The ghost's final message was a declaration of war. [YOU HAVE SOMETHING I WANT.] I was still reeling from the impossible knowledge that other souls from my world were trapped here, when the attack began.
It was not a physical assault. It was an invasion. A cold, insidious presence seeped into my mind, a feeling like icy water flooding my veins. It was a violation on the most fundamental level. My thoughts were no longer my own. My body was no longer my own.
[WARNING: PLAYER AVATAR INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. FOREIGN ENTITY ATTEMPTING TO HIJACK HOST.]
The warning on my HUD was a scream of digital panic from my own system. I tried to move, to run, to do anything, but my body would not obey. My avatar stood frozen in the center of the sterile white Safe Zone. My arm began to rise, slowly, jerkily, against my will. My hand clenched into a tight fist, a gesture of aggression that I was not controlling.
The Ghost was testing its new vessel. It was learning how to pilot my body.
A new bar appeared on my HUD, below my health. It was a flickering, unstable meter labeled [HOST INTEGRITY: 90%]. As my arm rose against my will, the number dropped to 88%. This was a battle for control, a war being fought inside my own head.
Just as a wave of pure terror was about to consume me, the System, my sworn enemy, did something I never expected. It helped me. An automated defense protocol, something hardwired into the very core of every player's avatar, kicked in.
[FOREIGN DATA SIGNATURE DETECTED. INITIATING AVATAR FIREWALL. FORCIBLY REPELLING INTRUSION.]
A faint, blue matrix of light seemed to shimmer around my form. The Firewall was up. The cold presence in my mind receded slightly, its grip lessened. I could move my arm again. I forced it back down to my side. The Host Integrity bar ticked back up to 89%.
This was a war of wills. And for now, I was not alone.
The Ghost's voice was not a sound. It was a stream of intrusive thoughts, laced with a venomous rage and a deep, pathetic envy that had festered for years in the dark.
[This body...] the thought echoed in my mind, a voice that was not mine. [It feels strong. Solid. You don't deserve it. You never did.]
My own thoughts fought back. Get out of my head!
[I was a soldier,] the Ghost pushed, its thoughts like sharp needles. [I fought in actual wars. You? You were a sales executive, Leo. A glorified desk jockey. When the System Crash happened, I should have been the one to get a body. Not you!]
The details were a shock. He knew my old job. He knew my name. He had been watching me, studying me, since the very beginning.
I had to fight back. I could not let him win this battle of wills. I focused on my own memories, my own identity. I pictured my small apartment. The taste of real coffee. The face of my mother. I pushed his presence out, reinforcing the walls of my own mind. "This body is mine," I thought, pouring all my conviction into the words.
The Host Integrity bar ticked up to 92%. I was winning.
But the Ghost was clever. It had been watching me for a long time. It knew my weaknesses. It knew my strengths. It knew my systems.
It stopped trying to control my limbs. Instead, it tried to access my HUD.
[SYSTEM ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED ATTEMPT TO ACCESS INVENTORY.]
The Avatar Firewall flared, a blue pulse of light surrounding my vision. The attempt was blocked. The Ghost could not just take my things. But it could still cause chaos.
It launched a new kind of attack. It targeted my interface. Suddenly, my minimap began to glitch, showing phantom enemy dots that were not there. My ammo counter, which I knew was full, flickered and changed, now reading [AMMO: 3/30]. He was trying to cripple me from the inside, to make me doubt my own senses.
I understood his strategy. He could not beat my will and the Firewall at the same time in a direct confrontation. But he could wear me down. He could wait for a moment of weakness, a moment of distraction, and then seize complete control.
I could not stay here. The Safe Zone, which should have been a sanctuary, had become a mental prison. I was alone in a white room with a ghost who was trying to evict me from my own body. I needed to get out. I needed chaos. I needed a real fight, something external to focus on, something that would force my mind and body to work together and push him out.
With a massive effort of will, I forced my avatar to walk. Each step was a struggle. My legs felt heavy, like they were moving through thick mud. The Ghost fought me, trying to make me turn back, trying to make me stand still. I stumbled, my movements jerky and uncontrolled. It was a horrifying, clumsy puppet show.
I made my way to the matchmaking queue area of the Safe Zone. I focused on the floating menu, my vision swimming.
[No! Don't!] the Ghost screamed in my head. [Stay here! Fight me!]
He was afraid of a live match. Why? Did the chaos interfere with his connection? Or was he afraid of dying again, even in my body?
His fear gave me strength. I slammed my hand onto the queue button. I did not care what the match was. I just needed out.
[SEARCHING FOR MATCH...]
A match was found instantly. A simple solos deathmatch. The map name flashed on my screen, a place of deep, personal significance.
[MAP: DUSTGATE]
The place where my journey in this world had begun. It felt like a fitting arena for this new, internal war.
As the blue teleportation light began to glow around me, the Ghost made one last, desperate push for control. It threw all of its malevolent will against my defenses.
My HUD flashed red. [HOST INTEGRITY AT 40%...]
The cold presence flooded my mind, stronger than ever before. I felt my control slipping.
The Ghost's final thought intruded, no longer angry, but filled with a cold, chilling confidence.
[Good. A live match. A real battlefield. Let's see how well you can fight when you can't even trust your own hands.]
The blue light consumed me. I materialized on the hot, dusty ground of Dustgate. The familiar sand-colored buildings and the perfect blue sky surrounded me. But nothing felt familiar. Nothing felt safe.
I was not fully in control of my own body. My assault rifle felt strange and alien in my hands. I felt my own finger twitching on the trigger.
A finger that was no longer entirely my own. The match had started, and my greatest enemy was already inside the wire.