Virtual Hell (Sword Art Online X Male Reader Remake)

Level 1 - Game Over

My breath came in short, ragged bursts, each one caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat. No matter how hard I tried to calm myself, my chest tightened, gripping each shallow breath like a vice. The rope was rough against my palms, pressing painfully into my skin as I clutched it, squeezing so hard that my hands began to burn. Beneath me, the chair creaked with every shaky shift of my weight, teetering slightly with each uneven breath.

My thoughts whirled like a raging storm, a cacophony of voices clashing and shouting in my head, a torrent of doubts and fears, regrets and impulses. Each one seemed louder than the last, blurring together until I couldn't make out one from the other. But there, in the middle of it all, a single thought cut through, cold and clear.

"It's for the greater good."

The words pierced through the noise, unshakable and insistent. As I held onto that thought, my vision began to fade at the edges, the world around me slipping into shadows. It felt like I was falling somewhere far away, leaving everything behind, suspended in a strange, timeless emptiness. I was neither here nor there—just floating, like a dream where you can't wake up.

****

"I'm telling you, Y/N, you're going to love this!" Steven's eyes gleamed with excitement as he gestured around the vivid landscape. "This is the biggest leap in gaming since the NES!"

I couldn't help but shake my head, trying to get used to the strange sensation of an unfamiliar body. Everything felt slightly off, like wearing a costume that didn't quite fit. "You better be right about this," I muttered, still adjusting to the virtual surroundings. "This wasn't cheap, you know. And by the way, why'd you have to play as a girl?"

Steven shot me a smug grin, crossing his arms over his avatar's form-fitting armour. "Are you kidding? I always play as a girl if I get the choice." He struck a pose, flaunting his character's slim, athletic build with an exaggerated wink. "Just look at these stats! Plus, girls get the best gear bonuses. Don't you think I could pick up a few guys like this?"

"Pretty sure that's called catfishing," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's just... off-putting. I know it's you, but it's like talking to some stranger."

Steven laughed, giving me a playful nudge on the shoulder. "What, you think I look good?"

"That's it. Go switch characters right now!" I snapped, half-joking but a little unnerved.

Steven threw his hands up in surrender, sighing dramatically. "Man, you're such a buzzkill..." He pulled up his menu, scrolling with a bored expression. Then, suddenly, his face went blank. "Wait... what the... I can't log out."

"Very funny," I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Just log out, dude."

"No, seriously." His voice dropped, and his usual joking tone was gone. "The button is gone, man. I'm telling you."

A cold feeling crept over me as I opened my menu, flipping through the options. The log-out button was nowhere in sight. I frowned, tapping around the settings as if it were a glitch. "This... this can't be right. They wouldn't just remove the log-out. Maybe it's hidden under a new update."

"Probably a bug, you know? Day one servers are always messed up," Steven said, trying to sound casual, but the tension was evident. "Remember that Destiny 2 expansion we tried to play at launch? It was a nightmare even to get past character selection."

He gave a forced laugh, but his words only added to the knot of unease in my stomach. I tried to focus, running through everything I knew about VR games. There were supposed to be safeguards, protocols, and something to handle situations exactly like this.