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Kaden, a comatose patient, was one of the many who had fallen because of the sudden entry of mana on Earth. But fate had other plans for him when a mysterious new patient was wheeled into his hospital room, giving him an unexpected second chance at life. Suddenly, he found himself back at the beginning, when it had all started, right before the revolutionary game 'Apocalypse Online' had launched. Kaden did not know if he had received this second chance thanks to the mysterious patient or not but he was determined to make the most of it. In a year when the game merged with reality, everything was going to change and Earth was going to take an evolutionary leap. Only this time when it happened, he was going to be ready for it. In fact, he was going to be more than ready for it. He was going to become the strongest player and claim the throne as the overlord of the new world!
Inside a small confined hospital room with just white walls, a dull light and a single window, a man laid peacefully on a bed connected to a few machines.
From the details on the machine, it was clear that he was unconscious and had minimal brain activity, but that was not the whole truth. Unbeknownst to everyone, Kaden was still alive!
At least whatever was left of himself.
Call it a soul or a ghost or maybe just a small remnant of the human being he once was, Kaden still lingered around in the same small confined room, very much conscious of everything happening around him.
But this was not a blessing. It was a curse.
It had been ten years since he had fallen into this coma, and yet he was still trapped in this sterile room, surrounded by beeping machines and fluorescent lights.
This was a research facility where they kept comatose patients like himself who couldn't adjust to mana. Naturally, no one was paying for him to enjoy this special treatment.
He was only kept here to be poked and prodded ever so often in the name of testing new medicine or identifying new treatments.
As for his family, he had lost them a long time ago.
Kaden gazed out of the window, thinking of the good old days when he had people to cherish in his life. His strict father, his loving mother and his cold brother who considered him a failure.
At that time, he had hated them but now he longed for them dearly. However, nothing was the same anymore.
Ever since the day the terrible game had launched, everything had changed irreversibly. His life was already over and the world around him had also changed beyond recognition.
Outside his window, he could see the city skyline that was illuminated with dazzling lights, and flying magic cars that whizzed by like streaks of light in the sky.
In all the time he had been confined in this small room, he had watched the world change before his very eyes.
One year after the game was first launched, everyone received a notification that the tutorial phase had ended. Mana appeared on earth and people were able to take their in-game items to the real world.
The game actually merged with real life!
A technological boom like no other happened and there was an explosive progress in everything ranging from normal modes of transport to high-tech weapons of war.
More importantly, there were people with supernatural powers now. Almost everyone was able to sense and use mana in their day to day lives.
The world went from a mundane gray color to a splendorous one filled with fantasy and fireworks. But along with this sort of development, there were also dangers that popped out in various corners of the world.
Kaden had heard the hospital staff gossiping about monsters and demons appearing which were capable of slaughtering everyone on the planet.
However, humanity somehow still held on. The talented mages, warlocks, hunters, warriors and healers stood on the frontlines and took care of these threats.
Ever so often Kaden would wish for a global calamity that would shake things up, at least allow him to die, but to his dismay, nothing of that sort happened.
His dull, boring life continued just like always.
Kaden had given up hope a long time ago. He was tired of living this half-life, trapped in his own body, inside this room and unable to communicate with the outside world.
He was now merely a shell of his former self. He longed for release, for the sweet release of death that would finally free him from his suffering.
Kaden sighed as he looked out the window again.
He was immersed in his favorite pastime, counting the number of flying cars when suddenly he heard a commotion outside his room.
Wait, was it the day for him to be poked and prodded again?
As he was wondering this, the door was thrown open, and a group of people burst into the room, wheeling in another patient.
Kaden gasped as he immediately recognized this particular patient! Who wouldn't?!
It was Kiera, the famous player who had dominated the gaming world when he was still alive!
She was ranked as one of the top ten players and had become extremely famous thanks to having both beauty and brains.
But he couldn't believe that this person was in his room? Also unconscious?
Not to mention, she still looked absolutely stunning. While his own body looked shriveled and old, wasted away in this hospital bed, not a single hair on her head had changed!
Kaden couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if he had played the game better and avoided this fate. Maybe he would also be young and active now?
He could have also lived in this amazing new world with his family enjoying things that he dared not imagine.
Kaden snapped out of his thoughts as he heard someone cursing loudly.
"Bitch!" One of the men who had wheeled the sleeping princess into his room cursed loudly. "Rot in here for all eternity." He said.
The people who brought Kiera in didn't seem to care about her at all, tossing her aside like a piece of garbage. They laughed cruelly, taunting her as they left the room.
Oh? Kaden's curiosity peaked, well mainly out of boredom. This was the maximum entertainment he had received in a long time.
Well, except for that one instance where a couple of nurses went at it right next to his comatose body. That was a fun day.
Kaden chuckled to himself and shook his head.
Despite the bleakness of his situation, Kaden found himself laughing at the irony of it all. He was just a nobody, while Kiera had been a powerful player at the top of her game.
And yet here they were, both reduced to nothing in the face of their horrendous fate. They were now in the same boat, both trapped in this hospital and left to rot.
Life truly had a way of equalizing things, regardless of status or power. Rich or poor, sickness and death do not differentiate.
But just as Kaden was lost in his thoughts, something strange happened. The sleeping beauty had a thin chain on her neck which had a small crystal pendant.
Right now, out of nowhere, this crystal pendant began to glow brightly, illuminating the entire room. The brightness continued to increase until there was a blinding flash of light.
Huh? Kaden was shocked.
However, he couldn't react fast enough. The next thing he knew, he was no longer in the hospital room. He was in a small, cramped studio apartment, disoriented and confused.
"What… huh?" Kaden became even more shocked. He could actually hear himself speak. He was sitting on a bed and he was staring at a familiar poster of a nude Scarlett Johansson.
"You have got to be kidding me!"
Even if he did not remember anything else, how could Kaden not remember the poster he had jerked off to a million times?
He scrambled out of his bed and stared at his phone that was blinking on his table. "Mom. Missed call." He mumbled while pinching himself until his arm turned red.
His moistened gaze then shifted to the date that was displayed on the corner of the phone.
"Dec 31, 2029"
It was the day before the world began unraveling. It was the day before that dreadful game was launched and he was somehow back on that day once again?
