Everything dissolved.
Sound vanished. Weight vanished. Time vanished.
As everything faded away, Ah'Ming reached out, grabbing the newspaper.
It seemed important, like something to keep.
In the nothingness, a woman's voice spoke. Soft. Tired. Close.
"Did you come to eat… or to remember?"
The question echoed, unanswered, as the world held its breath.
The next thought he had was about how bright it was, making his eyes hurt.
White.
Not bright white, since there was no light source, no glare, no shadows, but an endless, flat expanse of nothing, like the idea of color rather than the thing itself. Although he said it wasn't bright, it still rather was. The ground beneath him was solid without texture. He could feel it, but only barely, as if sensation had been turned down a notch.
He was alone.
"Hello?" His voice didn't echo.
Of course it didn't.
He sat up slowly, half-expecting pain, blood, paper cuts, just something. There was nothing. No café. No teammates. No blood-stained drawing. Just him, suspended in a blank in-between. At least he still clenched the newspaper in his hand.
"…Great," he muttered. "Either I'm dead, or this is a tutorial."
Right on cue, a soft ping sounded.
A translucent blue panel flickered into existence in front of him. Finally! A system! Maybe one that could tell him what was going on?
It was the same one as before… maybe run by the same core? But then again, in all media, the system usually looks the same. Maybe it was a different system. Hopefully not.
The panel was still there though.
It hovered politely at eye level.
|WELCOME TO THE BROADCAST
Ah'Ming froze.
Sorry,
"…The what?"
The panel helpfully continued, text scrolling smoothly as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
|You have been selected to participate in the Broadcast.
|Participants will engage in dangerous, unpredictable, and entertaining activities for the viewing pleasure of higher-level beings.
|Perform well. Be interesting. Be memorable.
|Exceptional conduct may be rewarded.
A pause.
Then, almost cheerfully:
|Try to be entertaining! Maybe they'll give you tips.
Ah'Ming stared.
He stared so hard his eyes started to hurt.
"…Are you serious," he whispered. "This is— this is a reality show?"
He shook his head.
"No, no. A livestream. Like ___, where they play video games. Except my life is the video game. Drats."
Well. At least Ah'Ming knew he could be entertaining. Time to put that devilish mug to good use, eh?
The panel did not answer.
Instead, it shifted, shrinking slightly, and a new option blinked into existence beneath the text.
|OPEN MAIN PAGE?
His finger hovered.
"I don't consent to this," he said weakly.
His deal had nothing to do with a live stream, and so far, nothing had been very interesting. For the queen's sake, there hadn't even been any bloodshed. (Apart from that guy at the beginning, but that didn't count, since that had been boring to watch)
The button pulsed. A little flash of light shone out.
He sighed, and tapped the button.
The panel unfolded outward like glass petals, rearranging itself into a full interface. At the center floated a three-dimensional figure.
It was him.
Full-body avatar. Same face, same messy hair, same stupid expression. He turned as the avatar turned, movements synced perfectly. When Ah'Ming raised a hand, so did it. Cool. If he did a somersault, would the thing do it too? Ah. But if he did, then he wouldn't be able to see the screen.
He tried to shake off his disappointment by reacting like he thought how a normal person would react.
"That's unsettling," he said.
Uh.
Text populated the space beside the avatar.
|NAME: Ah'Ming
|RACE: Human (?)
Ah'Ming squinted. "Question mark?"
Uh.
It shouldn't say that.
He'd put a lot of effort into it already.
|Talent: null
"I just haven't unlocked it yet!" Such a scam. Obviously, his talent was his dashing looks!
|SAN: 100
|HEALTH: 100
"Oh good," he muttered, slightly bitter. "So this thing thinks I'm fine."
|STRENGTH: EX
|AGILITY: EX
"…Excuse me?" It was nice to see his amazing, well-worked physique complimented for a change. None of the others had ever put in the effort to complimen—
|INTELLIGENCE: B
"…Hey."
That one actually stung a little.
He stared at the stats, heart beginning to pound, not from fear, but from the creeping realization settling into his bones.
This wasn't a hallucination.
This wasn't the instance.
Finally… something interesting.
This was something above it.
How... how fun.
A soft line of text appeared at the bottom of the panel, almost like an afterthought.
|Note: Certain attributes may not manifest consciously.
|Audience engagement pending.
Audience.
Ah'Ming swallowed.
Somewhere… somewhere beyond the white, beyond the resort, beyond the paper café, things were watching.
Evaluating.
Waiting to see what he would do next.
"…Okay," he said to the empty space, voice thin but steady. "Fine."
If this was a show…
Then he hoped his teammates were still in the cast.
Most importantly though.... this was proving to have the potential to be really, really interesting.