Gretel: Book 3 Chapter 1

Verse 1
The  faint blue light  of the

monitor

illuminated his  pale skin .

He stared at the screen, barely blinking,

and beside him was a stack of empty

ramen pots and discarded drink bottles.

The blackout curtains over the window

had

obviously not been opened for a while.

There was barely enough space to stand,

and the whole room had a musty smell.

But it didnt matter to the

 owner of this room  who

considered

the place  heaven . It was a place of

peace

and his only  refuge .

Until  now  that is.

Gretel:

...What is this?

Some kind of game?

There's a new VR headset out...

Did I buy it?

Oh, well. I was bored anyway.

I'll just write a review or upload some videos if it's any good.

Verse 2
Fighting fantasy monsters

in cute outfits.

Boring premise.

4 stars.

Verse 3
The UI is difficult to use.

I don't know what to do.

3 stars.

Verse 4
The battle strategy is lacking.

What does it want me to do?

2 stars.

Verse 5
What is this story?

A poem? Weird.

1 star.

Verse 6
Too many cute characters.

Boring.

4 stars.

Verse 7
The rates of these pulls are awful.

Spent all my gems and not one good pull!

4 stars.

Verse 8
What a stupid game.

It's all so boring.

Not even worth leaving a video review.

Done with this one!

Verse 9
...So...is this game going to

end, any time soon?

Verse 10
The world itself was much like a game.

But the thin bodies of the

girl and the boy shuddered

as if it were real.

"I guess this is VR...?"

An avatar resembling  himself 

was reflected on the screen.

''' White skin. '''

''' Sunken eyes. '''

The only difference was a

 hairstyle , which

was trimmed at the shoulders.

I heard someone calling

for their  brother ...

Gretel:

No.

I don't have a sister.

Parrah:

Are you sure about that?

Noya:

Surely you have one or two lurking somewhere inside.

Gretel:

Huh?

The heck is that supposed to mean?

Parrah:

Isn't that what you've told the world?

Gretel:

...!

He opened his eyes to a dark ceiling.

The bed was damp. The floor was

covered in trash.

The monitor maintained its

eerie blue glow.

"That was the last  dream ?"

The young boy murmured, running a

hand through his black hair.

"Come to think of it, there was a

 younger sister  character too."

Remembering one of his many

 personalities ,

a strange and hollow  laugh 

emerged from his dry, flaky lips.

He stared at the ceiling once again.

The blue glow was the only light

in the dark room, illuminating a thick,

dangling  rope .

Discordant Poem
The shut-in had cut himself off from society.

It should have been the safest place in the world.

Should have...

They knew it was a game

but it all felt eerily real.

The avatar that looked like him,

murmured "Big Brother."

The place he woke up was the safest place in the world.

His own castle. His paradise.

The rope dangling from the ceiling was

unusually thick.