It was a moment like any other. A scene set within the dark room of Camille, a woman of twenty six years of age, she was by all means, quite ordinary. The colour of her hair was a boring brown, and her eyes were a simple green. She was not a woman who was particularly beautiful by any means either. Possessing an advantage in height and muscle definition alone, that was all there was to it. Nothing else about her outward appearance otherwise was worth commenting on.

Lying in her bed, this woman was playing the newest MMORPG known as 'Hammer Art On-Line'. Which by all accounts was neither a very special name nor a great product. However, it did fulfil one simple task to the utmost a game as it could. That being that it was very, very addictive. So immersive to the point where one could plug themselves into it and experience a game as if it was real life, it was the drug of choice for many a geek today. Wishing to run away from reality and to take a break from the many troubles of life, Hammer Art On-Line was ideal. Able to provide the ideal power fantasy, connection, and experience all from the comfort of one's room, it was perfect. So perfect, in fact, that a certain someone had forgotten to eat or drink for the past few days.

So perfect that our dear Camille had died while playing it. Being the gamer that she was, she had lost track of time and well. There she was.

Lying face-up on her bed, she did not even realize she had died. For even in death, her smile was ever so bright. A smile brought by the acquisition of a new item. A smile of pure bliss, contemplating just how overpowered 'The Grand Hammer of Sigma' would be. Only worthy of the strongest of warriors, it not only had the highest strength threshold in the game, but was capable of quadrupuling the critical strike damage of any user! Worth thousands in real life prices alone, the value of such a product was undoubtedly lost on all those but the diehard fans of the game. Nevertheless, whether it be a combination of heart failure from overexcitement, malnutrition, or the works of some antagonistic force, Camille was dead. Her heart had stopped, and her soul was on the brink of vanishing.

But. This would not be the end of her story. While one might assume it to be the case, it was, in fact, quite the opposite. While unknown to even herself, the moment of her death was not her end. Rather, it was the start to something quite special. Something even better than the game she herself enjoyed playing so much.

Indeed. Instead of having video game powers in an already game world, why not have it in real life?

Brngg. Brngg. Brngg. A familiar sound echoed throughout her apartment. The familiar sound of her doorbell reached her brain. In an instant, her body jolted upward.

"Ah, dammit," Camille muttered under her breath. With a quick movement of her hands, she took off her headset and cast one glance at the clock on the wall. Three PM. Just a couple of hours passed when she normally woke up. It took her a moment to process it.

After some quick contemplation, she now understood what she was woken up for. Ah yes, of course. That was when her delivery came. Scheduled every Monday, she was glad that it was not her landlady or, worse, friend that would be at her door. Nowadays, in the world that she lived in, going outside was barely a necessity. Whether it be food, companionship or happiness, anything could be brought to your doorstep.

So long as you have the money for it, of course. As if contemplating that fact, Camille sighed.

For all technology had advanced, it still required her to get dressed and walk to her door. As unfortunate as it was, some things never changed.

With a final heave of her strength, she got up and walked to her chair. In a room completely devoid of light, she still managed to find her clothes.

And so, following the next logical step, she then put them on.

Something's different... She thought to herself.

Coming to this conclusion, while she slid her arms through her white shirt, she paused. Typically, the transition between the virtual and real-world required some time. Lasting up to a hour, it often resulted in some untimely clumsiness or lack of energy. And yet, that distinct feeling that she had come to accept for the better half of a decade was missing here.

Whether it be the work of her subconscious or some other force, it was nonetheless a well received break from the tedium that was 'gamer nausea'.

Huh, neat. Camille thought to herself, as she put on her pants.

Done with her clothing, she now began her navigation through her dark room. Eventually, she stumbled upon a door handle, and with a push, she opened it to living room.

Dark as her own room and as dark as the rest of the apartment complex, Camille had grown accustomed to it. Given that she had shut off all the lights and drawn all the curtains to a close, Camille was forced to depend on pure habit and muscle memory alone to move. A skills she had long since mastered, Camille managed to reach the door to her apartment without so much as a trip.

Feeling the cold concrete below her feet, she took a deep breath. And after a final moment of reflection, she brought her hand to the door handle. For whatever strange reason she possessed, Camille hesitated to open it. Oddly enough, while her deliverer was from what one could call human, there was still a certain sense of intimacy that bothered her about it. Perhaps it was their cute voice or faintly humanlike tilt of their heads. She wasn't certain. Regardless, with a final muster of her energy, she opened the door.

"Good afternoon, beautiful citizen! I, your trusty courier, have come with your weekly supply of food!"

A distinctly electronic voice rung out. Not disimillar to the sound you would find out of a stuffed animal, Camille tilted her head downward. On the floor just outside her door was a vaguely box-shaped figure on four wheels. With a digital face on its front, it was a delivery droid that even had the ability to make facial expressions.

"Yeah, thanks, mate. I'll be taking that right off ya."

Gently, as to not disturb the poor thing, Camille opened the hatch on its hind compartment. With a lift, she took out the cardboard boxes. Done without so much as requiring a smidgen of strength, it was something most strange. Was it just her imagination or. Were they really just that much lighter than before?

"You uh, didn't miss anything, right?" Camille asked the robot. In response, a confused reaction made possible by digital pixels appeared.

Vague shapes of a humanoid on it's face, two lines of light which were meant to represent eyebrows pushed up then down several times. Then, after a few seconds, a digital smile surfaced.

"Nope! At Biofoods CORP, we make sure that every sing-".

Before it could finish, she shut the door behind her. Dammit, she might've been a reclused gamer, but there was no way in hell she would hear any one of those corporate jingles. A distinct sensation of anger in her heart, she tried to take her mind off it. Without so much as a wasted second, she set her boxes on her dining table and sat down. Tracing her fingers along with the box, she found the small space which she was supposed to open. And with one tug, ripped it in two. Straight down the middle, the whole box was now in fact two halves.

With as much ease as one would tear a piece of paper, she felt her body tense.

Okay. She may have been dense sometimes, but even Camille knew herself that something was wrong.

Whether it be the nanomachines in the water or some kind of muscle-altering ailment, she was uncertain. All she knew was that nothing added up. Not only was she getting progressively stronger, but her overall condition had improved along with it. Gone was the fatigue, and gone was even the hunger that should have rumbled from her belly. As far as she was considered, she had never felt better. Unable to understand, a faint wish emerged in the crevice of her being. A wish to comprehend and to truly know what exactly was happening, her soul answered.

It was like a flash of lightning. A brilliant square of blue and white, it levitated in the air before her.

"Ayo, what the fuck."