His consciousness crept slowly from the darkness, driven by a voice too cheerful for this early morning.
"Ryu, wake up. It's time for breakfast. Seven AM. And don't forget to shower."
The voice was like a crystal bell—clear, synthetic, yet designed to feel warm. Ryu groaned, his luxurious blanket feeling like a comfortable grave. He opened his eyes, looking at the minimalist ceiling of his room, illuminated by soft blue LED strips that automatically lit up as the room's occupant awoke.
He sat up, his body still heavy with lingering sleepiness. In the corner of the room, holographic light projected from a hidden projector, forming the silhouette of a girl. Sora—his AI assistant, also his supervisor, nurse, and perhaps the only consistent "friend" present in his confined life.
Her appearance was always striking: a chibi model with long silver hair that seemed blown by a virtual wind, dressed like a pop idol with excessive detail. Her chest, in absurd chibi proportions, was slightly exposed. Ryu had long stopped caring about her design; it was his father Junjo's choice, who probably thought his son would be more obedient if reminded by an appealing avatar.
"Breakfast is ready on the dining table, Ryu," said Sora, floating closer to the edge of the bed. The light from her hologram reflected on the silk blanket. "The maid has prepared everything. If you take too long, the salmon will lose its perfect temperature."
Ryu yawned widely, wiping the sleep from the corners of his blue eyes. "Good morning to you too, Sora. I can guess the menu. Unsalted salmon, steamed vegetables, soul-less miso soup, and cut fruit. I'd give anything for a bowl of fatty ramen or a cheeseburger."
Sora snorted—a sound programmed to convey disapproval. "You have Ventricular Tachycardia Arrhythmia, Ryu. Your heartbeat can become uncontrollable at any time. Your diet must be strict: no high caffeine, no energy drinks, no excessive sugar, and especially no high sodium. This is for your safety."
"Tch. Restrictions, restrictions, and more restrictions," grumbled Ryu as he threw off his blanket. The cold air of the apartment touched his skin. He walked to the large oak wardrobe and opened it. Inside, rows of expensive but simple clothes hung neatly. "Sora, call Maid Risa. Have her make sure breakfast is completely ready by the time I finish my shower."
"Understood," replied Sora, her tone flat and professional again. "But don't linger in there. Your body temperature could drop drastically."
Ryu didn't respond. He grabbed a towel and a bathrobe from the hook and left his room.
The 500-square-meter apartment on the 40th floor was quiet, filled only by the soft hum of the air circulation system and his muffled footsteps on the thick carpet. The spacious living room was filled with designer furniture in white and gray tones, cold and sterile like a laboratory. Floor-to-ceiling windows opened to a view of the metropolitan city sprawling below, shrouded in the morning fog of December.
He headed to the main bathroom. The sliding door opened automatically, revealing a private oasis that could probably fit ten people. Black marble floors, a stone-rimmed onsen bathtub always heated to 40 degrees Celsius, and a large mirror with a gold frame. Warm steam greeted him, contrasting with the 22-degree Celsius cold air of the apartment.
He took off his robe and dipped his feet into the water. The warmth immediately seeped into his bones, fighting off the cold of December 20th that crept through the glass walls. Ryu immersed his entire body, tilting his head back, closing his eyes.
This was where he felt most free, yet most trapped. At 19 years old, his life was a paradox: all the luxury he could want, yet locked in a gilded cage because of a heart condition that made every beat feel like a ticking time bomb. He had just graduated high school. University? His father, Junjo, the major shareholder of Tenkai Innovation—a giant in AI and cloud computing—had only said, "Focus on your health first." Money kept flowing into his account, more than he could spend, but phone calls from his parents were countable on one hand in a year.
After a while, he got out of the tub, his skin flushed from the hot water. He dried himself with a fluffy towel, then stood facing the mirror. The young man in the reflection had a rather handsome face: short, messy black hair, rare blue eyes inherited from his European grandmother, a slender body due to a strict diet and a ban on excessive exercise.
There were no outward signs of illness. Only the black smartwatch on his right wrist reminded him of reality, with a heart rate reading now showing 78 BPM.
He put on a soft white cotton T-shirt and linen trousers, then walked to the dining room.
The long black wooden dining table seemed almost too large for one person. At one end, a meal set was meticulously prepared. Risa, the head maid who also acted as his personal nurse, stood upright beside it. The middle-aged woman always wore a classic maid uniform, perfect without a single wrinkle.
"Ryu-sama," she said in a soft yet firm voice. "Today's breakfast menu: grilled salmon with yuzu and shisho leaf sauce, low-sodium miso soup, light sunomono cucumber, and mulberry leaf tea."
Ryu sighed, but there was a slight sparkle in his eyes. "At least this time it's grilled, not steamed into lifelessness." He sat down.
Risa deftly served the food before him. Ryu ate slowly, savoring each bite even though it always tasted... controlled. After the last plate was clean, Risa asked, "Is there anything I can assist you with after this, Ryu-sama?"
Ryu shook his head, gazing out the window where the city lights were fading in the morning sun. "No need. I'll be in my room. There's a new game update. It's cold outside, I'll turn on the heater."
Risa bowed. "Understood. If you need anything, just call." There was a slight furrow on her brow, the ever-present worry.
Ryu returned to his room and jumped onto his wide bed. He picked up his expensive smartphone, preferring this gadget over his advanced gaming PC because he was too lazy to move. Genshin Impact was already open, showing the update screen. December 20th—the launch of the new character, Navia, a Geo element.
He was about to grab his wireless headphones when Sora appeared again, floating above a pillow.
"Every day the same. Genshin Impact. Even though the artifacts you get are always bad: HP, DEF... in the end you always use farming services to get decent Critical Rate and Critical Damage," teased Sora, her voice like a disappointed teacher.
Ryu put on his headphones roughly. "I've spent a fortune to get C6 and R5 weapons. Is that still not enough? Maybe my fate is to always get trash stats."
Sora sighed virtually. "There are realistic VR games, stunning virtual worlds, but you choose this gacha game."
Ryu turned, his eyes sparkling for a moment. "Because waifu comes first, and..." he paused briefly, "and its world is beautiful. There are mountains, oceans, colorful cities. Things I can't see... or do."
Sora fell silent, perhaps processing an unexpected emotional response. Then, in a lighter but still mocking tone, "You'll probably need a service again later because you're too lazy to repeat domains. I hope you don't spend too much money pulling for the character this time. Remember your Qiqi record, already C30? Maybe that's a curse."
"Don't remind me!" Ryu cut in, his face red with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.
Sora chuckled softly—a sound like a bell chime—before her hologram disappeared.
Ryu opened the game. His Primogems showed 2,300,000. If they ran out, just top up with his unlimited credit card. The update finished, the world of Teyvat opened. He immediately went to the Navia banner. His heart beat a little faster—80 BPM, still safe.
First 10-pull: 3-star weapons and a common 4-star character.
20 pulls:a 4-star weapon.
30 pulls:the purple light turned gold. A golden star fell from the sky.
Instantly, his heart pounded. Ryu held his breath. Navia? The smartwatch on his wrist beeped a warning—his heart rate had jumped to 120 BPM.
Sora suddenly appeared on the smartphone screen, her face looking serious. "Ryu! Stop immediately! This is not good for your heart!"
Ryu coughed, trying to take a deep breath. "Okay... okay. You do it. I'll take my medicine first." He grabbed a small bottle on the bedside table, took one pill, and swallowed it with water.
Sora, with full access to his device's systems, took over the game account. Ryu knew this was a special feature implanted by his father—an AI that could interact with other applications, bypassing normal restrictions, without fear of being banned. After a few minutes, his heart rate dropped to 85 BPM.
"How many pulls to get C6 Navia?" asked Ryu, his voice still panting.
"680 pulls," answered Sora through the speaker.
"Standard," murmured Ryu. He took back his smartphone. "Now for the weapon."
He pressed the button for a 10-pull on the weapon banner. Purple light... then it exploded into gold! One, two... five golden stars fell. Verdict, Navia's signature weapon, appeared immediately.
Sora sounded surprised. "Amazing. Your luck is good today."
Ryu gave a faint smile, the first time that morning. "If I wasn't lucky, I'd pull until I got it. Money is no issue. I'll get R5 later. I want to play first."
He entered the new story quest, swept away in Navia's tale, the adventures, and drama in Fontaine. Several hours passed unnoticed. As the main quest ended, Ryu stretched, feeling satisfied yet empty. That virtual world was so alive, while his own world...
"I need to go out," he said to himself. "By the way, I haven't bought a PS5." A spontaneous decision. He called Risa via the intercom.
A few minutes later, he was sitting in the back of a sleek black luxury car. Risa drove carefully. Outside, Christmas decorations adorned the streets—twinkling lights, illuminated trees, an atmosphere of joy that felt alien to Ryu.
They arrived at a large electronics store. Ryu entered, heading straight to the console section. Without comparing or asking, he picked up a PS5 unit, a camera, some of the latest games, and went to the cashier.
The cashier, a young woman, smiled warmly. "Just these?"
Ryu nodded, pulling out a black credit card. The cashier's eyes widened slightly upon seeing the card, but she quickly completed the transaction. Risa gathered all the items into bags.
Back in the car, Ryu felt a little dizzy. The adrenaline from the spontaneous shopping had subsided. He turned on his smartphone again. There were still some Primogems left. Maybe one more try for the weapon, he thought. He opened the Verdict banner again.
The car moved slowly on the elevated highway, stretching above the dense part of the city. Risa focused on driving, while Ryu stared at the screen, his finger ready to tap the pull button.
Suddenly, the car's audio system erupted with Sora's shriek, much louder and more panicked than usual.
"DANGER! THE TRUCK AHEAD—IT'S DELIBERATELY SWERVING TOWARDS US!"
Risa was startled, reflexively turning the steering wheel hard to the left. Ryu was thrown to the side, his smartphone slipping from his grasp. On the still-lit screen, the gacha pull animation played—purple light turned to gold, one, two, three, four, five stars falling in succession. Five Verdicts at once. A perfect pull.
But Ryu didn't see it. What he heard was the roar of a diesel engine, screeching tires, and Risa's scream. Their luxury car was hit like a toy by a fully loaded truck speeding at high velocity. Not an accident—the truck had intentionally swerved sharply, attacking.
The car flipped over, glass shattering everywhere. Ryu was thrown helplessly, his body hitting the car roof, which was now the floor. A sharp pain in his chest—his heart was beating wildly, uncontrollably. His smartwatch screamed, 190 BPM and rising.
The wrecked car was thrown over the highway barrier, falling from the elevated bridge—dozens of meters—to the road below. There was a chain collision, a loud crashing sound, and finally, a sudden silence.
Before everything went dark, Ryu saw his cracked smartphone, still showing the screen of an extraordinary gacha victory. Five legendary weapons. Irony, he thought vaguely. Then, flames licked at the spilled fuel, and everything became a fiery red.
Somewhere far from the chaos, in a dark room with monitors tracking traffic, someone raised a communicator.
"Target eliminated. Ryu Kiyokawa, dead."
The signal cut off. The city continued to pulse below, its Christmas lights blinking unaware, that one of its wealthiest, most hidden, and loneliest children had just been extinguished forever—with his final heartbeat recorded by a smartwatch, and the greatest gacha victory of his life, never to be enjoyed.