3:00 AM
Sleep clings to me like a fog, but the second my eyes snap open, it evaporates.
The room is dark. The only light comes from the soft glow of my console screen, casting eerie blue shadows against the walls. My heart beats faster than it should. I shouldn't be nervous. I've been waiting for this moment for months.
My fingers move before my brain does, pulling up my email.
Congratulations, Player #1. Your entry is secured.
I exhale, slowly. The weight pressing against my chest eases.
It's real.
Lost in Digitalisation. The game everyone fought for the perfect world, promised by its creator. A world where only 10.000 players would enter.
But entry wasn't free. I didn't have the money.
Most players had spent their entire life savings to secure their place, burning through thousands, even millions. Some sold their homes, their cars, everything just for the chance to enter Astralis.
But I'm number one.
I didn't have to pay.
The message confirms it. VIP entry. No cost.
My grip tightens around my console. I should be thrilled. My name is first on the list. But instead, something cold creeps up my spine.
I didn't fight for this spot.I didn't struggle.I didn't bleed for it.
For the first time, the thought settles uneasily in my mind. Do I deserve this?
3:15 AM
The facility where the Body Materializer is located is already packed.
The screens overhead display the countdown. Hours until the gates open, but the chaos has started long before that.
Screams tear through the crowd. People shove. Fists fly. Security forces strain to keep order, but the sheer desperation in the air makes it impossible.
I watch from my VIP section, untouched.
Below me, players fight for a place inside the game, their faces twisted in frustration, fear and even rage.
I see a man offer €100.000 just to take another player's spot. He's refused. He attacks instead, tackling the other player to the ground.
Nearby, two men in suits argue. One desperately holding onto his entry pass, the other trying to snatch it. A second later, they're clawing at each other, blood splattering onto the pavement.
The reality sinks in. People would kill for this chance.
I shift slightly, the weight of my VIP badge hanging around my neck feeling heavier than before.
"You don't seem surprised."
A voice, smooth, calm, completely unfazed. It cuts through the air beside me.
I turn. Him.
The Creator of Lost in Digitalisation.
His eyes study me, assessing, calculating. Like he's trying to see beyond me, past the surface, deep into who I truly am.
"You're the first player," he says. "That means you're special."
I smirk, masking the discomfort pooling in my stomach. "Or just lucky."
The corner of his lips curl slightly. Amusement. "Luck won't get you to Floor 10,000."
5:00 PM
The countdown reaches zero. The gates open.
My heart pounds. The sound around me fades.
I step forward. The first to enter.
The Body Materializer hums, glowing softly. I barely process the final moments before everything dissolves.
Then?
White room
I stand in an infinite void.
The air hums with energy. Streams of glowing code drift around me, flowing like rivers of light.
Then, a voice, neutral,yet absolute. It echoes through the silence:
"Player #1. The test shall begin now."
I try to move. But.
Everything feels wrong.
My limbs are heavy, sluggish. It's like I'm wrapped in something too dense to control. My mind commands movement, but my body lags behind.
"This is normal," the Creator's voice echoes in my mind. "Your body isn't used to moving without actually moving. It will take time."
The first test appears.
Run. 10 minutes.
I try. But every step feels unnatural.
My arms pump, my legs move, but it's forced, awkward. Like walking through waist-deep water. My breath comes in quick, sharp bursts, my heart pounding harder than it should.
Minutes stretch painfully. I barely finish.
The second test.
Lift the swords. Featherweight to car weight.
I grasp the first weapon, light as air. Easy.
The next one. Denser. The next. Heavier. The fourth? Almost too much.
By the final blade, my arms tremble, my fingers ache. The sheer weight of the last weapon is beyond anything I've ever held.
I fail.
The last test.
A dummy appears.
5 slashes to determine skill.
I pick up the sword, expecting another failure.
Something shifts.
The hesitation is gone. My body moves without thoughts, natural, effortless, pure instinct.
I strike once. Twice. Three times. The fourth cut carves deep and clean.
The fifth shatters the dummy completely.
Silence.
Then, the voice speaks again: "New record. Best score of all 10,000 players."
My stats appear.
I stare at the numbers, breath steady now.
This is it.
This is where it truly begins.