The brilliant light, searing and unforgiving, abruptly vanished, leaving him to plummet towards the ground. Agonizing torment gripped his senses, a ceaseless throbbing in his skull. Was it from the jarring impact of his landing or the disorienting transition itself? He could not tell.
Slowly, as he raised his head, his gaze fell upon the turned-off desktop screen vaguely reflecting an image of him... that wasn't him?, the dark-haired visage before him—scanty beard and all—belonged to, Levi Bronte. His eyes widened with surprise.
He tentatively reached for his face, fingers trembling, as he tried to confirm if the reflection staring back at him was truly his own. A trace of blood stained his hand, evidence of the trickle from his nose.
As his consciousness remained shrouded in a haze, the relentless headache persisted, an incessant drumbeat within his skull. Glimmers of information cascaded into his mind, each drop akin to a red-hot ember fuelling the blaze of his suffering. He reached out and clung to a nearby table, a lifeline in this storm of confusion.
What happened ?? Did I make it out?? As if to answer his question, his mind began processing the information he had just acquired.
It wasn't mere appearance that had transmuted; fragments of memories, too, gradually weaving into his being. This transformation felt eerily original, as though he had become Levi in the truest sense. The searing pain in his head had somewhat relented as he leaned upon the table.
"Blue! Blue, are you there?" He called out, not minding how loud he was, just as he suspected there was no reply
Still in the haze of the moment, he cautiously surveyed his surroundings. A peculiar helmet-like device, wisps of smoke curling from its every seam, lay on the floor. A modest-sized bed sat pushed against one wall, the room bathed in the faint glow emanating from the half-opened bathroom door adjacent to the closed kitchen entrance.
His mind was awfully calm, judging from the situation he was in.
As he stood in the studio apartment, he could easily tell what had just happened.
He could see from the memory fragments that Levi had newly attempted to log into the game. The opening his AI had found was Levi. The smoking console and bleeding nose were evidence that Levi had died during his log-in attempt, giving him the opportunity to inhabit his body.
'At least I made it out.' He couldn't help but sigh with relief
A knock on the door forcefully pulled him out of his thoughts. "Is everything okay in there?" A deep manly voice called out from outside the room
The voice was easily identifiable because of Levi's memories. The language English also came naturally to him.
"Yes, Mr lucky" Cian replied
"Okay, just a reminder your rent is due in two days" he said as loud as possible "I wouldn't want any excuses on Friday"
"Yes sir, there would be no problem" Cian said before he heard him return to his room
Mr lucky was the owner of the two-story flat building Levi stayed in and also his next-door neighbour
Although Cian had assured no problem, he knew Levi had spent most of his rent money on that death machine lying on the floor. He had bought the console for half the price from a friend. A very sweet deal.
'With the way wires were sticking out that thing, it was obviously going to kill you' Cian thought as he stared at the device.
But it's not like he had a choice. He didn't have the same addiction to that game as the rest of the world. He didn't even want to buy it, mostly because it was overpriced, but also because he didn't have time to play games.
He had to get into Med school this year. He had already failed the entrance exam three times in a row, even after he studied harder each year like his life depended on him passing.
He was just an unemployed twenty-one-year-old living off dead-end jobs. But the reason why, with his current circumstances, he still sacrificed the $800 he used to purchase the Xgear 3rd generation was because of his little sister 'Darcy Bronte'. She had survived a dreadful accident two years ago, that claimed the life of their father.
She remained in coma, only waking up a year later. Unfortunately, she had lost her ability to walk and remained hospitalised.
It wasn't long before she joined the rest of the world in the fully immersive world of Aetheria. Since then, she made it her life mission to convert her older brother. He had promised her he'll play with her on her birthday, which was tomorrow or today depending on how late it was, and also possibly make some extra bucks.
Aetheria had skyrocketed to global acclaim within its first half-year of release, courtesy of Active-vision, a gaming company. It had transformed them into the world's wealthiest corporation.
The game had transcended mere entertainment, with top players amassing more wealth and fame than even the most renowned Athletes and movie stars. From sponsorships to tournaments, livestreaming to item sales, Aetheria offered a plethora of income streams and endless possibilities, and Levi, being as hopeful as possible, also saw to gain from this.
The Xgear console became more like a necessary home appliance, with most people reportedly using it even more than their phones. Offering a full dive immersive experience and a worldwide automatic language translator, It was much more than a game, it was a way to physically connect with anyone anywhere in the world.
'Another second chance, and this time as an actual human.' Cian smiled at the thought. "It's starting to feel like the universe doesn't want me to die," he said as he let out a short laughter.
Yet, the surreal notion of inhabiting Levi's body remained both baffling and disconcerting. He wrestled with guilt over this existence born from another's tragic end.
For a peculiar reason, the fact that he, an NPC, now stood before a computer was no longer the most astonishing aspect of his life. He contemplated the body he now inhabited—Levi's untimely demise had inadvertently given rise to his new existence. He whispered an internal reassurance, convincing himself that he bore no blame for these twists of fate. However, a lingering sense of guilt persisted, shadowing the bittersweet taste of his rebirth.
By now his mind had fully recovered, and he was able to walk around the room, cautiously surveying it.
He picked up the console and carefully appraised it. How exactly it killed Levi And how he was able to get here was still a matter of mystery, but his mind couldn't be bothered any further. He sat down on the chair and placed it beside the computer, proceeding to fall asleep, ignoring the bed just a few feet away.