Frustrated and angry with his life, Jason begins playing a first-of-its-kind virtual reality game. He soon finds himself on the path to becoming the game's villain and he starts to suspect that the game is much more than it appears.
October 7, 2076: Six days after the release of Awaken Online.
Chris ran desperately through the dead forest. Thick black clouds hovered in the sky, obscuring the sun and casting the forest in an almost impenetrable darkness. He could just barely make out the gnarled, leafless branches of the trees around him.
His heart raced. He began to panic as he considered what was chasing him. The images of the dead and dying were burned into his mind. The fear pushed him to run faster. His breath came in heavy, ragged gasps and his legs pumped frantically. His stamina was depleting swiftly as he struggled against the weight of the heavy mail he wore.
Chris heard the screams behind him, but he didn't turn to look. He knew that they were the men in his contingent. Their group had gotten separated from the main army. However, a part of him was thankful that whoever had let out that scream had bought him a few precious seconds.
"Oh god," he panted. "Please don't let them catch me."
Low hanging branches snagged on his clothing and armor. His foot collided with a tree limb that lay on the ground and Chris toppled forward, landing with a heavy thud. He could feel a dull ache in his ankle. The fall and minor pain caused his panic to escalate.
Chris turned quickly and looked behind him, his eyes full of fear.
Lightning arced between the boiling clouds and then a bolt struck a nearby tree with a deafening crash. The lightning pushed back at the darkness that hung in the air like a thick blanket, illuminating the massacre in the distance. Bodies littered the ground - the remains of Chris's teammates and the soldiers they had been traveling with.
In the flash of light, Chris caught sight of a figure moving through the trees. This person walked with a casual, purposeful tread that stood out in stark contrast to the chaotic movements of the enemy soldiers. The man's body was shrouded in a billowing black cloak that obscured his face and clothing. He motioned toward Chris' position and the dark forms around him rushed forward.
Chris felt a strange mixture of awe and fear as he watched the dark figure.
"Is-is that Jason?" he asked quietly into the darkness.
A throaty roar was his only response. Chris saw the swiftly approaching group of soldiers and the bottom dropped out of his stomach. He tried madly to regain his footing, but struggled to rise, his heavy mail once again an impediment. He knew he only had a few seconds.
As he made it to his feet, he felt a dull pain in his abdomen. He looked down and saw a blade jutting from his stomach. The blade withdrew swiftly and blood pooled around the wound. Chris turned, pulling his sword from its scabbard with a scrape of metal. His free hand clutched instinctively at his abdomen. A part of him already knew that it was too late.
His opponent stood behind him. The creature's left arm dangled at an unnatural angle and his armor was streaked with blood. Chris could see a ragged gash in the once-living man's throat.
Chris steeled himself as he glared into the creature's milky white eyes, "Come and get me you undead asshole."
The zombie grinned mockingly and shook his head. A dull pain bloomed in Chris' back.
I was flanked, he thought in shock as he fell to his knees.
Blood drained from the wounds in his stomach and back. It was only a matter of time before he died. He looked up and saw the dark figure walking slowly towards him. A black cat wound around the man's feet like a shadow. Chris still couldn't make out his face beneath the heavy, hooded cloak.
"I know who you are," Chris muttered angrily as the man approached. "The others will stop you."
Jason chuckled darkly, his lips curling into a grin. "I doubt it."
Without ceremony, the zombie behind Chris drew a blade across his neck. The pain lasted only a moment before the world went dark.
Then a prompt appeared in Chris' vision:
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