A game so immersive that you feel every cut, hear every arrow whizz by, and even smell the burning forests after a raid. It's the perfect escape from a harsh, unforgiving reality. Lucy dives into Gates of Baraadon, a VR massively-multiplayer online roleplay game (MMORPG) that fully engages the senses via a direct neural link to the brain. But when her closest in-game ally is killed in a sudden, shocking battle, Lucy is left reeling. Back in the real world, emotions from the game refuse to fade away. She’s about to discover that this world isn’t just about levelling-up but surviving when the boundaries between game and reality bleed into one another. If Ready Player One and Lord of the Rings had a love child together and it was raised by William Gibson and Sword Art Online; Reality Bleeding would be it. In this debut novel by Charli Kou, they ask – when a game is so intense that it feels real - what happens when you can't switch off? Exploring the complexities of love, loyalty and intimacy in a dangerous technologically advanced and morally ambiguous world - Reality Bleeding embraces the core of Cyberpunk - by examining the human condition in the face of radical technological and social change. Poem: Where We Bleed by Charlie Kou In daydreams we stand. Chasing echoes we command.Fuelled by desire—the endless game. But who can remain the same? Neon lights and heated cries. In the silence often - lies.We reach for truth in coded lines. Can we break free from these designs? We bleed in spaces between. The real us barely seen.Amid echoes of the roles we portray. Will our burdens all just fade away? Can you see the weight we carry now? Bound by the chains we so often disavow.Pierce the noise—hear the scream. We struggle to re-forge our dream. Now reality feels so cold. Our truths are left untold.We leave behind what we thought we knew. Yet in this void –  What remains of you?Ongoing Audiobook Release Version: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjpPfvjnsmgIgJ67oRnY7pKsifIvqwZhF Tags & Categories Note: Lesbian/Queer Cyberpunk. The main character within the story has relationships, and deep ones, but the story focus is more Drama than Romance.