Kevin tightened his grip on the sword, its corrupted blue light flickering like lightning between his fingers. The air was still heavy with static, the echoes of the boy's final scream replaying in his mind. That image—his body glitching, dissolving into broken pixels—refused to fade. Every time Kevin blinked, he saw it again.
It wasn't just fear clutching him now. It was something darker—guilt, confusion, and a gnawing sense that the world around him was unraveling.
He stood alone in the fractured streets of the spawn city. The ground beneath his boots pulsed with thin lines of red code, cracks glowing like veins of molten lava. Buildings once filled with players now flickered in and out of existence, like holograms fighting to stay real.
Kevin swallowed hard. What if that kid… really died?
The thought froze him. It was supposed to be a game. Just a game.
Then he heard footsteps—soft, careful, echoing through the glitching silence.
A girl with dark hair approached, her violet eyes shimmering faintly under the corrupted light. She looked calm, but her hands trembled slightly at her sides.
"Tough day?" she asked, her voice steady yet tinted with exhaustion. "I'm Aria."
Kevin turned toward her, still lost in his own fog. "That boy… when he touched the sword… I can't stop thinking about it. What if he's gone in the real world too?"
Aria's expression flickered with sympathy—and fear. She stared at the glowing blade, then back at Kevin. "Whatever's happening, we can't control it. Not out there. Maybe not even here. But we can survive it."
Her words hung in the air like an oath.
---
[The Real World]
Downstairs, the smell of dinner drifted through the Rukky family's home. Kevin's mother stirred the pot absently, her mind elsewhere. Normally, by now, Kevin would have bounded down the stairs, grumbling about being interrupted. But tonight… silence.
She frowned, wiped her hands on her apron, and called again, "Kevin! Dinner's ready!"
No answer.
The wooden stairs creaked beneath her as she climbed, heart pounding harder with each step. She opened the door to his room—and froze.
There he was, slumped in his gaming chair, VR headset locked tight over his eyes. His chest rose and fell, but his hands hung limp.
"Kevin?" she whispered, touching his arm. It was warm—but he didn't move.
"Kevin!" she tried again, panic seeping into her voice. Nothing.
She pulled back, trembling. "He's just… too into it. That's all," she murmured, but her voice cracked as she backed away.
Downstairs, the TV flickered to life. Kevin's father had stopped mid-channel flip as a breaking news alert filled the screen.
> "—in a bizarre global crisis, players in Fatal Re:Spawn remain trapped in-game. For over ten hours, attempts to log out have failed. Experts are warning families not to forcibly remove the headsets, as it may cause neurological harm. Panic is spreading as millions remain unresponsive."
Kevin's father froze. "Fatal Re:Spawn… that's the one Kevin's been playing."
His wife turned pale. "He hasn't moved in hours. We should—"
"Don't touch him," his father said sharply, staring at the report. "If this is real… pulling him out could kill him."
They both stood in stunned silence as the anchor's voice continued, their world collapsing into the same fear gripping millions around the globe.
---
[Back Inside Fatal Re:Spawn]
Kevin's sword pulsed violently in his hand, reacting to something deep underground. The air trembled, dust shifting underfoot.
"Hey! Everyone, get over here!" a voice shouted.
Kevin turned. A group of players—maybe thirty—were huddled near the edge of a broken street. Their faces were pale, eyes locked on something massive slithering beneath the cracked terrain.
The ground exploded.
A monstrous Death Worm, its scales black and slick like oil, tore through the concrete with a deafening shriek. Its body stretched hundreds of feet long, eyes burning with red code, its mouth filled with rows of glitched fangs that flickered between polygons and flesh.
"We're doomed," one player whispered, trembling. "The highest level among us is five!"
A middle-aged man stepped forward, armor dented but eyes fierce. "We can't run. If we die here, we don't know what happens. I'll hold it off—"
"Not a chance," Kevin interrupted, stepping past him. His voice was cold, controlled. "This one's mine."
The older man hesitated. "Kid, you can't—"
But Kevin had already moved.
The sword in his hands flared to life, blue light radiating outward in sharp pulses. Then—his HUD blinked violently.
> NEW SKILL UNLOCKED:
Fatal Error: Glitching Shockwave
The words distorted, flickering between symbols and static. The interface warped, almost like the system was… afraid.
Kevin's breath caught. "Fatal Error? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Before he could process it, the Death Worm lunged. Its roar shattered nearby windows as it dove toward a cluster of players. Kevin reacted on instinct.
He dashed forward—faster than his stats should've allowed—and swung. The blade carved through the worm's tail in a single motion, scattering chunks of glowing code.
The monster screeched in agony, rearing back, its body spasming.
"Holy—did you see that?!" someone yelled.
Kevin didn't answer. His sword hummed louder, the blue glow shifting into unstable bursts of red and purple static. He could feel it syncing with him, as though feeding off his heartbeat.
"Come on," he whispered. "Show me what you can do."
The Death Worm reared up again, its roar shaking the fractured skyline. Kevin smirked, adrenaline burning through his veins.
He leapt high—too high for any normal player—and swung down with both hands.
The impact unleashed a ripple of light that blasted outward, shattering glass and stone.
> Critical Hit – 32,000 DAMAGE!
The worm convulsed. For a second, it seemed like it would flee—but Kevin wasn't done.
He raised the sword again, and this time, shouted from the core of his chest:
> "Fatal Error: GLITCHING SHOCKWAVE!"
The blade erupted, releasing a wave of blue energy that tore through the air. But halfway toward the worm, the wave glitched—splitting into three copies that ricocheted like broken data streams.
The worm twisted to dodge one. Another bent at an impossible angle, slicing into its side. The third—teleported midair, hitting dead center.
The explosion lit up the ruins.
When the smoke cleared, the Death Worm's body crumbled into a thousand shards of corrupted code. The world fell eerily silent.
Kevin stood panting, sword vibrating in his grip. Every player stared at him in shock.
"That… wasn't human," one whispered.
"What kind of skill was that?"
Even Aria, standing a few feet away, was speechless. Her eyes reflected the dying glow of the worm's remains. "Kevin… that power—it's not normal. That sword… it's alive."
Kevin looked down. The weapon pulsed once—like a heartbeat—and for a moment, he could've sworn he heard it whisper.
Error recognized. Integration: 3% complete.
He froze. "What the hell was that?"
But before he could think, the world around them trembled again.
---
[The Gates]
When the dust settled, four massive gates materialized before them, towering hundreds of feet tall. Each one radiated a distinct color and energy—fire, ice, shadow, and light.
The group of survivors gathered, exhausted but alive.
The older man—clearly the leader now—looked around. "We can't stay here. Each gate leads to a different sector of Fatal Re:Spawn. We'll have to split up to find answers… or a way out."
Kevin tightened his grip on his sword. The idea of splitting up felt wrong, but the gates pulsed like they were alive, beckoning.
One by one, groups began to form.
"Action Gate—newer players, low levels," the leader commanded. "Magical Realism Gate—casters and healers. Fantasy Gate—our frontliners. Sci-Fi Gate… I'll take that one myself."
Kevin's eyes flicked to Aria. She stood apart from the others, hesitant.
"Hey," he said, stepping closer. "Stick with me. We'll figure this out together."
She hesitated, then smiled faintly. "Thanks, Kevin. I'm not exactly built for solo mode."
"Neither am I," he admitted, glancing at the pulsing blade. "Not anymore."
The leader nodded toward him. "KTG, you're heading to the Fantasy Gate. That sword of yours might be unpredictable, but if anyone can control it, it's you."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
The man smirked grimly. "Kid, if you don't go, we're all dead anyway."
With that, the teams began to move.
Kevin placed the tip of his sword against the Fantasy Gate. It flared to life, light bending around it in streaks of green and gold. The air grew heavy, dense with power.
The sword hummed—and then glitched.
The gate rippled like a corrupted screen before creaking open, revealing a shimmering landscape beyond.
"Here we go," Kevin muttered.
He stepped through with Aria and Zoey beside him, the world twisting around them like liquid code.
Behind them, the other gates opened, each group swallowed by blinding light.
But as Kevin and his team disappeared into the new realm, none of them noticed the hooded boy at the edge of the plaza. His eyes glowed faintly with static.
He whispered to himself, voice dripping with menace:
"Integration complete… Kevin Rukky. You've just triggered the real game."
And then, as the last shimmer of light faded, he stepped through the Fantasy Gate behind them—unseen.
To be continued.....