Jayden eyes snapped open. A loading screen flickered across his vision—light bleeding in from every direction—before the world vanished into a pure, weightless white.
[Welcome to EverRealm]
[Please input your in-game name]
A cursor blinked in front of him.
Jayden paused, lips slightly parted, his mind racing through half-baked ideas. Names were powerful. Meaningful. It had to feel right.
After a moment of silence, he muttered with a subtle grin,
"Orion."
The letters etched themselves in glowing gold—solid, sharp, cosmic.
[Name Accepted: ORION]
Then the white space shifted.
A tall mirror appeared before him, framed in twisting strands of starlight. He blinked in surprise as his reflection sharpened into view.
He was standing barefoot on polished nothingness, dressed in only black shorts. His body was exactly as it was in reality... muscular, silver hair, lean frame. It was surreal. It felt more real than any VR system he’d ever experienced. The air, the chill on his skin, even the echo of his breath.. it all felt alive.
He stepped closer to the mirror. Then a promot appeared.
[Customize Your Avatar]
Menus materialized around him like floating UI runes. He selected Outfit, and options cascaded open.
He tapped through them slowly, thoughtfully. Then he chose a black sleeveless combat shirt, a matte black tactical pants with reinforced kneepads and solid black boots, coupled with black bindings coiling from his knuckles up to mid-forearms.
Next, he slid over to ’Appearance’ and paused. Then, with a mischievous glint, he shortened his silver hair into a sharp, cropped cut—and dyed it raven black.
He looked... dangerous. Focused. Like the version of himself that didn’t hold back.
Then came the weapons and abilities option, but Jayden skipped both. He wasn’t a fan of weapons, and as for ability... the pod had already scanned his body—every cell, every gene, every flicker of memory connected to combat. The game read his stats, his abilities, his style. If it wasn’t part of him in the real world, he didn’t want it in here either.
Though, the game didn’t read the system.
Jayden had tried to summon the system’s screen earlier, but it didn’t work. He couldn’t speak to Luna as well. He was cut off with the system completely. And this meant he couldn’t activate any of the system skills, only abilities.
He pondered why this was so, but later discarded it as the system being incognito so as not to be detected by any form.
[Appearance Confirmed]
[Loadout Complete]
[Syncing Brain-Scan Skills and Abilities...]
[Synchronisation Complete]
Then an influx of information about the rules and guidelines of the game flooded his mind. He instantly understood how the game worked... starting matches, changing loadout, hosting arena battles and more.
Then, a list of nearby players came into view. And just as he was about to select a random match, a ping echoed across the room.
[You have received a friend request from Firestar]
Jayden smirked. He could take a wild guess of who it was.
"Of course." He accepted the request.
A moment later, a new window popped up:
[Firestar has invited you to a Private Arena]
[Do you accept?]
He didn’t hesitate. "Yes."
[Accepted]
[Loading Arena...]
Light exploded around him. The mirror shattered into stars.
He reappeared inside a glowing, wide, domed arena—seemingly suspended in the clouds. Everything was white marble and crystal blue light, like a palace designed by the gods themselves.
And there, standing on the opposite platform was.. Cassandra. Or rather, Firestar.
Jayden’s smirk twitched upward.
She was dressed in a custom-fit crimson combat outfit, detailed in glowing gold thread that traced the curves of her frame like sacred circuitry. Her violet hair was longer than usual, braided down one side with flames licking from her shoulder armor. She looked like a warrior princess from a legendary realm, standing proud and radiant.
But even with all that power in her stance, Jayden could tell.. she was nervous.
"Hey," Jayden called, stepping forward casually.
Cassandra blinked, then smiled softly. "Took you long enough."
Jayden shrugged. "I was busy looking cool."
She chuckled, but her eyes were scanning him up and down. "Black hair, huh? I preferred silver."
Jayden spun on his heel for effect. "Thought I’d try something new. You’re not looking so bad yourself, Firestar."
Cassandra smiled. "Thanks. I went full drama queen."
They laughed together for a moment. The tension melted slightly.
Then Cassandra cocked her head. "So... what do you think?"
Jayden smiled faintly. "I think the creators did a great job. Everything looks and feels real."
Cassandra chuckled. "Yeah, sometimes i even forget that I’m in a game. It’s just so realistic. But the fights are even more exciting." she grinned, cracking her knuckles.
Jayden chuckled. "I see."
Cassandra yawned. "So how do wanna do this? A full-out combat? Or just martial arts?"
Jayden nodded. "Only martial arts. No powers. Just fists and pure skills."
Cassandra smirked. "You sure you can handle that?"
Jayden dropped into a loose stance. "I’ll manage. Besides... I owe you another box of chocolate. Might as well bet on another."
She crossed her arms, voice lowering with amusement. "You’re on."
A robotic voice echoed overhead:
[Arena Rules: Win by KO only]
[BEGIN ON COUNTDOWN...]
3...
Jayden rolled his shoulders, body sinking into a low, fluid stance—his mind steady, focused.
2...
Cassandra adjusted her footwork, bouncing lightly on her heels. Her gaze locked on him, all trace of hesitation gone.
1...
Jayden smiled at her. "Ready?"
She returned the smile—sharp and sweet. "Always."
[BEGIN!]
The spar began not with a boom—but a blur.
Cassandra dashed forward, her punch aimed straight for his jaw. Jayden ducked, rolled, and countered with a spinning sweep. She jumped over it, twisted midair, and landed a sharp elbow strike to his side.
He grunted but grabbed her wrist, pulled her forward—and she flipped off his shoulder, landing behind him with a smooth slide.
"Not bad," she breathed, already circling him.
Jayden chuckled. "You’re good."
Cassandra smiled smugly. "Are you surprised?"
Jayden nodded. "Your mum said i should teach you martial arts... so i thought maybe you weren’t exactly.. good."
Cassandra let out a chortle. "My mum says a lot of things, Jayden." she said. "I should have you know that I’m a black belt in Karate and Tae Kwon do... and I’m a master of Muay Thai."
Jayden chuckled. "Wow. That’s impressive. Guess i shouldn’t hold back then." he smirked.
Cassandra grinned. "Please, don’t. Cause i won’t."
They clashed again, faster this time. Blow after blow. Dodge after dodge. The air was alive with their movement—like watching wind and fire play tag with one another.
Neither one of them used their full strength. That wasn’t the point. This was rhythm. A dance.
A connection.
Jayden could see it in the gleam of her eyes.
She was enjoying this.
So was he.