It all started because I had too many tabs open.
Both in my browser and in my brain.
After an all-night grind session on Etherveil, a VRMMORPG, the game that ruined my sleep schedule and possibly my spine, I decided to go for a walk. You know, "touch grass," like the internet says. Maybe clear my head. Maybe remember what the sun looks like. Instead, I decided to go to a beach located in Kamakura. I wore pajama pants and an unwashed hoodie that smelled of pepperoni pizza and ramen. When I arrived, the water was disturbingly still. I didn't notice at first. My thoughts were tangled, fixated on whether stacking agility outperformed raw damage with dual blades as the water beside me shimmered, flat, glassy, too calm. Something about it felt wrong.
"Weird…" I said.
I crouched, scooped water into my hands, and splashed my face.
I blinked once, and she was there.
A woman in the water.
Not a reflection. Not some trick of light.
She was made of the sea itself. Her form shifted between liquid and flesh. Her hair flowed upward in defiance of gravity, a coiling wave that never settled. Her face, serene and inhuman. And her eyes held stars. Galaxies. Tiny, spinning voids, each one pulsing with a slow, deliberate gravity.
I froze. My breath caught in my throat.
Then she rose silently without breaking the surface. The water made no sound, no ripple. It accepted her like she had always been part of it.
"Child," She spoke softly. "Do you recognize me?"
I blinked slowly. "H-Huh?" I thought. "Am I seeing things?"
"Do you not remember me?" She said, "Do I not seem familiar to you?"
I was too stunned to respond.
Then I heard more voices behind me:
"He doesn't recognize us."
"He reeks."
"Is this really the player we're looking for?"
I turned around and saw three figures standing behind me. One in all white. The second was glowing like someone had set a supernova to 'dim.' The third wore a robe made entirely of clouds. My eyes widened as I realized that these were the Gods from Etherveil. The actual in-game deities. Though I only know the name of the one that appeared in front of me was Malea, the water God.
"Oh shit..." I thought. "Am I dreaming, or did I just develop schizophrenia?"
And the moment I turned back to Malea, her face was up close to mine. "Do you not think that you don't belong in this world?" She said, smiling. Her voice is calm, but it hits me like a punch.
I looked down.
And just like that, everything comes back. The kids laughing at me in school. The bruises I hid. The nights I prayed the shouting would stop. The years of trying to matter. Trying to breathe in a world that didn't care if I did.
"Well, sometimes…" I muttered. "I do feel like I was born in the wrong world. This world doesn't just feel so right to me. I mean… I'm a total loser."
Then she smiles. Not pity. Not mockery. But Excitement.
Her whole face lights up like she's been waiting for me to say those exact words.
"Allow this to be your summoning, Champion!" She said, gleefully.
The God in all white leaned over to the glowy one and whispered, "Are we sure we got the right guy?"
The glowy one frowned. "He'll die in no time."
"I'll pray for him," said the third God.
I stood there, sweating, confused, and one hundred percent sure this was a fever dream brought on by lack of sleep and too many energy drinks.
"So... what exactly do you need me to do?" I asked.
Malea raised her hand. Then, the water swirled around me, rising, glowing, twisting in a spiral of salt and light. The air buzzed. My heart raced.
"To come with us," She said. "Play the game you love the most!"
"Love the most? I hated that―" My words put to a stop as she reached for my lips, and I felt my consciousness drift away.
Everything was white. No sky, no ground. Just me, standing in an endless, glowing void stretching infinitely in every direction. It was the kind of space you see in dreams.
"...Am I dead?" I whispered, my voice swallowed by nothing.
No answer. Just cold, unbroken silence.
"Great," I muttered, voice tight with disbelief. "Not even a damn tutorial fairy to walk me through this."
Then, like someone flipped a switch in the universe, sharp golden letters appeared right in front of my eyes, hovering, glowing, crisp as a blade's edge.
[WELCOME TO ETHERVEIL]
My heart slammed against my ribs. This was the exact startup screen I'd seen a thousand times logging in, except now. I wasn't staring at a monitor. I was inside it.
A mirror materialized in front of me, sudden and seamless. It floated in place, about eye level, with a faint glow around its edges.
I looked into it.
My eyes widened in disbelief. "Holy shit…" I said.
The face staring back wasn't the one I had in real life. It was the avatar I created during character customization: Crimson red hair, cut short and slightly messy. Bright orange eyes that stood out against fair skin. The complexion was smooth and flawless, unlike my real face. Just beneath my left eye, there was a small mole that I'd added as a detail when messing around with the sliders.
It was strange seeing it like this. It moved when I moved. Blinked when I blinked. It was my face now.
Then another screen slid into view, just beneath the mirror:
[Use Avatar Appearance]:
[Y/N]
[Use Real Face Data]:
[Y/N]
I didn't even hesitate. I decided to choose my avatar's appearance.
And for the first time in a long time, I actually felt okay seeing my own face. No acne scars. No dark circles. Just smooth, clean features.
Seconds later, another window slid in, sleek and smooth:
[Choose your starting class]:
[Mage]
[Healer]
[Warrior]
[Assassin]
[Archer]
I grinned. "Time to pick the class I wanted to pick before."
My finger hovered, then pressed Assassin.
But just as I made contact, the screen glitched. Static bursts across it with a loud crackling sound, like an old TV losing signal. The interface warped for a second and then vanished completely.
In its place, blunt words burned into the emptiness:
<
I stared at it. "No class?" I said out loud. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
My voice echoed, thin and small in the wide, empty space.
I didn't have time to figure it out.
Then, without a warning, the ground beneath me cracked. Literally shattered like glass hit by a hammer. Jagged lines of white light split the floor, spreading fast. In seconds, the whole space collapsed beneath me.
And then I dropped.