The day had started like any other for Thomas. Wake up, eat breakfast, and then walk the dog really quick. Because he wanted to get into his new game, the nervegear and the game he had been looking forward to since it was announced was sitting just upstairs ready to play. As soon as he walked through the door, he bumped into his father. "Going to play your new game son?" Thomas nodded. "Yeah, dad. Have a great day at work." 
"You too son, and try not to play your game for to long. You'll forget whats real." The both laughed at that, his father walked past him and Thomas watched as his father left. As soon as his father was gone, he wasted no time sprinting upstairs. He set up his nervegear, put in the game, and turned it on. He flew through the calibrations, which at first seemed odd. But for the game he had been waiting for he cared very little, finally he was ready to say those faithful words that would bring him into a new world. "Link start!" and with that things faded. And he was at the menu, ready to start a new adventure.

[hr]

He had time to get adjusted yes, make a cool character, use his real name because he didn't really care, and finally learn a bit of how the game and his class worked. But nothing could prepare him for this, he had been teleported back to the town of New Beginnings. He sat in the square, wondering if this was some kind of event until the sky turned red. A cloaked figured emerged, and then it began to speak. It spoke of how if you die in this game, you die in real life. To help illustrate his point, he showed news reports two hundred people were already dead from people removing the nervegear, if this wasn't chilling enough the sign out button was gone. "This is some sort of prank." Someone said next to him, shock had crept into that persons voice as well, their face probably looking like his at the moment a mixture of shock, and fear. 

If all of this wasn't enough, the hooded figure who now identified himself as the creator of the game. Spoke of a new item, when Thomas checked his inventory there was a mirror. Thomas did what everyone would do when gifted a item, he used it and boy did he regret it. Looking back at him in the mirror wasn't his version of himself, it was him the real him. Thomas recoiled in shock, the mirror slipping from his hands and turning into pixels right before his eyes. After this, it all turned into panic. Kayuba disappeared, there was pushing and shoving. People sprinting away, only to go die somewhere. Among this chaos, Thomas was knocked over and stepped on more times he could count. Not only was he glad this was a safe area, but that he couldn't feel pain because he wouldn't want to feel this. 

It was minutes before the square had mostly cleared. Save a few still in shock, or people forming groups. When Thomas rose, he felt like he was dead inside. But nonetheless he willed his limbs to move and they did, when he got the gates he was flagged down by a man in the gaudiest armor he's ever seen. He watched him go from player to play who just ignored him, I mean whatever he was doing was probably a trap but Thomas shrugged. [color=f49ac2]"I'll help."[/color] He said to the man his voice was soft but he figured the man heard him.