Chapter 1

The last thing I remembered was the taste of copper and the freezing shadow of the Ghoul King’s claws tearing through my chest. I had died a hero, the last bastion of a broken humanity.

Then, I blinked.

The smell of ozone and rotting flesh was gone, replaced by the scent of stale Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and a mountain of unwashed hoodies. I wasn't lying on a battlefield; I was tangled in a set of polyester sheets with a "Level 99" poster of a busty elf staring at me from the wall.

My hand felt heavy. I looked down, expecting the hilt of my Dark Mana blade, but found only a cracked iPhone 6. The screen pulsed with a frantic rhythm.

* Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.*

**Jax (2:01 AM):** YO KAELEN. DUDE. WAKE UP.

**Jax (2:01 AM):** The Ghoul event is live!!!!

**Jax (2:02 AM):** Don't tell me u fell asleep we need the loot bro. If we miss the timer I’m gonna kick u from the guild I swear to god.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. *Ghouls?* Already? I surged upright, my combat instincts screaming. I tried to channel the Black Flame—the apocalyptic magic that had cost me my literal soul—to incinerate the threat. I focused on the void in my chest, my eyes narrowing as I prepared to manifest a weapon of pure shadow.

Instead of a blade of darkness, my thumb twitched and hit the "stickers" icon on my messaging app.

I sent Jax a cartoon cat wearing a fedora with the caption: *M'Lady.*

I stared at the screen in horror. My internal monologue, seasoned by a decade of slaughter and grit, screamed in agony. I was back. I was really, truly back in the era where I wore fingerless gloves and thought My Chemical Romance was a personality trait.

**Jax (2:03 AM):** …lol wtf was that?

**Jax (2:03 AM):** Stop trolling and log in. The Ghoul is spawning at the graveyard. GO GO GO.

My heart hammered. If the Ghouls were spawning at the graveyard, the city would fall within the hour. I had to move. I vaulted out of bed, attempting a high-level tactical roll to reach my closet where I surely kept my tactical gear.

My foot caught on a discarded copy of a classic manga, and I went down hard, my chin hitting a pile of laundry.

"Curse these weakened, mortal limbs!" I hissed into the carpet. "The mana density in this era is pathetic!"

Suddenly, the door to my room creaked open. A shadow fell across the floor. I froze, my breath hitching. A Ghoul? Had they found me already? I scrambled backward, grabbing a plastic cosplay sword from the floor and leveling it at the doorway.

"Back, foul creature!" I roared, my voice cracking slightly in a way that was definitely not legendary. "I have slain thousands of your kind!"

The "creature" clicked the light switch.

It was a girl. She was wearing a thick, green avocado face mask and a bathrobe. She stared at me, then at the plastic sword, then at my face.

"Kaelen," my sister, Maya, said with a voice full of judgment. "It is two in the morning. If you don't stop screaming and vibrating your phone against the nightstand, I’m telling Mom to change the Wi-Fi password."

I lowered the plastic sword. The "Green-Faced Ghoul" rolled her eyes and shut the door.

I sank back onto my bed, the adrenaline fading into a warm, confusing glow. I looked at the phone again.

**Jax (2:05 AM):** dude r u dying? i see u online.

**Jax (2:06 AM):** seriously. just come play. i got the energy drinks. let’s be losers together.

I looked at the cracked screen, then at the peaceful, messy room around me. The world wasn't ending. Not yet. I had ten years. Ten years to prepare, ten years to save everyone—and ten years to delete every single "edgy" status update I’d ever posted on Facebook.

I took a deep breath, my thumb hovering over the keyboard. I didn't send a tactical report or a warning of the coming shadows.

**Kaelen (2:07 AM):** sry man. got attacked by a high-level boss (my sister).

**Kaelen (2:07 AM):** I’m down for the loot. But after the raid, we’re getting tacos. My treat.

**Jax (2:08 AM):** Tacos at 3am? Sick. Ur weird tonight but I’ll take it. Log in, nerd.

I smiled. It was a small, genuine thing—a expression I hadn't used in a decade. The apocalypse could wait. For now, I had a level-one dungeon to clear and a friendship to cherish.

I tapped the game icon and started to play.