The buzzing started at 5:30 AM.
Then again at 6:00.
Then 6:30.
And finally, 7:00 AM—a chaotic symphony of alarms blaring from three different phones in one cramped apartment.
Adrian stirred first, his body stiff and curled awkwardly on the couch. A blanket was half-slipped onto the floor, a hoodie was bunched behind his neck like a sad excuse for a pillow, and his legs dangled off the edge like some discarded marionette. He blinked groggily at the ceiling.
Today was the day. Launch day.
He sat up slowly, a dull ache blossoming across his back as a reminder that sacrificing his bed had not been his brightest idea. But with Alice and Sarah crashing overnight, it was either the couch or an inevitable debate about who gets what. The Carter sisters had claimed his bed the moment they walked in, with the same casual entitlement they used when raiding his fridge.
From the closed bedroom door, muffled groans started leaking into the living room.
"Turn it off, I'm trying to sleep…" came Alice's voice, rough with sleep.
"I thought I did," Sarah muttered, followed by the unmistakable thump of someone slapping a phone off the nightstand.
Adrian yawned and stretched, rubbing sleep from his eyes as anticipation hummed beneath his skin like an electric current. His pulse was already faster than usual, each beat syncing with the thought—today.
He shuffled into the small kitchenette, flicked the switch on the electric kettle, and began prepping three mugs of instant coffee. Nothing gourmet, but strong enough to punch through their morning haze.
By the time the water boiled and the mugs were stirred, the bedroom door creaked open.
Sarah emerged first—her hair a lion's mane of golden tangles, an oversized hoodie sliding off one shoulder, and one sock threatening to abandon ship. She squinted at the light, then at the coffee mugs, eyes lighting up.
"Legend," she mumbled, reaching for a cup like it was a sacred relic.
Alice followed seconds later, still half-asleep, arms wrapped around herself. "It's not too late to go back to bed and just log in at noon…"
Adrian handed her a mug without a word.
She took it, sipped, and sighed. "Ugh. Fine. I'm up."
The three of them drifted into the living room, gathering around Adrian's pride and joy: his gaming setup. A triple-screen curved monitor arrangement, cables expertly managed with zip-ties, LED strips casting a soft glow beneath the desk, and—thanks to last night's delivery—three sleek, freshly-installed Reaper's Echo FullDive Capsules. Each pod pulsed softly, ready for activation.
Their delivery boxes were now flattened and shoved to the corner like battlefield debris. Instruction booklets lay open and dog-eared on the coffee table, triple-checked for launch-day surprises.
Sarah flopped into her pod with theatrical grace. "This is weird for me, I feel like I'm boarding a spaceship."
Alice leaned on the rim of hers, coffee in hand. "So… what happens if we die in-game?"
"You respawn," Adrian said with a smirk. "Unless you're in a permadeath dungeon."
Sarah's eyes widened. "There's permadeath?!"
"Rare zones. Don't worry, we won't go near them until you learn which end of the sword is the stabby one."
"Rude."
Adrian chuckled and approached his pod, checking the system readout.
Power: On
Connection: Stable
Countdown to Server Launch: 00:28:44
"Alright, we've got just under half an hour," he said. "Double-check your settings. Make sure your profiles are saved, pods are calibrated, and your snack stashes are reachable."
Sarah rolled onto her side inside the pod and triumphantly produced a granola bar from her hoodie pocket. "Way ahead of you."
Alice wandered over to his computer, peering at the countdown. "So this is it, huh? No turning back?"
Adrian nodded, feeling that tight mix of nerves and thrill bubbling in his chest. "Yup. But don't say it like we're launching into space or something."
Alice arched a brow. "Aren't we?"
He smirked. "Alright, fair."
The truth was, this wasn't just a new game for Adrian.
It was a second chance.
He'd been here before—well, not here exactly. Not in this timeline. The first time Reaper's Echo launched, he had been a streamer, juggling deadlines and audience expectations. He'd made every decision through a lens of strategy and optics, not fun. He'd missed things. Rushed others. Regretted most of it.
But now? Now, he was here to enjoy it. To play for himself.
The game's opening offered a deceptively simple choice: ten pixelated maps, each representing a starter village. Forests. Deserts. Swamps. Coastal harbors. Mountain passes. And nestled between them, half-hidden in frost and shadow, Yurei Hollow, the snow-covered village at the base of ancient cliffs. Smoke curled from the chimneys. Trees frozen mid-sway. A hush over everything.
In Adrian's first timeline, it was two months before someone online shared blurry screenshots of a hidden quest in Yurei Hollow—just enough to start a frenzy. Everyone flooded it. But by then, the window had closed.
The quest was tied to an old man named Kazuro, a retired war monk who lived near a frozen waterfall. He didn't have a quest marker or UI notification. It was just a conversation—quiet, strange, and easy to miss.
People said that if you found him. Solved his quest.
You unlocked the Ghostblade.
A warrior-rogue hybrid class with momentum-based attacks, enhanced parry mechanics, and a passive that rewarded you for reading enemy movement patterns. It wasn't just strong—it was satisfying. You danced through fights like a phantom.
No one ever heard from the player since then, and the rumours after a while became false, since one found the old man or player
Now, Adrian had the knowledge—and the timing, he will go and check if ever the player was lying or not, and if the old is true and real, he will take the opportunity.
And he wanted the girls to come with him. But if he just told them there was a secret class in the snowy zone, they'd ask questions. Sarah would definitely press him, and he'd rather play it cool.
The countdown ticked to 2:37.
Adrian clicked the intercom. "Hey! Before we start, we need to pick a starter village."
Sarah's voice echoed back. "Wait, I thought it was random?"
"Nope," Adrian replied. "It feels random, but you actually choose it during character creation. There's a selection screen with ten maps—you just have to hover over them."
"I want the one with palm trees!" Sarah said immediately.
"No," Adrian said flatly.
"Rude."
Alice's voice was half-yawn, half-curious. "You got a favorite or something?"
"Kind of," Adrian said. "I looked into it back during alpha. Some villages have better early-game stuff. The snow-covered one has clean layouts, great NPC training, and less player congestion."
All technically true. Just not the full truth.
Alice shrugged audibly. "Snow sounds cozy. I'm in."
"Yes!" Adrian said, a little too fast. He cleared his throat. "Cool. One vote."
Sarah snorted. "You sound suspicious."
"I'm being strategic," he defended. "You want to start in a swamp full of frogs and bad weapons?"
"…Fine," she grumbled. "But if I get frostbite because you want to live out your ninja fantasies, I'm blaming you."
The countdown hit 1:00.
Adrian exhaled slowly. Perfect. Just follow my lead…
The hardest part would be the first five minutes. The Ghostblade path wasn't visible. You had to ignore the tutorial NPC. Walk east toward the cliffs. Avoid talking to anyone. If they wandered off or triggered a quest, the opportunity would vanish.
He had to guide them just right, without making it obvious, and they might thank him later.
The intercom clicked again.
"You sure we'll end up together?" Alice asked.
"As long as we pick the same map, yeah," Adrian confirmed. But if we do spawn in different spots, I'll send a party invite right away and we will meet maybe in real world 3 days since and a full day is half a day in the game."
Sarah clicked her tongue. "We're gonna look so cool."
"Let's focus on getting there first," Adrian said.
00:30… 00:15… 00:05…
He lay back, heart pounding, and closed his eyes as the pod powered up.
REAPER'S ECHO - INITIATING FULL DIVE.
PLEASE RELAX AND REMAIN STILL.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF ETHERIS.
His breath caught as the hum deepened, his senses fading.
This time… I'll do it right. No more regrets. We're going to Yurei Hollow—and this time, we're going in together.
Deep down, this was a weird experience for him, including the game itself. The feeling was odd. It was something he didn't know how to name yet—something that felt dangerously close to hope.
He wasn't doing this alone. Not anymore.
The ceiling dissolved into light. The floor vanished beneath him. And snow, real or not, kissed his cheeks like the first breath of a forgotten memory.
Ten floating dioramas shimmered before him. He scanned them, steady, and reached for the one he'd memorized—the quiet village in the snow.
His fingers brushed frost.
And just like that, the world shifted.
Snow crunched beneath his boots. Cold wind curled around him. Frozen pines stretched to the sky like statues from another time.
Yurei Hollow.He had arrived.