Place: My Room Time: 6:00 AM — I'd been up all night. Date: December 25th. Winter. Outside my window, the world was still dark and silent. Snow fell slowly, piling up in soft white mounds. Cozy. And cold.
I was slumped in my chair, wearing nothing but random trousers and a sleeveless shirt. The only light came from my PC monitor and the smart TV across the room, where a YouTube video played quietly — some open-world game I'd already beaten. An empty coffee mug sat near my elbow, next to a plate and two bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos — one empty, the other half-eaten. My fingers were stained red. So was my mouse.
I scrolled through Steam, over and over, while some game downloaded in the background. Scroll… scroll…Then I saw it.
Get Isekaid.
It was listed as fantasy. Choices mattered. Adventure. That was my thing. So I clicked.
The store page showed glowing forests and giant beasts. That tingle hit my gut. It was $9.99. Ten bucks for a hidden gem? Why not?
Well—I didn't actually pay. I used SteamTools and grabbed it for free. The page did have achievements, at least. I only play games with achievements. Don't ask why. It didn't show how many there were, though. Didn't notice. Didn't care. The developer was listed as Your After Death Isekai Service. I let out a short laugh. Weird name.
I paused the other download and started this one.
When it finished, I launched the game. No developer splash. No loading screen. Just:
START | EXIT
Two options, glowing on pure white. Weird—but I'd seen janky indie menus before. I clicked Start.
For a second, nothing happened. Then—
The screen split. Left side: a form, clean and minimal, fields empty and waiting. Right side: a dark rectangle, blank.
Behind it all, a background shifted every few seconds: a dense green forest, a rain-drenched cyberpunk alley, a modern frozen city, a tunnel with glowing eyes.
Text glowed at the top in a sleek, sans-serif font:
» WELCOME, USER.» THANK YOU FOR ACQUIRING GET ISEKAID.» BEFORE INITIALIZATION, PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING FIELDS.
⚠ WARNING: WORLD SELECTION IS PERMANENT.
CHARACTER CREATION World Preference: [Select a World](Note: Race options will unlock based on your chosen World.)
Race: — (Locked until World is selected) Gender: ________Name: ________Age: ________
Appearance: (Describe physical traits—no clothing or accessories. Model will update live.)
Power Selection: (Choose a power name. Details and mechanics will be finalized upon world entry.)
[SUBMIT] (Button inactive until all fields are filled.)
The warning text throbbed faintly. "Permanent." The word hung in the silent room, heavier than it should for a ten-dollar indie game. I shook my head, wiping my red-stained fingers on my trousers. Overthinking it. This was just a game.
I moved the cursor and clicked World Preference.
The shifting background stopped. The frozen city remained on screen. For some reason, my room felt colder.
I ignored it. My cursor hovered over the dropdown menu. A list unfurled, clean and precise…Hmm… interesting. Which world should I pick?