Rain tapped softly against the windows of Haruki High School, blurring the view of Tokyo's gray skyline. Inside the quiet third-year classroom, Ren Haruki sat at his desk, tapping his fingers against the worn wood, heart thudding like a warning siren in his chest.
Today was the day.
Three years of silent admiration. Three years of watching Aiko Mizuno from a distance—how she laughed with her friends, how her ponytail danced when she walked, how she always helped people without asking for anything in return.
Ren stood up, hands slightly trembling. The final bell had rung, and most students were packing up. Aiko was still by the window, chatting with her two best friends—Yumi, the loud, playful one, and Sora, the quiet girl always scribbling in her sketchbook.
Ren cleared his throat. "Aiko… can I talk to you? Alone?"
The three girls looked up. Yumi raised an eyebrow, Sora blinked, and Aiko—her almond eyes calm and unreadable—nodded slowly. "Sure."
They stepped into the empty hallway. The hum of vending machines and distant footsteps echoed through the corridors.
Ren inhaled deeply. "I… I've liked you since our first year. I just never had the courage to say it until now."
Silence.
Aiko's expression didn't change. She glanced away, then back at him. "Ren… I'm sorry. You're a good guy, but I don't feel the same."
Ren nodded, even though it felt like his chest had been hollowed out. "I figured. Just… wanted to say it, at least once."
"Thanks for being honest," she said gently.
The hallway felt colder somehow as Aiko walked away, her footsteps fading.
---
That night, Ren sat in his room, staring blankly at the glow of his gaming PC. Rain still fell outside. He logged into EverWorld Zero, the new VRMMORPG everyone at school had been hyped about.
But the screen didn't load.
Instead, the monitor flickered—once, twice—and then everything went black.
The lights in his room blinked out. A low hum vibrated through the floor. Suddenly, a blinding light surged from the screen, wrapping around him like digital vines.
Then—nothing.
---
Ren opened his eyes to a clear blue sky, brighter than anything in Tokyo. He was lying in a grassy field, wearing strange leather armor and holding a glowing sword.
Around him, three other figures groaned and stirred—Aiko, Yumi, and Sora.
"What the hell just happened?" Yumi asked, brushing grass from her skirt—which had somehow become a sleek archer's outfit.
Sora tapped her wrist, where a floating interface glowed in the air. "I think… we're inside a game."
Ren sat up slowly, staring at the vast, pixel-perfect landscape ahead. Floating islands, massive castles, NPCs walking nearby with mechanical smiles.
Aiko looked at him, eyes wide. "Ren… did you do this?"
He shook his head. "I wish I knew."
And thus, their journey began—not just to escape the game, but to find what they truly wanted… even if it wasn't what they expected.