Ah, life, was good. You see, I’m right now in the process of passing away. I don’t regret anything, I got laid in my life, had a kid that is alive, well and healthy right now… though his ma was a cunt, so we broke up not too long after he was born.

I was loved, loved a lot of people, accomplished a lot in my life, etc. I died a bit early, at 57 years of age, but I don’t mind. I was a good person… well, more or less, my younger years of peace I was kinda of a asshole. You know, the toxic teenager.

After all, I grew up in the era of the internet, around full dive VR tech, played a lot of MMOs and was deeply involved in the internet community. I became a better person as years passed, but I’m quite sure that I made a fuck ton of people burst a vein in their lives.

Not that I regret that, I also got tilted by a lot of people in my life too, it’s the circle of the internet. You piss people off, get pissed and continue with your life. I surely miss those times dearly, after I got to 19 things got really busy in my life.

I welcome death, letting myself get cold, embracing the old friend that is lady death, following my way to either the afterlife or reincarnation. Or total oblivion, how should I know, right?

…

Or so I would have thought.

I jump, sitting upright, surprised. I look around quickly, assessing the situation. Instead of my dying place, I’m in a room. A somewhat familiar room, actually. Wooden walls, some simple furniture made out of wood that are made to be sturdy. It’s quite an old-fashioned room, really.

I’m right now in a bed, covered in a thick blanket, shirtless and sweating a little bit. Looking around a bit more, I can see some posters of older games and fantasy movies, and the room is heavily decorated with fantasy figures, two actual swords hanging in one of the walls, an actual katana smuggled from japan and a full dive capsule in the corner of the room, with the pc attached to it.

I recognize this room. This is my room in the old house of my childhood in Fairbanks, Alaska. Yeah, I’m from Alaska. Well, I’m actually from England, but now I live here. It’s a very convoluted story between my father and mother, involving a lot of granddad fights, literal shots fired from a pump shotgun, fights and eventually the buying of a house here in Alaska.

I look at the old digital clock right beside my bed, sitting below my lamp on a drawer, revealing that the time is 2AM and the day is the 2° of January of the year 2003. Oh fuck, is this even real? I pinch my arm hard, feeling actual pain. I also give my face a slap, and regret it a little bit, feeling my face sting a little.

Fuck, did I go back in time? I mean, considering what happened in my life… well, time trave would still be pretty fucking crazy. I get up, my bare feet touching the wooden floor and I feel a little cold. I take a look on the window, seeing nothing but darkness, and a fuck ton of snow. I can also hear faint sounds of wind outside, meaning that it must be blowing quite strongly.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Yeah, I remember this day. I was quite excited, World of Warcraft was a MMO that was about to release in the VR capsule, the first MMO that would be playable in there. It would release tomorrow night, and I remember it quite well. I was alone at home and would be for the rest of January since my parents were having business in France.

I jump into the computer, but not the one beside the capsule. After all, I only use it because of some games that aren’t able to be installed in the pc that comes together with the VR capsule. The thing is, since this capsule was announced three months ago, I bought one of the first ones.

They are an absurd advance in technology, the likes that would be probably only seen thirty years from now. Terabytes of storage aside from WoW, powerful processors, enough to simulate a fucking galaxy with ease. This thing is amazing, but there aren’t a lot of games that can be installed on it, it was too advanced for some games.

That is the reason for why I keep my old pc beside from it. anyway, I sit on my chair, turning on the pc that takes less than five seconds to start up. I immediately open the exclusive app of the capsule, made for players to connect, send messages to each other and even partake in voice chat, called Wyrmsroost, or Wyrm, for short.

And who I see online aside from my good friend, Neptune. Well, that was Nep’s online nickname, and I got use to calling them that even IRL when we discovered that we go to the same school. I instantly start with a message.

(Me): “Yo Nep. Dafuq you doin online at this time?”

(Nep): “And what aboutchu Poison? Weren’t you sick? Dafuq you doin up at this hour?”

Oh yeah, I had a cold the day before the release of WoW, so much so that I lost the launch day. Well, I’m feeling well, actually. I’m starting to get a bit chilly, so I quickly go to the heater in the corner of the room, turning it up a notch before going back to the computer.

(Me): “Well, I’m fine now. Woke up feeling a lot better. Whatchu doin Nep?”

(Nep): “Been grinding some stuff in some games. Not too much, can’t sleep.”

(Me): “It’s the launch date, isn’t it, you degenerate?”

(Nep): “Fuck off. Aren’t you also online right now?”

(Me): “I’m here cuz I wanted to talk to you lol. I knew you would be online, you can’t sleep when a new game that you’re into is about to release.”

(Nep): “Alright, you got me. So, what’s going on? U ok?”

I smile. Nep is a good friend.

(Me): “Yeah, I’m good, finally lol. Eager to go back to school?”

(Nep): “Not in the fucking slightest.”

I laugh. Ah, I missed this. Nep passed away early in life, around when we were 25, a few years from now on. I’m okay with that though, I can change that. Now that I’m back, I can fix all my regrets, as well save the people that I lost, since it was because the lack of foresight and ability that led to the death of a lot of people. I shake my head.

That past apparently doesn’t exist anymore, I’m here now. I can change things. and that’s what I’m going to do without doubt. I continue to chat with Nep for a while, before feeling sleepy again. I look down, to the side of the capsule spotting one of those small fridges. Oh yeah, I had one of those. Opening it, I see a lot of candy, some actual food, snacks and a fuckton of cola. Dude, younger times. I pick up one of the cans and enjoy a few sips. I bid Nep good night and turn off the PC, finishing the can and going back to bed.

And for the first time in years… well, years for future me at least, I have a good night of sleep.