"Ah, what the fuck! How is this shitty game the most popular one, huh?! Storytelling? Okay, good. Characters? Oh, amazing! Art? Lore? All damn good, but this!—THIS!!"
In the rundown apartment, so cramped it barely accommodated a single bed and a table, a young man sat. No older than nineteen, his face was hollow, shimmering with barely contained rage. Black hair, long enough to brush his ears, framed a strong jawline, sharp black eyes, and honeyed skin. He jabbed a furious finger at the computer screen, which mockingly displayed "game over" beneath a grinning skull.
The game he played was Heroic Academy Saga, an RPG based around an academy setting. Players had to navigate it, summon as many allies as possible, get stronger, and face the final boss. Basic, yes, and that's precisely why it was popular. With 100 possible endings, yet no one had ever reached a truly happy one.
"It's because of these broken combat mechanics! How the fuck am I supposed to beat the boss if I have to help all the main characters overcome their personal sagas, huh?! Where's my time to grind my character until he's strong enough to beat the final boss, huh?!?"
Bam! He slammed his fist on the table. A potent cocktail of boiling frustration, sleep deprivation, and relentless stress churned within him, making his vision swim.
"And that damn black dragon, what? Black flame that can cover half the arena?!"
He pushed himself up on wobbly legs, dragging his weary body toward the bed, one hand bracing himself against the wall.
"And what? It deals massive damage and inflicts those 'anti-healing' effects?!"
As he trudged, his gaze drifted to the family picture on the table. His breath hitched, and a wave of sadness abruptly swelled within him. He place it face down with use a trembling hand, before whispering, "...pathetic."
He slumped onto the bed, burying his face in his hands.
"I want to change it—the fate of this game..."
Because it mirrored his,his own life, that game. 'Heroic Academy Saga' struggles, survival, and never giving up. It made him yearn to see, to witness firsthand, a happy ending, where everyone smiled, where no one died—
"One more chance...tomorrow...."
A single breath escaped his lips as his eyelids began to close, consciousness beginning to slip.
"As you wish, my child."
A voice rang out, calm, eternal. Before darkness swallowed him up whole.
He didn't know.
This was the beginning.
Where his life and all those chosen ones would change forever.
No one knew.