Chapter 1: Life
Zane used to believe his life was perfect.
Ten years ago, he had everything—love, family, and a future so bright it felt untouchable. Today, he lived alone in a mold-ridden studio apartment, surviving on instant ramen and regret.
The woman he loved was dead.
He stepped inside his apartment, kicked the door shut, and sighed. Another day over. Another night spent staring at a screen.
The only thing that hadn't left him was the game.
A game his fiancée had believed in until her last breath.
The place was a mess—clothes scattered across the floor, empty containers stacked on the counter, and patches of mold creeping along the walls. It was ugly, but to Zane, it was normal.
He grabbed a cup of ramen from the counter, prepared it without thinking, and ate standing up. When he was almost done, he carried the cup to his desk, sat down, and powered on his computer. The familiar loading screen of a game he had played for over a decade flickered to life.
As the game loaded, Zane ate the last bites of his ramen and let his mind drift backward—to the past that had led him here.
Ten years ago, Zane had been a smart, confident high school senior. At eighteen, he was tall, well-built, and full of promise. He had a loving family, a loyal girlfriend—his childhood friend—and a future so bright it felt unreal. He had even been accepted into the number one university in the world.
Then everything shattered.
Zane and his girlfriend—his fiancée—Kay were involved in a devastating car accident. Earlier that very day, Zane had proposed to her. They were laughing, happy, on their way to tell their parents the good news.
Kay didn't survive.
At the hospital, a doctor quietly told Zane that Kay had been pregnant.
In that moment, Zane finally understood what she had meant when she said she had "one more thing" to tell him—something that would make him the happiest man in the world, right after telling their parents about the engagement.
His world ended there.
Days later, hollow and broken, Zane sorted through Kay's belongings. That was when he found the game.
They had bought it three years earlier. Kay had completely immersed herself in it—talking endlessly about its mechanics, its world, its secrets. Zane had never really been a gamer. He only played when Kay asked him to, more to see her face light up than for the game itself. He loved listening to her excitement. Seeing her eyes light up had always been enough.
As Zane stared at the game icon now, he remembered something Kay once told him.
The game was brutally difficult. Most players quit before finishing even a fraction of it. But Kay never stopped.
When Zane asked her why, she smiled and told him the rumor: if someone reached the true ending of the game, the developer would grant them one wish—a real wish, made real.
Zane had laughed it off. "And you actually believe that?"
"I do," Kay said.
She showed him proof—footage from the developer's previous game. Someone had completed its true ending and wished to be sent into that game's world. It was a zombie apocalypse setting. Thousands of people watched as the winner vanished during a live stream.
That was the moment Zane made his decision.
If there was even a chance—no matter how small—he would take it.
He would beat the game.
And he would bring Kay back.
The present returned as Zane finished his ramen and set the cup aside.
"Just wait a little longer, Kay," he whispered.
His eyes—once full of life—stared blankly at the screen as his previous character's death forced him to create a new one.
To reach the true ending, the developer had stated that players must complete New Game Plus ten times.
But there was a catch.
If you died—no matter how far you had progressed—you were sent all the way back to the beginning. Even dying during the third New Game Plus meant restarting from zero.
No one had ever passed the ninth run.
Most players gave up, moving on to newer, trendier games, even though the promise of a wish remained.
The game was a medieval kingdom-building fantasy titled My Journey to My Kingdom.
Players could choose from five major races and five minor races. Selecting a major race allowed players to optionally become a halfling by pairing it with a minor race, but no one could be a full minor race alone.
Zane selected his character.
And began again