Abby and her friends had big plans for the weekend. It was getting dark outside. The brunette texted her friend, asking him when to expect them. It didn't take long to get a reply. 

"We'll be there in five minutes," read the message on the phone. 

The girl was already looking forward to three wonderful days of real geekdom. The boys were to bring food from a local pizzeria and burgers. 

Time passed quickly, and when Abby made drinks, the doorbell rang. 

 

"Sunshine, we're here!" a familiar voice called from behind the wall.

 

"I'm in the kitchen,” the girl replied just as loudly. "Take off your coats and come in."

 

She could hear the guests putting their clothes away in the closet. 

 

"Hi.” Jack smiled at his friend as he entered the kitchen. He walked over to her and gave her a big hug.

 

"I'm so glad to see you!" she exclaimed happily. 

 

Oliver came in next. The man smiled brightly, put the large paper bags on the floor, and hugged the brunette. 

 

"Hi,” he said, patting the girl lightly on the shoulder. "How are you?"

 

"All good, thanks,” she replied. "What about you guys?"

 

"We're fine, too," Oliver nodded, sitting down on a bar.

 

"We brought food; where should we put it for now?" Noah asked, pointing to the bags.

 

"We have to decide what to eat first," the girl said. "You can put the rest in the fridge."

 

"We bought so much food,” Jack complained. "We barely made it from the cab. Look, we got six pizzas, a set of burgers, even a couple with meat, different chips, and a bunch of sweets. Walter also talked me into getting soy meat, just in case we wanted to fry it. I doubt it, of course, but anyway. It's freeze-dried and marinated. We'll cook it next time. You've got the arms, right?"

 

He didn't stop talking, running around the kitchen, putting all the food in the refrigerator.

 

"I do,” Abby pointed to the ceiling, where the mechanical arms were.

 

"Great! I think we should start with the burgers, since they're better fresh,” the boy said more to himself. 

 

While his friends were dealing with the food and drinks, Walter brought his laptop and his boyfriend's VR goggles from the hallway into the living room. 

 

"So, 'Project Isekai'?" he asked, returning to the true purpose of their visit.

 

"Yes!" Jack said, jumping up and down. "There are some updates there!"

 

"Then grab your burgers and drinks and let's go to battle!" shouted Oliver, rising from his seat. "Show me where the drinks are; I'll take them."

After pointing to the refrigerator and explaining where everything was, the brunette grabbed a deep bowl of ice from the shelf and carried it into the living room, where Jack had already set the table.

 

"Let's watch a Let's Play from NewGoGame,” Oliver suggested, turning on his laptop. "He was right in the middle of it when Neuzus went crazy."

 

"Oh, let's do it," Jack said, sitting closer to the computer Oliver had placed on the coffee table between the plates. "Maybe it all happened because of him?"

 

"It's unclear,” Oliver said with a shrug and turned on the video.

 

"Hello, my favorites," a young man with a blond ponytail spoke directly into the microphone, looking into the camera. "Yesterday, I saved Neuzus, King of the North Lands, in battle. Today, he invited me to his castle for dinner. Anyway, for your information. As far as I know, he's the king of the largest state, a cruel tyrant. For the past few years, he's been waging wars all over the place, and I've heard a lot about him from the merchants. And many of them said he was a bit weird."

 

Jack and Abby sat with their legs under them.

 

"Some of the players even saw him slaughter his own horse," the player continued. "Sounds doubtful, but anyway. And I met him in the woods. I was walking after a hunt, no sign of trouble, when I saw two men in the distance. And one of them, judging by his clothing, was a rebel. So, I decided to help the one who was better dressed. After the victory, I fixed him up, and that was it. Now I'm going to visit him to have some wine together."

The gamer laughed and started the game. The player's character appeared on the screen—a dwarf with a huge axe on his back. He walked over to the table where the pale and cheerful Neuzus sat. The king sipped wine peacefully from a goblet, his long cloak hanging from the back of his chair. Long black hair with streaks of gray fell over the armored man's shoulders, with drops of spilled wine stuck to his tangled beard. 

"It's strangely empty," the man said as he plugged the microphone into the game to interact with the character. "Just a page boy who ran away quickly."

"Oh, Graddy!" the slightly tipsy king said as he raised his hand with a goblet in the air. "Sit down!"

The table was set so that the dwarf had to sit next to the king, which he did.

"There's no one here," the player said, looking around the room. "Where is everyone?"

"Everyone?" Neuzus looked at the dwarf in surprise. "Oh, everyone. They are all traitors and hypocrites. And they belong where they are now. In the grave."

 

The King laughed grimly and took a sip from the goblet. Letsplayer's eyes widened. He was silent as Neuzus told him the outcome of one of the battles.

"And so, my army and I took the northern lands as well," the king said, looking at the player. "And you, Graddy, will you go with me to the next battle?"

 

The player could be seen in the upper right corner of the screen. Like the viewers, Neuzus could hear his voice.

 

"Perhaps we should join forces and work on the development of the state," NewGoGame cautiously suggested. "And we'll conquer the rest of the territories once we recruit a new army? Too many died in the last battle."

 

King's face darkened. He smiled grimly and rose from his seat. 

 

"You know, I have a wonderful secret," the tyrant whispered.

 

Neuzus pulled a small bundle from a chest. When he unraveled the cloths, he held a dilapidated book in his hands. 

 

"You and I can have power over the entire world in an instant," the man continued in a mysterious tone, opening the right page. "Just imagine... All the land belongs to me. I can give you a piece of it if you're loyal to me."

The king read a sentence in an unknown language and raised his mad eyes to the dwarf, smiling even wider than before. The guy in the small window on the laptop screen tensed. A dark cloud erupted from the book and moved to the floor. A genie rose from it. Compared to the huge Neuzus, who looked more like a Viking, the genie looked ridiculous, like a small, skinny teenager. His pale skin had a blue tint, and his eyes were filled with malice. 

 

"You summoned me, my lord,” the genie said in a strained voice as he examined Neuzus. "My name is Graham; I am at your service."

It had gotten completely dark outside, making the atmosphere in the room quite oppressive. The sound was coming from several speakers at once, immersing the players in the game even more. Walter looked at his friends sitting next to him and noticed the first signs of fear. 

 

“What a bunch of kids,” the man thought excitedly. “Makes me want to give them a little scare. There'll soon be just the right moment soon."

 

The dark-eyed man smiled at his thoughts and turned his attention back to the darkened screen. 

 

"Okay, well, apparently Neuzus believed it,” the player said, covering the other microphone with his hand so the king wouldn't hear what he was saying. "But it smells like trouble."

 

"I want power, Graham,” the king said, sinking back into his chair. 

 

A strange smile appeared on the genie's face. He squinted his eyes slyly and bowed. 

"You are the only ruler on the entire continent worthy of ruling the world," Graham said in a fake tone of affection. 

 

Neusus was blinded by the flattery and praise. Certain that the genie would not overrule him since it was Neuzus who had summoned him, the king believed the skinny magician. By tradition, Graham offered the lord three wishes of any kind. Knowing the king's inner longing for his family, he deliberately left the summoning of the dead among the possible wishes. So Neuzus wished not only for ultimate power over the entire world but also for resurrection.

Suddenly, there was a white flash, and beside the man, one by one, the people dearest to him appeared.

 

"So, what we have so far: the cunning genie did not warn the madman that it was dangerous to do that," the player concluded. "I feel like I need to get out of here."

 

One by one, the people the king had killed began to enter the hall. The genie had turned the entire dynasty into his puppets. The ruler's wife and daughters, however, were no longer themselves; they became shadows of the warriors chasing their murderer. 

 

"You are the ruler now.” Graham bowed again to the king. 

 

"Graddy, can you believe it?" Neuzus said, talking to his guest. 

"I can do anything now. And you will be my loyal companion."

 

Night fell in the game, so the player wandered to his chambers. In the middle of the night, however, he had to run to the king because he was screaming. Neuzus began to have nightmares every night about being killed by his own family. He decided that he would not tolerate this any longer, so he told the genie to cancel his wish. 

Graham refused. Soon dark armies from the underworld began to approach the castle. The genie mixed the king's two wishes, and he became the ruler of the world of the dead. The only way out of his torment, Graham said, was suicide. 

"Well, I don't want to be a part of that,” NewGoGame finally spoke up after a while. "I'm teleporting to the town. Otherwise, they'll accuse me of murder and execute me. And I've looted so many good items here."

Letsplayer didn’t make it in time. The scene changed to reveal a tortured king on a throne, bleeding to death. Creatures swarmed at his feet. Before the player's eyes, the king breathed his last. Instead of tragic music, however, the music was eerie. Neuzus rose again, but dark, as if he, too, had become a shadow. The beings the ruler had killed turned into ghosts. The king swung his sword, aiming at the dwarf, but he teleported to the mountains at the very last moment. 

"This is wild,” said the guy in the top corner of the screen, still reeling from the shock. "Who would have thought that the game would generate something like that...?"

 

"So, when did all this happen?" Jack asked. 

 

"About two days ago," Oliver said, returning to the couch. "So, there's probably a lot going on right now."

 

Abby turned on the console and started the game, unwrapping her burger and sitting down on the edge of the couch.

 

The TV screen lit up, and the music started. An opening sequence with mesmerizing graphics played on the screen. The gamers were already chewing their food, getting ready to fully immerse in the journey. Oliver put his laptop on his lap, and Jack put on his glasses. On the TV screen, the game world greeted Abby's character with a bright, colorful sunset.
The last time she played, the girl had finished exploring Giant's Cliff, so now her character, a young elven archer, was watching the clouds move across the sky. Her long, bright red hair was adorned with dozens of braids that crossed and merged into loose curls. She was dressed in a baggy white shirt and wide black pants tucked into high leather boots. Behind her back was an elongated bow made of dark wood and decorated with various amulets and a quiver of arrows. Her pointed ears were covered with green stone earrings that matched her eyes of the same color. 

"Who's where now?" Jack asked, waving his hands as if he were picking something up and putting it in an imaginary pocket. 

"I'm in Greenfield Village," Oliver replied, adjusting one of his earbuds.

"I'm at Nye Mountain,” the girl said, picking up the joystick. 

"Why don't we meet at Fort Civille?" suggested Jack.

Abby opened the map and selected a large city in the north. After loading, Ursula, the brunette's character, saw a crowded city with narrow streets between low stone buildings. Between the houses, she could see the spires of a small church that was the center of the city. It was there that she and the boys had agreed to meet. Ursula sat down near the fountain on the steps of the church. The Gothic cathedral towered above her, the fearsome gargoyles looking at her with silent reproach. Noah's character appeared behind the fountain.

"Oh, Sunshine, I see you!" The guy said it too loudly, unable to hear himself through the earphones.

Abby's character was approached by a short gray-haired forester with a slightly wrinkled face that gave him a sense of status. He was wearing a strange linen garment that looked more like a robe. Jack's character was a healer who gave his allies herbs gathered from the forest. Next to him appeared a tall, buff knight in heavy iron armor with a sword hanging from his belt. 

"Everyone's here," the forester said in Jack's voice. "Where do we start?"

A man in a black robe stood at the entrance to the cathedral. He looked terrified. 

Avery approached the priest. 

"Good afternoon," she said to him. 

"Wh-what are you crazy people doing here?" he asked, shaking with fear. "You need to get out of town right now!"

"Why?" Jack asked, coming closer. 

"Ne...Neusuz's...army... It's close!" he shouted across the square and disappeared behind the door of the church. 

"What a start..." Abby said slowly. "I like it already!"

The players have immersed themselves in Neuzus’s world. The developers had added several new locations to make the game more interesting for the players. The first few places were completely safe. Mountains, snow, and a bright golden sun halo that did not disappear even during the night, indicating that it was a polar day.

 

After a few hours of playing the game, the players got to the pizza and a new location, the dark forest. As soon as the players left the mountains and snowy areas, a creature that had come out of the underworld along with Neuzus's army jumped out at them from behind the tree. Jack, who was leading them then, was startled by the suddenness and flinched, clinging to his man with his whole body. The girl panicked too, though it was more because of her friend's reaction than at the thing itself. But just in case, she covered herself and Jack with a blanket.

 

"Come on guys,” Oliver said with a laugh. “Hey, come on out, we need to talk to him."

 

"I don't believe it!" Jack shouted from the hiding place. 

 

Abby carefully peeked from under the blanket to see if what the man said was true. There was indeed a small demon standing on the screen, but it didn't look aggressive, more like it was frightened by the forester's reaction. Obviously, the character was not there to fight.

"We missed the dialogue because of the screaming, didn't we?" the brunette clarified awkwardly.  

"Yes," Oliver replied, comforting Jack to get him back to normal. "He said he wasn't looking for trouble; he just wanted to get home."

"And we have to help him?" Jack asked from under the fabric. 

"We can decide,” the other man said with a smile, stroking the lump at his side.

"I want to help him,” Abby said. 

"Wait!” Jack suddenly jumped out. "What if he sets us up?"

"Then we'll punch him in the face," the girl replied, turning back to the demon to address him.

 

"We mean no harm."

 

The creature turned out to be a demon named Yoko, straight from the underworld. He told his story: how his life had gone downhill, how he had ended up in this forest about three months ago, apparently arriving with another group of warriors, and how he had almost been eaten by the local beasts. After hearing his story, the girl felt sorry for the demon and looked pitifully at her friends. 

"We can’t just leave him like this!" she said. Then, still looking at the boys, she said aloud to the undead creature, "I'll help you."

 

Jack, who had already climbed out of his hiding place, rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket closer to his nose. Oliver nodded in agreement, so the girl continued without hesitation.

 

It turned out that the creature needed to be taken directly to the castle, which wouldn't interfere with their plans, so it was easy to do. As time went on, the team even found the demon to be helpful—he was quite good at assisting in battles and finding necessary supplies such as bark and twigs. His skills were especially useful when they were attacked by other players, who sometimes even wanted to take their new companion away from them. A few times, Yoko even brought wildfowl to rescue a starving forester, when Jack had forgotten to give any food to his character. The blond just giggled awkwardly.

I was quiet for a while. The brunette ran around the forest, gathering the necessary ingredients for her spells, preparing magic elixirs, and helping passersby. She even managed to shoot a deer and a boar with her bow. Meanwhile, the clock above the fireplace read three o'clock in the morning. It would soon be dawn.

Soon the forest ended and the players had to pass through a dungeon. The villagers that lived nearby told them to take this path. The locals warned that if they took a wrong turn, they might run into Neuzus's army guarding the main passage. There was a secret passage hidden behind the prickly blackthorn that the villagers often used. However, none of them agreed to accompany the travelers, claiming they were busy with something.

"Something’s wrong here," the boy said suspiciously, his lips twisted. He looked at his partner. "I think something bad is waiting for us there."

 

The girl nodded. The two friends handed the reins of power over to Walter, their eyes fixed on him in anticipation. The man smiled, thinking how sweet their gesture was, and led the team into the darkness.

Completely lost, they decided to walk along the walls, hoping to find a blackthorn hidden in the rocks. Instead, they came upon a giant black spider, ready to devour them right through the screen. 

 

"And we haven't even stumbled upon any guild yet.’ Oliver said, laughing. "Today we will hopefully reach the castle."

 

"Is it safe? They'll kill us." Jack asked. 

"Well, we need to find out what's going on," Oliver replied. "Imagine how much loot there is. The guilds are there for a reason. They're looking for profit."

After successfully passing through the dungeon and a few more villages, the wanderers from the sofa finally saw a huge black castle. It was overgrown with thorns and weeds and surrounded by an impressive moat. Sirens, wyverns and dragons flew above the castle's towers.

Thanks to Oliver, who had discovered a secret passage to the castle's cellars, the team soon found themselves in an abandoned wine cellar. It was full of spiders that had wrapped various valuable bottles in a white veil. With the insects trapped in the web, the decorations glittered with the blue light of the magic ball the knight had conjured. For nearly an hour, they wandered the dark corners of the cellar, searching for a safe passage to the main hall. To their surprise, there was not a single creature that wanted to fight them, so Jack and Abby felt at ease and moved to the floor, closer to the sweets.

Before leading them into the throne room, the man looked at those seated below and smiled mysteriously. Silently, he opened the door and walked slowly deeper into the room. 

The ceiling ended somewhere in the distance, tall columns rose up to the vaults, and huge stained-glass windows were partially broken. A mist spread over the stone floor. In the center of the room stood a large, heavily decorated throne with a hand-woven burgundy cloth leading to it. It was golden in places, making it look like the carpet was actually covered in blood. A dark figure in a cloak sat on the throne. 

The blond man and his friend were so fascinated by the atmosphere of the castle that they did not immediately notice the man on the throne. Walter walked toward the throne to get as close as possible. The figure became clear: a skeleton in a crown overgrown with black mold. He froze, as if he had drunk poison from a goblet lying at his feet. 

"He's so creepy," Jack whispered, putting a piece of chocolate in his mouth. 

Suddenly, the skeleton twitched, slowly stood up, and raised his hand, pointing his finger at the intruders. The players tensed up a little. Oliver's knight took another step toward the king. 

A ghost appeared before their eyes and screamed in their faces. Just like the shadow they had just seen, the two friends sitting on the floor also screamed. They quickly jumped off the floor and onto the sofa, clinging to the Oliver and to each other. The screen went out, and when it came back on, their characters woke up chained in the dungeon. 

"Why didn't you warn us?" Jack shouted. "I almost had a heart attack!"

Oliver laughed. 

"How was I supposed to know?" 

 

The next two days were fun, too. Abby and her friends were constantly joking, eating pizza, and occasionally filling the house with screams. Nothing but sleep distracted them from these activities, making it easy to immerse themselves in the dark world of Neuzus. Barely avoiding the big guilds, the friends managed to fight one of the curses. Others, it turned out, had already been dealt with by other players. Freed from the curse, all who lived in Neuzus's lands have found peace. 

As she said goodbye to the couple, Abby found herself thinking that although the game had left her sad that it was not possible to save all the people who had died at Neuzus's hands, her head was clear.