Lucien studied his friend's face, unease creeping into his voice.
"What's the problem?"
"Money."
Lucien's brow shot up, then pulled into a frown.
"I don't have a dime. That old man froze my cards. Besides, didn't you say you were rich now?"
Halo's grin spread wide.
"Lucy, rich means different things to different people. I was rich. But the game's been... demanding lately. I've been feeding it cash like a hungry beast. We just need money to refill our NSI, that's all."
Lucien's frown deepened as he watched his friend.
He knew Halo—or Harun, his real name—inside and out. The guy wore masks like clothes: jovial comedian one moment, sharp schemer the next.
Lucien hadn't wanted to come here. But Halo was his anchor. The only person who'd stuck around despite Lucien's habit of keeping the world at arm's length.
Now he was trapped. Again. Harun dangled this problem in front of him like bait, and Lucien could feel the walls closing in.
With his cards sat frozen in digital ice, his phone, though which was custom-built, not some factory clone could fetch decent money.
"What's NSI?"
"Right! NSI means Nutrition Supplement Injection. Think of it as liquid food pumped straight into your veins. You can live in your Capsule for months without stepping outside. The thing monitors your health, patches you up if needed. Hell, if something goes wrong, it'll knock you into a coma while keeping your mind plugged into Evo."
Lucien's eyes dropped as the words sank in.
'Impressive doesn't even cover it.'
"How much do we need for this NSI refill?"
Lucien's gaze drifted sideways, his mouth twisting.
"About one million dollars."
The number hit like a punch. Lucien's eyes went wide, his body jerking forward before he caught himself. His fingers found the bridge of his nose, massaging away the shock.
"One million dollars. For supplement injections. Because of a game. Are you insane?"
Harun's lips pushed out in a pout as he spoke.
"Look, cheaper Capsules exist. They work with NSI packs that cost maybe a hundred to a thousand bucks. But quality costs money—they're built to work together."
He paused, then added quickly:
"I've got some NSI packs lying around. Enough for you to test the waters, see what all the fuss is about. But first..."
His nose wrinkled.
"Please, my friend—I'm begging you—hit the bathroom and scrub yourself clean."
Lucien let out a long breath and slowly pushed himself up. He started toward the door, then stopped and turned back.
"I'll sell my phone. It's custom made directly from Nexus Dynamics, only five of it exist so it should fetch around 1.5 million. You can have one million for whatever you need. Deal?"
Tears began pooling in Halo's eyes, threatening to spill over.
Lucien's frown returned.
"What now?"
"I love you."
Lucien winced and stepped back like he'd been burned.
"Don't. That's creepy as hell."
He spun around and marched toward the door, only to freeze mid-step and glance back.
"Where the hell is your bathroom?"
***
After a few dozen minutes of thorough washing, Lucien stepped out of the steamy compartment of the washroom. He took the white towel folded on a sleek matte black drawer, dried his body, and by chance caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
His grey hair clung damply to his forehead, framing a face that looked carved from cold light. Not perfection—no, something sharper. As if he were sculpted to be beautiful only so others would bleed trying to reach him.
His eyelids hung low, half-closed in a gaze that hovered somewhere between disdain and detachment. There was an edge to his stare, subtle but undeniable, like the glint of frost on a blade's curve. Beneath them, those eyes—those storm-grey eyes—stared back without flinching, as if daring the reflection to lie.
It was no surprise how flawless he was in his looks. As a child, he had starred as a model on several occasions. People would often say he took his father's gentle handsomeness and his mother's fierce beauty, bringing out the best of what the mix could offer.
Even his sister, who was nearly as beautiful as their mother, seemed plain when placed next to him.
Everything about him was perfect, and yet... he felt so imperfect, so empty. It was a subtle feeling he had learned to bury, but it had always been there since childhood.
Nothing in this world could make his heart race. He had tried everything, but nothing worked. Not dating the most beautiful girl in the world—a goddess in mortal flesh. Not becoming the best at what he did. Not being born rich. Not even sleep and endless laziness.
Lucien sighed and pushed the rest of the thought away.
'I may be asking for too much. Let's just settle in there and sleep for the next twelve hours.'
He wrapped the towel around his body and slowly walked out of the bathroom.
After he was done, he wore a white oversized sweatshirt and black track pants that fit perfectly with his frame.
Halo took him to the room where the gaming Capsule waited, and in the center of a bland, olive-themed room sat a sleeping beast—sleek, silent, and predatory in its elegance. It didn't look like a machine so much as a concept car sculpted from a dream—its body was a seamless curve of silver alloy and carbon-forged panels.
Halo took a clean towel and carefully wiped the edges of the Capsule. A moment later, he pressed the main button on the right side.
Immediately, with a hiss and sigh, the canopy—a single translucent dome—lifted, revealing a cockpit that looked borrowed from a starfighter. Padded in adaptive memory gel and wrapped in a support lattice, the interior cradled the user like a throne built for gods. Modular interface pads lined the armrests, touch-reactive and linked to the nervous system. Holographic UI nodes floated mid-air, waiting for a gesture, a glance, a thought.
Halo looked at Lucien and smiled.
"This, I call an old beast. I filled it with the extra NSI I have while you were washing. It can last you up to three months."
Lucien studied the Capsule with a blank expression. Then, as if remembering something, he looked at Halo with a slight frown.
"What if I need to use the toilet?"
Halo smiled smugly.
"Well, there's an engineered neural network that tricks your body in that regard. The update of that particular network works hand in hand with the NSI duration. So you're not gonna pee for the next three months. Of course, unless you leave before then. Also, if anything goes wrong outside here, the in-game system will alert you. As a matter of fact, my own system is built into my household security, so if anything happens in my house, I'll know. I can even turn off the lights, shut windows and doors of my house from inside the game."
Lucien forced out a pale smile.
"Wow... okay... I guess I am a little intrigued."
Halo smiled and folded his arms.
"Don't worry, you won't be disappointed. Now hurry up and get in."
Lucien slowly entered the pod and sat down, laying his back comfortably. Then slowly the translucent dome lowered and closed with another hiss.
He sighed as he closed his eyes. A gentle helm of wires slowly lowered itself onto his head. And inside his mind, he heard a clear, mechanical, and soothing feminine voice.
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