A piercing hum fills the air.
Kai's eyes snap open. Darkness fades into a blur of color — trees, mist, and a sky painted in gray. Cold air hits his lungs; he gasps. He's lying on damp grass, surrounded by towering pines that whisper softly in the wind.
(Where… where am I?)
He sits up slowly, pressing his palms into the wet earth. The soil is real. Too real. His breathing quickens as he looks down at his hands — smaller, smoother, not his own.
His pulse spikes.
He stumbles toward a puddle and freezes.
A woman stares back from the reflection — dark hair, Korean features, sharp eyes filled with confusion.
(That's… that's Katy. My character.)
He slaps the water in disbelief. The reflection ripples, then settles, moving perfectly with him.
(What the hell is this?!)
Then, in the corner of his vision, translucent text flickers like a hologram:
[Day 1 – Player: Katy (User: Kai)]
Location: Northern Forest – Spawn Zone
Connection Status: Stable
249 Participants Pending Activation (December 1, 2035)
His brain refuses to process it.
(DeadZ 2 Experimental… I actually… loaded in?)
He shakes his head violently. (No. No, no, this can't be happening. I'm probably dreaming… hallucinating…)
He digs his fingers into the dirt. The texture, the smell of pine, the cold wind — all too vivid to be a dream.
He laughs nervously. (Alright. Sure. Yeah. Just some insane lucid dream about a game I love. No big deal, right?)
He tries to pull up the pause menu — nothing. No cursor, no escape key. Just the eerie whisper of the forest and his own panicked breath.
(…Okay. Maybe it's not a dream.)
Hours pass as he wanders through the forest. Birds scatter above, mist curls around the trees. Somewhere far off, he hears running water — a stream. He follows it, kneeling to inspect the clear current.
(Dirty water. Always infected. Fifty-fifty chance of getting sick.)
He laughs bitterly. (I can't believe I'm following game mechanics like they matter.)
He doesn't drink. Deep down, something tells him they do.
After hours of walking, he emerges from the treeline. A quiet town lies ahead: weathered buildings, a water tower, faint smoke curling from chimneys. His breath catches.
(Raven Creek… the spawn town.)
No usernames. No chat. Just eerie silence.
A faint chime sounds:
[Safe Zone Entered – Raven Creek Spawn Town]
Kai almost laughs — shaky, hollow.
(Okay, this is officially insane.)
He walks down the empty street. Boots crunch on broken glass. Rusted signs sway in the wind. Every detail feels handcrafted.
He slips into an old diner. The neon OPEN sign flickers faintly. Dust motes float in the fading light. He scavenges drawers — a lighter, a few cans of beans, a rusted hatchet hanging behind the counter.
He grips it tightly.
(Guess I'm playing along until I wake up.)
A small fire warms the stove. The heat seeps into his bones. For a moment, he almost feels safe.
But the silence feels wrong. Too empty.
A distant moan rises from the woods outside. Slow, dragging steps.
Kai freezes. Hatchet tight in hand.
(They're here.)
He blows out the flame and crouches low, heart hammering.
(Breathe. You know how this works. Stay quiet. Don't make noise.)
Meanwhile – the real world
Elara monitors the neural map, eyes bloodshot. Every heartbeat, every neural spike of USER_0001 — Kai — shows clearly on the screen.
(He's still alive in there…)
She tries to open a comm channel, but firewalls block her. She opens a hidden console, preparing to send an admin message if necessary.
Later that night, across town:
Clara Hargreaves collapses onto her couch, exhausted from another long day. She scrolls through her phone and freezes on a post:
"Closed Beta Access – DeadZ 2 Experimental – Sign ups Now Open. Sign-up Closes December 1, 2035"
A smirk forms. (DeadZ 2? Huh, that's new.)
She taps the sign-up link. Within moments:
"Thank you for registering. Participant #132."
She yawns, tossing the phone aside. (Maybe this time I'll last longer than two hours.)
The glow fades.
Back inside the game, Kai sits beside the ashes of his small fire in the diner. Knees pulled to his chest. Outside, the forest is silent again.
The HUD floats faintly in his vision:
[Day 1 – 10 Days Remaining Until Global Activation]
He whispers:
(If this isn't a dream… then I'm the only one here.)
Lightning flashes outside, reflecting in the cracked window. Katy's face stares back — calm but haunted.
Kai closes his eyes. (Just survive. Figure it out tomorrow.)
And deep down, beneath disbelief, a new fear settles:
(What if there is no waking up?)
End of Chapter 2