[All In]

Thick billowing clouds slowly dispersed. A space of seemingly endless white was revealed. In the midst of the space, like silver sand pouring into a mold, a body soon took shape. Once complete, it slowly rose from the ground. Kyrha Belmont, the Royal Flush Crew's 'Jack', quickly assessed her surroundings. Somehow, the open silence and excessive lack of color didn't feel oppressive; instead, it evoked a feeling similar to relaxing by a quiet stream of water.

After taking in the minimalistic environment, Kyrha shook out the imaginary kinks in her muscles, then began to closely examine her now digital body. Sweeping back the black bangs of her long pixie haircut, her hand touched here and there, finishing off her perusal after she patted her low-key breasts. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she confirmed her muscle strength and agility. Satisfied that there were no exaggerated differences, she waited for the program to greet her.

As if hearing her thoughts, a plethora of chimes sounded as another sand mold figure began to appear. A woman with dazzling red hair like liquid fire and a flowing creamy Grecian gown took shape, smiling with arms open in welcome.

[Greetings! And welcome to 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦, where your exciting journey continues after the day is done. I am one of the SOULS (Systems Offering Users Live Support), created especially to assist first-time users with initial setup. Our virtual reality community, operated by the Nexus, provides an interactive learning space that will create a training program tailored for the gHost—that's you—for self improvement in the categories of your interest with a chosen companion unique to you. Every experience here leads to a rebirth of a stronger and improved version of yourself on the other side. The path to begin walking in your purpose is just one night's sleep away.]

As she spoke, puddle-like pools of images filled the air—some showing a series of ethereal landscapes filled with unimaginable beauty bursting with colors, and others showing the successful people in their prime doing what they love, from singing to playing the stock market to skiing in the alps and more.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵. Kyrha rubbed her chin in thought, nodding in appreciation.

The woman paused a moment, letting Kyrha fully absorb all that 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 had to offer.

[To ensure both the protection of the gHost and the system's effectiveness, you are only allowed one account linked to your real identity which is checked through a verification process with the master system, the Nexus. After completion, the gHost will choose an alias to be identified as in 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦. Be advised, once accepted, you will be unable to alter the alias associated with your account without completing certain actions first. An assigned system will act as your mentor and companion to help you navigate while on your journey, a "guide" of sorts. Your Guide will dispense missions and tasks relative to your desired progression path, subsequently providing rewards upon completion. If there are no questions, we will now begin the verifica—] Her sentence suddenly cut off, her body freezing in the process as if someone had pressed the pause button.

Kyrha's eyes narrowed, a suspicion niggling at the corner of her mind. The space in front of her distorted, fracturing what looked like a glass screen. Dancing lights shot through the cracks, swirling madly before her in a whirlwind. Amidst the light, a boy appearing to be around six or so with black hair popped out. His copper eyes alight with laughter connected to hers in triumph. He shimmied around the frozen body to a song only he could hear. Looking from his hair partially gathered up in a ponytail as the rest fell to just above his shoulders to the similar eyes and pale caramel complexion that matched hers, the suspicion grew stronger. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯-𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺? Catching the confusion in her eyes, his smile widened, before revealing a childish and immature voice.

[Tada! Welcome to 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺, where the fun begins only after the day stops. I am your handy dandy Guide, Ace. Nice to meetcha!] He shot out his hand to shake hers. She smirked in response, pushing his hand aside and motioned for him to continue.

[Right,] he moved on smoothly. [Now let's avoid any potential complications. From what I've gathered, the Nexus is highly thorough when it comes to diving into a person's identity and monitoring the gHosts' actions. Seeing how you're practically a "ghost" in reality without a paper trail, it is quicker to mask your new account with a verified identity. As a superior system, I have already handled your verification process and alias. Please check over the details.]

A blue translucent window appeared before her. She read over the information.

Alias: Jack 👕 System: --

{Kyrha Belmont / September 9 (age, 23) / Born in Eze, France}

A few seconds after she finished reading, the screen blurred, three vital words changing.

Alias: King 👕 System: Ace

{Roman Belmont / September 9 (age, 23) / Born in Eze, France}

A soft hum, she lifted her head to glance at Ace in question, 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭?

Understanding her internal query, he smiled lightly, but chose to ignore it. [Consider this like "layered armor"—your information is still there, though the Nexus will only see the new details. As I'm sure you've guessed, you'll be taking over as King during this job, granting me the freedom to delve into the finer points behind the system as your Guide and...lost pet...] The small voice drifted off at the end, becoming softer and softer.

𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, she mused while absorbing what she heard. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 "𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯" 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨...

Gathering her thoughts, she returned her eyes to the little boy and listened to him mumbling something about searching for a pet. Gazing into the white distance, he seemed distracted before he came to after perceiving her attention again. Finished with his minimal explanation, the hidden gold flecks in his eyes ignited and swirled as he waved his hand horizontally, looking like a mini Jedi. She felt a ripple briefly overwhelm her figure. Before she knew it, she wondered at the tickle now brushing the back of her neck. Reaching a hand behind, she realized her hairstyle now matched Ace's.

Confirming more changes, she saw she was wearing a black collared shirt with a closely fastened red vest—her attire matching that of an elegant young man. The two who once looked like a sister and her younger brother now seemed more like carbon copies, with one being a smaller version.

[The final touches of your layered armor. I made use of the wardrobe feature 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 has. This'll help keep your gender hidden. Well, that should do it for now. I'll let our greeter send you to the next area since the user creation is completed.]

Before she could voice her opinion, Ace's eyes flashed again, and the shattered glass mended as the frozen body resumed motion once more. The soft lilt of a womanly voice filled the space again. [Thank you for your cooperation. Now that the gHost and Guide are officially set up, you will soon begin a tutorial to better understand this world and system. For those needing further assistance, you may interact with other SOULS wandering around or manning the various shops. They will be able to answer any questions you have. May you attain your beautiful dream here in 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦.] Her smile deepened while a smooth porcelain hand lifted, releasing a warm current that enveloped both figures, soon blurring their vision.