We were nearing the end of 2023. As usual, I was on my way to my favorite fast food joint because it’s my Friday routine: a burger, Coke, Haribo, milk, and wine. People might say it’s not healthy, but you know, we only live once, so I’ll only eat what makes me happy. I have a nice body with good physical condition without effort, thanks to my good genetics. That day, it wasn’t my usual cashier, not the sweet young lady who always smiles at me, but instead, it was the mean one. She always tells me, “When you come to my restaurant, I feel some bad vibes, like you come with a lot of darkness.” But I don’t really take it as an insult because this old lady hates everyone, judges everyone, even her poor husband. I’m not surprised he’s dead. Damn, she’s looking at me. Let’s smile as if I’ve just won a 1 vs 9 in League of Legends. Unfortunately, this smile was too fake; she noticed it and waited for me at the cash register. I wanted only one thing: to buy my stuff and go home.
* Hey, young man, when will you learn to cook?
* Don’t be mean; she will die sooner. I know how to cook, miss. I’m just tired, so be happy I’m helping your business.
* Miss?
* Sorry, my vision is bad when I’m hungry, madame.
* Never mind, your total is 120 Stobers.
Finally, I can get out of this store. She just made me sin for nothing.It is so nice to be at home. Maybe I have to do some chores; I really can’t spend all my week in a place with dirt. So, I’m looking for a nice playlist, but you know, with all these ads now, it is so annoying. Let’s put on some anime openings and endings from my own creation. Two hours later, damn, this house is so clean and smells so good, but there was one thing, only one, who makes this place dirty: me. Let’s go to the bathroom. 11 PM, okay, I am not so late in my program.
Looking for my medications, I see an empty bottle. I can’t play all night without them. Pfff… looking at the door… ‘Let’s go,’ I say to myself, wearing my pajama and taking my keys.
As I stepped out of my house, it was as if I saw a rain of strange structures. The first thing that caught my eye was a structure that seemed to be an artifact from a distant past. It was made of ancient stones, engraved with symbols and drawings that I did not recognize. It was sturdy and massive, as if it had withstood the test of time.Further away, a structure of dazzling modernity stood. It was made of materials I had never seen before, shiny and smooth like glass, but stronger than steel. It was equipped with flashing lights and holographic display panels that projected three-dimensional images.Also, in the middle of these two extremes, a structure defied all description. It seemed to change shape and color every time I blinked. It was both solid and fluid, real and unreal. It was as if it was not entirely of our world.As I watched these structures, I realized that I was not alone. Everyone on the street had come out to watch. Some were scared, others were fascinated, but just like me, they were all curious to know what would happen next.
The government launched a warning: ‘EVERYONE NEEDS TO EVACUATE THE PLACE WHERE THE STRUCTURES ARE RIGHT NOW AND GO TO THE SAFE PLACE .’ The structures were everywhere and killed a lot of people while falling, but unfortunately, I was out of my house when ours fell. And I had some things I had to do before leaving my house, like saving my games and deleting all my history. Maybe it’s the end of this world, but if by error someone goes on my laptop and sees my history, I could go for sure to prison for mental illness. So I was running, opened my door, and while I was taking my furniture (pulls and jogging), my hand slipped and touched the structure. I thought I was dead, but nothing happened at the moment. Maybe I just watched too many animes and science-fiction. When I wanted to get out of my house, I just heard something weird in my head saying, ‘You got the qualifications to evolve.’ Looking in the sky, I thought I could see a thing like a status, but nothing like that again. I really thought the world was a video game. I was on my way to go to the place where we have to go to be protected. People were crying all the way; some were terrified, some couldn’t talk, some said it is the end of the world, we will all die, we have to confess our sins.
The world was in tension. We were in a basement for only two days, and the internet had some issues, so we couldn’t watch anything, only read. I was not really affected because I had like 1000 books to read, but this new generation was becoming crazy, like addicted to drugs. It was fun to watch them doing nothing, ah ah. So in my basement, I was like the only one who was calm in this situation. I put my headphones on, but no music in; I needed to hear what people were talking about, and something caught my attention. I heard some girls and boys say, ‘Did you hear too this voice saying you have been chosen to become one of… uh, I forgot the next part.’ ‘Yeah, me too, me too, but I thought it was my imagination.’ And the similarity we have was we have all touched the structure. So I was like, ‘Thank God, I am not that crazy,’ and I felt at peace, but I was thinking about the amount of water and food. We were nearly one thousand in the basement; it is a lot to feed, but the global organization said we have to wait until their OK to leave the basement.
I have started to get bored and wanted to know what exactly happened to me and the others because it looked like I was in a video game, no more, no less, just a fiction. Maybe I am in a coma, and I am just dreaming. I was really confused and stable at the same time. I don’t have my books and don’t have my console here, and of course, not a girlfriend. Looking at the past, I started to feel like a pain. I was thinking like a normal human again: why didn’t I go out more often, why don’t I have more than two friends, why am I not married yet, why, why, why… and I got to the conclusion that I really did what makes me happy: stay home, eat, game, go to work, and that’s my loop, and I liked it.
It is not big, but it is my loop. I don’t really have a problem to change; yeah, change requires some strength, some discipline, some kind of mind, but I got all of them. Just why do I have to try to be better this kind of person when I already like who I am? I know sometimes I start to have some sad thoughts at night, but in the morning, all gone. ‘Just smile,’ I said. I was lost again in my thoughts. Hmm, that’s annoying. I was in my mind for like 4 hours and still nothing, 0 news. Maybe I can try to find Morpheus, or just I can try to meditate. I do it often when I am on the edge, like an old snake said: ‘They are just thoughts, only thoughts. Don’t be so affected by them; you can just let them flow. That’s life; just pick the good one and destroy the others.’ So I put myself in a corner of the room and started meditating. It was the first time that I felt so much peace in meditation. I felt every muscle, I felt every breath; I was like in and out, all the things that were in this zone, I felt alive, so I kept doing it until I heard again, ‘First accomplishment: the man in the darkness meditates in this darkness to feel peace.’ I was like, ‘What is going on again? Should I go to an asylum?’ We all heard at the same time, ‘STATUS.’ And you know, gamer in the blood, I just say it quieter, ‘status,’ and see in front of me a small status saying, ‘Title: The only man who meditates in darkness.
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After the event ‘Status,’ some of us looked terrified, some happy, some thought maybe I took too much medicine and started seeing things you know like when you don't sleep three nights and start seeing shit who doesn't exist. Personally, I was kind of surprised, happy, and terrified all at the same time.
At that instant, everyone knew that it was not an illusion, a government project, or just some advanced AI; we were really in the next evolution of humanity. It looked like a game, gaining achievements, skills, attributes—it was all I could think about, and I was not the only one. Of course, imagine these pro gamers in this kind of reality. Do you think society will change? Do you think the weak student who plays games all the time will become more useful to society, or will they be used more than before? Maybe yes, maybe no, maybe for revenge.
These were the kinds of thoughts I had while I was in my self-inspection. We heard the door opening by the army. Inside, I finally felt freedom. People were crying with happiness; some were sad because they were homeless.
The army started to group us, asking questions about ‘Status,’ about the voice. They were gathering information because, like us, they were also lost in this new world. The gamers were so happy because now, for them, the world would become easy—that was their thought. We have status now; we can have skills, powers like in the movies, like in anime, like in manga. Yes, of course, I thought about it too, but not like them, because if we got that, I don’t think we would skip the parts about death, crimes, monsters, and so many worse things. I was in the second group created by the army for questioning. I couldn’t tell them what I heard; otherwise, I could be locked up.
Strangely, I was calm as if nothing could shock me. I know I have a good mind, but not to this extent, being so relaxed in this kind of situation. I did not know at the time that it was because of my new ability. They started to interrogate me about my life, personal issues, what kind of hobbies I like. I was so confused about it, and when the sergeant said, ‘He’s a weirdo, a lonely wolf, let him go; we can’t get anything from something like that,’ I was like, ‘Is he insulting me?’ I know I’m not that good-looking, not that important, but he was calling me ‘something.’ At the same moment, I heard my inner voice saying, ‘How dare he call me something.’ At that moment, something inside me snapped, and I got a notification saying, ‘He is there now, the one with the void, the one with the pain, the first and unique player. He got the void eyes.’ I had to pick my pseudonym or keep my name. A choice was made: I was now King of Void: Stelonia.
I blanked for a minute, and the same sergeant shouted, ‘And this thing is deaf too?’ I just looked in his eyes, and he knew he could die if he kept talking. I didn’t know what just happened, but he said sorry and ran away. I got more and more confused. I just wanted to go home, sleep, game, and eat.
As I stood there, amidst the chaos and confusion, my mind raced with a myriad of thoughts and emotions. It was as if I had been thrust into a world where reality had shattered and reconstructed itself into something beyond my wildest imagination.
The revelation of ‘Status’ had shaken us all to the core. Some embraced it with unbridled excitement, while others grappled with fear and disbelief. For me, it was a tumultuous mix of emotions—surprise, happiness, and terror intertwined in a whirlwind of uncertainty.
But amidst the frenzy, one undeniable truth emerged—we had crossed a threshold into the next stage of human evolution. No longer were we confined to the limitations of our mundane existence; instead, we were players in a cosmic game, where achievements, skills, and attributes were ours to attain, but no one knew it at this moment.
As the implications of this newfound reality sank in, I couldn’t help but ponder the societal implications. Would this new world favor those who had honed their skills in virtual realms, rendering the once-dismissed gamers invaluable? Or would it merely be a tool for exploitation and manipulation?
Lost in my thoughts, I found myself under the scrutiny of the military, tasked with unraveling the mysteries of our new reality. But I dared not reveal the whispers that echoed within me, for fear of being labeled insane or worse, imprisoned.
It was then that I felt a strange calm wash over me, a serenity in the face of uncertainty. Little did I know, it was the manifestation of my newfound ability—a power that lay dormant within, waiting to be unleashed.
As the interrogation ensued, I was deemed an enigma, a lone wolf in a sea of conformity. And it was in that moment of dismissal that something within me stirred, awakening to a newfound purpose.
With a single glance, I silenced the sergeant’s taunts, a silent warning of the depths of my newfound power. And in that moment, I embraced my destiny, choosing a moniker that resonated with the essence of my being—King of Void: Stelonia.
With the weight of my newfound title pressing upon me, I felt a strange sensation, as if a guide had been placed in my hands—a book that held the secrets to mastering my newfound abilities.
And as I stood there, amidst the chaos and uncertainty, I knew that my journey was only just beginning. For I was no longer merely a bystander in this strange new world; I was a player, destined to shape the course of its future. And though the path ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty, I faced it with a newfound resolve—for I was King of Void, and nothing could stand in my way.
At this moment, I didn’t know what really ‘King of Void’ meant.
After being released by the authorities, I made my way back home, filled with anticipation to delve into the depths of my newfound abilities. Yet, to my astonishment, the world appeared largely unchanged. Despite the earth-shattering revelation that some among us had unlocked powers beyond imagination, it seemed that many preferred to remain concealed.
As I contemplated this peculiar situation, I was gripped by the conviction that these gifts had not been bestowed upon us without purpose. While it appeared that the majority were content to wield their newfound abilities for personal gain, I felt an inner drive to aim higher—to fortify my strength and to attain a deeper understanding of myself.