There exists an urban legend…
A player. Or players. No one really knows.
Whispered through the net. In private chatrooms. Across anonymous posts, hidden forums, and leaderboard threads.
You'll find them in almost every game.
From RTS to MMOs, FPS to card games. They dominate. Without fail.
No face. No avatar. No raging voice chat. No victory streams.
Just a symbol burned into the top of every leaderboard:
[Ø]
Null.
Some say it's a god-tier AI.
Others think it's a hacker crew running simulations.
There are even rumors it's a banned player who cheated the system.
But anyone who's ever gone up against Null… says the same thing:
"If you're matched against Null… you've already lost."
They're a digital ghost story. A myth. A server wide enigma.
But like most legends, the truth is usually far more… ordinary.
________________________________________
Somewhere in the Last Sanctuary, in a small forgotten district where the neon flickers dull and the air smells faintly of burned-out data, two twins sit huddled in front of six glowing monitors.
The screens flash.
[Victory]
Again.
The boy, draped in a hoodie three sizes too big, covered in stitched gold stars, leans back in his chair with a sigh. His black hair is messy, unbrushed, save for a single pure white strand that stubbornly curls forward. His golden eyes flicker with lazy light.
"Haaaah. That makes… how many wins now?"
Next to him, curled up like a cat in her seat, is his sister.
Her long white hair pools over her shoulders, save for one black strand that loops above her head like a question mark.
"Six hundred and ninety nine this week…" she mumbles, her voice barely above a whisper. "Aviel… Avael's tired…"
"C'mon, sis! Hang in there! Just one more game! One more, and we hit an even seven hundred!" he says, flashing her a grin.
"Good luck…" she mutters, eyes already half closed.
"Oi—don't sleep now!" he protests.
They are Aviel and Avael.
Twins. Propably the world's best shut-ins.
And also... the infamous Null.
Another flash.
[You win!]
Aviel slumps back into his chair again, the light from the monitor glowing faint blue against his caramel-brown skin.
"Another boring game crushed by the power of big bro," he says proudly.
"Don't shout…" Avael mumbles, curling deeper into her chair. "Avael needs sleep…"
Then the speakers chime with a new alert:
[You have a new challenger.]
[Accept] [Decline]
Aviel blinks. "Eh?"
Another challenger? This late?
He leans forward. Avael perks up slightly, peeking over his shoulder.
"What is it?" she asks.
"Someone just challenged us," he says. A grin forms.
He clicks:
[Accept]
________________________________________
What followed… was one of the longest games Null had ever played.
________________________________________
The screen flickers. A digital chessboard lights up.
Pieces move in elegant precision.
Avael leads the match.
Her fingers glide like ghost-thoughts, emotionless yet sharp.
Knight to G2.
Check.
The opponent sacrifices their rook.
"…What?" Aviel leans forward. "Why'd they hang their rook like that?"
Avael blinks. Quiet. Then captures a bishop from the side.
But then: Rook to D8. Check.
Aviel whistles.
"So that was their plan…"
"…They're good," Avael whispers.
"But it's about time to end this," Aviel smirks.
They play.
Six hours pass. Tactics. Pressure. Defense. Baits. Ambushes.
Then...
[Draw — Stalemate]
"…Ah?" Avael stares.
She's never drawn before. Not once. Not in hundreds of thousands of games.
Her perfect streak? Broken.
She looks at Aviel with confused eyes.
He pats her head.
"You did great, Ava," he says gently. "They just got lucky."
Then, the screen flashes again:
[Aren't you bored of this world?]
Aviel blinks. "What…?"
[Don't you sometimes wish the stakes were higher?]
Aviel types:
[Boy do I wish… This crap world we live in? It's boring as hell.]
The response is instant:
[Then would you say you wish to go to a new world? A world of fun?]
Aviel smirks.
"A world of fun, huh?"
He types fast.
[If such a world exists… don't you think we should be part of it?]
The moment the message sends—everything goes dark.
Screens flicker. Static rolls. Lights die.
Then. Two hands of starlight reach out from the monitor. The room twists like water down a drain.
A cheerful voice echoes:
"Absolutely! I think the same way! So how about you come to my world?"
"It's gonna be soooo fun!"
Avael grabs Aviel's hoodie, wide-eyed.
Aviel clutches her protectively.
"W-Wait, what's happening—?!"
"Meet me on the 150th floor for our rematch, okay?"
"Don't die before then!"
"WHAT THE FU—"
The floor vanished beneath them.
They fell.
Through starlight. Through sky. Through layers of sound and color that didn't exist.
"Ava, hold on tight!!" Aviel shouted.
He turned midair, pulling her into his arms to cushion the fall.
The world rushed up to meet them.
Then...
Darkness.
________________________________________
"…Aviel…"
"…Aviel wake up…"
A voice. Soft. Breaking.
"Please… don't leave…"
Sobbing.
He groaned, sitting up. His body ached.
"Ugh… What hit me…?"
Avael sat by his side, tears in her eyes, hair sticking to her cheeks.
"You're crying!? WHY? WHO DARED HURT MY SISTER!!??" he said in an enraged almost comical tone, already reaching up to wipe her face.
"…Avael was scared…" she sniffled.
He pulled her into a hug. Tight.
"Hey, hey, calm down, I'm not going anywhere."
She nodded against his chest, arms locked around him.
"…Where are we…?" he muttered, looking around.
Stone streets. Bright floating lanterns. Crowds of people in robes and armor. A huge gate in the distance. Signs written in languages they didn't recognize.
A huge glowing interface flickered into view in front of them both:
[WELCOME, SEEKER: NULL]
[Realm: Floor 1 — Starter Town: Nebula]
[System Initialization Complete.]
Aviel squinted.
"…Ava."
"…Mm?"
"I think…"
A grin formed on his face.
"…We just got isekai'd."
She blinked. Then looked around again.
"…New game?"
"New game," he confirmed, eyes shining.
Avael sat up properly, her usual calm returning.
"Then let's win."
"Of course," Aviel smirked.
They both stood.
Welcome to the game.
Let the climb to the top begin.