The scanner beeped one last time.
"Alright, that'll be 213 pesos," Lukas said with a tired smile, handing over the change.
The customer gave a small nod and walked off. Lukas exhaled, then tapped a few buttons on the register and clocked out. He leaned against the back wall for a second, letting the fatigue settle into his shoulders.
"Another day in paradise," he muttered.
Outside, the Manila heat was still clinging to the air, even as the sun dipped toward the horizon. He pulled out his phone and called her.
It rang.
She picked up on the third try.
"Hey," Lukas said softly.
"Hi." Her voice was distant. Cold.
He rubbed his temple. "Sorry. I meant to message you on my break, but it got busy. Double shift. Barely had time to breathe."
"It's not just today, Lukas," she said, cutting him off. "You're always tired. You're always… somewhere else."
He stopped walking. The city kept moving around him—cars honking, footsteps rushing by, someone yelling from a tricycle—but everything else faded.
"I'm not saying you're a bad person," she went on. "But it's like I'm in this relationship alone. I don't feel like you're really here."
"I know," Lukas said, voice low. "I've been distant. I'm sorry. I just… I don't know how to fix it."
There was silence.
Then, she said it.
"Maybe it's better if we end it. For both of us."
He didn't say anything at first. No anger. No desperation. Just quiet acceptance.
"…Okay," he said after a long pause. "I understand."
"Take care, Luke."
The call ended.
Lukas stared at the screen for a moment, then lowered the phone and kept walking. His chest was heavy—but not shattered. It hurt, but somewhere underneath the sadness, there was a strange calm. A faint release. Like something he'd been holding onto for too long had finally let go.
His phone buzzed again. Then again. Then over and over.
Group Chat: Kupalords 💻🔥
Karl: BRO BRO BRO
Karl: UPRAISED IS OUT
JP: This game is insane, dude
Erik: We've waited our whole lives for something like this
Karl: You can feel everything. Like air, pain, the food—even the cold
JP: The NPCs talk like they're real. Not bots. Like they think.
Erik: I'm never logging out lol, real life who?
Lukas blinked, scrolling through the nonstop flood of messages.
Lukas: What is that? VR game?
Karl: YES. Full-dive. The capsule is called NeuroDive
Karl: You literally go inside the game
JP: Like SAO but no death lol
Erik: It's not just a game. It's a whole other life, man
Lukas paused.
Upraised.
He'd heard of it. Briefly saw the teaser a while back, but never looked into it. Work, life—everything kept getting in the way.
But now…
He opened the site. The homepage banner read:
"Enter the world you've always imagined."
He watched videos. Read the forums. Scanned first impressions. People were losing their minds over it. The graphics were unreal. The sound design was rich. And the way they described the feeling of being inside that world—it was everything Lukas used to dream about as a kid.
And something clicked.
He was still lying on his bed hours later, ceiling fan spinning above him, phone screen lighting up his face. The cart was ready. ₱189,999. Almost everything he had in savings.
His thumb hovered over the button.
"I don't know if this is stupid," he whispered to himself, "but maybe this is what I need."
A world he could actually live in. No schedules. No missed calls. No half-empty relationships.
Just something real… even if it was digital.
Click.
Payment confirmed.
He stared at the screen for a while, then let out a long, shaky breath.
Terrifying? Yes. Reckless? Probably.
But for the first time in months, maybe years—
Lukas felt like something had finally begun.
Three days later, a knock on his apartment door changed everything.
Lukas opened it to see a tall box wrapped in thick plastic and stickers that read "FRAGILE: NEURODIVE CAPSULE – HANDLE WITH CARE." The delivery guy barely made eye contact, just handed him a clipboard and left.
He stood there for a second, staring at the box like it might explode.
"This is real now, huh?"
Dragging it inside was already a workout. His apartment was barely thirty square meters, and now a giant futuristic pod was sitting in the middle of it like a spaceship parked in the wrong timeline.
Setting it up, though?
That was a whole different level of hell.
"Where the hell does this cable go?" Lukas muttered, flipping open a panel. "Why are there three ports with the same shape?!"
He ended up opening a video titled "HOW TO SET UP YOUR NEURODIVE CAPSULE – Noob Friendly!" on YouVid. A guy with a weird mustache and way too much energy walked him through every step.
"Don't forget to calibrate your biometric sync rings!" the guy said, pointing to the round discs in the box. "Chest and head placement only! It won't launch if they're wrong!"
Lukas groaned, mimicking each step, rewinding every time he messed up. By the time he finished, his shirt was clinging to him and his floor was covered in packing foam.
After an hour of confusion, sweat, and pure stubbornness, the capsule finally lit up.
A soft blue glow hummed from inside. The screen beside the pod flashed the Upraised logo, waiting.
He stepped back and let out a breath. "Okay. It's done."
He grabbed his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to the group chat.
Lukas: Look who's joining the chosen ones 😏
Karl: YOOOOOOO
Erik: You BOUGHT one?!
JP: Bro really dropped the life savings 😂
Karl: Respect. Now get in there. No backing out
Erik: First taste of isekai coming right up
He chuckled. The nerves were still there, coiling in his stomach, but underneath it all was something else—excitement.
Lukas changed into a more comfortable shirt, climbed inside the capsule, and looked around. The interior was cleaner than he expected. Soft padding on the sides. Cool air brushing against his skin. Everything felt high-end, like he'd just stepped into a piece of the future.
He reached for the two small discs the video had shown earlier—biometric sync rings. He peeled off the adhesive backs and stuck one to the center of his chest, the other gently onto his temple.
They pulsed for a moment. A beep. Then a soft voice echoed inside the capsule.
"Vitals detected. Synchronization in progress."
Lukas laid back. The lid began to close, sealing him in.
His heart pounded in his ears.
"This is it," he whispered. "No turning back."
Then everything went black.
But he was still conscious.
A strange floating sensation took over, like drifting underwater but without resistance. The darkness started shifting—streaks of light weaving through the void. His body felt weightless, yet anchored at the same time.
And then, without warning—
BOOM.
A glowing title exploded across his vision
UPRAISED
"Reclaim the world. Rewrite your fate."
A voice followed. Calm. Professional. Genderless.
"Welcome, User. You are now connected to the NeuroDive system. This is your first login to Upraised. Please remain calm as the calibration begins."
A figure appeared in front of him—vaguely human, made of light, no face or features.
"I will be your system guide. Before we begin your journey, we will scan and adapt your neural preferences, personality fragments, and emotional responses for optimal immersion."
Lukas stared, his digital body floating in the void, breath catching in his throat.
"…This is insane."
He had no idea where this would lead him. No real plan.
But for the first time in his life, Lukas wasn't watching someone else's story.
He was stepping into his own.