The sixth episode had just ended, and Jayjay hadn't moved for what felt like a decade. Crumbs clung to the bedsheet like static regrets, and the empty chip bag lay curled on its side, a casualty of comfort. The room, once cocooned in the ambient hum of virtual warfare and dramatic violin swells, now buzzed with an unfamiliar silence. Not total silence, though—outside, the sound of a tricycle engine coughed down the street, and somewhere in the distance, a neighbor's radio belted out a tinny pop song from three summers ago.
Jayjay blinked.
The screen asked, "Continue to Episode 7?"
Tempting. But something pulled at the edge of his awareness—like a loose thread in the tapestry of the day. Hunger? Maybe. A vague discomfort? Probably.
Or maybe it was the notification.
A small red badge blinked on the corner of his screen. Not from the game. Not from the K-drama app. This was something… different.
[System Message: Aethelgard Online requires your presence.]
Jayjay frowned. "Weird."
He double-checked—no scheduled events, no raids, no guild obligations. But curiosity, that relentless beast, scratched at his attention. He clicked.
Instantly, the screen shimmered. Not glitched—shimmered. A clean ripple of light across the glass. The desktop vanished, replaced by the login screen of Aethelgard Online. But it looked off. Sharper. Too real.
The music didn't loop. It played—a full orchestral intro he'd never heard before. Live instruments, full strings, drums that echoed like real thunder.
His fingers hesitated over the keyboard. Then, without thinking, he typed in his credentials.
Login successful.
Synchronizing consciousness...
Jayjay didn't even get to say "what?" before the monitor went white.
---
He awoke not to the blue hue of a screen, but to light—warm, dappled sunlight piercing through leaves high above. The ground was soft under his body, the air fresh with that earthy, post-rain smell. Birds chirped, and somewhere nearby, a stream burbled lazily.
And then came the UI.
Faint, translucent overlays hovered in his vision. Health bar. Inventory. Chat log.
Jayjay sat up with a gasp. His body—light, nimble, strong. His in-game avatar, exactly as he'd built him: lean frame, obsidian armor, hair the color of midnight.
"Holy sh—"
A voice interrupted.
"Finally awake, huh?"
Jayjay turned. A woman stood over him, clad in a rogue's leathers, two curved daggers at her hips. Her nameplate hovered just above her: Nyxie. A fellow guildmate. Someone he'd only ever known through voice chat and raid strats.
"You got pulled in too?" he asked.
She nodded. "We all did. Something's changed. This isn't a patch. This is...different."
Jayjay looked around. The forest wasn't code. It wasn't polygons. It was real.
Somewhere, deep in the world of Aethelgard, a new storyline had begun—and Jayjay wasn't just a player anymore.