it formed a small lake. He looked at everything with awe and an absent minded smile formed on his lips.

"Beautiful..."

*******

In case you want to ask questions first check the tags and the synopsis. I'm just mentioning this due to past experiences.