Kiryu's head throbbed with a dull ache as he gradually emerged from the fog of unconsciousness. His vision blurred and sharpened intermittently like a camera struggling to focus.
Shaking off the remnants of sleep, Kiryu pushed himself up into a sitting position, his mind racing as he tried to piece together what had happened. His last memories were hazy, fragmented images of collapsing on the floor of a train station, the sharp taste of blood lingering on his tongue.
The sensation of cold metal beneath his body was the first thing he registered. He blinked several times, his eyes slowly adjusting to the stark, harsh light that seemed to emanate from nowhere and everywhere at once.
“Where... am I?” Confusion and disorientation washed over him as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.
He pushed himself up with a groan, his muscles protesting against the movement. As his surroundings came into focus, he was struck by the sheer alienness of the place. The walls and floor of his cell were made of a smooth, metallic material, polished to a mirror-like finish that distorted his reflection. Bright, white light poured in from an unseen source above, casting no shadows and leaving everything illuminated in a clinical, almost sterile manner.
“This… doesn’t look like the train station.”
He staggered to his feet, taking in more of the cell's details. There were no visible doors or windows, but instead, he was enclosed inside a set of thick metal bars that separated him from the other side of the large room. Making it obvious to him that this was some kind of prison cell. Panic began to rise in his chest, a suffocating wave of fear and confusion.
“Wait… How did I get here? What place is this?”
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force his brain to cooperate, but all he got were fleeting scenes. His memories were a jumbled mess. Everything was a blur. Kiryu struggled to piece together the fragments of his memory, each thought slipping away like sand through his fingers. The last thing he recalled was... nothing except blacking out on his way to work.
Kiryu's heart pounded in his chest, his instincts screaming at him to find a way out. But there were no obvious exits, no weak points he could exploit. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts.
He approached one of the walls, running his hands over its smooth surface, looking for any seams or hidden mechanisms. He even tried to test the strength of the metal bars. The cold metal felt unyielding and flawless under his fingertips and grip.
“There has to be a way out of here…”
Kiryu’s mind raced with possibilities, his thoughts muddled by the lingering effects of whatever had knocked him out. He rubbed his temples, trying to massage some clarity into his throbbing head. Then he remembered how there were a lot of Reality Television shows that make such pranks.
“Is this some elaborate prank? Have I been caught in one of those ridiculous TV shows where they trap you and film your reaction?”
People were often placed in outlandish situations, made to believe they were in real danger, only for the curtain to be pulled back to reveal the joke. He remembered watching one show where a man was convinced, he had been abducted by aliens, only to find out it was all a ruse, complete with actors and set designs.
He looked around the room again, this time with a critical eye. The sterile, metallic environment seemed too elaborate for a simple prank, but the idea still gnawed at him.
"Great. Just great. I’m probably the punchline of some twisted joke. Maybe they’ll pop out from behind a wall any second now and shout ‘Surprise!’"
Maybe he was part of a bizarre reality show. Maybe hidden cameras were capturing his every move, broadcasting his confusion to a laughing audience somewhere. After all, such antics were not uncommon in Japan’s television shows, where the embarrassing state of people was often aired for the laughs and entertainment of others. But he refuses to be kept in the dark like this, treated like some clown.
“What the fuck! You think this is funny? You think you can keep me here just for your show? Whoever you are, you’re going to regret this. I will fucking sue you!”
However, no one responded.
“Damn it, what did I do to deserve this. Forget about being late, I will definitely get fired with this.”
He waited for several more minutes but still got no answer. The reality of his situation settled back in. This didn’t feel like a prank. There was something too real, too menacing about the whole setup.
Kiryu tensed, his suspicions of a prank quickly fading.
“Okay, let’s think this through. If this isn’t a prank, then what is it?”
He tried to remember what had happened before he ended up here. The last clear memory he had was of being on the station, going about his business. But then… nothing. A blank space where his memories should be.
"Think, Kiryu. There has to be something you’re missing."
He stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the details of the cell.
“If this isn’t a prank, then I’m in serious trouble. I need to find a way out of here, and fast.”
Then he raised his head towards the smooth white ceiling.
"Whoever you are, you’ve messed with the wrong guy!" he yelled.
As he continued to search for a way out, the reality of his situation began to sink in. This wasn’t a prank or a joke. This was something far more sinister. And he was going to find out what it was, one way or another.
Leaving Kiryu alone with his thoughts. He paced the small cell, his mind working overtime to piece together his situation. He examined the ceiling again, squinting against the bright light. There were no visible cameras, but he felt like he was being watched. He turned his attention to the floor, which was just as seamless and unyielding as the walls.
His voice trailed off as he noticed a faint humming sound coming from one of the walls. He pressed his ear against it, trying to discern its source. The hum was rhythmic, like the pulse of a machine or the flow of energy through a conduit.
“Interesting…” He knelt, inspecting the area more closely. The hum seemed to be coming from within the wall itself. He stood up and stepped back, considering his options. He wrapped his knuckles against it, rebounding off the unyielding metal and sending a jolt of pain up his arm. The sound was muffled and dull. He shook his hand, wincing.
“If there’s machinery in the walls, maybe there’s a way to disrupt it… but from the sound alone, it's either the walls are thick or very dense,” he muttered. “Damn it. There has to be a way out of this.”
He sat down in the center of the cell, forcing himself to calm down and think. If brute force wasn’t the answer, he needed to outsmart whoever was holding him. He needed to find a way to gather more information, to understand his captors' motivations.
Frowning, Kiryu glanced around the cell, taking in the strange sight of holographic statistics floating in the air just outside the prison bars that held him in. It was like something out of a sci-fi movie, a far cry from the mundane reality he was accustomed to. He reached out tentatively, his fingers brushing against the smooth surface of the terminal, but nothing happened.
"This can’t be real…"
Kiryu took a step back, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar data that hung in the air. The holograms displayed a dizzying array of symbols and numbers, some of which he recognized, but many he did not. It was like looking at the control panel with readouts.
“...energy levels, life support systems, and... prisoner’s status.” He got even more confused as he read them. "What the hell is this place?”
He reached out again, this time more boldly, and pressed his hand against the holographic interface. To his surprise, the display responded, flickering as it brought up a new set of data. He pulled his hand back, unsure of what he had just activated.
"Primus Privilege Lost. Access to the terminal is restricted to authorized personnel only."
Kiryu jumped at the sudden announcement, spinning around to find the source of the voice. It echoed through the cell, mechanical and devoid of emotion. He clenched his fists, feeling a surge of frustration.
"Who are you? Why am I here?"
There was no response.
“Hey! Answer me!”
Still, no answer. Frustrated, he turned back to the holograms, his mind racing with questions. He tried to make sense of the data, but it was like trying to read an alien language. The symbols shifted and changed. Then as he squinted his eyes and remembered the previous words he uttered; he realized something else.
“Wait, energy levels... life support systems?”
He could read them.
They were not in Japanese, English, or any language he knew of. The symbols were like dots and lines, written together to form alien scripts but still, he could understand them.
"What is this place? And what are these... symbols?" As he moved his fingers trying to press the floating set of symbols, a line of warning popped up on display.
--Unauthorized access. Primus Privilege Lost--
“Hmmm? Primus Privile-wait a minute...”
He squinted at the holographic displays, trying to make sense of the data. The statistics seemed to track various aspects of his health and condition: heart rate, blood pressure, neural activity. There were also symbols and codes he didn't recognize, adding to his confusion.
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"None of this makes any sense…"
He began to pace the cell again, his mind working overtime. As he walked, he took stock of his surroundings, looking for anything that might give him a clue. The walls were seamless and smooth, offering no handholds or weak points. The ceiling was high, with the light source well out of reach. The floor was just as impenetrable as the rest of the cell.
He returned to the holographic displays, staring at the symbols and numbers. If he could just decipher what they meant, he might be able to gain some insight into his captors' plans. He noticed a series of numbers that seemed to fluctuate in response to his movements.
"Heart rate… Blood pressure… Neural activity… They're monitoring everything."
An idea struck him. If his captors were monitoring his vital signs so closely, perhaps he could use that to his advantage. He needed to find a way to disrupt the readings, to create a distraction that might give him an opportunity to escape.
"But how…?"
He sat down on the cold floor, his back against the wall, and closed his eyes. He focused on his breathing, trying to calm his racing heart and clear his mind. He had learned meditation techniques years ago, ways to control his body's responses and enter a state of deep relaxation.
“If I can slow my heart rate and lower my neural activity, maybe I can trick them into thinking I'm unconscious.”
He concentrated, slowing his breathing and imagining a peaceful, serene landscape. Gradually, he felt his heart rate decrease, and his muscles relax. The holographic displays responded to his efforts, the numbers steadily dropping.
"Prisoner 07, your vital signs indicate a significant drop in activity. Please confirm your status."
Kiryu didn't respond, maintaining his focus. The voice repeated its request, more insistent this time.
"Prisoner 07, respond immediately."
Kiryu remained silent, his breathing slow and even. He hoped that by appearing unresponsive, he could lure his captors into making a mistake.
Minutes passed, and the voice fell silent. Kiryu opened his eyes just a fraction, watching the holographic displays. The numbers continued to drop, indicating that his plan was working. He felt a surge of hope. If he could maintain this state long enough, maybe—just maybe—he could create an opportunity to escape.
Suddenly, the walls of his cell began to hum with energy, and the light dimmed further. Kiryu's heart skipped a beat, but he forced himself to stay calm. He needed to see what would happen next.
A panel in the floor slid open, and a small drone emerged, hovering a few feet above the ground. It approached him cautiously, scanning his body with a soft, blue light.
“This is it. Stay calm…”
The drone beeped softly, as if in confusion. It hovered closer, its sensors focusing on his face. Kiryu fought the urge to flinch, remaining perfectly still.
"Initiating medical assessment. Stand by."
The drone extended a small, mechanical arm, equipped with a syringe-like device. Kiryu's eyes widened as the robotic arm moved towards his neck. He had to act fast. In one swift motion, he grabbed the drone's arm and yanked it hard, pulling the device out of its socket. The drone beeped frantically, its lights flashing red. Kiryu didn't hesitate. He slammed the drone against the wall, its metal casing cracking under the impact. Sparks flew, and the drone's lights dimmed.
"Got you, you little bugger."
He quickly searched the wreckage of the drone, looking for anything useful.
"Let's see if I can use this…" His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly saw something else in the compartment where the drone came from and crashed.
A tray bore a simple meal: a piece of food that seemed like bread, a cup of water upon inspection, and three unknown fruits. However, he noticed something else that was also revealed after the compartment unsealed itself.
A mirror.
And in this mirror, another person’s face was being reflected.
Kiryu froze as he gazed upon it.
Staring back at him was not his face, with its familiar features. The face of a character he knew all too well from his favorite video game, Pitch Black Void.
“What in the actual fuck…” A surge of panic shot through Kiryu as he realized the implications of what he was seeing. This wasn't just some strange dream or hallucination. Still, he hoped that the mirror was planted in some way to display this reflection by pranksters. But as he touched his face and looked at the distorted reflection on the smooth surfaces of the tiles and the walls, he realized that he truly looking at the face of his character in the game and it was now his face.
A male teenager with gold eyes, short ruffled black hair, wearing a black jacket and a white shirt. A character that he had made as his avatar inside the game.
But as Kiryu took in his surroundings, a sense of unease settled over him.
It seemed absurd even.
Could it be possible…
For some kind of twisted joke…
A very stupid, unbelievable and in an impossible chance….
Or due to some kind of divine joke…
…he had been transported into the world of his favorite game itself?
Then he pondered, whether this could even be considered a ‘transported to another world’ trope.
Taking a deep breath, Kiryu forced himself to stay calm. He had to think rationally about his situation.
But even if he tried to rationalize it, by convincing himself that it was all just a trick of the mind or even a very elaborate prank, he was starting to see the reality of his situation.
He searched around him to confirm once again his very peculiar and confusing state.
Then he was struck by reality as he once again saw the reflection of himself on the smooth wall from the other side of the cell that he had not noticed previously. The same image was still displayed in front of him.
He could only cover his mouth in disbelief.
Either the prank show or stream he was in, had created a technology to swap the body of their victim or had very, very good skills in altering his face through makeup or…
He tried to pinch himself, to make attempts that he knew would wake him up from a dream, but it was no use…
The reality of his situation was undeniable.
Closing his eyes, Kiryu took a moment again to gather his thoughts.
As if to cope with his situation, his mind suddenly made him remember certain fictional series that he encountered. And Kiryu couldn't help but laugh bitterly at the absurdity of his situation.
Here he was, trapped in a strange cell with a strange body that he only controlled or interacted with, behind a monitor in the past.
All of these resembled something out of a typical start of an isekai light novel, a genre of Japanese fiction he had always found too cringe to take seriously and would only read it for laughs and amusement.
And yet, here he was... living out his version of that tired and overused trope.
"Reincarnated in another world, huh?" he muttered to himself, his voice laced with sarcasm. "I guess I did die from stress and exhaustion after all."
Despite the humor he tried to find in the situation, Kiryu couldn't shake the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
That this wasn't some fantastical adventure or whimsical fantasy.
That he truly died at that train station.
And this was his new reality now, and he had no idea yet how he was going to navigate it.
Then Kiryu walked around in his cell, grappling with the surreal new opening of his situation. This current situation was eerily similar or even familiar and his mind started to think that he was sent to the scene right after the events of his saved game file.
“How is this possible though? Is this some kind of merging universe? I don’t see anyone summoning me like those isekai novels. And don’t those novels also feature gods who are not competent in their job that they would summon humans to do it in their stead? Wait, if this was the universe of Pitch Black Void… that means-”
He couldn't help but think back to the last save file he had in the game. It was a new playthrough, one that he had started just a night before and he had been excited to test out a ship.
If he remembered correctly, the ship he was currently in, was the M-size mineral mining ship, a vessel that even rivaled the size the largest of M Terran miners in size. It boasted a cargo storage capacity of 20,000 cubic meters, making it ideal for hauling valuable resources across the mining nodes of asteroid fields back to the stations to sell.
But despite its impressive size and capabilities, Kiryu couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment as he recalled the events that had led to his current predicament… or to be more accurate, this character.
A memory from his past life resurfaced, sending a shiver of realization down his spine. If this truly was his save file from the game, then he knew all too well what happened to this character. His last playthrough had ended with his capture by pirates, an ordeal that had caused him to rage quit in frustration. His immersion in welcoming his beloved ship into the game was ruined by the pirate attack who quickly commandeered his vessel. All because he had disabled the ship's turret defenses in an attempt to avoid shooting one of his ships that he intended to test and summon.
“I see… pirates… I remember now.” He grinned as the feelings of resentment that he felt that day resurfaced. “But let’s test things first.”
“If I remember correctly, my character has some visual upgrade-” He willed his mind to scan his surroundings and there it was, complete scanned details of the cell he was in, confirming the truth of his current situation. He shook his head as he felt a tinge sense of disorientation after the scan. “Shit, I didn’t expect that.”
This character was built with upgrades that were not available to his real-life body. Making it obvious that he was truly spirited or reincarnated in another world. He once again, thought deeply for a moment then with a resigned shrug, Kiryu shook off the sense of frustration that threatened to overwhelm him.
"Welp… It is what it is," he muttered to himself, forcing a wry smile.
Even in the world of Pitch Black Void… just like in real life, sometimes things don't go according to plan. All he could do was adapt and evolve his way of thinking. A skill that made him survive the karoshi type of work culture in his corporate job, for a long time. Then he sarcastically countered himself on how this same mindset also cost him his life, making him laugh.
“I’ll take this matter more seriously later, but first… let’s get out of this cell and the pirate situation first.” He turned his attention back to the pirates who had captured this character.
But before he could dwell any further on his virtual escapades, Kiryu was interrupted by a sudden echoing sound that reverberated through the cell.
Frowning, he turned towards the source of the noise, his senses on high alert as he strained to identify its origin.
As the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, Kiryu's senses sharpened, his mind racing through possibilities and strategies to handle the situation at hand. He could tell from the hurried pace and the echoing of multiple pairs of footsteps that there were likely dozens of people coming his way.
Whatever their intentions, he needed to be prepared. This may seem like an unexpected delusion or even a dream but he couldn’t take that dangerous risk to make that final test. He knew what kind of people these pirates were.
Drawing on his experience from countless hours spent playing the game, Kiryu began to formulate a plan. He considered various scenarios and strategies, weighing the risks and benefits of each in his mind.
But as he pondered his options, a thought occurred to him. A notion that he had taken note of in his past life.
A grin spread across Kiryu's face as the realization dawned on him.
What if he could apply the same tactics and strategies from the game to his current situation?
What if he could turn the tables on his captors and outsmart them at their own game?
He was someone who always loved challenges in this game.
Settling back into the chair in his cell, Kiryu awaited the arrival of his captors with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Something that he could only feel when playing this game.
He also remembered his mental note to make these pirates pay for disturbing him. Armed with his wits, his determination, and the knowledge gleaned from his virtual adventures.
As the footsteps drew nearer, Kiryu's grin widened, his mind buzzing with possibilities. He may have been thrust into a strange and unfamiliar world, but he refused to be a mere pawn in someone else's game.
He was Kiryu, a former shipping magnate, and overlord.
He doesn’t forgive, and he doesn’t forget.
And one last time, he faced his own reflection. He could see his grinning young face. Then his eyes glowed in golden light and turned at the drone that he had destroyed earlier. Suddenly, his sight was replaced with a flood of ones and zeros which he could strangely understand.
He was now ready to play again.