When 1000 Lives Vanished

Ayane's POV:

I never imagined I’d be in a situation like this. A situation where I could actually die.

Abyss Code Online has become a death game.

This is a nightmare. I used to love this game, but that doesn’t matter anymore.

So many players have died. Chaos is everywhere.

I have no other choice but to survive and finish this game.

But… what if I fail? What if I die?

That would be such a shame. There are still so many things I want to do in the real world.
My family would be devastated. The thought of that fills me with regret.

And... I never got to fulfill my promise to Kyou.

“We’ll log in again tomorrow at 6:00 PM. I’ll help you take down the Floor 4 boss. Don’t forget, okay?”

Those were the last words I said to him.

Kyou nodded and smiled. It was a sincere smile. The kind that feels like it’s been gone for a long time.

In the three months we played together, he truly enjoyed the game.

It reminded me of my old self.

That’s why I decided to guide him, to help him become a top player.

And in doing so, I found myself enjoying the game again. The fire I thought I’d lost started to burn once more.

It reignited my dream of one day beating this game.

That was a promise I made a long time ago... to someone important.

But now, it all feels so far out of reach.

Kyou must be sad... knowing I’m stuck inside the game.

Just two hours ago, we were still having fun. And now, all that’s left is fear.

[Special Event Notification: Abyss Code Online!!!]

A notification popped up on my phone.

I tapped it and read the details of the quest.

[Quest: The End of the World!]
Players who log in exactly at 12:00 AM, December 21, 2030, will receive the following reward:
A chance to challenge the Floor 10 dungeon boss.

That reward was too tempting to ignore.

The condition was strange, just log in at a certain time. Still, I couldn’t resist the urge to participate.

I figured other top players would join in too. Maybe even all players, since no one had ever seen the Floor 10 boss before.

Would Kyou want to join this event too?

I wasn’t sure. He had logged off earlier, saying he was tired and had something to do in the morning.

I wanted to message him, but I didn’t have his contact info.

I really should’ve asked for his phone number or at least his Line ID.

Still... maybe he saw the notification and decided to log in anyway.

With that hope in mind, I made my decision.

“Virtual Login.”

As I entered the game, just as I thought, the world was packed with players.

Everyone wanted in on the event, both top players and newbies.

I checked Kyou’s status. He was still offline.

Maybe he really did go to bed... What a shame. I wanted him to experience this with me.

Still, I needed to focus. The event was about to begin.

I headed to the Scarlet Sanctum headquarters of the faction I led.

I already messaged everyone in our group chat, asking them to log in. I knew they’d come.

“Ayane-san’s here! This is going to be so much fun, right?”

That was [MaikoCat], the youngest member of our group. A hyper little restorer girl.

“Don’t bother the leader, Maiko,” said [Akatsugiri], our saber-class swordsman.

“Don’t worry about it,” I laughed. “She’s always like that.”

Then came our vice-leader, [Elegant_Kagurazaka], making her usual dramatic entrance.

“Ahaha! I can’t wait to burn that Floor 10 boss to ashes with my flames! My EtherCode is the strongest, right, boss?”

She was such a unique and chaotic person, always claiming I was her rival. I admired her passion so much, I made her my second-in-command.

“I think you mean second strongest... right after me.”

We all burst out laughing.

“Boss! I’ll give it everything I’ve got! I, [Absolute.RITSU], will block all the boss’s attacks so you can land the final blow!”

That was Ritsu, our tank and the strongest anchor in our guild.

“I’m counting on you, Ritsu,” I said.

Hearing that made him blush.

Soon after, a girl named [MagnumYukihana] a shooter-class member strolled in.

“Looks like I’m the last one... I almost fell asleep. Sorry.” She sounded as lazy as ever.

“Haha, it’s okay. There’s still more than an hour before the event starts. You can nap on the couch if you want, Yuki.”

She nodded and flopped onto the sofa without a second thought. That was so her.

All six core members and sixty regular members of the faction were now present.

We decided to hang out and relax before the event.

I enjoyed every second of it.

Other major factions had shown up too, ready for the event to begin.

Suddenly, messages from the other leaders popped up in my inbox:

[GeniusKurogane]: HAHAHA! Time to unleash my beautiful machines on the final boss! I’ll blow it to pieces!

[HollowTsukiyami]: How crude. I’ll let my faction sneak in from behind and take all the contribution points. Kukuku...

[TsukihanaBlossom]: Come on, guys. Let’s work together. This is a rare moment.

[DeathZetsumei]: …I don’t feel like typing.

[TsukihanaBlossom]: Uh… Zetsu-san, you just typed something.

[DeathZetsumei]: ………

[CrimsonAkane]: You’re all so fired up! I know we can clear this raid and beat the game!

[GeniusKurogane]: That’s right! With my machines, it’s a guaranteed win!

[HollowTsukiyami]: Hehe… I’ll make sure we win, no matter the method.

[TsukihanaBlossom]: I agree with Akane. Let’s team up like always!

[DeathZetsumei]: ………OK.

Eventually, the event time drew near.

[12:00 AM, December 21, 2030. EVENT: THE END OF THE WORLD BEGINS!]

Suddenly, the entire area went dark.

Everyone looked around, filled with anticipation.

Excitement and cheering filled the air.

Then we heard laughter.

A deep, bone-chilling laugh that sent shivers down our spines.

It wasn’t from a person.

It was something... else.

The sound came from the sky above Netherbyte City.

Then a red, glowing eye appeared in the sky.

A terrifying aura spread through the air.

The voice said,
“Welcome to the true world of Abyss... I am GOD 404, the ruler of this world.”

Players everywhere froze.
No one had ever seen this being before.

Some thought he was a hidden Game Master.
Others believed he was a rogue admin or the true final boss.

Then he spoke again.
“Let me get straight to the point. You’re all going to die here.”

People laughed nervously, thinking it was part of the event.

“You don’t believe me? Humans really are foolish,” he sneered.
“Check your status windows. The log-out button... is gone.”

Panic set in.

Everyone rushed to open their menus.

And it was true.

The log-out button had vanished.

Chaos broke out as players began shouting and panicking.

I tried to calm my guild down, hoping this was just an elaborate event.

“HAHAHA! This is perfect! Now let me give you the real quest.”

A system notification appeared:

------

[FINAL QUEST: THE END OF THE WORLD]
Complete the game by clearing the Abyss Dungeon on Floor 10 within 6 months.
Special Conditions:

Your physical body has transmigrated into this world. You now appear as you do in real life.

Permanent death, if your HP reaches zero, you cannot respawn.

Reward:

One wish granted.

Access to the True Ending.

Penalty:
Failure to complete the game in time will result in the permanent death of all players and the destruction of Earth.

------

Right after the notification, light enveloped everyone.

Our avatars began to shift, morphing into our real-world appearances.

My body changed too. Though my avatar already looked like me, I became slightly shorter.

I was now Akabane Ayane, a first-year university student in Tokyo.

My guild members changed as well.

[MaikoCat] who claimed to be a little girl, turned out to be a sexy 23-year-old woman.
[Akatsugiri] once a towering warrior, was actually a 17-year-old kid.
[Elegant_Kagurazaka] was a half-Japanese high school girl with long blonde hair.
[Absolute.RITSU] became a giant 25-year-old guy with an innocent face.
[MagnumYukihana] transformed into a bespectacled university student with bookworm vibes.

Everyone was shocked, but the laughter soon faded into silence.

Because we all realized one thing.

This was real.

Abyss Code Online had become a death game.

Even so, some players still believed it was all just part of the event.

They shouted angrily at GOD 404, demanding their promised reward.

GOD 404 just laughed harder.

A livestream window appeared in the sky.

He randomly picked 1000 players, including some of our regular members and Ritsu.

“No..you guys....No...Ritsu-kun!”

We all tried to grab him before the portal swallowed him.

He looked resigned, but he still smiled at us.

“I’m sorry... I was supposed to protect you all. But now I’m leaving first...”

I caught his hand.

But it was too late.

Just before he disappeared, he said,
“Thank you, everyone. And Ayane-san, actually... I...”

He vanished before he could finish his words.

Then the livestream showed all 1000 players on Floor 10.

Ritsu stood proudly, shield in hand.

He was the best anchor we had. The toughest defender in the game.

We still believed he could survive.

But that hope was shattered in seconds.

A blinding flash of light filled the screen.

SHING!

Moments later, all 1000 players were sliced in half.

Their torsos fell to the ground, and then their bodies exploded into particles.

Even Ritsu.

He was gone, exploding into pixel data particles.

GOD 404 laughed again.
“And that makes 1000 dead players! That’s the price of defying the boss of Floor 10!”

We stared at the screen in horror.

With trembling hands, I checked Ritsu’s profile.

[Absolute.RITSU] Permanent Death.

Normally, dead players would respawn at Null Shrine.

But not this time.

He was really gone.

And with that, all of us knew...

This wasn’t a game anymore.

This was a fight for survival.

And we had to clear the impossible dungeon or die....