The Nihilos: Trash Player Who Rewrote Reality

Yuto sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on knees, fingers threaded tight, breath shallow. Morning light filtered in through the curtains in gold slivers. The same bed. The same hum of the fan. The same rhythm of birds outside.

It all felt... wrong.

Like the world was acting real.

He hadn't logged in again. Hadn't worn the capsule headset. But the feeling never left. His body was too light. His senses too sharp. The pause between thoughts — too quiet.

That's when it came:

> [SYSTEM NOTICE: MISSING ESCAPE — YOU HAVE NOT LEFT THE REALM]

[Simulation Layer Detected: Boundary Layer 0F]

[WARNING: FALSE REALITY STATE — HOST STUCK IN INTERNAL WORLD]

Yuto froze.

> "...What?"

His eyes darted to the capsule beside him.

Still closed. Still off.

But the screen blinked once — just once — then went dark again.

His heart thumped louder. He reached for his phone. Turned it on.

No signal. No apps. Just one black window:

> [NIHILOS ACTIVE SESSION: 97 HOURS 13 MINUTES]

[You are inside.]

> "No…"

He stumbled backward, bumping into his desk. The posters on his wall warped. The words melted. One blinked with system code before resetting.

> "This is… still the game?"

The door creaked open.

His mother stood there, smiling gently. But her eyes… blinked out of sync.

> "Yuto, you're not well. Come eat something."

He stepped back. "Stay away from me."

Her voice twisted — slightly off-tone, like a poorly dubbed film.

> "You must eat. The system requires stability."

He bolted past her, out the hallway. His sister stood by the stairs. But she didn't move. She glitched for a single frame — then reset into a smile.

> [NPC Rendering Stable — Role: Comfort Sibling]

[Observation Layer Online]

"No. No. NO."

---

Outside – A Glitching City

Yuto burst into the street. The sky was too clean. The clouds moved in loops. Cars passed on a perfect schedule. He looked closer — drivers had the same eyes. Same expressions.

No one looked at him.

Then the world blinked.

Like a UI refreshing.

> [ENVIRONMENTAL TEXTURE RECALIBRATING]

[YOU ARE BEING RENDERED A SAFE ILLUSION]

Yuto fell to his knees.

The birds glitched mid-flight. A truck flickered into a wall — then snapped back.

> "This isn't real…"

He screamed at the sky. "LET ME OUT!"

Silence.

Then a voice.

Familiar. Calm. From nowhere.

> "You already are. This is your exit."

He turned toward the sound — but no one was there.

Just static where a human should be.

> [SUBREALM 0F — STATUS: ADAPTIVE PRISON]

[You are not in the real world.]

[You never left.]

Yuto ran. Streets looped. Every corner led back to his house. He smashed windows. They regenerated. He pulled fire alarms. No one reacted.

Finally, he found a mirror near an abandoned bus stop.

He looked at his reflection.

It didn't move.

Instead, the reflection stared back and whispered:

> "You still think you're Yuto."

The mirror cracked — and on the other side:

His real body.

In the capsule.

Unmoving.

Wired.

Eyes flickering.

> "I'm still inside."

And then the reflection smiled.

> "Then why can I move and you can't?"

> [REALITY CONFLICT DETECTED]

[SYSTEM INVERSION: INITIATING FORCED CHOICE]

Stay here. Never feel pain again.

Or break everything and wake up.