Inside a small confined hospital room with just white walls, a dull light, and a single window, a man lay peacefully on a bed connected to a few machines. From the details on the machine, it was clear that he was unconscious and had minimal brain activity, but that was not the whole truth. Unbeknownst to everyone, Kaden was still alive!
At least whatever was left of himself. Call it a soul or a ghost or maybe just a small remnant of the human being he once was, Kaden still lingered around in the same small confined room, very much conscious of everything happening around him. But this was not a blessing. It was a curse. It had been ten years since he had fallen into this coma, and yet he was still trapped in this sterile room, surrounded by beeping machines and fluorescent lights.
This was a research facility where they kept comatose patients like himself who couldn't adjust to mana. Naturally, no one was paying for him to enjoy this special treatment. He was only kept here to be poked and prodded ever so often in the name of testing new medicine or identifying new treatments. As for his family, he had lost them a long time ago.
Kaden gazed out of the window, thinking of the good old days when he had people to cherish in his life. His strict father, his loving mother and his cold brother who considered him a failure. At that time, he had hated them but now he longed for them dearly. However, nothing was the same anymore.
Ever since the day the terrible game had launched, everything had changed irreversibly. His life was already over and the world around him had also changed beyond recognition. Outside his window, he could see the city skyline that was illuminated with dazzling lights, and flying magic cars that whizzed by like streaks of light in the sky.
In all the time he had been confined in this small room, he had watched the world change before his very eyes. One year after the game was first launched, everyone received a notification that the tutorial phase had ended. Mana appeared on earth and people were able to take their in-game items to the real world. The game actually merged with real life!
A technological boom like no other happened and there was an explosive progress in everything ranging from normal modes of transport to high-tech weapons of war. More importantly, there were people with supernatural powers now. Almost everyone was able to sense and use mana in their day to day lives. The world went from a mundane gray color to a splendorous one filled with fantasy and fireworks.
But along with this sort of development, there were also dangers that popped out in various corners of the world. Kaden had heard the hospital staff gossiping about monsters and demons appearing which were capable of slaughtering everyone on the planet. However, humanity somehow still held on. The talented mages, warlocks, hunters, warriors and healers stood on the frontlines and took care of these threats.
Ever so often Kaden would wish for a global calamity that would shake things up, at least allow him to die, but to his dismay, nothing of that sort happened. His dull, boring life continued just like always. Kaden had given up hope a long time ago. He was tired of living this half-life, trapped in his own body, inside this room and unable to communicate with the outside world. He was now merely a shell of his former self. He longed for release, for the sweet release of death that would finally free him from his suffering.
Kaden sighed as he looked out the window again. He was immersed in his favorite pastime, counting the number of flying cars when suddenly he heard a commotion outside his room. Wait, was it the day for him to be poked and prodded again? As he was wondering this, the door was thrown open, and a group of people burst into the room, wheeling in another patient. Kaden gasped as he immediately recognized this particular patient! Who wouldn't?! It was Kiera, the famous player who had dominated the gaming world when she was still alive!
She was ranked as one of the top ten players and had become extremely famous thanks to having both beauty and brains. But he couldn't believe that this person was in his room? Also unconscious? Not to mention, she still looked absolutely stunning. While his own body looked shriveled and old, wasted away in this hospital bed, not a single hair on her head had changed! Kaden couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if he had played the game better and avoided this fate. Maybe he would also be young and active now? He could have also lived in this amazing new world with his family enjoying things that he dared not imagine.
Kaden snapped out of his thoughts as he heard someone cursing loudly. "Bitch!" One of the men who had wheeled the sleeping princess into his room cursed loudly. "Rot in here for all eternity." He said. The people who brought Kiera in didn't seem to care about her at all, tossing her aside like a piece of garbage. They laughed cruelly, taunting her as they left the room.
Oh? Kaden's curiosity peaked, well mainly out of boredom. This was the maximum entertainment he had received in a long time. Well, except for that one instance where a couple of nurses went at it right next to his comatose body. That was a fun day. Kaden chuckled to himself and shook his head. Despite the bleakness of his situation, Kaden found himself laughing at the irony of it all. He was just a nobody, while Kiera had been a powerful player at the top of her game. And yet here they were, both reduced to nothing in the face of their horrendous fate. They were now in the same boat, both trapped in this hospital and left to rot. Life truly had a way of equalizing things, regardless of status or power. Rich or poor, sickness and death do not differentiate.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Just as Kaden was lost in his thoughts, something strange happened. The sleeping beauty had a thin chain on her neck which had a small crystal pendant. Right now, out of nowhere, this crystal pendant began to glow brightly, illuminating the entire room. The brightness continued to increase until there was a blinding flash of light. Huh? Kaden was shocked. However, he couldn't react fast enough. The next thing he knew, he was no longer in the hospital room. He was in a small, cramped studio apartment, disoriented and confused.
"What… huh?" Kaden became even more shocked. He could actually hear himself speak?
He looked around in a daze. He was sitting on a bed and he was staring at a familiar poster of a nude Scarlett Johansson. "You have got to be kidding me!"
Even if he did not remember anything else, how could Kaden not remember the poster he had jerked off to a million times? He scrambled out of his bed and stared at his phone that was blinking on his table. "Mom. Missed call." He mumbled while pinching himself until his arm turned red. His moistened gaze then shifted to the date that was displayed on the corner of the phone.
"Dec 31, 2029"
It was the day before the world began unraveling. It was the day before that dreadful game was launched and he was somehow back on that day once again?
"What is happening? What is happening?" Kaden looked like a ghoul as he sat back in the bed, scared shitless. How was he back again, that too on this fateful day? How could something like this be possible? Did he just dream about everything? Or maybe he was currently in a dream?
Kaden immediately knew that something like that was impossible. How could he have dreamt about such a torturous nightmare? Day after day, month after month, year after year, he had lingered in that limbo without anyone else besides him. Even if he wanted to forget, that helpless lonely desperation was buried deep within his brain, his soul.
How could all of that simply be a dream?
But at the same time, his present condition was also very real. Perhaps he had finally lost it and entered some sort of hallucination? Kaden found himself going crazy as a million bizarre scenarios appeared in his mind to explain this miraculous situation. Thankfully, before he could fully lose it, his phone once again rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. He picked up the call absent-mindedly, and his mom's voice blared through.
"Kaden, did you get the money yet? I sent the living expenses for the month, son. Check your bank account and tell me if you want more. By the way, I know your father scolded you yesterday, but if you really want to play that game, go ahead and do it. Mom has full trust in you. I know you will never let your grades fall. Don't think too much about your father's words. You know he is always hard on you, but it is only because he is worried about you. He doesn't want you to end up like him."
"Hello? Hello? Kaden, are you there?"
Tears streamed down Kaden's eyes. That was right. Whether this was a reality or a dream, he did not care. He was once again alive, and he once again had the chance to speak to his family again. Nothing else mattered. "Yes, mom. I am here." He replied. He continued talking to her, and slowly he calmed down more and more. Even when he ran out of topics to talk to her, he still chit-chatted about the weather, the garden back home, and completely random things. Finally, even his mom noticed that something was amiss.
"Are you okay, Kaden?" She asked. Kaden wore a rueful smile on his face as he wiped his tears. "I am okay, mom. I am more than okay. I just miss you. I am thinking of coming back home soon."
"Oh! Of course. You should. When is the next long weekend coming? I will see if we can get some cheap flight tickets."
"Thanks, mom." Kaden didn't want to freak her out more, so he quickly bid her farewell and ended the conversation. He then placed the phone on the old wooden table and looked outside the window. This time there were no flying cars and superhumans. Instead, there was just the dull, dusty downtown road and a bunch of people standing around and smoking in the dirty alleyway.
Heh. Kaden laughed. Now that he had considerably calmed down, he was able to think more clearly. Perhaps everything in the past was a nightmare, or perhaps what he was experiencing now was a hallucination, but there was one other, more obvious explanation that he had overlooked. Kiera!
Everything that had happened only happened after he met her. His torturous life was ripped apart, and he was given this new lease on life after that woman was stowed away in his room. Surely, there must be some sort of connection! Some sort of reason behind it! Did that woman also return back to the past just like him? Was it because of some forbidden magic that she unleashed? Once again, there were several possibilities. He did not know, and he had no way of knowing what the actual reason was, but he did know a lot of other things.
For example, how the world was going to change and how the game that would be the root cause of everything was going to be launched tomorrow! When such bizarre and crazy shit was about to unfold and shake the whole world, something like him time traveling and returning to the past in his same body somehow did not seem that unrealistic.
Kaden let out a loud burst of laughter that contained all of his regrets and frustrations and punched the table in front of him. Instead of dwelling on the why or how, his brain made the judgment to think about today or, rather, tomorrow. He was somehow back the day before the godforsaken game was released. This couldn't be a coincidence. In fact, this single detail was more important than anything else because he now had the chance to change his fate!
He can enter the game from day one, right from the launch, with the knowledge of the past!
The game was widely popular, with several big streamers broadcasting everything and multiple websites dedicated to the game's details. As someone who had scoured through a lot of these websites, Kaden knew the location of countless treasures, achievements, pets, weapons, legendary items, secret spots, and whatnot. He might not remember everything but he remembered enough. Armed with this knowledge, he could rip this game wide open! His future was about to be completely overhauled!
Ho! Ho! Ho! Kaden grinned like a maniac. He licked his lips, grabbed his wallet that was on the table, and rushed out of his room. The first thing that he needed to do was buy the damn game helmet! "Apocalypse Online! Motherfucker, I am coming for you!"