My mind feels hazy and yet half awake.

  My thoughts are slow and heavy, feeling submerged in a darkness of the deep sea.

  Everything feels blurry.

  But I know one thing.

  I am still alive!!!

  With that in mind, I started trying to recall what happened and how I got here.

  But the last thing I remember was playing my favorite sci-fi space game on my phone.

  Astral Core: Armada Protocol

  It mixes base-building strategy on the flagship with a customizable flagship and fleet system similar to a gummi ship model, where you can customise and build your own starship and fleet with blueprint and modules. The space combat plays like an RTS, where you command fleets in real time. On top of that, it has a gacha system for unlocking mechs, war machines and weaponries, plus power armor and an avatar system similar to an MMORPG.

  But unlike most games with respawn function, this game lost everything upon death.

  Despite the flourish industry of VR industry, this mobile and pc game still staying strong for 15 years.

  Yet, less than 10% of the entire game world has been explored.

  Even so, like always, I was checking my ship—adjusting the shield and armour calibration, reviewing the loadouts, double checking the thrusters, harvesting my daily output and making sure everything is functioning properly.

  Listening to my Ship's AI Mimi complain about my risky plans. Watching my cargo ship Minerva float in space on my screen as it pulls 3 pirate ships that I salvage and push a medical transport container for a daily mission.

  Yeah, a cargo ship.

  While most players chased firepower, fleets, elite crews, or deep-space exploration, I focused on staying alive. Running when I had to. Harvesting. Mining. Scavenging pirate wrecks just to make a living.

  Not just for the fun of the game.

  But for my real life too.

  Astral Core wasn’t just a game anymore. Its industry has grown so large that it affects the real world. Contracts, markets, sponsors—everything inside the game becomes a potential industry.

  And soon, it began integrating full VR gameplay into its system, and it's slowly becoming fully VR-compatible—allowing players to experience it not only on mobile and PC' screens, but as a second reality too.

  Thus it supports a lot of players that make a living from the game.

  And my motto is; Survival first. Profit second. Honor, glory and fame? Never!

  And just like that, i was playing normally like always and I have been doing this for 6 whole years. Packed with shielding, a bunch of reactors, improved thurster and detection drones ready to run away with just a glimpse of players. Selling minerals and components in a NPC satellite colony and getting RMB for my living expenses.

  This is my routine. And just as I recall, I was currently on a delivery mission for medical transport container delivery and pulling 3 savage pirates ships

  Then suddenly—

  Nothing.

  Yeah nothing...

  The next thing i know...

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  I'm in this state of consciousness suspension.

  I couldn’t move. I can't breathe,

  I tried to open my eyes. They would not open.

  I tried to move my hands. My fingers. Nothing moved.

  I couldn’t hear anything either..

  No sound. No breathing. No heartbeat. No wind. No background noise. Just pure emptiness and darkness

  Only darkness.

  Not the kind of darkness you see at night.

  This was deeper.

  Thicker.

  Endless.

  I tried to stay calm.

  Move your fingers, I told myself. That always works when I’m stuck in a lucid dream. Just move one finger and I wake up.

  I tried.

  I tried again...

  I tried harder......

  But no matter how much I try, nothing happened.

  My body would not answer my call...

  Panic started to grow inside my mind. I screamed, but i can only do inside my thoughts. There was no voice. No sound.

  I was awake, or am I?

  I felt so trapped in this endless darkness...

  When I finally gave up and understood that I could not move, I tried something else.

  I started counting.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  I told myself I was counting seconds. But without sound or breath, I don’t know how long a second really is. Time felt strange. Slow. Then fast. Then slow again.

  I counted minutes.

  I counted hours.

  I counted days.

  Maybe even months.

  But I don’t know if I was right.

  There was nothing to measure time with.

  And i have no goal in this endless darkness i can use it to become my light to hold my sanity in this endless waiting...

  Because, the darkness never changed.

  It did not move. It did not fade. It did not react.

  After a long time, I began to feel like I was losing myself.

  Is this how death felt?

  Did I die?

  Is this a torture?

  Or was this a punishment?

  My mind keeps moving everywhere...

  So I held on to memories.

  My name.

  My face.

  The people I care about.

  Happy moments.

  And my game.

  Minerva.

  My ship.

  I pictured her clearly in my mind. The bridge lights. The smooth metal walls. Watching the stars in my dome command center. I imagined walking through the ship again when i first try VR.

  I imagined Mimi appearing beside me again like the blue hologram image of her just like the first time I wear VR.

  “Commander, that plan is not smart.”

  I almost smiled in the darkness.

  Remembering the 6 years of hard work building that Minerva from a simple spacecraft to a giant Cargo Ship..

  Even the 3 months of trying to get a better race from the start. Because in this game, you can only have 1 account tied to your identity and if you reset, you have to wait 3 days again before you can start a random character category that you can choose between 3 options per settings. Well, you need to wait 3 days if you don't have the reset cards... And those sell in hefty amounts that a casual F2p like my self couldn't afford.

  Why am I thinking about those things in this darkness instead of real life and family?

  Well this is my "Real Life" and minerva is the only reason I can have enough money to feed myself too.

  I replayed those stupid memories, moments again and again so I would not forget the person I am.

  I was afraid that if I stopped remembering this, I would disappear and actually never wake up.

  And it seems like time is getting into me as I recall these simple things...

  This did not feel like my usual lucid dreams.

  In those dreams, I can always feel my body somewhere. I can always wake up.

  And i never felt the passing of time like this.

  Here, there was nothing.

  No body.

  No light.

  No sound.

  Only my thoughts.

  The darkness

  And the long wait.

  Before long.

  I started to forget what it feels like to breathe.

  I started to forget what warmth feels like.

  Then—

  As my thoughts become faint and fading..

  Something changed.

  "Why can't you see it... This is just a game.. you don't even know if she's a girl in real life or a guy!!!"

  It was small at first.

  But as my thoughts started fading...

  I started hearing some words...

  Who has yell that to me back then?

  Trying to recall it... I remember that Goth girl guildmate of mine..

  Ahh yes.. it was Lizy...

  I smile.. did i really smile though... Yeah they always mention not to pry on other people's real identity in the real world before... And Lizy's username is DreamOn.... I always like that name... But i like calling her real name as always..

  A feeling.

  Yeah that feeling

  Very faint.

  Warmth..

  I know I'm wrong.. and she just cared for me... But..... I couldn't take her advice at that time...

  "You know... You're an Idiot.."

  This time.. Ahh this one is Sarah's words...

  That girl who always like wearing red Chinese dress even though she's American..

  Pain started to creep on my chest. As those tiny worda started forming some people I know..

  My friends and guildmates..

  "Here you go!! Try it!!"

  Seeing an elf girl showing lot of cosplay outfit make me smiles again.

  Ah MCLOE my little santa... She always cheers me up whenever I'm down.

  "Ohh you're back"

  The sweet voice of Cho, makes me remember Cho's mystic garden onc again.

  "You should really knock your head somewhere to shake your brain."

  That's Kai word now.... The guild master....

  Then some DJ beat sounded at the back... I know even without looking... That's probably laggy...

  I wonder if his with Ron.

  Different words, starting to sound around the empty darkness like they're trying to wake me up.

  I wonder if the others are there too .

  My frozen thoughts starting to wake up again. And i tried to focus on it...

  I felt some warm wrapping me too... Is this Elena? Boobear... What with that name...

  Ahh the newbie that last join us..

  Nyuu, anya, Teresa, Ezreal, Saara,... Slowly, the fading memories started coming back alongside the companion, friends, and guildmates i had..

  As i was trying to recall the other.. the faint voices around me . There's a low sound echo towards my ears.

  "Promise me to always be happy..."

  That word.... My goal... My way... And my life..

  The warmth slowly grew stronger. Gentle. Real.

  I had almost forgotten what warmth feels like.

  After endless darkness, that small warmth felt like hope.

  And for the first time in a long time—

  As a sudden tear falls down on my cheek..

  I finally woke up....