Ignoring Concord was stupid. I knew it, Matt knew it, even Neo knew it. But I didn't care. Not anymore.
The Lawless City had rifts to the Future Realm now, and criminals were walking around with chrome spines and glowing eyes like it was normal. Feltech booths had popped up across Alpha—prosthetics, cybernetics, game systems. People were buying new legs and new hobbies in the same transaction.
That's how I ended up in the game store.
The shelves were stripped bare except for one row. Fable. Feltech's big release. Everyone was calling it the bridge between worlds. A game that felt more real than reality.
The clerk rang it up without looking at me. "Don't freak out at the injection. It's normal. Just don't jerk your neck when it pricks."
Injection. Great.
I bought it anyway. Curiosity was a disease.
---
At home, I stared at the headset like it might bite.
"Fine," I muttered. "One shot."
The plastic slid cool over my head. A sharp pinch jabbed the base of my neck. My whole body jolted before sleep yanked me under.
---
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in my room.
A void stretched forever. A GUI floated in front of me, words beating like they had pulse. Sovereign's style.
Retain appearance
Change appearance
Keep Soulprint
Start Fresh
Hardcore Mode – forces user into Empty state of death. Gain boons. Risk permanent vegetable.
Standard Mode – five lives, replenished monthly.
No hesitation. I picked Standard. I didn't want to die in a game and wake up drooling.
Appearance… I tweaked it barely. Two eyes. White hair. Nothing else.
Username.
I typed: StrayZero.
The GUI shattered.
---
Noise hit like a wall.
The hub wasn't coded—it was alive. Crowds swarmed cobbled streets, vendors shouting, duelists blasting fire and frost across stone bridges. NPCs weren't mannequins. They haggled, laughed, even cursed each other out. Each one carried a faint pulse of resonance, enough to make them feel human.
It was the Free City market, but louder. Too alive.
"Hey!"
I turned. A girl waved, dark hair cut sharp, smile bright but tired. Mirae, her username read.
"You new?" she asked.
"Yeah."
Her grin widened. "Me too. Let's figure it out together?"
I nodded. "Sure."
---
The starter village smelled of bread and wet earth. Chickens darted underfoot, NPCs carrying baskets muttered about weather.
We hit the quest board.
Kill Ten Goblins.
Classic.
We trekked into the forest, damp moss under boots, air thick with birdsong. Goblins showed quick—squat, green-skinned, clubs in hand.
Except they didn't attack.
They ran.
One tripped over a root, scrambled, screamed for the others.
Mirae froze. "They're… scared."
I gritted my teeth and swung. The goblin shrieked, clutched its chest, then went limp. The system pinged XP.
"God." She swallowed hard, then followed my lead.
We carved through the pack. Each one cried, fled, begged. It felt wrong. Like we weren't hunting monsters—we were slaughtering villagers who happened to be green.
Back in town, we dumped ears on a counter. Coins clinked into our bags.
"They made it too real," Mirae muttered, voice low. "But at least here… I'm not me."
I raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
She smiled faintly. "In the real world, people know my name. My face. Here, I'm just Mirae. I can breathe."
I didn't answer. Just nodded.
---
Weeks bled together. Goblin quests. Coin. XP. Neither of us left the starting town. Maybe we were stalling. Maybe we just didn't want to face what waited outside.
One night, while selling another bag of ears, she glanced at me.
"You're going to the Old Realm mission, right?"
The words froze me.
"…Yeah," I said carefully. "Guess you are too?"
She smirked. "Looks like it."
Something in me cracked then, maybe from exhaustion, maybe from trust. I leaned closer, kept my voice low.
"I've got the seed."
Her eyes flicked sharp, then softened. "The Rift Seed?"
I nodded once.
She studied me for a heartbeat, unreadable. Then she just smiled, like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Guess that makes you important, huh."
I tried to laugh it off, but my throat was dry.
Ignoring Concord was stupid. I knew it, Matt knew it, even Neo knew it. But I didn't care. Not anymore.
The Lawless City had rifts to the Future Realm now, and criminals were walking around with chrome spines and glowing eyes like it was normal. Feltech booths had popped up across Alpha—prosthetics, cybernetics, game systems. People were buying new legs and new hobbies in the same transaction.
That's how I ended up in the game store.
The shelves were stripped bare except for one row. Fable. Feltech's big release. Everyone was calling it the bridge between worlds. A game that felt more real than reality.
The clerk rang it up without looking at me. "Don't freak out at the injection. It's normal. Just don't jerk your neck when it pricks."
Injection. Great.
I bought it anyway. Curiosity was a disease.
---
At home, I stared at the headset like it might bite.
"Fine," I muttered. "One shot."
The plastic slid cool over my head. A sharp pinch jabbed the base of my neck. My whole body jolted before sleep yanked me under.
---
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in my room.
A void stretched forever. A GUI floated in front of me, words beating like they had pulse. Sovereign's style.
Retain appearance
Change appearance
Keep Soulprint
Start Fresh
Hardcore Mode – forces user into Empty state of death. Gain boons. Risk permanent vegetable.
Standard Mode – five lives, replenished monthly.
No hesitation. I picked Standard. I didn't want to die in a game and wake up drooling.
Appearance… I tweaked it barely. Two eyes. White hair. Nothing else.
Username.
I typed: StrayZero.
The GUI shattered.
---
Noise hit like a wall.
The hub wasn't coded—it was alive. Crowds swarmed cobbled streets, vendors shouting, duelists blasting fire and frost across stone bridges. NPCs weren't mannequins. They haggled, laughed, even cursed each other out. Each one carried a faint pulse of resonance, enough to make them feel human.
It was the Free City market, but louder. Too alive.
"Hey!"
I turned. A girl waved, dark hair cut sharp, smile bright but tired. Mirae, her username read.
"You new?" she asked.
"Yeah."
Her grin widened. "Me too. Let's figure it out together?"
I nodded. "Sure."
---
The starter village smelled of bread and wet earth. Chickens darted underfoot, NPCs carrying baskets muttered about weather.
We hit the quest board.
Kill Ten Goblins.
Classic.
We trekked into the forest, damp moss under boots, air thick with birdsong. Goblins showed quick—squat, green-skinned, clubs in hand.
Except they didn't attack.
They ran.
One tripped over a root, scrambled, screamed for the others.
Mirae froze. "They're… scared."
I gritted my teeth and swung. The goblin shrieked, clutched its chest, then went limp. The system pinged XP.
"God." She swallowed hard, then followed my lead.
We carved through the pack. Each one cried, fled, begged. It felt wrong. Like we weren't hunting monsters—we were slaughtering villagers who happened to be green.
Back in town, we dumped ears on a counter. Coins clinked into our bags.
"They made it too real," Mirae muttered, voice low. "But at least here… I'm not me."
I raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
She smiled faintly. "In the real world, people know my name. My face. Here, I'm just Mirae. I can breathe."
I didn't answer. Just nodded.
---
Weeks bled together. Goblin quests. Coin. XP. Neither of us left the starting town. Maybe we were stalling. Maybe we just didn't want to face what waited outside.
One night, while selling another bag of ears, she glanced at me.
"You're going to the Old Realm mission, right?"
The words froze me.
"…Yeah," I said carefully. "Guess you are too?"
She smirked. "Looks like it."
Something in me cracked then, maybe from exhaustion, maybe from trust. I leaned closer, kept my voice low.
"I've got the seed."
Her eyes flicked sharp, then softened. "The Rift Seed?"
I nodded once.
She studied me for a heartbeat, unreadable. Then she just smiled, like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Guess that makes you important, huh."
I tried to laugh it off, but my throat was dry.