VESA

Alex's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was a red moon hanging high in the sky. A strange, eerie glow bathed the land. Thick black fog coiled at the edges of the grassland like a living thing, pressing against the space around him.

A shiver crawled up his spine. He didn't need to test it—he knew that if he touched that fog, he'd die. That realization made him pause. 'Wait… is this a new VR game?' VR had advanced a lot over the years, but even in the most hyperrealistic ones, he had never felt like this. 

They could simulate sight, sound, touch—even smell. But they couldn't recreate fear. Not the kind that triggered survival instincts. His eyes drifted downward. The grass beneath him was a deep green, but red veins pulsed through it like something alive. Before he could process that, something else caught his attention.

A woman. She lay a short distance away, unmoving. From where he stood, he couldn't see her face—but even at a glance, he could tell she was beautiful. Her white robe, something straight out of a cultivation novel, was shredded in places, revealing flawless, smooth skin. And based on the placement of those shreds… If he flipped her over— "Wait… is this an H-game?" he muttered under his breath.

As he stepped closer, her features became clearer. Her pale skin looked almost luminescent under the red moon, untouched by any blemish. Her hourglass figure exuded an effortless allure. "Yeah, this has to be VR. No way something like this happens in real life."

For a moment, he considered the possibility of being thrown into a dungeon. But if this were a dungeon, where were the monsters? Why was there only an unconscious beautiful woman? That made no sense. Feeling a little more at ease, he let his steps become lighter. Just as he was about to close the distance, the woman stirred.

Mingyue's eyes snapped open. A dull ache throbbed in her head. Her mind raced, recalling everything that had happened. Lianhua. The betrayal. The void crack. Her body tensed. Where… was she?

As she pushed herself up with one hand, she sensed a presence behind her. Her sharp instincts kicked in. She knew her robes were in tatters. She knew she was vulnerable. And she needed to know what was standing behind her. She turned her head—and her expression immediately darkened.

A man stood there, frozen in place, eyes locked onto her. Alex stared. Not just because she was beautiful—beyond beautiful. Her otherworldly aura made it impossible to look away.

The glow of the red moon only enhanced her features, making her seem almost unreal. His eyes trailed to hers—deep amber, tinged with red. 'Gorgeous.' He had never felt this drawn to anyone before.

A small part of his mind even regretted that she wasn't real. 'Is this what they call love at first sight?' Still thinking this was just a VR game, he took another step forward.

Then, her gaze hardened. And before he could take another step, she shouted. "Stop right there! What do you think you're doing?!"

Mingyue's qi was still recovering. At the same time, something inside her felt different. A strange sensation, unfamiliar and unsettling, pulsed within her body. She wasn't sure if she could fight back if the man in front of her attacked. Her wariness deepened. 

Yet, when he heard her shout, he simply… frowned. To Alex, her voice sounded angelic, almost like something out of a dream. But her accusation threw him off. "Wait… is this that kind of H-game?" he muttered under his breath. He had played games like this before—ones that indulged in fantasy. But he always chose vanilla routes.

The idea of rape, coercion, or forcing himself on someone disgusted him. It wasn't like he couldn't hire a woman in real life. He just never saw the point. His mother's romantic stories had influenced him more than he liked to admit. Just as he was deciding his next move— 

A sudden burst of red smoke appeared between them. The smoke swirled, condensed, and solidified, forming into a… creature. 

It was round and chubby, covered in soft pink fur. Instead of arms, bat-like dragon wings sprouted from its body. It had two pairs of ruby-red eyes and a wide mouth that—judging by its proportions—could probably open half the size of its entire body. Its legs were short and stubby, but the sharp claws at the ends looked deadly. Atop its head, two long ears, like a rabbit's, twitched slightly.

The creature grinned at both of them. Then, in a childish, playful voice, it spoke: "I am Vesa, the personality of the Vampire System." Alex and Mingyue stared. Unbothered, Vesa flapped its tiny wings and continued: "Welcome, new King and Queen, to Edonia! Well… what's left of it." Its four ruby eyes twinkled. "I know both of you are confused— especially King Alex, since you were unconscious when the system was activated. But let me be clear—this is not a game."

Vesa then turned its gaze toward Mingyue. Its grin widened. "Queen Mingyue, you are both here and not here at the same time. You should understand what this means."

Mingyue's frown deepened. Confused as she was, she quickly grasped the meaning behind Vesa's words. Her heart sank. She existed here only as a soul.

As a cultivator, the concept of souls wasn't foreign to her. She had encountered soul techniques, read ancient texts about spiritual existence… But she had never cultivated her soul before. All her focus had been on qi refinement and secret techniques. This realization unnerved her.

With a thought, her shredded robe mended itself, returning to its pristine condition. She stood up, her posture guarded as she eyed both Alex and Vesa warily. Being in soul form meant she was at a severe disadvantage. If something went wrong, she had no idea how to defend herself.

As Mingyue stood, Alex instinctively noticed her height. She barely reached his shoulder. For a second, he was distracted again by how utterly beautiful she was. But then—Vesa's words finally hit him. "This is not a game." His expression darkened. That wasn't possible.

Every country had strict regulations on VR technology. It was legally required that all VR games and applications explicitly state they were virtual. The reason? To prevent delusions. 

Back when full-dive VR first became mainstream, there had been cases of people mistaking the virtual world for reality. Some even believed their real world was just a simulation—like some kind of matrix. This led to suicides, crimes, and breakdowns. So, there was no way a VR system could be allowed to function without a clear distinction. His gaze snapped to Vesa. His voice was sharp. "What do you mean this is not a game?" His eyes narrowed. "Is this… a dungeon?"