The dim light of the gaming club flickered on the faces of two players immersed in a virtual battle. Their fingers flew swiftly across the keys, and the numbers on the screen shifted like lines in a book. For them, it was just another session, a simple amusement. They never thought that every decision they made echoed with pain and fear on the other side of the monitor.
- Commander, the Manamides are advancing from all sides! - a worried voice sounded in the headphones.
- Sergeant, cut the panic. Regroup and hold the position! - one of the players, Lido, commanded eagerly. He noted that allied troops were covering his flanks, and deployed all reserves, directing his soldiers into a frontal assault.
- Lido, I'll send all my warriors to hold them off, and you break through! - shouted Fenri, his friend and partner, eagerly watching their armies throw themselves into battle.
Suddenly, the soldiers on the screen froze, raising their gazes to the sky. A bright flash illuminated the battlefield, and a divine figure appeared before them. Inspired by its presence, the warriors cried - Forward, God is with us! - and charged into the attack, unaware that their sacrifice was just part of someone else's entertainment.
- Forward, brothers! - the soldiers echoed to one another, rushing toward their fate.
Seeing his flanks securely covered, Lido decided to make the decisive move. He threw all his forces into a desperate attack to break through the AI's defenses.
- Good, Fenri, - he smirked. - My warriors will bring us victory!
- Forward, boys! God wants the head of that Eastern commander! - Fenri's soldiers echoed, already savoring the end of the battle.
But everything went wrong. The Manamides' ambush was flawless. Lido's troops fell into a deadly trap, and Fenri's soldiers were left alone, doomed to certain death. The Manamides surrounded them on all sides.
- Damn, the AI in this game is too good, - muttered Lido, leaning back in his chair as their army was finally defeated.
- All mine died too. Next time, let's try a different strategy. How about a beer? - suggested Fenri.
- Sure, - Lido nodded, staring at the darkened screen. For them, it was just a game, one of the countless battles they'd fought in this hall, never thinking about the consequences.
On the screen, left alone with the soldiers surrounding him, Commander Antar gasped in pain, bleeding. His gaze fixed on the frozen image of the deity. The commander's last words sounded like a sinister whisper:
- Where is your God now?..
- God... has abandoned us, - he growled before his last battle ended. The screen once again fell silent.
***
Later, as they sat with their beers, Lido suddenly murmured thoughtfully:
- Fenri, have you ever wondered... what if the characters in games are alive?
- Are you drunk or something? They're just code, pixels on a screen, - Fenri scoffed, dismissing his friend's words.
- But what if everything that exists is, in some sense, alive? We don't really know what's happening on the other side of the screen. Maybe they even think... Isn't there something behind it all that makes them respond to commands? - Lido murmured quietly, averting his gaze.
- Come on, relax, - Fenri laughed, patting him on the shoulder as if these thoughts were just empty fantasies.
But Lido could no longer brush off the thought so easily. - What if they really feel? What if my actions truly affect them, even if they aren't real?
Later that night, Lido couldn't sleep. The thought kept gnawing at him. - If everything that exists is alive, then what about my karma? I thought killing in a game didn't have any consequences, but who's to say it doesn't? Ignorance doesn't absolve one of responsibility
For the first time, he felt genuinely uneasy with the thought.
He tossed and turned until sleep finally claimed him, dragging him into a heavy darkness.
A sharp noise woke him. Half-asleep, Lido opened his eyes slightly and saw a man in the uniform of a butler bowing politely before him.
- Greetings, Sir
- What the... hell? - Lido felt his heart start to pound in panic as he looked around. Everything was unfamiliar: a luxurious room, soft lighting, grand tapestries. In the mirror opposite him, he saw not himself, but an avatar - an otherworldly being ruling worlds, the one he had so often played as
- This can't be real... But if it's a dream, then why does it feel so lifelike?
- Sir, you are in the guest room of the great Game House of Zircol, - the butler explained calmly, as though such questions were routine.
- What's the Game House of Zircol?
The butler simply inclined his head slightly.
- Here, gods like you organize their games and amusements, enjoying the company of other Almighty beings
- I... am a god? - the thought struck Lido like lightning. - No, this is definitely a dream, - he tried to convince himself, but everything around him felt too real
- Sir, how shall I introduce you? - the butler inquired politely, awaiting his response.
Lido took a deep breath, feeling a vague unease growing in his chest, and exhaled:
- Gaming God
***
The grand hall where the butler led him seemed endless. Divided into sections, it resembled galaxies, each living by its own laws. At one table sat elves, at another - a seven-eyed basilisk, at yet another - a huge dragon and beings cloaked in ghostly robes.
- Oh, a newcomer? The Game God? Which universe is he from? - came quiet whispers.
No one paid him much attention, all absorbed in their games and watching strange worlds. To them, he was just another novice among the endless crowd.
At a nearby table, a group of beings began a new game. A man with a wolf's face took out a glowing sphere and announced the rules:
- Each of us gets a world. The objective is to hold it longer than the others. Let's see who's lucky today
Everyone placed their worlds into the central sphere, which flared brightly, sending galaxies flying into the dark expanse. Like an endless game, each god attempted to assert their dominance over a world, without a thought to what lay on the other side of the screen.
Lido pondered as he watched the worlds vanish as if they were insignificant.
- What if Earth is just someone else's world too? Just like the ones now being destroyed before my eyes?
Everything that exists deserves to be recognized, even if it seems like an illusion.
Lido watched in silence, frozen by the thought that it might all be real. At the table next to him, a group of gods played "Conquest of Power." Time accelerated, wars erupted and faded, the destinies of entire worlds were decided with a flick of their hands. The gods, like almighty beings, carelessly threw armies into battle without considering the consequences.
He saw a familiar world, and his mind drifted back to their recent game. Faces of the warriors who had fought, believing in the strength and protection of their god, resurfaced in his memory.
- What if it's not just a game? What if every one of those soldiers I sent to die was as alive as I am? The thought pierced him like a burning sting.
- They're just pixels, - he whispered, as if convincing himself that it wasn't real.
But the heavy, dark atmosphere around him hinted otherwise. Laughter echoed around him as they discussed their "victories," oblivious to the tragedy of having just annihilated entire worlds. A chill crept over Lido's heart.
- All these beings... Do they exist only for someone else's amusement?
Suddenly, everything around him began to dissolve, and the space around him became vast and empty. He felt small, like a grain of sand surrounded by a white light. He looked up and saw a colossal figure surrounded by a mystical glow, as if it were the embodiment of darkness and light.
Before him stood Gamegod - the embodiment of power and dominance, an immense figure wrapped in swirling shadows and tendrils extending from his body like streams of energy.
His robe looked ancient, adorned with mysterious patterns and symbols that vibrated on the edge of perception. He held a glowing sphere in his hands, filled with swirling energy, symbolizing his absolute control over worlds.
Gamegod's head was shrouded in shadow, leaving his face an enigma, which only intensified his merciless and commanding presence. Lido felt as though a chasm opened before him - a power he could not comprehend and perhaps was never meant to challenge.
- Welcome to the Game Field, - Gamegod's voice rolled out like thunder, filling the void with a powerful echo.
Lido froze, recognizing this being. He recalled his sessions in front of the screen, where he had been the god to his soldiers, yet now he found himself at the center of the game field, as a helpless pawn.
- Who... who are you? - Lido stammered, struggling to control his voice as an overwhelming terror clouded his mind.
- You know who I am, - Gamegod replied with a hint of amusement, as if entertained by his confusion.
- Gamegod, - Lido whispered, and the name echoed through the endless emptiness around them.
The giant figure of Gamegod expanded to unimaginable proportions, and Lido now seemed like nothing more than a tiny dot at his feet. He felt like an ant in the presence of a being whose power surpassed anything he could have ever imagined.
- I won't harm you, Lido, - Gamegod said. - But everyone must answer for their actions. You, like the others, are no exception. Divinity is not merely the right to play with the lives of others.
Gamegod's words sounded like a sentence. Everything around began to swirl, and before Lido could grasp what was happening, he found himself in the midst of a battlefield.
This time, he was surrounded by the infernal chaos of battle: fire, explosions, and screams filled the air, creating a cacophony of pain and fear.
Explosions tore through the air, drenching the field in blood, and a horrifying scene unfolded around him. All around lay blood-soaked soldiers, their eyes filled with pain and fear. From the chaos, a sergeant covered in blood rushed toward him, desperation etched on his face.
- Commander! The Manamides are on all fronts! Give us orders! - his voice trembled, carrying a note of despair.
Lido froze. It felt as if the ground was slipping from beneath him. He realized that now he was in the place of those he once considered mere pixels on a screen. For the first time, he saw the terror in his soldiers' eyes, their desperate attempts to survive.
- How could I so easily control their lives? To me, it was just a game, but to them, it was life
Panic gripped him, and he felt his entire body tense with fear. He looked at the soldiers, who were ready to fight and die for him, and for the first time, he felt the weight of responsibility.
Everything that exists deserves recognition. Ignorance does not free one from responsibility.
Those words echoed in his mind like an unavoidable sentence. He remembered every command he had given, every battle where he had so carelessly dictated the lives of others. It seemed to him like just a game, but now he understood - every choice he made left a mark.
He had created this hell. Now he would have to answer for it.