Elliot Virel had stopped caring about life three months ago.
He used to be a computer science student at a decent university. GPA? Dead. Passion? Buried. Social life? Nonexistent. After failing his third semester and getting kicked out, he moved back into his tiny apartment where the only sound was the hum of his broken desktop.
Most days, he stayed up until 4 a.m. watching anime reruns and eating instant noodles. Nights blended into mornings. Nothing felt real anymore. Every time he looked in the mirror, he saw someone who didn't belong anywhere. His parents had stopped calling. His bank account barely held enough for rent. The worst part? He didn't even care.
"I wish the world would just crash," he muttered, half-laughing to himself.
That morning, he left the apartment with no real purpose. It was raining, but he didn't bring an umbrella. The streets were half-empty. A few people passed by, their eyes glued to phones, headphones blasting music, living in worlds he couldn't touch.
He stood at the pedestrian crossing, the red signal blinking. Across the street, a massive LED billboard flashed ads about the newest virtual reality headset. Escape your reality. It hit harder than it should've.
The light turned green.
Elliot stepped forward.
The world exploded.
Or maybe it was just him.
The last thing he saw was the bright white of headlights, the screaming horn of an out-of-control truck, and the feeling that, finally, something was happening.
Then: silence.
Absolute, deafening silence.
No pain. No weight. No sound. Just black.
A single sentence appeared in his vision, glowing like code from an old computer screen:
"Loading: Ascension.exe..."
Elliot gasped awake.
But he wasn't on asphalt. Or in a hospital. Or even in pain.
He was lying in grass—cold, damp, and too damn real. Overhead, a violet sky shimmered like oil on water. Twin moons hovered in the distance, low and enormous, casting an eerie glow over the field. Trees swayed around him, silver leaves rustling like whispers.
"What the hell...?"
He sat up fast, heart pounding. His body felt lighter, younger even, but somehow stronger. His hoodie was gone, replaced by a strange black tunic stitched with glowing blue lines that pulsed like circuits.
Then it appeared.
A window popped up in midair—transparent and glowing, like something straight out of a video game.
> System Initialization Complete.
Welcome, Elliot Virel.
Class: [NULL]
Title: [Glitched Soul]
Access: [UNAUTHORIZED]
Sync Rate: 4.8%
Fate Alignment: [ERROR]
Elliot blinked.
"Did I die and get reincarnated into a freaking JRPG?"
The window closed with a soft chime, replaced by another:
> Main System: ASCENSION.exe Detected
WARNING: User anomaly detected.
Recalibrating parameters...
Rejection in progress…
Failed.
User cannot be removed.
He stood up, shaky. His hands trembled—not from fear, but from adrenaline. This wasn't a dream. The sensations were too vivid. The air smelled like earth and rain. Somewhere nearby, he heard a beast howl—low, guttural, alien.
"I'm in another world," he whispered.
A second panel appeared.
> New Quest: SURVIVE.
Objective: Live past the next 24 hours.
Reward: Continued existence.
"Well that's… comforting."
A rustle came from the nearby trees. Elliot flinched, backing away. Then, instinctively, he raised his hand.
To his shock, a pulse of light formed in his palm—blue and unstable, like static. It fired out with a shriek, hitting a rock and disintegrating it instantly.
He stared at his own hand.
"I'm a glitch," he muttered. "A literal, freaking glitch in the system."