Kairo groaned as he slowly pushed himself up from the cold, stone floor. Every muscle in his body screamed, but the searing pain that had gripped him moments ago was fading, leaving only a dull ache he could manage. Blinking, he shook off the lingering haze and saw her, Yuki, clinging to him, tears streaking her cheeks.
She sobbed quietly, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. For a brief, fleeting moment, something stirred deep inside Kairo, a warmth he had never felt before. It was strange, almost disorienting, a sense of familiarity, as if he had known her for years. But that didn't make sense. She was an NPC, just a character in the game, lines of code masquerading as life. And yet, the sensation lingered, impossibly real.
Gently, he disentangled himself from her embrace and pushed to his feet, legs unsteady. "Don't worry about me," he said, keeping his voice steady. "I don't know what happened. The VR headset… probably just a glitch."
Yuki tilted her head, confusion clouding her face. "Huh? VR headset?"
Kairo clenched his fists, resisting the urge to explain. The game didn't allow it. NPCs couldn't comprehend the truth, and any attempt to tell them they were part of a game would be muted automatically. He took a deep breath and pushed the thought aside. "Where is the 100th-floor boss?"
Yuki blinked, then said softly, "There isn't one… just me here."
Kairo realized there isn't a boss on the 100th floor, only her, a NPC.
They talked for a while. Kairo's mind kept wandering. The warmth he had felt earlier refused to fade, a ghost of something impossible. Finally, he muttered, "I should… go."
Yuki pouted slightly, looking sad, and said, "Oh, okay." And without another word, Kairo logged out. The world dissolved around him in a soft hum, and he was back in his small, dimly lit apartment. The VR headset slipped from his head, leaving him slumped in his chair, staring blankly at nothing, lost in thought.
He had done it. He had finally beaten Beyond The Veil. The pinnacle of virtual reality experiences, the ultimate test of skill and endurance. Years of effort, countless hours, and now, it was over. Yet the victory felt hollow.
Kairo unlocked his phone and scrolled through game recommendations absentmindedly. Nothing could match the realism, the intensity, or the sense of connection he had felt in the game. He sighed and opened a simple mobile game instead, something mindless to occupy his hands while his mind wandered elsewhere.
Hours passed. He swiped and tapped mechanically until he noticed an app already installed on his phone called My Girlfriend. He hadn't remembered downloading it, but the icon seemed new, like it had appeared after he logged out for the first time since beating the game. Curiosity won. He tapped it.
The interface was simple. Only one character appeared, a girl. Kairo hesitated, then tapped her icon. The chat window opened, empty except for a blinking cursor. Lying on his bed, alone and restless, he typed, "Hello."
The reply came hesitantly. "Who are you? Why can I hear your voice?"
Kairo blinked. Hesitation in a response? That was unusual. "What's your name?"
Almost immediately, the answer appeared: "My name's Yuki."
His heart skipped. Yuki. The same Yuki from the VR world. He froze, staring at the screen. The way she phrased her words, the soft hesitation, the rhythm—it was exactly like her. He shook his head, trying to rationalize it. It's probably just another AI. Maybe it's a new feature they're testing. Since I beat the game, maybe they gave me this early.
He typed again, careful, cautious. Conversation flowed. Questions, answers, jokes, small talk. But the more he talked, the more familiar she felt. The same pauses, the same phrasing, every line seemed ripped from the 100th-floor Yuki he had just interacted with.
Then he decided to try a name-drop, almost on impulse. "Hey, it's Kairo," he typed.
Her reply came instantly. "Wait, are you the same Kairo that tapped my shoulder and started screaming?"
Kairo froze. He blinked. Then slowly, he leaned back on the bed and muttered to himself, "Yeah, that was a pretty bad first impression." he mummered to himself,
He shook his head. This wasn't just any NPC. This was the same Yuki he had just met in the game!, somehow accessible on his phone. There had never been an app that allowed players to communicate with NPCs outside the VR world. But somehow, here she was.
Still, despite himself, he kept talking. Hours passed. Jokes, small stories, shared boredom—they didn't feel forced. And the more he interacted with her, the more that strange warmth from the VR world returned, tugging at his chest in ways he couldn't explain.
Eventually, he closed the app, exhausted but strangely exhilarated. Hungry and wanting something to eat, he tried the delivery app, but it wasn't working. He waited and tried again, and tried once more, growing more frustrated—and hungrier—by the minute. Nothing worked.
After a while, he gave up trying to order the food online. Kairo got changed and got ready to go out for the first time in a while. Wallet in hand, not a lot of money in it, he stepped toward the front door. As he opened it, he saw…