The sound of various hospital equipment attached to him was a constant reminder that life was, in fact, hopeless. Even with hundreds of new advancements in technology, many of which could extend a lifespan, or push back terrible illness...no matter what it was, it would still cost too much money.
Even then, he thought to himself. Not a lot of anything those things can do about cancer. He was 16 when he found out he was dying, 18 when he found out they couldn't pay for treatment much longer, and now he lay here, on his 19th birthday, about to pass to the other side.
It wasn't his choice, just some sense of cosmic comedy, he thought. Nobody was coming. His father was on business, his mother hated to look at him, and his sister had long accepted he was a lost cause.
"Whatever.." he said aloud, to nobody but beeping life support. A small cupcake rested on his metal tray with a candle sticking out the top, a gift from the nurses.
He reached forward to gently blow out the flame, only to send himself into a small coughing fit. He smiled sadly to himself, couldn't even blow out a candle. He ate at the strawberry icing slowly as he glanced over to an elaborate headset next to him.
VRMMO's had gained a lot of traction around when he was 14, but the biggest event of his life had been on his 15th birthday when he acquired the latest advancement in Virtual Reality Gaming. Wrath of Titans. The game was a hit, and rose to top the charts year after year, and even to this day is being played by millions of people across the globe. He hummed to himself as he finished his cupcake and reached for the IR-Gaming Helmet, or Integrated Reality Helmet. He wasn't supposed to play games anymore, because it increased the deterioration of his body...but he didnt care. What's the worst that could happen, he dies?
He smiled, for the first time in a little while as he slid the old gaming helmet over his face, and firmly pressed the power button. It took a few moments to boot up, it was a five year old model afterall.
Power On… Loading Mandatory Updates… 20%...50%....99%...99%...99%...100%. Detecting Location, United States, East Coast. Detecting User Accounts: Two Attached Accounts; Miles Kevlar, Jacob Mills.
He froze for a few moments as he looked at the two names… Jacob had been his best friend. The one who got him into gaming actually, he had moved when Miles was 16, and died a year later, the day before he got diagnosed actually. A drunk driver had rammed into the side of his vehicle. Miles was more sad about that then the cancer at the time...Jacob was the best thing that had ever happened to him.
He took in a slow breath, and selected his account:
Miles Kevlar, locating most played games, Wrath of Titans (2343 hours logged).
Do you want to play ‘Wrath of Titans’?
Yes // No
‘Yes’ he thought to himself, and the gaming helmet selected the option for him. The game launched, the sound of wind whipped through his ears and a bright sunset slowly blackened the plains of a walled city as the words ‘Wrath of Titans’ appeared in golden letters and pretty script. His vision rushed forward, past the city, past the oceans, to snowy mountains. He smiled to himself, it was a new intro! They must have updated recently.
A deep voice saturated the visual, “Hello Adventures... welcome to my domain” the voice resounded throughout.
“You may have slain the demons of Estervale, but you’ve no chance against me..” the camera slowly panned over to reveal a giant figure made of ice and snow, robed in black and clad in crimson armor. A giant greatsword casually resting in one hand…
“You’ve no chance against a Titan!” they screamed and slashed the screen to reveal the title of the game once again. Miles couldn't help but grin, Titans were the strongest thing in the game. In the lore they were long extinct but sometimes rare bosses that were part-Titan would appear. They were way too strong, overpowered really, but they dropped amazing loot.
Welcome Back to ‘Wrath of Titans’...detecting account…
Account found, retrieving characters…
Found Characters:
Raven Winter [Level 300 Magi]
Ahh, it’s been too long! He selected his one and only character and everything went bright as he slowly opened his eyes in a quaint winter cabin. He was immediately bombarded with a ton of notifications about updates, and expansions. His eyes went a little wide as he glanced through them…
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“They raised the max level to 999! Jesuuuus that's high.” he said, glancing at his measly level 300, the old cap a long time ago. That was after it had risen to 100, and from 50 before that. The game was constantly evolving and giving players a reason to keep playing. He shook his head lightly, going to close out of the notifications, before he stopped as he spotted a curious one. He had one private message. Which was weird, because when he had to stay at the hospital full-time he had said goodbye to all his online friends and deleted all friends from his list...except Jacob, but he was gone.
He clicked open the message and tilted his head in confusion, the message was from ‘Titan Gaming Inc.’ the creator of Wrath of Titans. He read through it as he recovered from his shock:
‘Hello Player Miles,
We have heard unfortunate news regarding your health state. We’ve looked into you, and have noticed things haven't been going well. Before going to the hospital you logged many hours into our game, on course for setting the record a long time ago. We are so sorry for the things that have happened to you. Which is why we send this in hopes that you see it, and welcome you to try out our new ‘Respawn System’. Not only will this change your view of gaming, but it will change your life. We at Titan Gaming wish you all the luck in future endeavours, and appreciate the time you’ve spent in our little world. We hope it offered the smallest of escapes from bad or unfortunate times. Fight On, and Stay Strong. We love all our players, and we especially love you. Best wishes, and grand adventures Miles. The world awaits.
Signed,
Bradley Titan, CEO
Download Available: Respawn System
Miles couldn't help the tears that welled in his eyes, which was embarrassing, because it meant he was crying in the real world as well. Who would have thought the only person still alive who would care about what happened to him was the CEO of a game he hadn't played in a year.
***
“I thought we told him not to play that anymore.” the Doctor said with a soft sigh as he entered the room with two nurses.
“Well, he is...pulling his plug today. What’s the harm, look he’s even crying. Maybe he’s talking to some old friends or something.” one of the nurses said, looking towards the Doctor. “He’s already signed the consent papers...why not just let him stay in. He used to play a lot when he first arrived.” she encouraged and the doctor sighed once again. He never understood people and videogames.
“Alright, just...prep him then.” the Doctor conceited, starting to do some of the paperwork needed. The nurses set Miles up, careful to not disturb his gaming setup as they did so.
After a few minutes when Miles did not come back to the real, the Doctor finished up the paperwork, gave a sad smile, and pulled the plug of the life support.
***
Tears continued to stream down his cheeks as he finally broke down, his life hadn't been the best, even before the cancer. Nobody appreciated his want to game, or even his skill in it. His sister was the star of the family. Cheerleader, Track, Martial Arts. He was just...the younger brother, and then the one with cancer. It’d been a few months since anyone but his father had come to see him...but he’d tried to put a brave face on. His gaze kept moving to a phrase the CEO had said in his letter, which was the one thing keeping a small smile on his face. “Fight On, and Stay Strong” he murmured to himself. That was a saying they said in the game, it was like a comfort, as well as a battle cry. A rallying call for the human nations of the world that was Wrath of Titan. It was also what he had kept telling himself while he was dying. He appreciated it.
Warning: Vitals Spiking, Recommended to Log Out and seek immediate medical attention.
Bright red words flashed in his vision. He shook his head, it seemed like they pulled the plug while he was logged in. He didn’t mind though, he was gonna ask if he could do that anyway. This world was so much better to him than the real one. He wanted his last moments to be here.
Warning: Vitals Crashing, DEATH is imminent. Seek Help.
“No help here..” he gasped slightly, his body was starting to shut down...his vision briefly floated to the still opened message in front of him. It had been sent four months ago, left unopened. He felt kind of bad that he couldn't try the system out that the CEO had sent him. He wondered if they could see that he hadn't, that would make him feel even worse… though, strangely enough, the man seemed to know a lot about Miles. So maybe he’d know today was the day he was to die. “I’ll show him I tried to respect his request..even when I was...dying” he choked out as he went to gently tap on the Respawn Systems link. “Fi..Fight On, a..a.and S..S...Stay St..Strong” he managed as his gaming avatar crashed to the ground, the visual of his eyes flashing red, and constant warningings blared around him.
Downloading Respawn System: 25%...50%...100%
Detecting Respawn Recipients: One, Miles Kevlar.
Choosing System: Respawn> World: Wrath of Titans > Activating Respawn Network.
Granting System Layout: Character Creation to Miles Kevlar
Granting System Layout: Leveling to Miles Kevlar.
Granting Special Circumstance: Respawn to Miles Kevlar.
Welcome, Miles. Fight On, and Stay Strong…
Everything went black, as he slowly released his last breath in the real...darkness. Like an endless void of...water? No...more like honey, sluggish, constricting. He tried to move, but it was hard. Limbs slowly dragging through inky nothingingness. Then suddenly, a bright light, a smell, a sound.
‘COCKADOODLEDOOOOOOOOOO’ the sound was annoyingly loud, the smell of...was that bacon? The bright light made him move his hands to cover his eyes before he felt like he suddenly crashed into something. He jolted awake with a gasp, his head whipping around to take in a small room, old curtains were open and a strange looking rooster with spikes along it’s back stared at him as it continued to blare loudly.
“What the fu..” he started right before the thin wooden door to the room he was in slammed open..