"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
Rieko screamed as the tree swallowed her. She spun and tumbled through a darkness that had no bottom. Wind screamed in her ears until everything hit a sudden hard surface.
Thud.
"Ouch…" She rubbed the back of her head and sat up. Her vision was a blur of color and shadow.
"Where… where am I?" she whispered.
Her hand found something familiar. Glasses. The right lens had a long crack running through it. She pushed them on and the world sharpened a little, the crack blurring one corner.
A flashlight lay beside her. She clicked it on. The beam cut through dust and moss, revealing a hollow place of twisted trees. The ground was dry and dead. In front of her stood a throne carved from roots and old wood. It looked abandoned but somehow alive, like it had been waiting for someone.
The air felt heavy and cold. Every small sound bounced back at her.
"This place…" she muttered, taking slow steps forward. "It looks like an abandoned zone."
Her heart beat fast. The whole thing felt unreal. It felt like—
"A video game?" she said out loud, blinking. "Wait. Am I inside a game right now?"
The idea surprised her into a laugh. "So cool. I've been transmigrated into a video game?" Her voice got excited. "This is so cool. Wait, did Taki and Miko get isekai'd too?"
She pressed her palm to her forehead and groaned. "Oh my god. Dad always joked that if I played too much, I might get sucked into a game."
Her smile faded. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Is this what he meant?"
She walked slowly, sweeping the flashlight over carvings on the trees, over empty branches and cracked roots. The smell of old wood filled her nose. If this was a game, what kind of game was it?
"Zombies? Are there zombies here? Time to slay you," she said in a playful tone, half daring the world to respond.
Her foot nudged something near the throne. She crouched and picked up a small black object. A remote. Smooth, warm from the ground. Buttons were labeled in a way that made her grin. ON/OFF. PLAY/PAUSE. RESET. Numbers. MODE and so on.
"What's a remote doing here?" she wondered.
She pressed the power button without thinking.
Light spread like someone had flipped a switch in the sky. The dead trees glowed faintly. Strange symbols flared on the ground. A thin golden mist drifted through the roots. Rieko took a shaky step back.
"Super cool," she breathed.
Her fingers hovered and she pressed 1.
A translucent screen unfolded in front of her, like a hologram pulled from a game. She leaned on the throne's handle and squinted at the words as lines of data scrolled.
Three large red numbers blinked into place.
999
Under them, a line of text glowed.
World User: King Deetee (999)
Level: Infinite
What would you like me to do today, King 999?
Rieko read the words and blinked. She felt a weird chill. The number was familiar, like she had heard or seen it somewhere. She said it out loud.
"King Deetee. King 999." Then she pressed Skip. An icon popped up.
[Input password for recognition. You have never skipped.]
She frowned. "This is so gammy. How am I supposed to get out of here?"
She tried a few passwords. Each attempt buzzed and failed.
[Password limits exceeded. Enter security code or factory reset.]
Rieko laughed nervously. "Wow. This is so techy. I do not know the security code. Guess I have to reset. Starting from level one might actually help me learn the system."
She reached for the reset button. Her finger hovered. Something thumped behind her.
She turned. Someone was there.
Another version of herself stood in the shadow. Not like her at all. Green eyes, green hair, horns on the head. The stranger looked like a character from a game come to life.
"Wow. You look like an avatar or an opponent," Rieko said, stepping closer. Before she could decide, the figure moved. Deetee passed her and his hand closed around the remote.
"Hey! I found it first. Finders keepers," Rieko complained.
"You really are stupid," Deetee said, his voice smooth and cold. He looked at the screen and scrolled through options like a player testing a menu. "How many times did you try? You could have stopped on the first try. Are you nuts?"
"Don't talk to me like that," Rieko snapped. "I was dragged here. I did not choose this. Show some respect."
That was a mistake. Deetee's expression changed from bored to amused. Without touching her, he moved like light and pinned her against a tree. Vines rose from the ground and coiled around her wrists and ankles. They tightened slowly at first, then fast, until she could not move.
She tried to speak. A vine slid across her mouth and silenced her.
"You are more foolish than your little peasants," Deetee said, leaning close. "So loyal that they would risk their lives for you. What did you promise them to make them so faithful?"
He tapped in his security code. The whole place brightened more. The light from Rieko's flashlight dimmed under the new glow. He placed the remote on the throne's handle, sat, and folded his arms like a king.
"This place needs renovation," he said, watching her struggle. "Once I finish with your peasants and those binders, I will fix it."
He looked at her face as if considering a painting. "Look, you are my vessel, which means you are my peasant, this world is mine. I control everything because I am the king of this world. Every vessel I have possessed joined me for a short while. Their bodies could not stand it for two minutes. But you, you accepted at once. Your body and soul opened freely."
He rose and circled her slowly. Up close she could see how his smile did not reach his eyes.
"What exactly are you?" he wondered aloud, then turned away. "That is a question for another time. For now, one of my peasants has been killed. I will have vengeance."
He smiled, cruel and patient. "Because of that, your two peasants must die. They are the reason the others were here in the first place."
The moment he said it, he vanished like smoke.
Rieko thrashed against the vines. The thought that popped cold into her mind cut deeper than the bindings.... two peasants. What did he mean? Then it hit her like a cold knife.
She had been possessed. He was talking about Miko and Taki.