Posters of fictional heroes with backdrops of their magical worlds plastered every inch of my room. Collector sets of countless figurines posed gallantly on my desk and shelves. They all had a story, overcame tragedy, triumphed over their struggles, and became someone worthy of great renown.

  But I was not like them. Far from them. I hid in my room, on the brink of hopelessness, and afraid of the world.

  But in my safe place, I could watch them—the heroes in my room. And maybe, just a little, dream that I could be like them.

  However, my safe space is now crashing down.

  Across from me, sitting on my bed, sat an intruder in my safe haven. Well, calling my dad, the real owner of my room, an intruder was a stretch. Technically, he could kick an unemployed homebody like me out of his house at any moment. Thank goodness, he didn’t. I know he was tempted many times.

  But he didn’t understand. Once glance, and I knew. His eyes darted around, and I saw the look on his face. I knew too well when someone was passing judgment. And my father was doing so right now. Alas, such is human nature. But please, not here. Not in my most intimate and vulnerable place. Yet, I could not refute the landlord who raised and fed me.

  My dad sat on my bed, looking around for what felt like eternity. It was like he was reading my most inner thoughts, examining my worth. I knew I didn’t meet his expectations. I was nothing like my older brother, the gifted child who could do it all. My brother was someone I could never overcome.

  My fingers fidgeted restlessly in my lap as I leaned against my desk. The silence was deafening and only further made me self-conscious of the awkward atmosphere.

  My dad wanted to talk to me about my gaming habits, which meant he did not agree with my current way of life. But there was more to it than what he knew. To my reluctance, my dad decided to have the conversation in my room, which in a way was better since that pesky Banshee and overbearing mother couldn’t openly listen.

  But my father was taking too long. Better to get this talk of his over with and push him out. The longer he stayed, the more likely he was going to nitpick over something.

  “So, Dad, ya know... My package that was just delivered? Like I was telling Mom, it doesn’t connect to wi-fi so I’m not breaking any rules.”

  “Dylan,” my dad started, his voice deep and stern.

  I unconsciously pulled away.

  My dad stopped. An awkward pause hung in the air, before he started again—this time I could tell he purposefully lightened his voice. “Dylan… How do I say this? I do not want to sound like I am attacking you.”

  “Then don’t,” I replied, putting up my walls. I braced myself for impact. No punches were going to be thrown, but was it going to hurt like last time?

  “I- We want to help you. Me, your mom, Angela, and Aster.”

  I flinched at the mention of Aster.

  I tried to avoid anything Aster related. “Angela, you sure about that, Dad?”

  “She… well, in her own teasing kind-of-way, I would say, yes.”

  I rolled my eyes in serious doubt. But I knew where this was headed. “Okay. Fine, let’s say that she does. What are you all trying to help me with?”

  My dad paused, uncertain how to move forward. Everything boiled back down to the same problem they had with me—meeting expectations that I couldn’t give them. One of them being everything in this room.

  “You know the thing we talked about last time? How you said you will look into it? How is that going?”

  “Finding a corporate job?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from anything in my room.

  “Well, we can start there, sure. So how is it going? Are you consistently applying?”

  “I guess so…”

  “So no.”

  “No! I didn’t say I never applied! I did… some just never replied.”

  “So are you saying some did?”

  “Yeah…”

  “So how did that go?”

  “Isn’t it obvious if you still see me here everyday?”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “…right.”

  The room fell silent once again. Feeling the need to fill the void, my dad made a blunder. Maybe on purpose.

  “So you are still into cartoons and stuff, huh? It is the weekend, you know? How about going out with your friends instead?”

  I knew what my dad insinuated. Heat rose from my stomach, boiling up to my head.

  I hissed through my teeth, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing, Dylan! Calm down. I just thought you would grow out of it like Aster.”

  My fists tightened. “Like Aster?”

  “Hey, come on, Dylan. I meant no harm in that. You know you used to look up to him growing up.”

  The corner of my lips drooped down. I felt my chest tighten. My heart twisted. My dad was right. I did. And I still do, but at the same time I now hated his guts too.

  “Actually, I just talked to your brother yesterday. He said you have not reached back to him. He told me he could help put in a good word at his workplace if you forward him your resume.”

  So that’s what Dad wanted.

  “No,” I sharply replied.

  “Why not? It is to your benefit. You will have a higher chance of getting hired.”

  “Dad,” I said, cold as ice.

  “Son-“

  “I said, no!” I half-snapped. “I’ll do it on my own.”

  “…Ok.”

  I wished my dad would just leave. I was not ready to confront my demons or my brother. Simple words would not fix them. I know what my problems are, but pushing is not helping. It took everything I had to not snap at my dad.

  Sensing the tense atmosphere, my dad changed subjects. “Let us talk about something else, yeah? What I said earlier… Sometimes it is good to get out of the house. Change of pace, you know? Getting out of this room would help. Go meet up with your friends. Have some fun. Talk to real girls.”

  I tried. I really did. But I stood up off my desk, glared at my dad, and was about to say something bad.

  “Dylan, I only say this because I want the best for you.”

  I tried to shut him out, looking away at the reticular floorboards instead of my dad’s face.

  But he kept hammering away, “Staying inside here means you’re running away from your problems, away from reality. It does not solve anything.”

  The emotions boiling inside were about to erupt out through my mouth. My dad punched where it hurts. I was ready to throw words. I knew what to say that would hurt him too. But just when I was about to pull the trigger, I bit my tongue and remained quiet. I hated it when my parents were right. But how dare he?! How dare he?! What did he know?! What did he know about me?! He never bothered to know me! He only cared to know about Aster!

  “You’re a smart kid, Dylan,” my dad said, standing up. Before leaving, he added, “I may have said too much, but think deeply about what I said. I’ll give you some money if you want to go out.”

  As the door closed, I helplessly fell back against my desk. I heard things fall off and shatter on the floor, but I was aware of something more unfortunate. I now realized how pitiful I was in my parents’ eyes.

  So not only am I a failure, I’m a pitiful failure. A complete loser.

  I walked like a mindless zombie to my bed. I hit a new low and lifelessly crashed onto my blanket, legs flopping in the air before falling flat onto the bed.

  Speaking into the side of my pillow, I whispered, “I don’t need your money, Dad. I don’t have any friends, and I don’t need any friends. I can’t trust people. There’s nothing for me here. I just don’t fit in this world.”

  …

  Cold seeping through the window awoke me from slumber. Moonlight streamed in and gently illuminated the room. I must have slept through the whole afternoon. My eyes squinted opened, but I saw double of everything. I blinked multiple times before my vision readjusted. I sat up, not feeling tired, but not rested either. After the talk with my dad, I felt empty. Pathetic, even.

  But I didn’t want to sleep, nor did I want to get up. Therefore, playing games was not happening. But since I read everything I wanted to, there was nothing to do. I glanced around the room, seeing the posters of fictional heroes. Maybe I could rewatch something for the tenth time or daydream.

  As I looked around, I noticed a small yellow package on my desk that wasn’t there before. A sense of deja vu hit me.

  I think I saw that yesterday… on the entryway table near the mail… no way…

  Way, indeed, Dylan. My package that I expected to be as big as a commercial microwave was in fact a dinky bubble wrapped envelope. I know virtual reality headsets have come a long way these days, but really now? Envelope size? Nah, not yet.

  I shuffled off my bed and walked over to my desk. I looked down, eyes frowning with skepticism. Still, if it did what the ads promised, then at this point, I didn’t care.

  Dad was right. I’m escaping reality. And I’m doing so through this supposed new technology that doesn’t need to be hooked to anything.

  Lifting up the package, one side was already cut open. As I pulled out the contents, I lifted one eyebrow in confusion. With one hand ruffling my brown hair, I wondered if I was scammed.

  “The hell? Is this the donut cushion of a broken headphone? No wonder Dad thought it was weird.” Something wrong crossed my mind. “Wait. Hopefully, Dad didn’t think it was something perverted!”

  I slapped my forehead. I hope my dad never asks.

  The product looked nothing as advertised. I expected a visor-like design the size of a belt that went around the eyes or forehead. That’s how the product was shown in the ads. But the thing in my hand felt gel-like, almost like silicone.

  As I was jiggling the circular, donut disk in my hand, a slip of paper fell out of the package and landed on the desk.

  Huh?

  Instructions: Recommended to lie down when using. Place on either side of the temple area of the head. Press and hold down for ten seconds to activate. System will connect you and monitor your biometrics. Extreme pain will be halved. Can be adjusted in game but is ill-advised as it may lead to permanent physiological damage. If death is imminent, you will be forcefully disconnected.

  Note from Zaimos Corp: Remember, there are no rules, but there are consequences. Live as you choose, but choose wisely. We look forward to how you will change the Realms!

  Enjoy Fateful Journey, a true otherworldly experience!

  Warning: Once the product is used, it is bound and non transferrable.

  “Um… okay?”

  Some of the instructions looked like other typical VR directions and warnings. The message from Zaimos was definitely strange, almost foreboding? But overall, the message sounded standard besides the bounded thing. A strange way to put things. Maybe the device recognizes DNA? A good selling strategy, I suppose. It would force interested new customers to buy new VR sets.

  But I was still half skeptical, thinking the whole thing was a scam. I mean, what kind of instruction manual was a small postcard?

  Well, if it doesn’t work, I’ll just refund it or throw it away. Albeit a big waste of the little money I have.

  With nothing left to lose, I decided to give the strange silicone disk a try. Laying down in bed, I slapped the disk onto the side of my head and began counting.

  …6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

  “Gah!” I gasped out as something from the disk gripped my delicate skin on the side of my head.

  As if alive, the gel moved like Liquid Metal, rolling across my forehead.

  “Argh! Holy…!”

  A jolt zapped the side of my head, and I felt an splitting headache. It was like someone grabbed my brain and ripped it out of my skull. The experience was short-lived, but something felt off. I felt nothing, as if completely disconnected as I drifted into darkness. Panic ran through my mind as I could no longer see or feel my body. I couldn’t sense anything! Such a cold and lonely feeling…

  “What is this?! VR isn’t supposed to be like this! I should still sense my body! Stop!”

  Just as I said so, I saw a speck of white light flickered below me. It grew larger and larger, faster and faster until I was entirely enveloped. I didn’t know what it was, but now at least I could feel something. What exactly, I wasn’t so sure… It felt familiar, yet distant, like from a long time ago. Strange.

  “What’s going on!? What’s happening?!”

  “Welcome, Player, to Fateful Journey. You will now choose your character.”