[POV: ]

Void. Noun. An empty space, A vacuum.

Alternatively, void. Adjective. Containing no matter; empty.

Quite frankly, it is impossible for the human brain to truly understand such a concept, as it is something it can never experience. Humans have five senses. Touch, smell, hearing, taste, and sight. One cannot touch a void, as it isn't a physical object, nor could they feel it, as it is absent of anything to provoke such a sense. Similarly, to smell anything, to hear, to taste, or see such a concept would require something to actually be there, whether it be a sound, a scent, or even the presence of light. And if any of them were there, it wouldn't be a void, would it?

As such, when the being awoke to find itself in an endless abyss of nothingness, it knew it wasn't a void. After all, it was there. It could see it. It could feel itself floating within its depths, as if weightless. It could smell a faint scent of iron lingering around it. It could hear a ringing in its ears, and it could taste a minty flavour in its mouth.

Of course, it didn't realise these things immediately, as it was much too busy screaming.

Pain. Sharp, strong, shot through the being's form, blurring its thoughts as it first became cognizant of their surroundings. Memories scrambled, tearing gashes through its mind as it tried desperately to recall something, anything, to explain its presence. Fists it wasn't sure it had clenched as its bones seemed to splinter, its form caving inwards from a phantom force.

Agony. Indescribable and overwhelming. It was as if the void… well, the not-void, was crushing it, destroying it, ending its paradoxical presence in what should have been an unending ocean of nothingness. Time, space, reality, anything and everything it could have clung onto for any form of levity faded from its mind as its existence was reduced to naught but suffering.

And then it stopped.

It was as if a switch had been flipped. One moment, it was experiencing a pain so strong that it was nigh indescribable, the next, it was gone.

Of course, after such an experience, it wasn't as if the being was just able to brush it off. Its form convulsed, muscles it only now began to notice spasming as a boiling sickness rose up its throat, prompting it to retch violently.

The passage of time was immeasurable, so the being couldn't be certain how long it hung there, shuddering and dry-heaving into an endless well of naught. In fact, there was little it could be certain of. As its faculties slowly began to return, it began to absorb its surroundings, taking in what little information it could.

Okay. It had senses. It could see… or at least, it felt like it could see. It could move, though what it was moving was unsure. The ringing it heard implied it had hearing. After all, you can't have tinnitus without hearing, can you?

…actually, can you? That didn't matter. What mattered was the feeling of something beating in its chest. That implied it had both physical feeling, and that it was alive.

Wait, its chest? As if for the first time, the being willed itself to glance downwards. In place of the endless nothingness it once faced, said life found itself looking at a pale human body, its form slender and lightly muscled, arms stretched out either side, fists still clenched. The form's legs hung weightlessly in the not-void beneath it, ending with a pair of human feet. And, for the sake of the beings privacy, I shan't describe what hung from its groin, i'll just say that it was certainly male.

So, whatever the being was, it… well I suppose he would work better at this point, had taken the form of a human male. The age? He couldn't be sure, but he reckoned it couldn't be that old. Not that it particularly mattered at that moment, for as his form registered itself in his mind, said mind began to move.

Memories blurred into vision. Memories of a time before. Of a person before. He looked similar, yet different enough to not be mistaken. Taller, lankier, wearing actual clothes… wait, was he naked?!

Something gripped him. His thoughts came to a screeching halt. His eyes widened instinctively as his arm was clenched in a tight hold. They darted over to see what had grabbed said limb. Nothing. Nothing was there, just like nothing was anywhere around him.

And nothing began to pull.

Space around him began to tear. A cacophony of screams, static, and indescribable sounds flooded his ears. His entire body went numb in an instant as a kaleidoscope of colors bombarded his vision. He felt his throat go raw from what he could only assume were his own screams, blending and harmonising with the agonising sounds of the space between dimensions.

A hand rested on his shoulder. Everything stopped. His mind struggled desperately to catch up to his reality. What felt like hours passed before his faculties returned to him once more, his location blurring into existence as he regained his senses.

Walls rose from the darkness, a light cream paint coating them, forming a room around him. Monitors melted into existence, taking up almost an entire wall, a large control panel forming beneath it. The ground shifted to a laminate flooring, a bed, desk, and fully stacked bookshelf rising from within in separate parts of the room. From a non-existent ceiling hung a lone bulb, illuminating the room in a bright light.

Sweat rolled down his face as he breathed heavily, hunched over on this new floor, his mind processing his new surroundings as his body slowly recovered from what felt like the most exhaustion he'd ever experienced. His eyes shot up to the monitors as a single, big screen blinked to life, presenting him with a message.

Congratulations ̶̶̴̷̴̡̢̨͡͞͏̴̡͡!

You have been chosen as this world's [Game]!

Do you accept this role?

[Y] [ ]

Chosen…? This… world? What… where is…

This was… too much. Too much too quickly. It was exhausting. Forcing himself to his feet, he stumbled over to the bed, collapsing atop it and shutting his eyes. He'd just been dragged through some dimensional rift or something, he deserved a good night(?)'s sleep.

Consciousness left him quickly, his last thoughts before falling asleep being of the room.

His room.


He was twenty-one when he died.

It had been a day like any other. He'd woken up in his crummy apartment, having stayed up all night watching youtube, had a shower and brushed his teeth, gotten dressed and eaten a donut for breakfast, because donuts are totally a good breakfast.

He'd walked to work, getting there about two minutes before his shift started, and spent the day scanning items and telling people how much they cost. He got a ten minute break at lunch to eat a crummy, pre-packaged sandwich, but besides that, he just worked the checkout.

At the end of his shift, he clocked off as usual, hearing some new hire complaining to whoever would listen, as they had for the past week. He'd then headed to the curry place nearby to get a takeaway. And then, on his way back with his food, he got hit by a truck and died.

Oh, wait. That was the important bit. Maybe I shouldn't brush over that like I did everything else.

A plastic bag in hand, he'd made his way out of the curry place, and begun making his way back to his apartment. It was only a five minute walk away, so he didn't need a car or anything. Not that he had a licence anyway.

If he'd had to describe himself at that moment, the only word he would use is tired. He'd stayed up 'til five watching random crap on youtube, and his alarm got him up at eight, which wouldn't be too bad if he hadn't done this six nights in a row. He was running on fumes, and wished for nothing more than to get back, eat his food, and sleep for twelve hours.

Which is why he crossed the road before waiting for the stupid crossing lights. He'd looked left and right, there were no cars coming, so why wait?

He was about half way across when the horn blared, his head turning to face the semi about a second away from splattering him across the road. A second he spent staring blankly at the truck as his mind processed what it was seeing.

'Ah, I'm about to die.'

The thought barely went through his head before pain flooded him and everything went black.


Congratulations ̶̶̴̷̴̡̢̨͡͞͏̴̡͡!

You have been chosen as this world's [Game]!

Do you accept this role?

[Y] [ ]

He couldn't say how long he'd been sitting there, staring at the monitor; at the message. It felt like almost a day, but without a clock in the room, he couldn't tell. When he'd awoken, memories of his death returned to him, he'd just laid there, thinking, for ages. Not literal ages, it was more like an hour or two or something- you know what? It's not important.

What was important was the message. Sat at the console (he'd found a swivel chair tucked under it, like a desk), he went over what information he had in his mind, over and over, hoping to find some kind of answers to what all this meant. Who was he? If he'd died, why was he here? Why was his name glitched out? What did it mean "this world's [Game]"? Why was one of the options locked off? It didn't make any sense!

Furthermore, why did it all feel so… cliche…?

No matter how much he thought about it, the answers never came. He'd even rummaged through the bookshelf, looking to see if anything was written there, but all the books were blank! Why the hell did he even have a bookshelf if it was full of empty books?!

It didn't matter. There was only one way he would be getting any answers. That much was clear to him.

And so, glancing down at the control panel, he pressed confirm.

[Game] is now loading. Please wait.

[1%]

Before him, screens began to blink to life. Numbers, codes, and raw data flooded his view.

[16%]

Menus began to open on different monitors. Traits, abilities, statistics, quests, all became viewable and measurable through different screens.

[42%]

The menus began to be filled in, information flooding each section, a map even opening up on one screen.

[78%]

It seemed like the setup was nearly done, several monitors blinking into light, static flooding their screens for a moment before a location became visible. A location, and a person.

[95%]

This next part may sting a little.

'Sting? What doe-'

A sharp pain flared up in his mind for a moment as information was drilled into his head. What the menus meant, how to operate them, how to modify them, and how to create new ones if needed. It felt as if he'd known this information all his life. Like it should be obvious.

Of course, he knew that it wasn't. That mere moments before, he'd had no idea what any of it was, or how it worked. But now it was almost second nature to him. He imagined that if he wanted to change something, it'd barely take him a minute to do so. Which was impressive considering the console to operate all the menus and such had what seemed like ten thousand different keys and buttons.

[100%]

Let the game begin.


The figure slowly stirred to life, their eyes flitting open as one of the monitors displayed a first-person perspective. Bringing it front and centre, he watched as the being awoke, taking in its new environment. It was a bright day, the sun sitting high in a clear blue sky. Trees stood tall around them as the person found themselves in a grassy clearing in the middle of what seemed a rather dense forest.

Suddenly, right in front of their eyes, a screen blinked into life.

Congratulations!

You have been chosen as this world's [Gamer]!

Do you accept this role?

[Y] [N]

Wait… why were they allowed to say no!? What the hell, system! Quickly looking through the settings, he saw that there was a single checkbox at the bottom of the menu.

No: [X]

What the hell… you could turn off the ability to say no!? Who's bright idea was that?!

Honestly, if it wasn't for the person making a strange sound, he'd have tried to remove the option and just make it default. Glancing at one of the monitors, one that displayed a third person over-the-shoulder view, he could see the figure… chuckling?

No. In the few moments it had taken him to look over, it had gone from a light chuckle to a laugh. Strong laughter… no, manic laughter emerged from the being, its thoughts and feelings quickly being noted in one of the many menus around him. Not that he noticed. No, he was too focused on a camera showing off the person's face.

Grey-blue eyes shone with a concerning glee, a twisted grin spread across their face as their laughter ceased, a small breath escaping them as they spoke for the first time.

"Fucking hell yes! Me! The gamer! ME! Finally! I'm going to fucking MAKE THEM ALL PAY!"

They broke out into maniacal laughter once more as they practically slammed confirm in their mind. Unlimited potential and power? Who could pass that up! This was fucking perfect! It was straight out of some shitty fanfic! They were living in a goddamn power fantasy, and they were the protagonist! How could it get any better!?

As these thoughts ran through the player's mind, only one stood front and centre in the game's.

'Oh. They're insane.'


"Are you sure this is a good idea? If they don't act how we think, then-"

"It doesn't matter whether I'm sure or not. It's too late to go back. We did what we had to do. Now we can only hope for the best."


Welp, this is a thing.

So first off, thanks for checking out my story!

Gamer stories are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. I love them, but I hate that I love them. It's a bunch power fantasy wish fulfillment trash and I eat that trash up.

That being said, so many of them are kind of just... the same? Guy becomes Gamer, gets some perk that makes him a sociopath, proceeds to become a god, manipulate everyone around him, and get a harem somehow. Don't get me wrong. As I said before, I like those stories (and am not proud of said fact). But come on people, we can be more creative here.

And so I wrote this. 'I Am the Game'. Guy becomes Game, instead of Gamer. Groundbreaking. Truly subversive. I am a genius.

Jokes aside, I just had the idea rattling around in my head for too long. Trying to avoid spoilers, but the game itself always seems to be one of three things: Mute outside of giving quests and such, someone who just talks shit to the gamer all the time, or a waifu. Why don't they ever seem to give a damn when the player abuses the system? Why do they just sit back an watch as the gamer butchers worlds and destroys lives? Surely they must thing SOMETHING of their actions, right?

Anyway, this chapter is mostly just a short intro to set up the premise. I sort of rushed through parts of it (and it shows. yikes.) so that I could get to the actual meat of the story in the next part. I have several things planned so hopefully you'll stick around and enjoy them when they're ready. And if not, thanks for reading anyway!

Can't think of anything else to say, so thanks for reading and have a nice day.

-Robo