In the shadowy recesses of the cave, where blood pooled around lifeless forms, pixels faded into oblivion, disappearing one by one.
At the cave's terminus, jagged rocks radiated a menacing crimson glow, casting a spectral light on the horrific tableau. The air was heavy with the metallic tang of blood, and the echoes of each sword strike reverberated through the pixelated walls, creating a chilling requiem of death.
Amidst the turmoil, a raven-haired warrior, clad in golden armor now tarnished and smeared with blood, stood unyielding, his back against the jagged cave wall. His grip on the long sword was unshakeable as he cut down anyone who dared approach.
The cave, once a sanctuary, was now besieged by millions, their relentless onslaught pressing in from all sides, but he remained unflinching, a solitary soldier against an insurmountable wave.
"We've been trying to kill him for over four hours now; we still can't get near him," a voice echoed from the crowd.
Another voice added, "Give it another 20 minutes or so; his stamina, his MP potion—everything will run out. Then that will be our moment."
A towering figure wielding a massive axe materialized before him, grinning broadly.
"You must have thought this cave would limit our attack so you could hold out longer, didn't you? You didn't anticipate the entire game lobby showing up. There are nearly 50 million here to witness your downfall, Ken, no, Roy Keaton."
Yet another voice bellowed, "Kneel before us all and beg for mercy. We might consider sparing your account ID."
Roy responded with a faint smile, discarded the long sword, and knelt on one knee.
Anticipation electrified the crowd, and broad grins began to spread across their faces as they awaited Roy's plea for mercy.
Roy, on his knees, unexpectedly slapped the ground thrice.
The entire cave began to pulsate, the ground quaked, and their bodies started to pixelate and glitch. Panic ensued, and shouts erupted from the crowd as they realized what was transpiring,
"It's a trap; everyone retreat now!"
The crowd surged toward the exit, pushing and stabbing in a desperate bid to escape the collapsing cavern. The sheer volume of bodies crammed into the narrow space made movement nearly impossible, trapping many in the chaos.
Screams of fear and pain ricocheted off the walls as the crowd scrambled, some falling and getting trampled in the frantic rush, while others were crushed against the jagged rock walls. The air grew thick with dust and despair as the rumbling intensified, threatening to bury them all alive.
The cause of their panic was Roy's decision to use his remaining MP and skill points to execute the Suicide Skill.
"HAAA…"
He cackled wildly, the sound reverberating throughout the entire cave amidst the chaos and panic.
"No use. This skill move won't let anyone log out."
Roy flashed a wide grin and declared,
"This Skill will break this game completely and destroy the entire game for sure. Every player account will be deleted. Run, idiots, run. Struggle as much as you want. It's useless."
As Roy unleashed the Suicide Skill, the entire cave was swallowed in a blinding radiance. Pixels disintegrated like shards of shattered glass, scattering into the ether.
The virtual ground convulsed violently beneath his feet, and a searing wave of heat surged through the digital environment, incinerating everything in its path. The overwhelming force of the explosion devoured the cave, leaving nothing but a void in its wake.
The colossal wave of energy rippled out from the epicenter of the explosion, cascading through the entire game world. As it swept across the virtual landscape, every player account was caught in its path, their avatars disintegrating into pixels, leaving the once bustling digital universe in ruins, barren and devoid of life.
Everything went blank in an instant.
---BLANK---
In an unremarkable room, a lean figure with a white helmet obscuring his face lay sprawled on a bed. Rising with difficulty, he removed his helmet.
Struggling to stand, he stumbled, slowly dragging himself toward a photo perched near a window. He gazed at it and whispered,
"I finally destroyed what you created, Dad. Your game, 'A Thief's Paradise,' is no more. Rest in peace."
As his eyes remained fixed on the picture, the sound of wood splintering reverberated through the room. The front door was violently flung open, and in a whirlwind of activity, police officers flooded in, their boots pounding against the floor. In mere seconds, they swarmed the place, weapons at the ready and eyes darting to every corner.
"Police, you're under arrest for sabotaging Roy Industries' property. Roy Keaton, raise your hands."
Feeble and unable to stand, Roy slipped into unconsciousness, his mind awash with memories of his past.
A Thief's Paradise: Gain or Nothing" was an open-world VRMMORPG where players could ascend their level by exploring, clearing dungeons, and even PK-ing other players. This game permitted all extreme R-rated features. I was the zenith of this game, the king, more akin to a despot.
This game was the brainchild of my father when I was 12 years old, seven years ago. "Thief's Paradise" was the world's inaugural fully immersive VRMMORPG with a full-body neural sensor.
It became a sensation overnight upon its release, and within a few months, millions were engrossed in playing. Not only because the game was in the making for over 25 years, or because it induced zero fatigue or any neurological damage to the real body, but because it allowed the exchange of real currency with in-game currency by selling skins, cosmetics, and weapon items.
This game revolutionized the gaming industry, but it made my father a universal adversary to every industry around the globe. Several assassination attempts were made on my father, but nothing deterred him from etching history.
He later introduced a new AI assistant mode and several automation repair technologies to support the VR gaming console, gamepads, and chambers, among other things.
Owing to its popularity and the fact that players were amassing wealth rapidly, several industry employees quit their jobs and started gaming.
Employees from other industries began flocking to our industry because it became a global phenomenon within a year. No game could rival my father's creation. This led to the bankruptcy of several industries, and soon the economy began to crumble as millions of blue- and white-collar employees abandoned their jobs.
Soon, every industry, even the government, harbored resentment against my father, and they banded together to create games akin to my father's but failed miserably.
Just as the game's name suggests, "A Thief's Paradise: Gain or Nothing." In this game, when creating an avatar, you had the option to choose "Gain" or "Nothing."
If you opted for "Gain," you could use in-game currency in real life after reaching certain levels, but it also meant you would forfeit all money and even your player ID permanently if you perished during in-game currency missions such as dungeons and special quests. You couldn't use real money to purchase in-game cosmetics and weapons; only in-game currency was utilized throughout this game. It was based on pure gaming prowess and business trading skills.
If you opted for "Nothing," you could play casually without the worry of losing money or the deletion of your player account, but you wouldn't be able to exchange in-game currency.
Nearly all of them chose the "Gain" mode because of the prospect of earning money swiftly.
Once you chose any of the paths, you couldn't switch mid-game; you had to start afresh from the beginning with a hefty sum of money as a penalty. The reason is simple, my father didn't want too many quitters after just starting the game right away. So, he disclosed this feature.
Two years after my father's game was launched, everything began to crumble. His closest friend betrayed him by injecting malware into our main server.
It caused several VR consoles to crash, leading to the loss of millions of players' in-game currency and several side effects for players in real life. Some consoles overloaded and exploded, causing several thousand to perish in real life, and soon everything began to fall apart.
In the end, after their proclaimed investigation against my father, everyone pointed fingers at him, even players who had amassed wealth by playing my father's game. He had to sell every share to compensate everyone for their losses; he even sold the game's rights and technologies, AI tools, and everything he had created.
All I could do was watch my father crumble in front of me. Soon, he passed away without even leaving his office room after selling everything. His lifeless body was unceremoniously dumped into the ocean without even a proper burial. That day was my point-blank moment that I would destroy this game.
After five years of relentless effort and sleepless nights, today I've completely destroyed this game, my father's dream. "Thief's Paradise."
[Game over]