Raxian didn't sit down right away.
He stood in the doorway of the closet-turned-gaming-corner, just staring at it, like if he blinked too hard it might disappear.
Then he stepped in.
Slowly.
Like entering a sacred place.
He ran his fingers across the desk first. Smooth. Cool. Real. The chair spun a little when he touched it, and he quickly stopped it with both hands, suddenly very serious about this.
This wasn't just a computer.
This was his.
He climbed into the chair, legs barely long enough to bend properly, and looked at the dark monitor. His reflection looked back at him — wide golden eyes, messy black hair, hoodie sleeves pulled over his hands.
He reached for the power button.
Click.
The PC hummed to life, lights blooming softly inside the case like a tiny galaxy waking up.
Raxian leaned closer, heart already beating faster.
He didn't rush.
He wanted to do this right.
He clicked through the setup slowly, tongue sticking out in concentration as he chose settings he barely understood but felt were important. Brightness. Sound. Mouse speed. He changed the background three times before settling on a dark blue sky with glowing stars.
It looked… like space.
Like somewhere far away.
Like somewhere you could send a signal.
He nodded to himself.
Perfect.
Then he opened the browser.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
He knew the address by heart.
He had seen it on billboards.
He had whispered it to himself at night.
He typed carefully.
E G O . U N i
He pressed Enter.
For half a second, nothing happened.
Then—
The screen shifted to black.
A soft sound played — not loud, not dramatic. Just a single, clear tone. Like something had just connected.
A thin line of light drew itself across the screen, blue on one side, gold on the other. It pulsed once… then formed a symbol.
EGO
Below it, text appeared:
ENTER THE SIGNAL
Raxian forgot to breathe.
The website didn't look like other sites. There were no flashing ads. No clutter. Just a dark, glowing interface that felt… alive. Subtle animations moved like energy flowing through circuits. Music played softly in the background — the theme he'd listened to so many times, but calmer, like a heartbeat instead of a performance.
It felt like the game already knew he was there.
He scrolled.
Videos of gameplay. Players cheering in arenas. Characters moving like light and fire and sound. Rankings. Tournaments. A world that didn't look like a game.
It looked like a place.
His hands were shaking a little when he clicked:
DOWNLOAD CLIENT
A new window opened.
WELCOME, NEW PLAYER
Your signal awaits.
He swallowed.
The progress bar appeared.
0%
It started to fill.
1% 2% 3%
Raxian leaned forward so much his forehead almost touched the screen.
Every percent felt important. Like each one brought him closer to something bigger than he understood.
He didn't leave his chair. Not even when his mom called his name once from the kitchen. He just answered, "In a minute!" without looking away.
When it reached 100%, a soft chime played.
INSTALLATION COMPLETE
Below it:
INITIALIZE SIGNAL
He clicked.
The launcher opened. The same blue-and-gold light shimmered across the screen. The music deepened slightly, warmer now.
Then the words appeared:
CREATE YOUR IDENTITY
The words appeared slowly.
CREATE YOUR IDENTITY
Raxian leaned closer to the screen.
He expected swords. Classes. Maybe armor sets.
Instead, a human silhouette stood in the center of a dark, endless space.
No weapon.No role.Just… a person-shaped outline made of faint, moving light.
Text faded in at the side:
SIGNAL STATE: UNFORMEDIdentity shapes signal. Signal shapes combat.
Raxian frowned.
"...So I just… make a character?"
He clicked.
The Face
The model rotated toward him.
And Raxian froze.
"…That's… weird."
The character already looked like him.
Same dark hair.Same face shape.Same golden eyes.
Not exact — but close enough to make his chest feel funny.
He searched for sliders. Skin tone. Height. Body type.
Nothing.
Only cosmetic tabs glowed at the side:
Hair StyleHair Color
Hair Detail
Eye Lense
MarkingsOutfitAccessories
That was it.
No height slider.No "make him taller."No "change face shape."
Raxian blinked.
"…You can't change… me?"
He opened Face again, expecting more options to appear.
Nothing.
The avatar still looked like him.
Same features. Same build. Same golden eyes.
Just… digital.
For a second, a strange thought crept in.
Did it use my camera?
He didn't remember allowing that.
Still, the resemblance wouldn't go away.
Like the game had already decided who he was — and wasn't interested in pretending otherwise.
The Hair
He clicked Hair Style.
Dozens of options appeared — short, long, tied back, layered, undercuts.
He flipped through them, watching the model update in real time.
Some looked ridiculous.
Some looked too old.
Some just didn't feel right.
He settled on something close to his real hairstyle — messy, slightly uneven.
Then he opened Hair Detail.
Streak options appeared.
White. Silver. Gold. Blue. Neon. Faded tips.
He hovered over a pale silver-white streak.
The model updated instantly — a sharp streak cutting through the dark hair.
Raxian's eyes widened.
"…That looks cool."
He didn't have that in real life.
But maybe one day.
He selected it.
The Eyes
Next tab: Eye Lenses
A panel opened with different overlay styles.
Not colors — shapes and effects.
Star pupils.Heart highlights.Split-color shine.Digital ring glow.Soft shimmer.Sharp vertical slit.
Each one changed the way light reflected in the avatar's eyes.
Raxian leaned closer.
He tried the star lenses first.
The pupils shimmered like tiny constellations.
"…Okay that's kinda cool."
But it also looked like the character was trying too hard to be special.
He switched to heart lenses.
Absolutely not.
He snorted and changed it back immediately.
Next was a bright digital ring effect — thin glowing circles inside the iris.
Too intense.
Too… pro-player.
He hovered over Natural Shine.
Just a subtle highlight. No pattern. No symbol.
The avatar's golden eyes looked calm. Bright. Real.
He tilted his head.
That felt right.
Not flashy.
Not fake.
Just… him.
He selected it.
Markings
He opened Markings.
Freckles. Face stripes. Subtle under-eye lines. Digital glow patterns.
He tried a faint glowing mark under one eye.
Too much.
Removed it.
Tried a small geometric tattoo near the collarbone.
"…Maybe later."
He left the markings tab empty.
He didn't want to look like a "try-hard."
Just… himself. Slightly cooler.
The Outfit
The base model wore simple grey clothes.
Too plain.
He opened Outfit.
Options slid past — heavy armor, robes, tactical suits, layered streetwear.
Then he saw it.
A dark fitted jacket.Lightweight. Hooded. Clean lines.Fingerless gloves.Combat-style pants.High boots.
Not bulky.Not flashy.
But it looked fast.
Cool.
Like someone who moved before others noticed.
He clicked it.
The outfit formed around the avatar smoothly.
Raxian grinned.
"Yeah. That one."
He didn't pick it because it was strong.
He picked it because it felt right.
Because if he was inside the game…
That's how he'd want to look.
The Energy
As the outfit locked in, something changed.
Light began to gather around the avatar's hands.
At first it was colorless.
Then slowly…
It shifted.
Brightened.
Warmed.
Gold.
Raxian blinked.
"Oh—!"
He checked the menus.
No color wheel.No selection option.
The interface displayed new text:
PRIMARY SIGNAL RESONANCE DETECTED
The gold light pulsed again, stronger this time, flowing through the seams of the jacket like glowing veins.
Raxian stared.
"…It matches my eyes."
He smiled to himself.
Maybe the game did that on purpose.
Maybe it just picked colors that looked good.
He didn't know.
What he didn't see —
Was the small line of system text appearing for less than a second in the corner:
Resonance Profile Initializing…
Weapon Slot
He checked the weapon tab.
Weapon State: NONE
"…Huh?"
No sword option. No gun. No staff.
Only:
Combat Form: Raw Signal
He looked at the avatar's glowing hands again.
Energy pulsed there softly, like a heartbeat.
"So… I just fight with… light?"
That sounded awesome, actually.
Name Entry
The final prompt appeared.
SIGNAL IDENTIFIER REQUIRED
Raxian sat back.
This part felt bigger than picking clothes.
This was his name inside the world.
He thought about cool usernames.
Funny ones.
Edgy ones.
None felt right.
Because he didn't want to be someone else in EGO.
He wanted to be…
Seen.
He leaned forward and typed.
Rax
Short. Simple. His.
He hit confirm.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then the gold energy around the avatar pulsed sharply — like something locking into place.
A soft tone played in his headphones.
SIGNAL TAG ACCEPTEDIDENTITY: RAX
The glow deepened.
Stabilized.
Like the game had been waiting for that.
A calm voice spoke:
"Welcome to EGO, Rax. Signal link established."
Raxian smiled at the screen, heart racing.
It didn't feel like he had finished creating a character.
It felt like the game had just finished recognizing him.