Dancing on the golden ashes

The air around me suddenly began to tremble—something was off. I could feel a sharp pain in my temples, a stabbing agony that shot through me as if a barrage of daggers were trying to pierce my brain. This wasn't normal… I knew something was amiss, and it had everything to do with killing Nam Ji-Ho.

I didn't have to wait long. A barrage of system messages crashed into my mind, leaving me dizzy and on the verge of vomiting.

[CONGRATULATIONS!]

[You have reached Level 78]

[You have gained a new achievement]

[Emperor Slayer: You are the only person in the world to have managed to slay an emperor—and at king level, no less. Your achievement is too great for the system to evaluate. The reward will be postponed until further notice... error... error... error...]

[You hav-ha-have... you have... achievement... error error...]

[The system has been overloaded. Proceeding to reboot...]

[Reboot failure...]

[Unknown error has crashed the... system...]

[Shutting down...]

I could feel myself starting to blank out—Nam Ji-Ho's soul slipped from my grasp. I couldn't move; it felt as if I were being pulled out of the world. What the hell is happening to me?

In the next moment, I sensed myself traveling, though I had no idea where my body would end up—or even if I was moving at all. It felt as though I were experiencing that initial, disembodied state all over again. Something was off. I could still think, but I no longer felt anything. Was this how it felt to no longer be bound by the system in this world?

Everything around me was dark. I was unsure what fate awaited me. I hadn't anticipated this if I killed Nam Ji-Ho, but even if I did, I would have slain him countless times over.

I lost track of time—was it an hour, a week, or a month? It felt like an eternity had passed. Then, my head began to spin, and I felt something... I was falling.

"AAAAHHH...?!" I cried out as I opened my eyes. The view before me made my heart nearly leap out of my chest. I was lying in my own bed—the very bed I hadn't seen in months... or rather, thousands of years if I counted the time I was trapped.

"What... why... why am I here?" I wondered, staring at my hands. They felt normal now, but my body seemed much heavier. "Don't tell me this whole thing was just a dream?" Confusion swirled inside me as I looked around. My PC was still running, my favorite game displayed a logout screen, and the message that I had been banned glared back at me.

"This cannot be happening... I wasn't imagining all of that... no... no, I wasn't..." My head pounded uncontrollably, and I couldn't tell if I was losing my mind or if this was all just a never-ending dream.

I tried to summon my scythe—nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. Where were my powers? My heart sank as I realized: I was back... back in my own world. Why? I didn't want this. I didn't want to be here. "NOOO!" I screamed.

My breathing grew heavy, and my heart pounded so fiercely it felt as if it might burst from my chest. I leapt out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, nausea overwhelming me. In moments, I was heaving over the toilet. After emptying my stomach, I lifted my head and leaned against the sink. "My face... my eyes, my hair... they're all back to normal. Am I really back in my own world?"

I couldn't control the overwhelming surge of emotions. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably, as if a dam had burst. Then everything turned fuzzy, like a thick fog was clouding my mind. I didn't know why I was crying—why this torrent of sorrow flowed from me. After all, all that had happened was I got banned in the game, right? Not a big deal... I could simply create a new account and rise to the top again. Right? There was nothing to cry about...

I cleaned myself up and returned to my PC. "I must have fallen asleep after the ban... how foolish of me. Well, another day, another account... not a big deal..." Soon the day passed and morning arrived. I got ready to head out for my daily shift at the convenience store. But the moment I opened the door, something felt off. It was morning, yet the streets lay empty.

"Weird, are people still sleeping?" I thought as I made my way to work, which was just a short walk from my apartment. But I saw nobody around. The emptiness started to creep me out—it felt as if I were the only person left. The streets were littered with trash, and abandoned cars lined the roads; everything looked like a scene straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie.

"D-don't tell me the world has been infected with a zombie virus?! Am I the only survivor?" I almost wanted to run back home. But I knew missing work would mean missing out on playing my game—and come on, a zombie apocalypse? Hahaha... am I ten years old? Of course that's impossible. This world is too boring for that; fantasy belongs in video games and movies, not reality. I laughed it off as the next most logical explanation. "They must be shooting a movie here, but why hasn't anyone posted it online? Well, it's not like I ever check the news anyway." I chuckled to myself.

Soon I reached my workplace. The lights were off and the door was locked. I pulled the spare key from my pocket—always handy in case the owner decided to close the store, even though it was supposed to be 24/7. Sometimes this lazy fool liked to shut up shop and go drinking with the other girl who worked here. He was just a horny dog, incapable of keeping his stuff secure for his wife... disgusting. I unlocked the door and switched on the lights. The power was on, which meant that the area was most likely just rented out for a half-day movie shoot.

Hours passed, yet nobody showed up. That wasn't entirely a problem—at least I could sit down and sleep all day. Best day ever, right?

Soon, my shift was about to end, but my coworker still hadn't arrived to replace me. "Okay, this is really starting to weird me out. What the hell is going on..." I thought. Not wanting to sit here all day, I locked the place up and headed home. Throughout the day, I hadn't seen a single person. There was nobody filming a movie; it was as if everyone had just vanished.

"Am I dreaming?" I pinched myself, but the sting reminded me that I wasn't asleep. I made my way home, opened my fridge, and reached for some kimchi stew I'd left over from a few days ago. Instantly, a putrid stench hit my nose, and I slammed the fridge door shut in disgust. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

"What the fuck, when was the last time I cleaned my fridge?" Everything inside was either rotten or completely disintegrated. The stench filled my room instantly, forcing me to open the window to air it out. Only then did it hit me: the weather was unusually cold today—as if it were November or even December. But this was August, wasn't it? I must be going crazy... What day is it, anyway? I picked up my phone; it was dead. "Eh?" I thought—I must have forgotten to charge it. I checked my PC, and then my head started to hurt. "What the fuck?! It's December first?" I collapsed onto my butt. "Ouch!" The pain was excruciating. But that wasn't the worst part—why was it December? It was August just yesterday, right? Wait... How could I have forgotten over three months' worth of memories? Am I losing my mind?

My temples throbbed relentlessly. I tried to get some water, but there was nothing coming from the sink. "Tap water is gone?" I rummaged for bottled water in the cabinet, but the mess on the floor sent me sprawling. "Fuck! Why does it hurt so much? What is going on?!"

I felt that I would soon space out—I didn't know what was happening, but I must be crazy. Nothing made sense. Nothing... "Aaaahhh!" The pain made me scream.

"G-"

Huh? What was that?

I could swear I heard something—a faint sound in my mind, as if something were calling to me.

"Ga-!"

Again!

"What the fuck is wrong with me? Enough!" I screamed. I was losing it, fully going crazy. I was just imagining this... Everything about me was a mess. Good job, Gaon—you've completely lost it. After so many years, you've finally broken...

"GAON!"

An eerie voice, one that somehow felt like it belonged to me, screamed in my head. I felt as though I had heard it before, hidden somewhere deep within, but I couldn't remember where. Suddenly, the pain intensified, making me dizzy, and soon my eyes blacked out.