"I can see it... The fist... It's...growing?"
He could see the fist coming right at his face. His brain could process it and determine that he should move. Sadly, his body was too slow.
Then it connected. Fist met face. He felt and heard it all. The sickening crunch as his nose was crushed. The sharp, but dull thud as the fist connected with his skull. Then the sharp pain tore it all apart.
That was all his brain could transmit before it was blasted apart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Not again! I worked so hard to get to this final boss and win the challenge. How did I lose so quickly!?"
He took off his VR headset and placed it on his table, right beside the screen that displayed the words "YOU LOSE!"
"How come it hurts so much, even when the nerve feedback is only at 50%? Dying sure is painful. 😖"
Before he could keep complaining, there was a knock on his door, and his mother's voice came through,
"Asher, breakfast's ready. Get off the game and come out and eat, so you won't be late for school."
Asher froze in his seat - he definitely forgot he had to go to school today. He grimaced and responded, trying to put as much cheer into his voice as he could,
"Okay, Mom! Be right there!"
He quickly put on his school clothes for the day - black baggy sweatpants, a black shirt that says 'ISWIS', and a pair of black shoes with white trims. Obviously, black is his favorite color.
Asher steps out of his room and heads to the kitchen, which also serves as the dining room, and he sees his mother sitting and waiting for him. He feels sad - and vindictive - when he recalls that his dad is no longer with him. He left - no, he was taken from them. He shakes his head to clear those thoughts.
"Hey Mom"
"Good morning Asher. I heard you playing again. Weren't you supposed to stop?"
"Mom ... I don't think I can, or even want to -"
"DON'T YOU REALIZE WHAT IT COST US!?"
"I need to calm down and take it easy here"
"I remember, mom. I remember."
After that, they ate in silence till he had to leave for school. As he was leaving their little home, she called out to him,
"Ash, stay safe. Please."
"I will, Mom"
Little does he know how wrong he will be.
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Ash Asher was walking to school, he looked around and kept seeing posters of the latest game around. The game that changed the world. The game that became the world. The game is called "Sunshine Valley".
The company that created the game itself, is also an enigma. No one knows where they came from, who works there, or even their HQ. It happened 4 years ago when Asher was in 9th grade. Ad boards and posts were suddenly taken over by posts from a mysterious company called, "G.O."
They swept in with multiple posts about an open-world VR game with 100% nerve feedback. Something thought impossible before.
They announced that using just their special VR headset, you can get 60% feedback - more than the previous max of 50%.
While using their headset and the paired gloves, you can get 70% nerve feedback.
While using the full-body suit, you can gain 90% nerve feedback.
However, to go beyond 90%, you need their VR pods. Those will enable full-body immersion. You can set it to capture up to 100% feedback.
Each one was going to be released 6 months apart, with constant updates and varieties.
Everyone thought that it was a lie. We all thought that some basement hackers wanted to have fun with us. Then we say the countdown. It projected a year until the game would be released. The portal to preorder the headsets opened up with 3 months left. Surprisingly, a lot of people pre-ordered, but many were still skeptical. Questions and comments like,
~ "Why have we never heard of this company before?"
~ "What a load of crap! There's no safe way to go beyond 50% feedback! They'll kill us all!"
~ "How will they deliver millions of headsets with just 3 months left? Where is their warehouse?"
People doubted and called out G.O. but there was no response. The week after the ordering portal opened up, millions of people went online to show their brand-new headsets. They didn't see it arrive, or even have the option of tracking the package. They just found it on their doorstep one day. People also quickly figured out that the headsets wouldn't work on anyone other than the registered user. How it knows how to do that, no one knew - till now.
This shook the world and the gaming communities.
From then on, despite the steep price demand, more people began ordering theirs right until the countdown was over. Before the countdown was over, the only thing people would see when they used the headsets would be the same countdown. This lasted until the countdown reached 0.
That was the day the world changed.
And since Asher's parents loved him so much, and they saw his longing for a headset of his own, they took a gamble and gathered most of their savings to buy one for him.
The day the world changed, Asher's life was also marked to change. He just didn't know it yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Asher snapped out of his daze and kept walking. He overheard people buying and selling along the way, but instead of trading for dollars, they were trading for the items and currency in the game Sunshine Valley. The world now revolves around the game. Businesses and deals were set up there, but would still be able to affect the real world.
G.O. was even able to create physical copies of every user's ID and profile from the game. It will show the user's basic profile: Real name, in-game name, in-game ID, real photo and in-game photo, in-game profession, in-game guilds, and user's level.
Recently, this has started to serve as good as a proper ID, showing how much influence the game has on the world.
"How interesting would life be if reality and virtual reality just combined to become one Reality?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Asher finally arrived at school, eager to get the last day of High School over with.
From the school entrance, he heard the whispers. They've followed him for years. From his peers and even those he once considered friends.
~ "There he is - the Fallen King."
~ "Who's that?"
~ "You haven't heard of 'Asher the Fallen King'? He's a legend for being one of the -"
~ "Shhhh! It's sad, but we don't speak about it anymore! He's lucky that graduation is around the corner."
He heard those whispers and more while walking to his class.
It's alright though - he'll soon be done with them.
Or so he thought.
"Well, Well, Well... Who the fuck do we have here, everyone? The Fallen King has graced us with his presence!"
The voice came from one of Asher's former friends, Oslo. After the incident, Oslo started picking on Asher, eventually becoming the 'king' of High School. Just looking at him makes Asher's blood boil in anger every time; he's been able to keep it contained, but everything has a limit.
When people heard Oslo, they cheered for him and jeered at Asher, expecting a good show, especially since it's the last day of High School. Sadly, just as Asher was about to respond, the bell rang. It was time for class.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The final bell rang, and the High School seniors were shouting, screaming, crying, and laughing out their feelings, since their time in High School is basically over. All that's left would be their prom night and graduation day.
Asher was able to quickly get away after the bell rang. He didn't want to deal with the bullshit his 'mates' would try to spring on him. Besides, he had to go meet his sensei at his dojo.
Since he was a little kid, Asher has been taking martial arts training.
However, his sensei told him to never display his martial arts, unless he is in mortal danger. Asher never knew why. Sure, the things he was taught, weren't exactly normal, but he didn't see why it had to be such a secret. Regardless, he trusted his sensei wholeheartedly, and did as he was told.
~ Never showing off his training.
~ Never practicing anywhere other than the dojo.
~ Always making use of the breathing exercises.
~ Making sure to stay fit and flexible.
~ Never willingly or intentionally reveal the existence of his sensei nor the location of the dojo.
Asher always wondered who the old man was, but whenever he asked, all he got was,
"I'm from a place far, far, far away. Most people in this world will never see or hear about it, but you will."
After that response, he never asked again.
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Arriving at the dojo, he met his sensei waiting for him at the entrance. His sensei looked like your typical old martial master, with a cane and long white beard. Nothing special.
"Greetings, sensei"
"Asher, my boy, welcome. Come in!"
His sensei led him inside,and they both sat on mats, facing each other
"Today is your last day with me. For that, we will only meditate, and I will present you with your parting gift. Remember my teachings, son. They will serve you tremendously, in the coming days. Time for you to meditate, while I prepare your gift."
Asher nodded and started his breathing exercises, while getting into the meditation mindset. Everything else drifted away from his mind, giving him peace. While meditating, he felt a shift, but wasn't sure if he imagined it or not.
Eventually, he woke from his state, and didn't see his sensei, but he saw a gift box in front of him, a long with a note from his sensei, to never forget his teachings.
Asher picked up the box and bowed to the air to pay his respects. He left soon after.
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Asher got home, and after greeting his mom and eating dinner, he rushed up to his room.
He looked at the gift box and opened it, revealing a prism that showed mirage-like images around it. Including a vivid image of a cloaked figure in front of the hole in space.
"Hmm... Interesting gift sensei. I'll treasure it."
Asher placed it on the night stand beside his bed, and went to sleep. He didn't care much about missing prop. Who would he have gone with, anyways?
He never saw the prism pulse.