The Virtual Realm

by Daniel Perusko

  “The difference is if other people fuck up their trials they don’t doom an entire race,” the cynical Phantom pointed out.

  “Nevertheless, we’re all here for you. If you stray from the wrong path, we’ll beat some sense into you. Without killing you this time.”

  “Thank you, Karla. I really am lucky to have you around.” He gave her a passionate peck on the lips.

  “Yes, you are.” She spoke frankly.

  “Hey now, that’s not very modest. I think someone needs to be humbled,” Dusk grinned. “You got lucky last duel, but now I know your trump card; you won’t get so lucky again.”

  “Uh huh. I didn’t know you wanted to be burned to a crisp again that badly.” Her eyes gleamed at him playfully.

  “Hey now...” he admonished as he walked away from her, creating a safe distance so they could duel yet again.

  They dueled countless times throughout the next two months. Dusk’s skills were becoming increasingly polished, but Tsuki now had the Excalibur, making her all the more difficult to defeat.

  ~~~~~

  Nothing major happened during this two month gap. Phoenix and Descent had both fully geared themselves from raids, trying to obtain any information about any recent activities from Raven and his group named Ouroboros, but they were all unable to find anything. This was ultimately their world, and if they didn’t want to be found then it would be a lot harder to find them. This was the calm before the great storm.

  This great storm began brewing in the late winter of 2019. In the first six months of this game’s creation, each nation was largely only concerned with themselves as they rushed to max level and creating their own infrastructures. Now, however, a great deal of players had reached level 50. Four nations had conquered their respective obelisks.

  The Harians of the Lightning Continent.

  The Accursed of the Ice Continent.

  The Pollusks of the Water Continent.

  The Draugos of the Wind Continent.

  As all six nations obtained their elemental stones, the conflict between nations would only ramp up in intensity. Things were looking increasingly grim as tensions rose.

  February 15, 2019

  The man could only look on with sheer terror as the black sword pierced into his leg, causing him to howl in agony. What awful things did he do in this life to deserve this fate? He always held the impression he would go to heaven, not hell. Why was this happening to him? Why was he crucified on a metal cross, drenched in his own blood?

  He cursed his painful circumstances in a tempest of cussing. If only he had thought with his brain instead of his dick. He knew something was amiss even back then, but her beauty was criminal. Draped in flowing silky black hair, this woman was a succubus in every sense of the word. Everything in his body screamed at him not to go with her, but his penis won out in the end. He had always thought the devil to be a man with horns. Who would’ve ever thought it was a beautiful woman with long black hair?

  The expression on her blood speckled face could only be described as sadistic. This woman, who called herself Shark, basked in the pleasure of his misery.

  “Why are you doing this?” the man cried out through tears.

  “Why am I doing this you ask? Aren’t you having fun, Jim? I know I am,” Shark laughed.

  How could she say something like that while laughing? Did she not realize the pain she was causing him? Did she not realize he was composed of flesh and blood just like her? How could she relish his suffering like this? Was she really human, or a complete monster?

  Before he could reflect on the demented nature of this creature any further, he plunged into the depths of torment when Shark sliced his leg off completely, sending blood pouring down in buckets as she grinned manically. She had to be absolutely off her rocker. At least, that’s what Jim would have decided if he could even think at all. The pain radiating through his severed leg shut down his brain’s ability to ponder anything other than the hellish agony he felt. An agonizing pulse throbbed from the fresh stump all the way up his heaving side.

  “Okay, I’ll tell you why.” Shark wore a sultry smile as she leaned in close to his mangled and bloodied body.

  “Your cries of agony are music to my ears. The sight of your blood is a feast to my eyes. It’s complete ecstasy, you wouldn’t understand.”

  Shark took a moment to gaze right into the horror-stricken eyes which were staring back at her.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m talking about! Those are the eyes. Eyes which are afraid of my existence. Eyes that have lost all hope. Eyes that are filled with despair. Darling, you’ve never looked more handsome than you do right now.”

  Shark purred as she licked the blood from his chest. The only letdown for her was that when these men died, that was the end. These men broke so quickly and easily, making the high she experienced from this all too fleeting.

  “I also do it for the power,” she admitted. “Tell me. How does it feel to know you’re utterly powerless against me? To know that you won’t live to see tomorrow? To know that I won’t even give you a quick death? Oh no, I’m going to take my sweet time extracting every ounce of sweet agony from your body before you die. You see that?”

  Shark motioned her head towards a table where a variety of depraved surgical tools laid, a dreadful harbinger of things to come. The man could no longer think clearly. He became delirious with fright, his eyes bulging even wider than before as he shook his head violently. This couldn’t be real. His racing heart wanted nothing more than to tear itself out from his chest and run.

  “No! Please don’t! I’ll do anything. I don’t want to die! Don’t kill me. I don’t deserve this.”

  “Yes! Plead more. Beg for your life!” she demanded with perverted pleasure as the wicked euphoria surged through her. He saw her pick up a pair of surgical pliers. She waved the terrifying tool in front of his face, taunting him. His heart was pacing like quick thunder in his chest as she moved the pliers closer to his eyeball, inch by inch. Time seemed to slow down to an agonizing crawl as every detail of the wicked tool came into view. The pliers brushed against his eyelashes for a moment before coming to a complete stop. Shark kept them there. She wanted him to wonder if and when she was going to close his window to the world of sight. The man wriggled ferociously, trying something... anything to avoid this cruel fate.

  “Hey, stop squirming around; it won’t do you any good anyways,”

  Shark commanded as she cupped her free hand around his face, as if she were holding a basketball. Now that she had his movement under control, she shoved the pliers into his eye socket, slowly turning his eyeball out of its socket, causing him to writhe under the unrivaled cruelty of his tormentor as his shrill cry echoed throughout the execution chamber.

  The hapless man was suffering more than words could even begin to describe. He didn’t think this level of pain was even possible. A sickening mixture of tears and blood flowed down his now one-eyed face. His empty eye socket thumped against his brain in hellish, unbearable waves of agony. He writhed and thrashed at the restraints, digging the metal shackles even further into his skin as his tormented wails played a melody of the underworld for Shark’s depraved ears. At this point, death would be a mercy. This unfathomable agony was causing him to cross into the realm of insanity.

  Staring in fascination at the detached, bloody eye, Shark's sultry lips curved into a satiated smile. She wasn’t always like this. Her world once radiated with a pure light. That is, before men had destroyed that world. On that day, something inside of her broke: destruction that could never be repaired. From that day forward, her world had been painted a blood red.

  Back before her world was shattered into billions of little pieces, she lived with her mother. Even now, she could not recall a single heartwarming experience she ever had with a man. Her biological father died of cancer before she was even old enough to remember his face. When she was seven years old... her mother—Victoria, had fallen in love with another man, tak
ing him into their home. In society’s eyes, this man would soon be known as her stepfather. But to her, he was simply a lazy, good for nothing waste of oxygen. Even remembering him now made her blood boil.

  He had lived in that household with her for six years. Never once did he acknowledge her as his stepdaughter. Never once did he show her any love or affection. In fact, he barely even acknowledged her as an existence at all. She had once told him to get up off his lazy ass and do something, which was met with a spanking and belt lashes, leaving several discolorations upon her skin; visible reminders to never say such a thing to him again.

  But it was all true. He was a lethargic piece of shit. The last three years of his time in that house, he was unemployed. He merely played videogames all day, mooching off the generosity of her mother. It was Victoria who kept all three of them from being washed away by the waves of poverty. Shark rarely saw her mother because she was so busy working two jobs. Finally, after a vicious penultimate argument, Victoria too had enough. Even if she loved him, she could only take so much. Her logic finally overwhelmed her emotional attachment, and she demanded a divorce, kicking him off of the premises.

  Throughout her teenage years, Shark had many connections with men, if you could call them that. It was no secret she was pleasing to the eyes of young males. Many courted her, competing for her interest, leaving after they got what they had wanted—sex. None of her boyfriends wanted to connect emotionally. They couldn’t give a modicum of a shit about her feelings. They just wanted to stick it in and leave—worthless, sex-driven pigs, all of them. She was sure they only thought with the head that was below their belt and not the one above their collar. Such thoughts disgusted her, but it still was not the blade that sliced the vestiges of her sanity—it was still knotted tightly, ever sturdy.

  Her one shining light in her life was her mother. She could think of no one else whom she loved in this world. Not only did she love her, she wanted to be like her. In a sense, her mother was her idol, and the two were as close as a mother and daughter could be. At sixteen, she took up a part time job while in school, elated that she could finally ease the financial burden that had weighed upon her mother’s shoulders for a solid twelve years now. The years of sixteen to twenty-two were the happiest years of Shark’s life. She and Victoria would go out together to various different places. Most teenagers would’ve been embarrassed to be seen with their mother, but Shark never cared about any of that. To her, the people of her age group were immature and petty. Spoiled little brats are what they were.

  Sometimes she couldn’t believe she was the same age as them. They could all die in an explosion and she wouldn’t bat an eyelash. None of them held a candle to her mother, who she would die for without hesitation.

  That profound attachment—that idolization—is what ultimately would cause Shark’s world to crumble one day.

  July 8th, 2015

  It happened on a mild summer night. The wind was breathing on her in a warm, sticky humidity. The moon was out in full, showcasing its pale splendor above the populated skyline. She and Victoria were coming home from a movie, walking through a parking garage to their car. The garage was nearly abandoned because of the late hour. Before they could even make it back to their car, they bumped into a rather shady looking fellow.

  Raggedy brown curls were scattered over his half balding head. The signs of a few wrinkles had begun to etch themselves into his face. Shark estimated him to be in his mid-thirties. Even though he was now middle aged, he was built like a football linebacker. The creepiest part was the expression in his silvery eyes which shone in a glint of perversion as he eyed them up and down like a grocery shopper inspecting fruit.

  “Hmm, hmm, nice, very nice,” he mused out loud.

  “Sorry.” Shark issued a hollow shell of an apology for bumping into the repugnant looking man. She didn’t mean a word, but figured she’d apologize so she could be on her way.

  “What’re you sorry for?” he leered at her. “I wanted to bump into you. You’re a pretty little thing ain’tcha?”

  Those words caused the hairs on the nape of her neck to jump. The feeling of repulsion stirred through her bloodstream like cream in coffee, becoming more prevalent with every passing second.

  As for Victoria, she fumed underneath her stoic facade. The urge to slap him in the face was overwhelming, but he was a big man with a nasty attitude, a bad combination. There was no telling what he would do if provoked.

  “Thank you,” Shark managed to mouth, hoping she uttered the words convincingly. She didn’t know what else to say. She just wished he would go away. She began power walking in haste, hoping to retreat from this awkward situation.

  An arm grabbed hers, stopping her escape in its tracks. Her head jerked backwards as her terrified eyes caught a glimpse of a metallic pistol. A gasp escaped her and Victoria’s lips in unison as she froze like a terrified cat.

  “Where do you think you’re going, little lady?”

  Shark didn’t like where this was heading. Her heart started to thump in her chest like a drum. She had to think, and she had to think fast. What would satisfy him? How could she get out of this? Of course! Money is what everyone in this world wanted. If she threw out her money, he’d go chase after it like an animal chasing raw meat.

  “Stop, please. We’ll give you our money, just leave us alone,” Shark said aloud, pleading with the pervert.

  His mouth opened into a grin, showing a flashy golden tooth as he eyed the leathery black purse that was hanging off of her other arm. He didn’t say anything as he snatched the purse roughly from Shark’s arm.

  “And you, lady? Let’s have it,” he demanded as he gazed at her purse of caramel.

  Victoria was like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off on this disgusting ape. Unfortunately, she knew all too well that her and her daughter couldn’t take this large man of muscle even with their combined efforts. It took all of her restraint to control herself.

  “Here, take it and leave,” she commanded with fury as she shoved the purse into his hands.

  “I will take it. But I won’t leave. I didn’t come here for the money anyways.”

  “What?” Her heart stopped.

  His lecherous grin remained latched to his face as he turned his head back to what he really came there for: the breathtaking prize of unmatched youth and beauty standing in front of him.

  “Come here,” he ordered as he pulled Shark in closer, groping his hands all over her body.

  “Mom! Mom!” Shark yelled out for help like a million bugs were crawling all over her body. In fact, it was worse than that. This unwanted intruder was violating her.

  “That’s it!” Victoria roared, unable to control her anger anymore. She didn’t care how big and formidable he was physically, he would pay for this. No one lays a hand on her daughter and gets away with it.

  “How dare you touch my daughter like that you monster. Get your filthy hands off her!”

  Victoria shrieked as she jumped on him, digging her nails into his neck and face, leaving several bloody scratch marks as the man grunted in protest.

  “Ugh! You bitch!” he cried as he shook her off, sending her tumbling to the ground. The next thing Victoria saw was the barrel of a pistol staring back at her. Shark was still frozen. She was completely lost within a black void of confusion, but not for long. Her shadows of uncertainty were blown away as the deathly gunshot detonated in her eardrums. There wasn’t even time for Victoria to scream. The bullet flew cleanly through her forehead, tearing through the brain, killing her instantly. A bloody puddle pooled out onto the ground below as her dead eyes were still glued open in horror.

  Shark couldn’t believe it. This stomach-churning abomination of a man had just shot her mother in the head. Her mother, who she had idolized all her life. No, this was all wrong. She was supposed to take a bullet for her mother, not the other way around. Her shriek spoke of pure pain, piercing even the air that surrounded them in its deafening pitch of sorro
w. After howling like a banshee, her body fell to the floor as she completely shut down.

  “Ugh, so loud,” the pervert cringed. “Now just stay still like a good little girl, unless you want to die like that bitch over there,” he commanded as he unzipped his pants, springing quickly into action as he mounted on top of her. He rummaged his hands under her skirt, his fleshy appendages feeling up her most private parts.

  Shark had laid still as he demanded, not fighting back in the slightest. She was no longer in this world. Her inner world was in the process of a self-destruct sequence.

  No...

  The rope that had kept her sanity intact was beginning to unravel rapidly. Not once had a man ever done anything good for her.

  No!

  Her and her mother had both been used by them as if they were items. Yes, her mother. This man took Victoria. Now he had the audacity to rape her.

  No!

  What was she doing? Why was she letting him do this to her? She would rather be dead than let him get away with this.

  He’s not getting away with this.

  There’s no way...

  There’s no way I’m letting him get away with this!

  This was the moment where she would change forever. This was the moment where Shark’s world shattered into a billion little pieces. She twisted her body, sinking her manicured fist into the lecher’s face, sending a spray of blood flying as he coiled to the ground.

  He immediately reached for his gun, fully intending to have her join Victoria in death, but before he could pull the trigger, Shark grabbed his arm and squeezed it to the point where his bone snapped in two. He cried out in misery as the gun fell to the floor, no longer able to hold the weapon in hand. Shark got up, looking down at the injured insect writhing in pain as she snatched the gun, pointing it at its former owner.