It all began when she found him trapped in the furthest corner of the dark web. All it took to find him was one single download, immersing herself in this false heaven she first believed was just an innocent game.

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Chapter One : The Birdcage

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“Hello? Is anyone there?”

This was an unusual way to start an otome, or so she felt it was. Her sole love interest sat by a desk inside a plain looking room, tilting his head to the side as he peered over to her.

His voice was awfully soft, the teen around her age, a standard for these types of games. She couldn’t deny he wasn’t handsome and well dressed, but there was something off with everything this game offered.

Their demeanor, the way they looked into her eyes, the different expressions on their face. If things were different they would feel normal, but for some reason she found herself stepping into an uncanny valley.

That was when the boy let out a sigh, twirling his curly black hair as he wore a look of defeat.

“I guess it was just my imagination…”

“Wait!”

His eyes widened at the voice, stepping over towards her as he reached out his hands, her entire world beginning to spin as she found herself raised up to his chest.

That was when she remembered it was a game, seeing the laptop screen in front of her with a microphone kept to her chin. Her avatar was not a person, but more of a machine that he held up, a camera that peeked into his world.

“Don’t pretend you’re not there. I heard you speak, you know?”

“I’m sorry!”

She found herself stumbling over her words for a video game character. She couldn’t imagine the shame and embarrassment she would have felt if anyone saw her fumbling like this.

That was when an annoyed expression grew on the boy’s face, letting out a huff as he sat her down on his table. 

“I swear. Do you want to talk to me or not?”

“Right! We should talk!”

The boy tilted his head to the side, letting out a sigh when he realized what was going on with her.

“I’m sorry. I’m scaring you, aren’t I?”

“It’s fine! It’s all fine!”

He shook his head, his voice softening to a tone that was as sweet as honey. The strange opener for this game hooked her immediately as she listened to him speak, his words soft as silk.

“I’m Damien Yew, or at least that’s what I remember. From your voice alone, I can tell you’re a girl. What’s your name?”

“I’m Ashley! I -”

“Ashley, huh? That’s a gorgeous name.”

She couldn’t believe how advanced games had gotten over the years, evolving to the point where even her name was recognized and spoken out loud by the code.

Still, even though she knew it was a game she couldn’t help but feel a little flustered, freezing in her chair as she fell completely silent.

“Ashley? You’re still listening, right?”

“Sorry… I was spacing out there.”

She found herself awfully immersed into the game, the branching paths and dialogue trees an impressive feat. It was obvious a lot of care was put into this game, something that made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

“By the way, Damien. isn’t something supposed to happen by now?”

“What are you talking about? Nothing happens in this place.”

“I mean, isn’t some story supposed to start?”

The boy tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the terminal, the girl behind it shuddering when she heard him speak.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“A story? Is this some kind of game?”

“So it’s one of those kinds of games, the self aware kind…”

“Don’t mumble if you want to talk. All I hear is static.”

Using her mouse, she clicked around the screen, pressing left and right to get a better look at the room Damien was inside. 

That was when she misclicked, tapping on Damien’s shoulder, the boy flaring as he stepped back out of surprise.

“What was that!? Did you just touch me?”

Raising an eyebrow, she found a new feature in the machine she couldn’t help but play with, tapping on his face repeatedly to elicit a programmed reaction. That was when his eyes narrowed, Damien gritting his teeth as he bit back.

“Now you’re just messing with me. Stop it.”

Her clicks were like pokes from soft and delicate fingers, something he found immensely annoying. Being poked over and over, he took action, setting the terminal face down and ending her game.

On the back of the terminal lay a strange circular hole, one that sunk into the plastic that formed the machine’s dark shell. The whole instrument itself was strange, something unfit for the room he was kept inside.

She saw it from her end, the intense detail that was put into the table itself, able to see each and every fiber of wood that formed the furniture. Of course, that’s when she realized she was essentially kicked out of her game.

“Damien? I’m sorry… I promise I won’t poke you again…”

He silently obliged, Ashley letting out a sigh of relief that turned to a look of awe when she saw his face. The sheer embarrassment he wore was worth the trouble, the poke feature a tool she would come to use time and time again.

“Damien? You mentioned that your name was all you remembered.”

“Yeah. I’ve been locked in here with nothing more than my name.”

“Locked inside?”

Damien stood up with the terminal in hand, Ashley discovering just how small his room was. Four white washed walls surrounded him, Damien left with nothing but a desk and a strange machine embedded into the wall.

She couldn’t help but find it strange, clicking on it through her screen to find out just what the item was.

“A dispenser?” 

“I’m not sure how, but it gives me whatever I want whenever I ask for it.”

By clicking on the machine, she was given a space for her to type, the noise of her keyboard clicks escaping through her microphone as she tapped enter.

Damien stared as the hatch opened, and down came a bowl of piping hot instant ramen accompanied by chopsticks.

“You did this, didn’t you?”

Ashley couldn't help but cross her arms, growing a pout from her end of the screen as she answered.

“You say it like I did something bad…”

“Well, I can’t get mad at you for offering me a meal.”

He snapped the chopsticks open, letting out a sigh as he opened the lid to reveal the simmering contents inside.

“I’ll get to eating.”

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It was an undeniably strange game she had found, but a free game from the darkweb was something she wasn’t going to complain about. She found herself eating her own bowl of instant ramen noodles with him, the terminal connecting the two.

Of course, it was just a game and nothing more, an impressively well made one on that note. It was immersive to the point she could eat with him and not feel too strange about it all.

“You know, Ashley?” 

She braced for impact, knowing he was about to say something brash and harsh, but to her surprise, she was dead wrong.

“It’s nice to have someone to eat with after so long.”

“Me too…”

The conversation went ice cold as the two silently ate. Not a word was exchanged other than the slurping sound that was so iconic to noodles. Damien wore a look of peace as he ate in that small room, reaching the bottom of his bowl with a sigh.

“Did you put something weird into my food, Ashley?”

“What are you talking about?”

That was when he picked something from the bottom of the broth, revealing a strange golden coin hidden in the depths of his meal. Despite it being soaked, the coin still shone with a brilliance lost to that dull chamber.

“Damien? How did that get in there?”

“Beats me. Whatever this is, it’s nothing like anything I’ve seen before.”

He rose the coin into the sky, staring at the brilliant gold that formed the currency. It had no allegiance or nationality, carrying with it only one discernable feature.

That was the open book engraved into its body, something that puzzled the both of them. Ashley couldn’t help but stare, engrossed by the sudden plot point that struck the game, the shimmering coin catching her eye.

But before she could do anything, she noticed the time that constrained her, her desire to continue playing this game overtaken by the reality that was school.

“Sorry, Damien. I have homework to do so I can’t keep playing.”

“What are you talking about? Stop treating me like a game, I -”

The game shut off with one click of her mouse, Damien’s voice cutting off as he vanished behind a mountain of other games. The microphone was disconnected by its plug, the connection to Damien split apart entirely.

Even if this game immersed her with its unusual setting and impressive dialogue, it wasn’t enough to make her skip homework. College was something she couldn’t avoid even if she wanted to.

And so, she pulled out her textbook and opened to page one, her noodle broth going ice cold as she worked into the night, the fan of her laptop humming with life.