Rain fell in crooked lines against the window, distorting the city lights into a broken reflection — like a life that never quite fit together.
Inside a dim apartment, a single monitor glowed, its pale light flickering across scattered instant ramen cups and an unopened letter gathering dust.
Ren sat there, hands poised on the keyboard, eyes locked on the loading screen of his favorite game — Chronicles of the Fallen.
A soft voice echoed from the speakers."Act 20 begins."
He leaned back and exhaled, his lips curving into a faint smile. It wasn't happiness — not even relief — but something in between. Something heavier.
"Finally… after eight years," he whispered. "The game's final act."
To others, Chronicles of the Fallen was just a story-based RPG. But for him, it was everything.His only escape.A world that never betrayed him — unlike the one outside his walls.
Eight years ago, when it first released, he didn't care. He thought it was another overhyped RPG — flashy trailers, edgy lore, and a fanbase that thought pressing "skip" made them hardcore.
He ignored it.
Until he saw the characters.
People online said the cast looked divine — especially the female ones. "Like angels descended from heaven," one comment said.
He called bullshit… until he installed it.
He'd only meant to play for an hour.That hour became a night.That night became years.
Before he knew it, Chronicles of the Fallen had become his entire world — the one place where he mattered.
Ren rubbed his eyes, staring at the download bar for the final update. "Man, this thing's huge. It'll take at least an hour."
He sighed and leaned back. "Guess I'll grab some cof—"
Then, the lights went out.
"Huh? Another blackout?"
He wasn't surprised. It was common in his area — the kind of place the city forgot existed.
But then—
"Would you trade your reality… for your purpose?"
The voice wasn't coming from his headphones. It came from everywhere — vibrating through the air like static wrapped in words.
Ren froze. The room suddenly felt heavy, the air dense enough to choke on.
"W–What the hell? That voice… how?" He looked at the monitor. It was off — yet the sound persisted. "The power's out. How can it—?"
The monitor flickered back on. Lines of glowing code spiraled across the screen, symbols pulsing like veins of light.
Ren stood up, backing away. "What the hell is this?!"
The code began swirling faster, glowing brighter, until the monitor displayed a single phrase:
WELCOME TO CHRONICLES OF THE FALLEN.
Then, he felt it — a pull. A force dragging him closer to the screen. His muscles refused to move the other way.
"Wait, no—!"
The monitor cracked, light bleeding through the fractures. It pulsed once — then exploded outward in a blinding flash.
Everything vanished.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
***
Snow.
That was the first thing he felt. Cold, sharp, and biting against his skin.
"Hey, kid! What happened?"
"Haha, the cold must've knocked him out."
"Don't joke around! What if he's actually hurt?"
Ren's eyes fluttered open. His breath came out white. His vision — blurry.
Three figures stood before him: two men and a woman, dressed in thick winter gear. Behind them, towering trees cloaked in snow reached toward a gray sky.
"…."
The chill seeped through his bones as tiny flakes landed on his cheeks.
He slowly sat up.
Where am I?
The words almost slipped out loud.
Then it hit him — like lightning through his mind.
The snow. The atmosphere. The way the wind moved.
"This place…" he whispered, his eyes widening.
It wasn't possible. It couldn't be.
He turned to the strangers, who were staring back at him with confused expressions.
"This is a dream, right?" he asked with a weak laugh. "Please tell me it's a dream."
"Dream?" one man frowned. "Are you alright, Arsin?"
"Arsin?" he repeated under his breath.
The name sounded foreign — yet familiar.
"Hey, kid," the woman said. "Don't go losing it now. You're the one who wanted to tag along, remember? We're not responsible if you freeze out here."
Ren blinked. "Tag along…? What are you—"
Then, the air shimmered.
A translucent window appeared in front of him — glowing with pale blue light.
[ALERT]◆ Anomaly Detected.◆ Foreign consciousness not registered in database.◆ You are not recognized as part of the world code.
"Huh?"
Another line appeared.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING...][Activating Tutorial Phase...]
The window flickered again.
[QUEST GRANTED: Prove Your Existence]Objective: Avoid deletion. Make an impact on the story to integrate your data.Reward: ???Time Remaining: 2 hours.Failure: Erasure.
Ren stared at the glowing text, his heart pounding. His reflection stared back from the screen — a young man with jet-black hair and eyes filled with disbelief.
This can't be real.
The world around him felt too solid, too cold, too alive.
He looked at his trembling hands. "No way… this is the game."
Snowflakes danced in the air. The wind whispered through the trees.
And somewhere, far beyond the white horizon — something roared.
A deep, guttural sound that made the mountains themselves tremble.
Ren turned toward the sound, his pulse quickening.
The first line of the quest burned in his vision.
[Prove Your Existence]