Riley snapped out of his thoughts and scrambled across the bed, grabbing a small, cracked Android phone resting near the pillow.
His fingers moved quickly, pressing the power button. The screen flickered to life with faint static lines and a dull glow.
1:58 PM, June 14th, 2025.
The time stared back at him—and for a second, he didn't even breathe.
His lips parted slightly as realization struck.
'This… this is before the game launched…' he thought, eyes wide. 'I really did go back in time.'
He swallowed hard.
The date was burned into his memory. This was the day everything changed. This was the day the game Apocalypse officially launched—the game that turned the world upside down and dragged humanity into an era of blood, chaos, and monsters.
He knew the exact time it had started, too. It was 2:00pm.
That meant he had two minutes, or even a bit less.
His heart pounded. It was true. All of it.
The beta phase of the game had launched two weeks prior, but only ten million people worldwide had been allowed to participate.
Most of them thought it was just a revolutionary new VR game—ultra-realistic, groundbreaking mechanics, something no one had ever seen before.
But they had no idea what they were walking into.
Riley hadn't been one of the beta testers. His invitation never came.
All he could do back then was scroll through forums and watch live streams, completely unaware of the tragedy that would soon unfold.
Even when the official launch came, he didn't jump in right away. He had waited, thinking it was just another overhyped game that didn't have any benefit.
He had never been one who fancied games no matter how hyped they might be, feeling they were nothing but distractions from the real world.
He hadn't logged in until about three weeks later, and by then, it was already too late.
The world had already changed. Monsters had started appearing in reality. Cities fell. Governments crumbled. People he knew—neighbors, friends, strangers in the street—were slaughtered.
And Riley? He was weak. Too weak to defend anyone. Too late to change anything.
Since he joined late, he barely had enough time to level up, and was nothing more than common fodder during all the chaos.
'Not this time,' He thought sharply. 'This time… I'm getting in early. I'll use every second I've been given.'
He stared hard at the time again.
1:59 PM.
The seconds ticked by, agonizingly slow, and yet all too fast.
And then—
DING!
A light-blue notification screen suddenly appeared before him, right in the middle of his vision.
[The Beta Phase has finally ended. All remaining humans are now granted access to the game: Apocalypse.]
Before he could fully absorb those words, another notification blinked in.
[From this moment forward, humans must use this chance wisely and fend for themselves, or else they would have no way to defend themselves from what it to come."
Riley's eyes flickered as a strange light glinted within them. His jaw clenched, and he let out a slow, shaky breath.
"…Yeah," he muttered to himself. "That's right…"
This time, there were no excuses. No heroes were coming. No mysterious saviors would appear. It was all up to them.
He looked down at his wrist, and his breath caught.
A glowing circle of runes was slowly forming there—blue and ethereal, cooling and precise. The shapes twisted and curled, looping around his wrist like a bracelet before gradually embedding themselves into his skin.
There was no pain—just a strange warmth, followed by an instinctive click in his mind, like a key turning in a lock.
Riley stared at the glowing band in disbelief.
Even though everything still felt like a dream… he already knew.
It wasn't.
This was real.
Another notification appeared, floating clearly in his vision:
[Do you wish to enter the game?]
[Yes / No]
He hesitated.
His finger hovered over the [Yes] option.
His eyes scanned the words again and again, waiting for the illusion to break—waiting to wake up in his bed, sweaty and confused, and realize this had all been a vivid dream cooked up by stress and fantasy.
But nothing changed.
The room stayed the same. The bracelet on his wrist still glowed. The runes didn't vanish. The notifications didn't fade.
'No… this is real.'
With a final exhale, Riley pressed [Yes].
Immediately, the world around him shifted.
A wave of dizziness swept over him, as though someone had yanked the ground from under his feet.
His vision blurred, his knees buckled, and the room stretched and twisted like a reflection in disturbed water—
—then silence.
When he opened his eyes again, he stood in an infinite white space.
There was no floor, no ceiling—just white stretching endlessly in every direction, pulsing gently like it was alive.
[Scanning identity… Riley Voss]
[Welcome to The Apocalypse, Riley!]
[Please enter an ID…]
A blinking cursor appeared beneath the words.
Riley blinked, gathering himself.
He remembered this part. In the game, every player had to choose a unique ID—one that everyone in the world would see. It was your name, your brand, your banner. A mistake here could haunt you forever.
And in a world where strength meant survival, a name could inspire—or invite death.
'Let's see…' He mumbled inwardly, placing a hand on his chin.
He thought about it for a moment, arms crossed.
It would be dumb to use his real name, as he already knew how risky that could be. He'd seen how powerful players were hunted, tracked, and betrayed in the name of alliances, war, or fame the moment their true identity was discovered.
Something low-key, subtle… forgettable.
Finally, a small smirk tugged at the edge of his lips.
He typed slowly, watching the letters appear:
[ID: A Random]
It was simple. Deceptive.
And in this new life, that's what he would be—just a random.
It was the same name he had chosen in his past life, and he felt it was simply the perfect one for him.