Chapter 5: The Reset
1197 Words
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating. Yume’s gaze remained fixed on the floor, her entire body radiating shame. Shin knew that if he said one more wrong thing, she would retreat forever, and the door—both literally and metaphorically—would be shut for good.
He took a slow breath, forcing himself to ignore the mess, the smell, and the awkwardness. He needed to focus on the one thing that mattered.
"Yume," he said, his voice calm and steady. "Forget the pizza. Forget the delivery. Just for a second."
She peeked up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, full of suspicion.
"Last night," Shin continued, keeping his tone casual, as if they were back in Doscord. "That final raid in Sky Dragon Fantasy. When you used the 'Shadow Veil' spell to distract the Frost Wyrm so the rest of the party could reposition... that was brilliant. I've never seen anyone use it that way."
Yume froze. Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. She had expected mockery, pity, or disgust. She had not expected a genuine compliment about her gameplay. It was so out of left field that it short-circuited her humiliation.
"I'm serious," Shin said, offering a small, reassuring smile. "That's the OfflineDream I know. The one who thinks three steps ahead of everyone else."
He let his words hang in the air. He wasn't looking at the hikikomori girl in the messy room anymore. He was talking to his guildmate, his equal.
"Look," he said softly, taking a small step back to give her more space. "This is... a lot. I get it. How about we just... reset? We'll pretend this never happened. I'll go home, and tonight, we'll just be SHIN.ACE and OfflineDream again, okay?"
Yume stared at him, her mind reeling. He wasn't laughing. He wasn't running away in disgust. He was talking about the game. He was giving her an escape hatch.
Slowly, hesitantly, she gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
"Okay," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Okay," Shin repeated, relief washing over him. He gave her one last nod. "I'll... see you online, OfflineDream."
He turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing down the hall. Yume watched him go, her hand still on the doorknob. She slowly closed the door, the click of the latch sounding different this time. It wasn't a sound of finality, but of a pause.
She leaned back against the door, sliding down to the floor. The embarrassment was still there, a hot, prickling feeling under her skin. But for the first time in a long time, something else was there too.
A tiny spark of something that felt a lot like hope.
Yume sat on the floor for a long time, the cold wood seeping through her thin clothes. The silence in the apartment was no longer comforting; it was loud, filled with the ghost of Shin's voice. *That's the OfflineDream I know.*
The words echoed, pushing against the walls of her shame. She had been so sure he would see her and run. So sure he would tell the whole Doscord server about the pathetic girl who lived in a dump. But he didn't. He talked about a video game. He saw *her*, the person she was online, not the wreck she was in real life.
Her eyes landed on the pizza box lying on the floor where she'd dropped it. The source of her ultimate humiliation. For a moment, she just stared at it, the familiar wave of self-loathing rising in her throat.
But then, Shin's voice cut through it again. We'll just... reset.
A flicker of something new stirred within her. It wasn't courage, not yet. It was more like... defiance. Defiance against the part of herself that wanted to curl up and disappear forever.
With a groan, she pushed herself up from the floor. Her legs felt shaky. She walked over to the pizza box, picked it up, and without a second thought, shoved it deep into the already overflowing trash bag. It was a small gesture, almost meaningless in the grand scheme of the mess, but it felt like a victory.
She stood in the middle of her room, surrounded by chaos, but for the first time, it didn't feel like a tomb. It just felt like a room.
Her gaze drifted to her computer setup, the monitor dark and waiting. The promise of a different world. A world where she wasn't Yume, the hikikomori. She was OfflineDream. And SHIN.ACE was waiting.
She walked to her chair, the familiar creak of the leather a comforting sound. She sat down, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. Taking a deep breath, she logged into Sky Dragon Fantasy.
The character selection screen appeared, her sorceress, OfflineDream, standing poised and powerful. Yume's lips curved into a small, determined smile. She navigated to her friend list, her heart pounding a little faster than usual.
Her eyes scanned the names, searching for one in particular.
There it was. SHIN.ACE. Online.
The reset had begun.
Just as Yume's finger hovered over SHIN.ACE's name, a notification flashed in the corner of her screen. It was a private message, from him.
SHIN.ACE: You know, as much as I love fighting frost wyrms, I think I need a break from all the fantasy.
Yume blinked. A break? They had just planned a raid for tonight. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure how to respond.
Before she could type anything, another message appeared.
SHIN.ACE: How about we try something different? Ever played Cyber Biker Raiders 2?
CBR 2? Yume had heard of it. It was a popular open-world co-op game, set in a neon-drenched, post-apocalyptic city. Less about magic and quests, more about exploration, customizing bikes, and pulling off heists. It was a two-player game. Intimate.
Her heart skipped a beat. Playing *Sky Dragon Fantasy* with a full guild was one thing; it was easy to get lost in the crowd. But a two-player game felt... personal. It felt like a conversation.
She thought about his words from earlier. *We'll just... reset.* This was it. This was the reset. A new game, a new start.
Her hesitation melted away, replaced by a flicker of excitement she hadn't felt in a long time. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
OfflineDream: I've never played, but I'm in.
SHIN.ACE: Awesome. I'm sending you an invite. See you there.
Yume smiled, a genuine, unforced smile. She logged out of Sky Dragon Fantasy, her powerful sorceress fading away. A moment later, she was launching CBR 2 The main menu exploded onto her screen—a gritty, rain-slicked street bathed in the glow of holographic advertisements.
A party invite from SHIN.ACE popped up. She accepted.
The loading bar filled up. Yume leaned back in her chair, the messy room around her fading into the background. In a few seconds, she wouldn't be Yume, the girl in the trash-filled apartment. She would be OfflineDream, roaring through the streets of a neon city with her partner.
And for the first time in a very long time, the future didn't seem so scary. It just seemed like the start of a new level.
- Writer
