Hell's Glitch (initial draft)

I_K 1.6 Blood and Gold

Chapter 6

After viewing a stylistic mashup of scenes from the game, I was more excited than ever before to play it. There was swords, sorceries, dragons, blood, and war. The combat looked relentless and the atmosphere looked pretty bleak. This wasn't the beautified violence of History's Mightiest Kingdoms. This was something grim, dark, and ugly. I hated to admit it, but I was all for it, stylistically.

To my sudden surprise Fulton Milner appeared in front of my very eyes. I know I was in a dream state, but there was no way in hell he was in my subconscious.

"Welcome to the personalization process, alpha. This is a prerecording of my voice. I'll be feeding you instructions that will allow the Miyabi Full Dive technology to perfectly sync with your movements. Follow my simple instructions for the best results."

I sighed at the idea of another personalization process, but remembered what Maya had said about it. After following Milner's instructions and staring at more multicolored balloons, the camera controls felt much tighter and more comfortable. Once it was done I was left in the dark again as a title painted itself across my screen.

Project_DH

When the dark faded, I found myself hovering once more, this time over a moonlit forest. My view, which was being controlled from elsewhere, swooped in from the sky over a rocky cliffside and deeper into the winding black forest. The camera slowed in a clearing and far in the distance I saw a shadow shuffling about as the camera swiveled around for a more cinematic shot. Once it stopped, I was shown a text box and asked for my name.

It wasn't difficult to choose one, as I'd always had some variant of my favorite goddesses of war to choose from. With no other options left to me, I simply thought the words of the name I'd already decided on. I thought, IMMORtAL_Kalika and the words manifest into the text box. I intended to play this game with a "get shit done" mentality, meaning if there were tough choices to be made, I wouldn't let a little thing like morality get in my way. The name, at least to me, elicited feminine power and determination and made me feel strong, as if I was wrapped in this foreign goddess' embrace and blessed for battle. Silly, I know, but I guess in a way, it was how I roleplayed in these games.

"Good," said a familiar voice from the shadows. It sounded like Fulton Milner. "You have caught on rather quickly. As you can see there are no barriers between your thoughts and actions in the game. This way you can access menus and consult with your assigned developer effortlessly. There will be no communications between players, however, for the sake of maintaining the game's mysterious atmosphere. With that said, you are ready now to create your character."

He stared at me for a few seconds before continuing.

"You'll start with your physical features such as skin color, height, weight, and body type. I'll let you create your perfect virtual body in peace. Just say 'help,' if you need anything."

As he said that, a lifeless mannequin with black hollows for eyes appeared in the clearing. Though it was lifeless, it was made of human flesh and androgynous. Once again, I used my mind to first close it's eyes before making its gender more pronounced.

Considering the type of content promised with the demo cutscene, this game would provide an experience I'd likely enjoy so I decided to put some effort into my PC. As I poured over all the options to sculp a neat looking PC, I couldn't help but notice that I'd really gotten into it, sculpting all aspects of her features. Now, I'd felt absolutely possessed by this idea for my avatar.

Hair like the blood of her fallen foes, each strand a different death. Eyes holding a gold luster, mankind's lust, a lure to those she would slay.