Chapter 1

  [You have been afflicted with a Legendary Curse. Your attributes and abilities are suppressed for 720 hours.]

  “Gah!”

  Ben collapsed as a fist smashed into his cheek. He tried to push himself up, arms trembling, but another blow slammed him back down. Then another. And another.

  “Paul.”

  A delicate voice cried out in alarm.

  The man standing over Ben turned. A young woman in white robes stood a short distance away. She was beautiful by any standard. She bit her lower lip in distress.

  Ben looked at her, confusion drowning out the pain.

  She stepped closer to Paul and slipped her arm around his. The gesture was intimate. Possessive.

  Something tore in Ben’s chest. This pain wasn’t physical.

  “Sarah?”

  She looked down at him, conflict flickering across her face. She didn’t answer. The silence was unbearable.

  “Why?” Ben asked. “I don’t understand.”

  Her expression hardened.

  “Do you really have to ask?”

  Ben’s mind reeled. They’d had problems, sure, but nothing that explained this. She saw the confusion on his face and scoffed, turning away to lean fully into the other man.

  Paul wrapped an arm around her waist and walked away. Sarah followed him.

  She didn’t look back.

  Blood ran down Ben’s forehead and into his eyes, but he didn’t blink. He watched them disappear until they were gone.

  A shadow fell over him.

  Ben looked up. A hooded figure stood above him, clad in dark leather armor. Twin jagged daggers glinted in their hands.

  With his attributes suppressed, Ben never saw the blade that cut his throat.

  [You have died.]

  [Afterlife System Activated. Analyzing…]

  [Faith detected. Criteria met. Commencing Second Chance Protocol.]

  [Loading. Thank you for your patience.]

  “Sarah!”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Ben bolted upright with a scream.

  He sucked in a ragged breath and froze.

  He wasn’t in a dungeon. He wasn’t bleeding out on stone.

  He was in his old bedroom.

  Morning sunlight filtered through the window. His old bed. His desk. His computer. The crucifix on the wall beside the image of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

  “I’m… back?” he whispered.

  Ben stared at his hands. They were younger. Unscarred. No callouses. These weren’t the hands of the man he had become.

  Knock. Knock.

  “Ben? Are you okay in there?”

  His heart skipped.

  That voice.

  Ben sprang from the bed and rushed to the door, nearly stumbling at how sluggish his body felt. He yanked it open.

  “Mom!”

  She gasped as he wrapped her in a tight hug. She smelled exactly the same. Shampoo and warmth and home.

  “Oh. Good morning to you too,” she said, laughing softly. “Should I be worried?”

  Ben held her a moment longer than usual before pulling back. Tears streaked down his face.

  “No,” he said hoarsely. “Everything’s good. Very good.”

  She clearly didn’t believe him, but she let it go.

  “If you say so. Breakfast will be ready soon. Try to come down early — it’d be nice to eat together before your father leaves.”

  Ben smiled. Even his father was here.

  “Okay, Mom.”

  She nodded, then hesitated at the stairs and looked back at him.

  “And Ben… you really should move on from her. Life isn’t a fairy tale. You deserve someone who cares about you just as much.”

  She left without waiting for an answer.

  Ben closed the door and leaned against it, memories surging.

  Sarah.

  He crossed to his window and looked out at the quiet neighborhood. The peace felt unreal.

  “Have I really been reborn?” he murmured.

  His phone lay on the desk. He picked it up. His fingers entered the passcode automatically.

  August 1st, 2028.

  One year before the release of the game that changed everything.

  Eternity.

  Eternity was a full-dive VR-MMORPG. It wasn’t the first of its kind, just the first to feel real. Total sensory immersion through a proprietary VR helmet. No one knew how it truly worked. No one knew who really made it.

  One year after its release, the world ended.

  Dimensional rifts tore open across the globe. Monsters poured out, monsters that looked terrifyingly familiar.

  Then the system appeared, burning words into the sky.

  [Tutorial completed. Rewards will be distributed. Main storyline commencing.]

  Cities fell. Nations crumbled. Power decided who lived and who didn’t.

  Ben had survived. He had even become strong.

  But not strong enough.

  His phone chimed.

  Sarah.

  “I know it was you who sent the flowers. Please stop. You’re my brother’s best friend. You’re like a brother to me.”

  Ben stared at the message.

  “Two… one,” he whispered.

  Another message arrived.

  “I don’t want to block you, but I will if this keeps up.”

  Ben laughed with sharp, broken laughter. He dropped his phone and clamped a hand over his mouth to keep the sound down.

  The laughter collapsed into sobs.

  He sank onto the bed, clutching his chest as the pain overwhelmed him. He looked up at the image of Jesus on the wall and slid to his knees.

  “Heavenly Father,” he whispered, “I don’t understand. Please help me.”

  Bing!

  Ben’s eyes snapped open.

  [364 days, 23 hours, and 42 minutes until tutorial launch.]

  [Please prepare.]