The capsule's door closed behind Kenji with a soft metallic hiss.
It felt final, like a decision had been made. Darkness engulfed him completely. It was absolute and suffocating, lasting for a heartbeat that felt like forever.
Then, a faint thrum vibrated through the padded seat, a subtle energy that seeped into his bones. His breath hitched.
A single, stark word bloomed in the void before him, glowing with an otherworldly blue light:
**LOADING…**
It was like a forgotten dream surfacing, a memory of a time he'd never lived. He had seen screens like this in old documentaries.
They showed grainy footage of people in their homes. They strapped themselves into similar capsules. Their faces showed wonder at an experience he had only heard of.
A cold dread, mixed with a frantic, desperate hope, twisted in his gut. _What have I done? Is this even safe?_
The word shimmered, then dissolved into a kaleidoscope of swirling light. Greens, purples, and golds shift and merge. Then, a sudden, jarring noise erupts.
Distant roars, the clash of unseen blades, the whisper of wind through digital leaves. It was overwhelming, a tidal wave of sensory input he wasn't prepared for.
He shut his eyes tight, trying to block out the flood of feelings. Still, the sensations continued, creating a bright, inner world.
"No, no, no," he mumbled, pressing the heels of his palms against his temples.
"This isn't real. This can't be real." But the vibrations beneath him, the raw data assaulting his mind, screamed otherwise.
A voice, deep and resonant, boomed through the ethereal chaos. "**WELCOME, PLAYER.**"
Kenji's eyes snapped open. The swirling lights coalesced, resolving into a breathtaking vista.
He wasn't in the basement anymore. He stood on a wide, sunlit plain. The bright green grass reached out to a horizon topped with snow-capped mountains.
A colossal, shimmering tree, its branches reaching for the heavens, dominated the sky. It felt… more real than real. The scent of fresh earth and distant pine filled his nostrils, sharper than any scent he'd ever known.
"What the…?" he breathed, spinning slowly, taking in the impossible landscape.
"Where _am_ I? Is this… virtual reality?" He reached out a hand, brushing against what felt like actual blades of grass.
They felt real. Too real.
Another ethereal panel shimmered into existence before him, familiar yet alien. It was a character selection screen.
A high-resolution avatar of a warrior, clad in gleaming plate armor, stood poised, sword in hand. Beside him, a nimble rogue, then a robed mage. And above them, in bold, stark lettering:
**CHOOSE YOUR CLASS**
Below the warrior, a block of text scrolled:
**[Knight of Lumina – Tank/Melee DPS. Renowned for their unwavering defense and devastating frontal assaults. Requires high STR and VIT.]**
Kenji's jaw hung open.
"This… this is _Aethelgard_," he whispered, a tremor in his voice.
He recognized the class names from the endless stories, the fables of the Game Borns.
The very game that had shaped their world, the one he had been too late to ever experience. "But how? The servers were shut down decades ago!"
His gaze drifted to a smaller, almost hidden prompt at the bottom of the panel.
**[RESTORE PREVIOUS CHARACTER? – "SHADOWBANE" (LVL 87 – Dark Knight)]**
His heart seized.
Level 87. Dark Knight. Not a warrior, not a mage. Dark Knight.
The name alone thrummed with a sinister power. He knew of Dark Knights' rare, formidable players, masters of both shadow magic and brute force. And Level 87?
That was almost unheard of, even among the most celebrated Game Borns. Hana was Level 43. Ren, 51.
"Shadowbane…" he murmured, the name feeling heavy on his tongue.
"This capsule… it belonged to Shadowbane?" He imagined the scorn, the pity, the casual dismissals from his family.
Useless. Leech. No-power. The words echoed, honed by years of use, sparking a strong, sudden craving for more.
He didn't want to start at the bottom again, to crawl his way up from Level 1, learning rudimentary spells. He wanted to leap. He wanted to take what was offered.
His finger, trembling slightly, hovered over the "RESTORE PREVIOUS CHARACTER" option.
It was a risk, a monumental leap into the unknown. But what did he have to lose? His current life was a mockery, a struggle for scraps.
"Alright, Shadowbane," he said, his voice gaining a newfound firmness. "Let's see what you've got."
He pressed it.
The world around him dissolved again, replaced by a blinding flash of violet light. He felt like he was being pulled apart and put back together, molecule by molecule.
It wasn't painful, but it caused a deep sense of unease. He felt stretched thin, then snapped back into place.
When the light receded, he was back in the basement. The familiar scent of damp earth and dust filled his nostrils. He was still in the capsule, the door hissed open, and the green light on its side panel glowed steadily.
He pushed himself up, his limbs feeling strangely… different. Lighter, yet more grounded. Like a tightly coiled spring. He stepped out of the capsule, his bare feet meeting the cold concrete floor.
He took a deep breath, the air suddenly tasting sharper, cleaner. He saw the tiny dust motes dancing in his flashlight beam.
These particles were ones he wouldn't have noticed before. Every creak of the old house, every distant rumble of a passing vehicle, seemed amplified.
Then, it appeared.
A translucent blue panel appeared at the edge of his vision, just like the one he'd seen in the digital realm.
It wasn't in front of him, but somehow _part_ of his vision, as if it was overlaid onto reality.
**[Shadowbane – Level 87 – Dark Knight]** **[HP: 8700/8700]** **[MP: 6500/6500]** **[STR: 250 (+120)]** **[VIT: 200 (+100)]** **[DEX: 150 (+80)]** **[INT: 180 (+90)]** **[WIS: 140 (+70)]** **[LUC: 50 (+25)]**
Kenji stared, speechless.
His own name wasn't there. It was Shadowbane. And the numbers… they were astronomical.
Hana's highest stat, her INT, was barely 100. Ren's STR was around 150. These numbers were monumental.
"This… this can't be happening," he whispered, his voice trembling.
He reached out, his fingers passing right through the glowing text as if it were a mirage. Yet, it was undeniably there.
"Am I dreaming? Is this some kind of advanced VR hallucination?" He tried to swipe at it, then rub his eyes, but the panel remained stubbornly in place.
Below the stats, new tabs were clearly visible:
**[Skills (Tab)]** **[Inventory (Tab)]** **[Quests (Tab)]** **[Notifications (Tab)]**
"Tabs?" he muttered, a nervous laugh escaping him. "Like… like a game interface? But this is… real life!" He looked around the dusty basement, then back at the floating display.
The contrast was jarring.
A sudden, intense burning sensation erupted in his right palm. He cried out, snatching his hand back.
"Ow! What was that?!"
A symbol, like a stylized, jagged claw mark, glowed fiercely on his skin, pulsing with a dark, purplish light. It faded almost as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind a faint, almost invisible mark.
A new notification flashed in his vision:
**[Passive Skill: Shadow Brand (Rank 1) – Unlocked. Gain 10% increased damage against creatures of light. Allows for minor passive regeneration in shadows.]**
"Shadow Brand?" Kenji read aloud, his voice laced with disbelief. "Creatures of light? What does that even mean?" He stared at his hand, then at the notification.
"This isn't just a dream. This is… actual power."
He focused on the "Skills" tab, the glowing icon beckoning him. With a sudden focus he didn't know he had, the tab expanded. It filled his view with a list of daunting abilities.
**[Dark Slash (Active) – Unleash a swift, shadow-infused attack. MP Cost: 50]** **[Shadow Step (Active) – Instantly teleport a short distance into shadows. MP Cost: 70]** **[Abyssal Shield (Active) – Form a temporary barrier of dark energy. MP Cost: 100]** **[Death's Embrace (Ultimate) – ...]**
The list went on, filled with names that sounded both terrifying and exhilarating.
"Dark Slash… Shadow Step… These are real skills?"
He had no idea what half of them meant or how to even begin using them. This was like being handed the keys to a fighter jet when he'd only ever ridden a bicycle.
He stumbled backward, leaning against the cold, damp wall. A choked laugh escaped him, half-hysterical, half-triumphant.
"Actually. Freaking kidding me." All those years of being mocked, of being invisible, of being the "useless one." And now… this.
He looked at the gaming capsule, a relic from a bygone era, now imbued with a power he couldn't comprehend.
"Someone hid you here," he murmured to the silent machine. "Someone wanted this power to stay. Why? Was Shadowbane a hero? A villain?"
The questions hammered at him, but beneath them, a nascent thrill began to solidify. This wasn't just about proving his family wrong.
This was about a world he never thought he'd be a part of. A world where he was no longer a shadow, but perhaps, literally, a **Shadowbane**.
He extended his right hand, focusing on the mark that had appeared. A soft purple glow came from his palm. It was bright enough to make a flickering shadow on the dusty floor.
It wasn't much, but it was his. Or rather, it was Shadowbane's, and now, it was his to control.
He grinned, a wide, genuine grin that hadn't graced his face in years.
It was crooked, a little wild, and undeniably, terrifyingly, real.
"They won't know what hit them," he whispered, the words laced with a dark satisfaction.
The weight of secrecy settled on him then, heavy but exhilarating. He couldn't just walk out of the basement and announce this. Not yet. He needed to understand. He needed to train.
And for the first time in his life, Kenji felt a fierce, burning purpose. He was going to master this. He was going to prove not just to his family, but to himself, that the "useless one" was anything but. The mockery.
"Okay then," he drew a small smile on his face.
"let's start from scratch."