A Nightmare Rhapsody [Infinite]

◆ An early practice piece. On hold for now, and probably won't be rewritten. If I do rewrite it, I'll redo the whole thing.

A game designer who pursues a crazy aesthetic and thinks of himself as the top × a tactical game player who seems like a sweet, teary puppy but is actually a twisted, obsessive schemer

To help humanity break through the three-dimensional realm and enter a new era, the Subeile Federation's Interstellar Expo and the Light and Shadow Empire's Research Institute jointly release a massive virtual reality horror game, Nightmare Rhapsody, run by Muse Tower, humanity's most advanced supercomputer.

It's a game of celebration in which everyone wagers their soul, a game that could lead to a great leap forward in human civilization.

From that moment on, humanity formally connects, through the realm of consciousness, with the countless miniature worlds of the multidimensional universe.

The horror game has a number of original masterminds who write the interfaces that load these miniature worlds. They are commonly known as scenario designers, and Xie Xiyu is one of them.

His scenarios always radiate a bold, passionate energy amid the horror, making him a designer with a strikingly distinctive style.

But Xie Xiyu has never entered the game himself.

That changes when his lover, hailed as a once-in-a-generation talent, loses his sight in an accident and leaves the professional league for Nightmare Rhapsody. A devil from the Empire's Research Institute offers to buy Xie Xiyu, who is utterly exhausted from searching for a cornea donor.

Xie Xiyu looks at the devil. "I'm expensive."

The devil promises, "Become mine, and I can restore your little boyfriend's sight."

Xie Xiyu grits his teeth. "Deal."

The devil smiles maliciously. "Don't you want to read the terms first? I want you to be bait. I want you to enter the game and be at odds with Shi Ziyi in every scenario. I want you to seriously injure him. When he returns to the game, he'll have no choice but to fight you. Are you still willing?"

Unable to break free of the devil's control and back out, Xie Xiyu fumes. "Using me to go after Shi Ziyi is despicable."

The devil says, "You should thank me for giving you this opportunity. If you refuse, he won't have a future even without me attacking him in the game."

Xie Xiyu falls silent for a moment, then looks at the final clause. "Shi Ziyi never loses at any game. He'll come and win me back. Damn it, I'll kill you one of these days."

"I'll wait for you to reach the throne and stand before me. Then I'll hand you the blade of honor with my own hands." The devil seems to be looking forward to that moment.

Here are previews of some of the scenarios:

The Evil Spirit Book

An S-rank player receives a special identity card for the evil god's faction: the "Holy Child." [You were born to be sacrificed by everyone. You are the perfect vessel for the evil god's descent into the world.]

The other players are forced into opposing factions because of their different identity cards, but Xie Xiyu suddenly makes a wild suggestion. "Why follow the special questline on the identity cards? If we kill the evil god boss, we can get the Perfect End."

Jushan Sakura City High School

[No skills or items may be used on campus. Each time a skill lights up in a player's skill bar, one punishment will be selected at random from the following: gouging out the eyes, cutting out the tongue, pouring lead into the ears, piercing the nose with iron, or flaying the skin. The punishment continues until all five senses are gone, at which point the player is deemed dead.]

Xie Xiyu kicks the NPC reading the terrifying rules to the ground. "Don't listen to their bullshit. If you don't want to end up as a human pig, kill them all."

Doll Fantasy City

Having slaughtered the entire doll circus, the clown gives the audience an elegant bow. Looking at Xie Xiyu applauding from the seats, he curls his terrifying mouth into a crazed, twisted grin. "Don't fall for me. I'm here to hurt you."

The next instant, the clown's eerie laughter rings out as he splits into a tall, pale ghost. The rabbit balloon in his hand turns into a flying bomb and explodes behind him... The final night in Doll City has only just begun.

The Vampire Wedding Dress

Swirling the red wine in his glass, Xie Xiyu reveals his vampire fangs and suddenly leans close to Shi Ziyi's vulnerable neck. In a gentle yet dangerous voice, he says, "Didn't you want to kill me back then? Then tonight, I'll give you what you want."

Two new lines appear in the prophecy book of the vampire castle: [Blood stains a pure white wedding dress. A silver cross is driven into a heart that will never beat again. Tonight, I will be your most beautiful bride.]

The Evil Spirit Book, Jushan Sakura City High School, Doll Fantasy City, The Devil's Revelation, The Vampire Wedding Dress, The Corridor of Time and Space, The Butterfly Cocoon, Ragnarok, The Star Shoals Ruins, The Polar Night Sequence, and more game scenarios are opening one after another...

Welcome to Nightmare Rhapsody. We will bring you the ultimate gaming experience!

Content warnings:

1. This is not a standard infinite-world story and contains horror elements. Dying in the game causes brain death in real life. The story focuses more on the plot, though I'm really trying hard to make them fall in love, sigh.

2. For now, only The Vampire Wedding Dress, The Butterfly Cocoon, and The Polar Night Sequence are scenarios written by the protagonist, Xie Xiyu. They're extremely angsty and intense.

3. The leads are like fake selfcest, both powerful, mutually saving one another, childhood friends, and a perfect match. Happy ending. The story features quite a few secondary couples, some with coercive elements. Some aren't BL and may not have happy endings.

Theme: Life is brilliant and radiant. I was born for you