The world burned around him.
Ash fell like snow, coating the dead in gray silence. The smell of iron and smoke filled Kael's lungs as he staggered to his feet, clutching a sword slick with blood that wasn't supposed to be real.
He blinked hard, This... was supposed to be a game.
The last thing he remembered was a flash - his VR rig shorting out mid-raid, the boss roaring, a crash of light - and then... this. Now, the wind was hot, the ground trembled beneath corpses, and pain clawed through his body like fire. Real pain.
"Respawn..." he whispered. "System... menu..."
Nothing.No HUD. No health bar. No logout.
Only silence. And the distant echo of screams.
Kael stumbled forward, boots crunching over armor and bone. The battlefield stretched endlessly - a war between kingdoms he had once conquered for fun. Soldiers writhed in the mud, their cries too human, too raw. He knew every banner. Every name.
He'd burned this place once. For XP.
"You."
The voice came from behind him - sharp, trembling, and full of hate. Kael turned,
A woman stood amic uins - white robes torn and stained crimson. A priestess.Her eyes glowed faintly gold, like embers trapped in tears.
He knew that face. Aria.
Once, she'd been an NPC quest-giver in a temple he'd raided years ago - her digital form beautiful, her dialogue sweet and empty. He remembered killing her during a bugged event, laughing as the system glitched and she begged for mercy in broken
code.
But now, she looked alive. Her breath shook. Her hands clenched around a blade.
"You remember me," she said quietly. "The butcher of the Temple of Dawn."
Kael's throat went dry. "That- That wasn't real. It was a game."
↓Her gaze hardened. "Tell that to the dead."
She raised her sword. Holy energy flared - not code, not pixels - light. Kael barely blocked in time. The impact threw him backward, metal screaming against metal.
Pain seared through his arm. Real pain.
"I didn't mean to-" he gasped. "You destroyed my home. You called it 'loot farming," she spat. "Now you reap what you've sown."
Her blade came down again - and again - each strike powered by years of remembered rage.
He parried, stumbled, bled. Every instinct screamed to fight back, but his mind couldn't keep up. How could she be real?
Finally, her sword stopped inches from his throat. Her voice trembled.
"Why are you back ere, Kael? Haven'tyou done enough?"
He looked up at her, the fire reflected in her eyes - and for the first time since waking, he felt something deeper than fear.
Guilt.
"I don't know," he said softly. "But if this is real... then I'll make it right."
She hesitated - just for a second - before pulling away, lowering her blade.
"Then you'd better start with surviving," she said coldly, and turned as a horn echoed in the distance.
Kael followed her gaze.
Over the ridge, thousands of armored soldiers were advancing, banners marked with a crimson crest he knew too well - his old guild's emblem.
"The Blood Saint: sumbol. His own armu.They were coming for him.
Aria's eyes widened as she realized who he was - the man who had once led them, The traitor. The monster. The god of slaughter.
Kael gripped his sword tighter, blood dripping down the blade. His heart pounded with a mix of horror and recognition.
He'd created this world's nightmare. And now, he was trapped inside it.
"Guess I don't get to log out," he muttered.
"No," Aria said. "You get to atone."
The sky cracked with thunder as the first wave charged.
Kael stepped forward, sword raised, knowing redemption wouldn't come without blood.And as fire rained down again, he realized - this time, every scream would count.