Chapter 01 — Welcome World
The World Beyond the Screen
I. 5:26 P.M.
“Zack, you're heavy.”
The pug didn't move.
“Zack.”
A soft snore was his only answer.
“Wonderful. Talking things through with you is always so rewarding.”
LYRIA lay on her bed with one knee bent and the other leg nearly hanging off the mattress. Late-afternoon sunlight crossed the window and drew a golden stripe across the floor. Beside her, Zack slept soundly, pressed against her side with all the determination of an animal convinced he was much smaller than he actually was.
On the bedside table sat a Full Dive device.
LYRIA had been staring at it for several minutes.
She had waited long enough for this moment to imagine it a dozen different ways. She had pictured herself crossing portals, exploring castles, fighting fantastical creatures, and naturally becoming one of those legendary adventurers who always seemed to know exactly what they were doing.
In reality, she hadn't even managed to free her leg from the pug.
“Off to a great start.”
She reached for the device.
It was lighter than she'd expected. Its dark surface barely reflected the light from the window. No cumbersome cables, no controller to grip, no screen in front of her eyes in the traditional sense.
The world itself would be the screen.
Or rather, if the promises were true, there would be no screen at all.
Zack opened one eye.
“Don't look at me like that. I'll be right back.”
The pug snorted and closed it again.
LYRIA smiled.
“Yes, I know. You don't like those words.”
The clock read 17:26.
She settled against the pillow, careful not to disturb Zack too much. Then she lifted the device and put it on.
For an instant, all she could hear was her own breathing.
An artificial voice, calm and precise, sounded inside her mind.
Initializing Full Dive...
LYRIA suppressed a smile.
Neural connection established.
“Oh.”
Avatar synchronized.
“Oh, really.”
World loading...
The light of her room seemed to recede.
It wasn't darkness. It was something stranger: the feeling that the bed, the pillow, the window, even Zack's weight were losing their meaning, like memories she hadn't quite forgotten yet.
Login complete.
A short pause.
Welcome, Player. Online!
And the world changed.
II. Welcome
The first thing LYRIA felt was the wind.
Not a sound effect.
Real wind.
It brushed her face, stirred the purple-tipped ends of her hair, and carried the scent of grass, sun-warmed stone, and something sweet she couldn't identify.
She opened her eyes.
An immense sky stretched before her.
Floating islands hung in the air at impossible distances. Waterfalls plunged from suspended cliffs, dissolving into mist before they reached the land below. Bridges and towers linked structures that looked as though they belonged to an ancient fantasy civilization.
Farther away, a city climbed terraces of pale stone, surrounded by walls, gardens, and slender bell towers.
LYRIA stood motionless.
“No.”
She took a step forward.
“No, wait.”
She looked at her hands. Opened them, closed them. Touched her cheek.
Then she stamped a foot against the ground.
The stone was solid.
“But it's...”
Another gust of wind swept through her hair.
“It's beautiful.”
The words came out in a whisper, almost as if she were afraid of spoiling something.
She approached the terrace railing and looked down. A very long way down.
Her stomach tightened.
“Okay. Vertigo too. Very thoughtful.”
She stepped back immediately.
Then she burst out laughing.
She had played hundreds of video games. She had crossed fantasy worlds, faced impossible enemies, and spent hours admiring digital landscapes.
But this time she wasn't looking at a world.
She was inside one.
A small luminous interface appeared before her eyes.
WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD
PLAYER: LYRIA
LEVEL: 1
Below it, icons displayed her inventory, equipment, statistics, and map.
LYRIA moved her hand. The interface followed the gesture with astonishing ease.
“Level one.”
She studied the number.
“Fair enough. Everyone has to start somewhere.”
She examined her clothes: simple starting gear, practical and dark, with pale details and adventurer's boots.
Not exactly the wardrobe of a warrior queen.
“Well, at least they didn't put me in pajamas.”
A cobbled road led toward the city.
LYRIA set off along it, almost skipping.
For once, she was in no hurry to get anywhere.
She wanted to see everything.
III. The First Sword
The city was even more astonishing up close.
Merchants called out offers from colorful stalls. Signs swayed above shops selling potions, fabrics, and accessories. Adventurers in shining armor crossed the streets alongside people dressed as mages, explorers, and nobles.
Some hurried toward the city gates. Others studied maps or argued in front of quest boards.
LYRIA stopped every few yards.
A fountain.
An unfamiliar animal.
A balcony overflowing with flowers.
A pastry shop.
“Wait. Can you actually eat?”
She stopped in front of the window.
Then shook her head.
“Equipment first. Sweets later.”
She managed to stick to that decision for approximately twenty seconds.
By the time she reached the market, she had already bought something to eat and discovered that it tasted utterly convincing.
The clang of metal caught her attention.
Along the street, a weaponsmith had set up a stall beneath a broad canopy. Swords, daggers, and small shields stood on wooden racks, while heavier weapons leaned against the wall.
LYRIA headed straight for the largest sword.
She tried to lift it.
It didn't move.
She pulled harder.
Nothing.
“Interesting.”
The weaponsmith watched from behind the counter.
“Is it decorative?” she asked.
“It's a two-handed sword.”
“I'd worked that much out.”
“It requires more strength than you have.”
LYRIA released the hilt.
“You could've led with that.”
The weaponsmith pointed to a more modest rack.
“For a beginner, I'd recommend one of those.”
She stepped closer.
No legendary blades. No glowing runes. No spectacular effects.
Just simple weapons made to be used.
She chose one and lifted it.
It was light, but not weightless. The metal responded to her movements with an almost unsettling solidity.
She attempted a thrust.
The tip narrowly missed a stack of shields beside the stall.
“Oops.”
The weaponsmith took a step back.
“Perhaps you shouldn't test it in the middle of the market.”
“Excellent advice.”
She paid for the sword with part of her starting money and fastened it at her side.
Then she walked away from the stall with a satisfied smile.
Her first weapon.
Her first real sword.
She was officially an adventurer.
She took three steps.
The sword bumped annoyingly against her leg.
She stopped to adjust it.
“We still have to get to know each other, you and I.”
IV. A Matter of Style
The clothing shop was a mistake.
LYRIA only realized that after walking inside.
Dresses, cloaks, tunics, light armor, boots, and accessories filled the room. Some belonged in a medieval kingdom; others were so elaborate that imagining anyone fighting in them was difficult.
A full-length mirror occupied one wall.
An interface offered to let her try on items before buying them.
LYRIA smiled slowly.
“Ah.”
She selected the first dress.
A discreet flash enveloped her.
When she looked in the mirror, her smile nearly vanished.
She was wearing a red dress.
A very red dress.
Elegant, close-fitting, with a neckline far more revealing than she'd expected and a cut that left very little to the imagination.
LYRIA looked down.
Then up again.
Then at herself from the side.
“Oh.”
She turned a little.
“Oh, wow.”
She tried to adjust the dress with both hands, to no effect.
“Who is supposed to walk around wearing this?”
She examined herself again.
For a moment she tried an elegant pose, one hand on her hip, chin lifted.
“Greetings, common mortals. I am Lady LYRIA, mistress of...”
She stopped.
Looked at the neckline again.
“No. Never mind.”
Her cheeks grew a little warm.
She glanced around to make sure nobody was watching.
Then, with an embarrassed giggle, she selected the next outfit.
“Okay. Definitely not this one.”
Another flash.
This time she wore an elven dress, with natural colors and elegant detailing.
LYRIA tilted her head, placed a hand against her chest, and attempted a mysterious expression.
“I am the guardian of the ancient forest.”
She took a few delicate steps.
“The trees speak to me.”
She turned toward a decorative plant near the window.
“You, for instance. How are you?”
Naturally, the plant didn't answer.
“Shy.”
A quiet giggle behind her told her someone had seen the performance.
LYRIA turned.
Another customer was watching.
For a moment neither spoke.
“I was testing the animations,” LYRIA explained with absolute seriousness.
The customer nodded, suppressing a smile.
“Of course.”
LYRIA hurried back to the catalog.
“Next.”
Among the options was a complete suit of armor.
Gleaming steel.
Enormous shoulder plates.
A massive breastplate.
Armored gauntlets.
Reinforced greaves.
A helmet with a visor.
LYRIA's eyes widened.
“Now that's armor!”
She selected the preview.
A flash surrounded her.
When she reappeared before the mirror, she looked like a knight ready to face an army.
“Oh, yes.”
She tried to strike a heroic pose.
“I am LYRIA, terror of monsters, destroyer of...”
She tried to raise an arm.
It rose a few inches.
And stopped.
She tried again.
The shoulder plates collided with the helmet in a resounding CLANG.
“...things.”
She tried to turn around.
The armor creaked.
She took one step.
Then another.
Every movement required a ridiculous amount of effort.
“How does anyone fight in this stuff?”
She tried to bend over.
Nothing.
She tried to look at her feet.
The visor blocked her view.
“Fantastic. If I drop something, I'll have to wait for somebody to pick it up.”
She attempted one final step.
The weight of the armor tipped her slightly backward.
LYRIA froze.
“No, no, no...”
She recovered her balance by a hair.
She stood still for a few seconds.
Then sighed.
“Fine. If a monster shows up, I'll politely ask it to wait while I turn around.”
She deactivated the preview.
The armor disappeared.
LYRIA immediately moved her arms and legs.
“Ahhh. Freedom.”
After a few more attempts, she finally found what she wanted.
Light, practical fantasy gear in dark colors. A tunic made for movement, pale sleeves, leather details, and sturdy boots.
No unnecessary decorations.
No clothes that made running impossible.
No armor she might get trapped inside.
She looked in the mirror.
Turned slowly.
Then smiled.
“There.”
She didn't look like a princess.
She didn't even look like a legendary heroine.
She looked like someone who could actually set off on an adventure.
“This is me.”
She checked the price.
Her smile shrank.
“Almost my entire fortune.”
She looked at the sword at her side.
Then at the outfit.
Then at the price again.
“Well. Money in games is meant to be spent.”
She confirmed the purchase.
When she left the shop, she had a handful of coins, an inexpensive sword, and considerably more confidence than ability.
It was the perfect moment to accept a quest.
V. The First Quest
The quest board stood near one of the city gates.
LYRIA studied the available jobs.
Gather herbs.
Deliver a package.
Collect materials.
Eliminate the wild boars causing trouble in the fields beyond the walls.
The last one sounded particularly interesting.
QUEST AVAILABLE
Trouble in the Fields
Objective: Eliminate hostile wild boars.
Difficulty: Low.
Reward: Experience and coins.
“Low.”
LYRIA smiled.
“Perfect.”
She accepted.
The city gate opened onto a path crossing meadows and small woods. The air was cool. In the distance she could hear birds and running water.
She walked with one hand on her sword's hilt.
Every so often she drew it a few inches to admire the reflection along the blade.
“First quest.”
She slid it back into its sheath.
“First fight.”
She took a satisfied breath.
“First glorious victory.”
A grunt came from the bushes.
LYRIA stopped.
A wild boar emerged slowly from the grass.
It was bigger than she'd expected.
Much bigger.
It had a broad back, bristling fur, and two tusks that were anything but reassuring.
LYRIA stared at it.
It stared back.
“Hi.”
The boar scraped the ground with one hoof.
“Listen, I have this quest...”
The animal charged.
“AH!”
LYRIA leaped aside.
The boar thundered past and slammed into a tree.
A heavy thud echoed through the woods.
LYRIA stood frozen.
“Okay.”
She looked at her sword.
“That wasn't in the plan.”
The boar turned.
A red bar appeared above its head.
WILD BOAR — LV. 2
“Level two?”
The boar charged again.
“BUT I'M LEVEL ONE!”
LYRIA tried to block.
The blade struck awkwardly, sliding along the animal's flank.
The impact knocked her off balance.
She fell into the grass.
A sharp pain shot through her arm.
It wasn't unbearable, but it felt real enough to make her forget for a moment that she was playing a game.
“Ow!”
Her health bar dropped.
LYRIA stared at it in disbelief.
“Hey! Easy!”
The boar turned again.
She scrambled to her feet too quickly, almost tripped over her sheath, and avoided the next attack by inches.
Her heart hammered.
“Wait!”
Naturally, the boar didn't wait.
LYRIA ran behind a tree.
The animal went around it.
She ran the other way.
It followed.
For a few seconds they circled the trunk in a scene that would have been ridiculous if it hadn't been so frightening.
“Don't you ever get tired?”
A second grunt answered from behind her.
LYRIA turned.
Another boar.
“No.”
The newcomer lowered its head.
“No, no, no.”
It charged.
LYRIA lunged forward.
The second boar missed her and crashed into the first, which was rounding the tree at exactly the wrong moment.
The animals collided violently.
LYRIA stared.
“Oh.”
One boar staggered.
She saw an opening.
She didn't think about technique.
She didn't think about skills.
She didn't even think about how to hold the sword properly.
She simply stepped forward and struck.
The blade caught the first animal.
A red bar emptied.
ENEMY DEFEATED
LYRIA's eyes widened.
“I got it!”
The second boar barreled into her.
Her celebration lasted less than a second.
LYRIA fell backward down a small slope, tumbling through leaves and dirt.
The sword flew from her hand.
The world spun.
When she finally stopped, she was lying on her back.
Her health bar flashed dangerously.
Above her, the boar advanced.
LYRIA reached for the sword.
Too far.
The animal charged.
She desperately tried to move.
The boar slipped on the sloping ground, missed her body, and struck a protruding rock.
LYRIA grabbed the sword.
She rose onto her knees.
The boar tried to attack again.
She almost closed her eyes and thrust the blade forward.
The impact jolted her.
Then the animal collapsed.
ENEMY DEFEATED
Silence.
LYRIA didn't move.
She was breathing with her mouth open.
Her hand shook.
A glowing window appeared before her.
QUEST COMPLETED
REWARDS OBTAINED
EXPERIENCE GAINED
LYRIA stared at the words.
Then she dropped onto the grass.
“I...”
She looked around.
No more boars.
“I won.”
An incredulous smile crossed her face.
“I WON!”
She raised her sword.
Then lowered her aching arm immediately.
“Ow. Okay. Moderate celebrations.”
She burst out laughing.
Her clothes were covered in dirt, she had a few scratches, and almost no health left.
But she had won.
Her first quest.
Her first battle.
Her first reward.
“I'm amazing.”
She thought about it.
“No. I'm incredibly lucky.”
She laughed again.
She opened her inventory, looked for something to restore her health, and slowly headed back toward the city.
Every now and then she glanced at her sword, still unable to believe she'd actually completed her first mission.
She couldn't wait to find out what the next adventure would be.
VI. The Missing Button
By the time LYRIA returned to the city, the sky was growing dark.
The first stars shone above the towers. Windows lit up one by one, and the central square glowed with lanterns and floating spheres of light.
LYRIA walked with a satisfaction she couldn't hide.
She had completed a quest.
She had survived two wild boars.
She had earned experience.
And she had discovered that new armor could get dirty in a surprisingly realistic way.
“A virtual shower would be useful.”
She stopped near the fountain.
Some players chatted on the steps. Others browsed menus or compared their equipment.
LYRIA opened her interface.
She wanted to check her progress before deciding what to do next.
Inventory.
Statistics.
Equipment.
Map.
Settings.
She scrolled through the icons.
Stopped.
Went back.
Looked again.
“Wait.”
She opened Settings.
Audio.
Interface.
Accessibility.
System.
But something was missing.
LYRIA frowned.
“Where's logout?”
She closed the menu and opened it again.
Checked once more.
Nothing.
Maybe it was hidden in another screen.
Maybe she'd selected the wrong section.
Maybe it was a minor interface bug.
“Come on. Don't mess with me.”
Beside the fountain, another player said the same word.
“Logout.”
LYRIA turned.
The man was waving his hands frantically in front of him.
“I can't get out.”
A girl nearby looked up.
“Neither can I.”
More voices joined in.
“It's gone.”
“Where is it?”
“Does anyone know how to disconnect?”
A chill ran through LYRIA.
She wasn't afraid yet.
Not really.
It was something subtler: the discomfort of discovering that a door which had always been there was no longer where it belonged.
Then the lights in the square flickered.
A deep sound rolled across the city.
Every interface went dark at once.
Conversations stopped.
An enormous red window appeared above the square.
A voice sounded everywhere.
ATTENTION, PLAYERS.
LYRIA looked up.
Logout unavailable.
Someone laughed nervously.
“Is this an event?”
The voice continued.
Death inside this world...
A pause.
...means death outside it.
The silence that followed was unreal.
LYRIA stared at the window.
The words were simple.
She understood every one of them.
And yet her mind refused to put them together.
Clear the game...
The red lettering seemed to grow brighter.
...or NEVER WAKE AGAIN.
A scream tore through the square.
Someone shouted that it was impossible.
A man began calling for help.
A girl burst into tears.
Other players desperately tried to reopen their menus, repeating commands that did nothing.
LYRIA didn't move.
Her mind had returned to a meadow beyond the walls.
The slippery ground.
The fallen sword.
The boar advancing.
The almost-empty health bar.
She remembered the pain in her arm.
How real it had felt.
How close it had been.
“No...”
The word barely escaped her lips.
The game hadn't become deadly at that moment.
It already had been.
When she'd bought her sword.
When she'd laughed at herself in the mirror.
When she'd accepted the quest.
When those boars had charged her.
She had been one step away from death.
Real death.
A tear slid down her cheek.
LYRIA didn't even notice.
VII. Away From Everyone
The square had descended into chaos.
People running.
People screaming.
Players clinging to strangers, searching for answers nobody had.
LYRIA stood up from the step where she'd sunk down.
Her legs barely seemed willing to support her.
Someone bumped into her shoulder.
She staggered.
“Sorry!” a voice shouted.
She didn't answer.
She only wanted to get away.
She crossed the square, avoiding the crowd, then hurried down a side street.
The noise followed her.
Screams.
Crying.
Questions.
Footsteps.
She passed a closed shop, an alley, a staircase.
She didn't know where she was going.
She didn't care.
She needed somewhere nobody could see her.
Somewhere nobody would ask her what to do.
Because she didn't know.
She didn't know anything at all.
She reached one of the city's smaller exits and continued along a path.
Night had fallen.
The trees grew thicker.
The lights of the walls fell behind her.
LYRIA kept going until she could no longer hear the city.
Only then did she stop.
She pressed one hand against a tree trunk.
Breathed.
Once.
Twice.
Then her legs gave way.
She slid slowly to the ground.
“It's not true.”
Her voice broke.
“It can't be true.”
She opened the menu.
Checked again.
Logout.
It had to be there.
Somewhere.
It had to.
“Please.”
She searched every entry.
Every setting.
Every screen.
Nothing.
“Please, let me out.”
The menu remained open before her, bright and indifferent.
LYRIA closed it with a sharp gesture.
And began to cry.
Not like people did in films, with tidy tears and memorable speeches.
She cried curled in on herself, struggling to breathe between sobs.
She was afraid.
A huge, physical fear that squeezed her chest and made her hands tremble.
She thought of her room.
The window.
The afternoon light.
Zack.
Zack asleep beside her.
Zack who would probably, sooner or later, try to wake her.
“Zack...”
Saying his name made everything worse.
She covered her face with both hands.
“I want to go home.”
The forest didn't answer.
The wind kept moving the leaves.
Somewhere, a night insect sang.
It was a beautiful world.
The same world that, only hours earlier, had made her laugh, run, and stare in wonder.
Now it seemed immense.
Too immense.
And she was terribly alone.
She didn't know how long she stayed like that.
Eventually the tears slowed.
Not because she was no longer afraid.
She simply couldn't cry anymore.
She sat with her back against the tree, eyes swollen.
She looked at her hand.
It was still there.
Her fingers moved.
She felt the bark against her palm.
The cold air against her skin.
Everything was real.
Too real.
“Okay.”
Her voice was hoarse.
She waited a few seconds.
“Okay, LYRIA.”
She swallowed.
“You're still alive.”
She looked at her health bar.
It wasn't full.
But it wasn't empty.
“You're still alive.”
She repeated it as though she needed to convince someone.
Maybe herself.
Then she looked into the darkness between the trees.
She had already encountered monsters outside the city.
She couldn't know what else might be hiding in the forest.
Sitting there crying wouldn't protect her.
She had to do something.
Anything.
She rose slowly.
Her legs ached.
She wiped her face with her sleeve.
“First thing...”
She looked around.
“Don't freeze to death.”
It wasn't much of a plan.
But it was a start.
VIII. A Small Fire
Finding firewood sounded easy.
It was considerably harder when every noise in the undergrowth suggested a monster.
LYRIA gathered dry branches near the trees, careful not to wander too far from the path.
Every so often she stopped to listen.
A rustle.
A leaf.
A snapping twig.
“If you're a boar, I'm warning you, I've had enough for one day.”
Nobody answered.
“Good. I appreciate your cooperation.”
She collected one last bundle of branches and returned to a small sheltered clearing.
She arranged the wood in a pile.
Then stared at it.
“Now... fire.”
She opened her inventory.
Checked her items.
For a moment she feared she'd spent all her coins on clothes and had nothing useful left.
But among her starting supplies she found a small fire-lighting tool.
“Thank you, inventory.”
She knelt.
The first attempt failed.
So did the second.
On the third, a spark died before it reached the tinder.
“Fantastic.”
She tried again.
“I can fight two boars, but I can't set four twigs on fire.”
Another spark.
This time a tiny flame caught.
LYRIA held still, almost afraid that breathing might put it out.
Then she carefully added a twig.
The flame grew.
She added another.
A small fire began to illuminate the clearing.
LYRIA watched it for a long time.
“I did it.”
Nobody was there to applaud.
No reward window.
No experience gained.
Just a tiny fire in an unfamiliar forest.
And yet, for some reason, that small light seemed more important than all the coins she'd earned that day.
She sat beside the flames and hugged her knees.
Warmth slowly reached her hands.
Above her, through the branches, stars shone in a sky that did not belong to her bedroom.
She thought about the other players.
Those who had stayed in the square.
Those who might already have left.
Those who, like her, were only looking for somewhere to spend the night.
She didn't know if anyone would find a solution.
She didn't know how long this would last.
She didn't even know whether she could survive her next quest.
Her gaze fell on the sword beside her.
Only hours earlier, she would have found the idea of trusting her survival to a weapon bought from a virtual merchant ridiculous.
Now it was one of the few things she owned.
She picked it up.
Checked the blade.
Then laid it within reach.
“Tomorrow...”
She stopped.
She didn't know what to promise herself.
Become stronger?
Find other players?
Look for a way out?
All of it felt too big.
Too far away.
She watched the fire.
“I'll think about it tomorrow.”
A pause.
“Tonight, staying alive is enough.”
She remained awake for a long time, listening to the crackle of the wood.
Every so often she felt like crying again.
Sometimes she let a few tears fall.
Other times she simply stared into the flames until the tightness in her throat eased.
At last, exhausted, she curled up in the most sheltered part of the clearing.
The little fire continued to burn.
LYRIA closed her eyes.
And fell asleep.
IX. Game… Start
The first light of dawn filtered through the leaves.
A bird sang above the clearing.
LYRIA opened her eyes slowly.
For an instant she couldn't remember where she was.
She saw the trees.
The earth.
The ashes of the fire.
Then she remembered everything.
The city.
The boars.
The announcement.
The square.
The missing logout button.
She lay still, absurdly hoping that closing her eyes once more might be enough to wake up in her room.
She closed them.
Waited.
Opened them again.
She was still there.
“Right.”
She sat up.
The morning air was cool, and the woods looked less threatening in the sunlight.
Ahead, between the trees, the path continued toward distant hills.
LYRIA stood.
She straightened her clothes, checked her equipment, and picked up her sword.
Then she looked at the place where she'd spent the night.
A small circle of blackened earth.
A few burned branches.
Nothing special.
And yet it was the first place in this world where she'd chosen not to give up.
She breathed in slowly.
She was still afraid.
She didn't know what lay ahead.
She didn't know whether she would be strong enough.
But she knew one thing.
She didn't want to die.
Not here.
Not now.
And above all, she wanted to go home.
“Okay, LYRIA.”
She adjusted her glasses.
A small, familiar gesture.
“Let's see if we can get out of this alive.”
She took the first step.
Then the second.
Morning light illuminated the path before her.
No crowd to applaud.
No triumphant music.
No promise of victory.
Just a twenty-five-year-old woman, an inexpensive sword, and an immense world that would not let her leave.
LYRIA kept walking.
And somewhere in the silence of that new day, two words seemed to give a name to what had just begun.
Game...
Start.
End of Chapter 01 — Welcome World