Withdraw

It'd been a week since Ky had last used the Hero x Villain Online mobile app. In this same time frame, the time manipulator refused to even use his powers a single time nor did he participate in any of the events that constantly appeared in his visual field. Though he quit cold turkey, those dreaded contact lenses were still burned into his retinas. 

The moment he beat Clarence, standing over his body with an iron fist, had replayed in his mind on a loop. The way the game urged him to kill the boy was horrifying, nearly as petrifying as the fact that the temptation nearly had him considering partaking in such an act. As he lay awake, staring into the void, his vision was constantly cluttered with notifications, reminding him that he was still part of the game whether he wanted to be or not. As he slept, he dreamt of becoming the most powerful player in the world, killing anyone in his way until he had literal unlimited power.

Because of those nightmares, Ky didn't sleep much. However, part of it was because he couldn't. Those moments when exhaustion was at its peak were the hardest. He'd lie in bed, shutting his eyes for hours, yet he wouldn't get a wink of sleep.

Ky eventually gave up on sleep altogether and just sat, existing in a way similar to an NPC in those video games he used to adore so much, those same video games that sat in his room unplayed for the last week. After experiencing Hero x Villain Online, those games did nothing for him.

They couldn't compare to the visceral feeling of actually being a part of the game, actually living in the game. No longer could he place himself in the shoes of the protagonist or his player character. No, he experienced being said player character. Controlling them wasn't enough. Not anymore.

Part of him wanted to get back into the game of Hero x Villain Online. He wanted to once again be the player character.

It was an addiction, an addiction that was affecting both his mind and body.

His body ached as he sat in the same sweat puddle in his bed, sometimes swaying back and forth, his actions growing more sporadic as the game's prompts constantly popped into his eyesight, reminding him that the game would always be waiting for him.

After a while, Ky started having thoughts.

'What if the other players find me?'

'They'll kill me.'

'I need to get stronger.'

'No, the game will turn me into a killer.'

'But killers survive.'

'Maybe I don't want to survive.'

'Survival is an instinct. I have to do what I must.'

'Or I can end it here.'

'Dad's gun.'

It was as if Ky were being controlled by the game itself, cast under a spell to dispose of himself if he refused to participate.

Ky's eyes darted over to his bedroom door. 'He's not home.' His father, being a single parent, was a hardworking man. He spent most of his time working twelve-hour shifts, leaving Ky alone in the house. His father being absent due to work caused somewhat of a rift in their relationship, but Ky simply gamed to make up for it. 

One foot first, Ky stepped onto the cold wooden floors beneath his bed, immediately feeling as if his brain was spinning inside his skull. Once he placed his other foot down and stood tall in his room, his vision blackened for a moment, but just a moment, as if he'd gone blind.

When his vision was restored, though blurred, Ky stepped forward and his body felt as if it'd been propelled both forward and backward simultaneously. This feeling of nausea had become the new normal for Ky, however, it seemed to have reached an entirely new level beyond that of the standard sick feeling.

Like a corpse, Ky shuffled his feet, dragging himself across the house to his father's bedroom while sliding a single hand along the wall to keep his balance. That voice inside of his head began growing louder.

'Take his gun.'

'Take his gun.'

'TAKE HIS GUN.'

As Ky took his first steps into his father's bedroom, a familiar font appeared in his field of vision, but the nausea made this text illegible. 

[T%k3 %h& c*%@r&# ?a^ *#t - ? $k!77 9o4n^s]

Nonetheless, Ky's goal remained unchanged. He knew exactly where his father's safe was. It was in the closet, hiding behind his father's dress shirts. Ky only knew of it after the hours he'd spent searching the house whenever his father took his games as punishment. Despite his father's hiding spots becoming progressively more challenging to discover, Ky always found them. Knowing the location of the gun, Ky began shambling toward it before sitting in front of it with his legs crossed, resting his arms and head over the top of the cold metal box.

'What was the code...

Why can't I remember the damn code!'

After taking a moment to rest, the nausea began waning and Ky could read the words in his visual field once more.

[Safe Code - 12 - 26 - 19]

The game was helping him. Just as it wanted Ky to kill Clarence, the game then wanted Ky to make an attempt on his own life. 'Perhaps the game has no more use for me since I refuse to play by its rules. It won't have to worry about that for much longer.'

With trembling fingers, Ky turned the dial on the safe, entering each number one by one.

'12.'

'26.'

'19.'

The mechanical lock clicked, followed by the sound of metal scraping as the safe opened, revealing his father's G19 handgun, right where he knew it'd be.

Still with shaking hands, Ky grabbed the gun and placed it up to his temple. For a moment, Ky thought of his past, reminiscing about his life before Hero x Villain Online. His memories started going so far back, he found himself drowned in nostalgia, even reliving moments when his mother was still alive. 'Right. I'll be seeing her again.'

[Are you sure you would like to withdraw from the game? There will be no returning from this point on.]

Though he said nothing, Ky gave his answer by turning off the gun's safety mechanism and placing his hand on the trigger. There was one single moment of hesitation as he pictured his corpse on the very ground he sat, doused in his own blood as bits of his brain and skull were plastered on the clothes in his father's closet. His father was nearby, staring at Ky's body with quaking eyes and an unhinged jaw as he discovered the body.

'I'm sorry.'

BANG!