Jacob's fingers drummed against his desk, the rapid tattoo matching his racing heartbeat. The countdown timer on his monitor ticked away the final seconds before Infinity's servers came back online with the most anticipated update in gaming history: Full Dive VR integration.

  "Come on, come on," he muttered, adjusting his glasses as the progress bar crawled toward completion.

  Infinity had revolutionised the gaming landscape when it launched three years ago. Unlike other MMORPGs with their rigid class systems and linear questlines, Infinity offered true freedom—a boundless digital universe where players shaped their own destinies. Want to build a trading empire spanning continents? Possible. Prefer to live as a hermit alchemist in a mountain cave? Also possible. The game's only limit was imagination.

  What truly set Infinity apart, though, was its controversial 18+ server instance—a realm where more questionable content wasn't just allowed but integrated into the game's systems. This feature had sparked heated debates, but the developers stood firm on their position: consent was paramount. Players had to explicitly opt in, and could revoke access instantly. Without consent, players remained in the standard server, experiencing a rich but tamer version of the game.

  Jacob knew both sides intimately. What had begun as a hormone-fueled teenager's playground had evolved into his life's work and sole income source. His character Lilith—a blue-skinned succubus queen ruling the dominant Demon Empire on the European server—had transcended from personal fantasy to become gaming legend. Her name was even immortalised in the official lore.

  The update finished downloading. Jacob's hands trembled slightly as he lifted the sleek Full Dive headset from its case. The device represented cutting-edge technology—neural interfaces that would translate the game's data directly into sensory information, creating an experience indistinguishable from reality.

  "Time to make history," he whispered, slipping the headset over his dark, slightly messy hair.

  He settled back into his ergonomic chair, designed specifically for extended Full Dive sessions. The setup had cost nearly two months of streaming revenue, but as the top Infinity content creator, he couldn't afford to fall behind. His audience expected excellence.

  The headset hummed to life. A pleasant female voice guided him through the calibration process.

  "Neural synchronisation beginning. Please remain still."

  Jacob closed his eyes. The familiar login screen materialised in his mind—no longer viewed through a monitor but existing all around him.

  "Username: Morningstar. Password: ********. Authenticating..."

  A tingling sensation spread from the base of his skull down his spine. The manual had mentioned this—the neural interface establishing connections with his sensory cortex.

  "Full Dive engaged. Welcome to Infinity."

  The world dissolved into darkness.

  Consciousness returned to Jacob in waves, each one bringing with it unfamiliar sensations. His eyelids fluttered open to reveal a vast expanse of golden plains stretching toward a distant forest. The sky above burned a brilliant azure, unmarred by clouds, with twin suns hanging like molten coins in the heavens.

  "What the hell?" he muttered, his voice emerging as a melodious contralto that sent a jolt through his system. "Did the update reset my spawn location?"

  He tried to sit up and immediately froze. His body responded differently—lighter in some places, heavier in others. The weight on his chest shifted as he moved, and he glanced down to see the full, pale blue curves of Lilith's breasts rising and falling with each breath.

  "Holy shit," he whispered, watching in fascination as his hands—no, Lilith's hands—came into view. Delicate blue fingers tipped with glossy black nails trembled slightly as he examined them, turning them over to study the fine details of the skin texture.

  The sensations flooding his consciousness were overwhelming. He could feel the gentle caress of the breeze against his skin, the silken weight of Lilith's purple hair brushing against his shoulders, the subtle pressure of the ground beneath his body. Each sensation arrived with crystal clarity, unfiltered by the limitations of his human form.

  "They said it would be good, but this is..." Jacob trailed off, distracted by a strange pressure at the base of his spine.

  He concentrated, and to his astonishment, a spaded tail flicked into view, responding to his thoughts as naturally as wiggling his fingers. The same mental impulse brought a rustle of movement from his back, and he twisted to see leathery wings connected to Lilith's hips like two majestic dark sails.

  "How the hell did they code this?" he wondered aloud, experimentally flexing the new appendages. "They feel like... like they're actually part of me."

  The wings and tail weren't awkward attachments but seamless extensions of his body. Somehow, he intuitively understood how to control them, as if the knowledge had been hardwired into his nervous system. With a thought, the wings spread wide, catching the sunlight and casting a dramatic shadow across the golden grass.

  Jacob pushed himself to his feet, marvelling at the grace with which Lilith's body moved. His centre of gravity had shifted, accommodating the wider hips and fuller chest. He took a tentative step, then another, finding a natural rhythm that felt both alien and perfectly right.

  "This is incredible," he breathed, turning in a slow circle to take in the landscape.

  The colours were wrong—or rather, they were more right than he'd ever experienced. The greens of the distant forest contained shades he'd never seen before, hues that had no names in human language. The sky held depths that made his old perception seem flat and lifeless by comparison.

  He inhaled deeply, and his senses exploded with information. He could smell the sweet nectar of flowers he couldn't even see, detect the musk of animals that had passed through hours ago, taste the mineral composition of the soil on the back of his tongue.

  His hearing had expanded too. The rustle of grass beneath his feet, the distant call of birds, the whisper of wind through leaves miles away—all arrived with perfect clarity, each sound distinct yet harmonious.

  "Eighty-five percent realistic, my ass," Jacob laughed, the sound musical and strange to his ears. "This has to be at least ninety-nine."

  He paused, considering. "Though I guess I wouldn't know what being a succubus feels like in real life."

  Jacob stretched his arms above his head, feeling muscles ripple beneath his skin with a strength that belied Lilith's voluptuous form. Everything felt so intensely real—the weight of his body, the beat of his heart, even the hunger beginning to gnaw at his stomach.

  "The devs outdid themselves," he murmured, still oblivious to the truth of his situation. "Best money I ever spent."

  Jacob stared at the wings extending from his hips, curiosity overcoming his initial shock. A thought occurred to him—if these appendages weren't just decorative, perhaps he could actually...

  "I wonder," he murmured, flexing the unfamiliar muscles.

  The wings responded instantly, spreading wide to catch the breeze. With an experimental flap, he felt himself grow lighter, his feet barely touching the golden grass. Another powerful stroke lifted him a few inches off the ground.

  "Holy shit!" he gasped, wobbling precariously as he hovered. "This is—whoa!"

  His concentration faltered, and he tumbled back to earth, landing ungracefully on his backside. The impact didn't hurt as much as he expected, Lilith's body absorbing the fall with surprising resilience.

  "Okay, take two," Jacob muttered, pushing himself up and dusting off Lilith's smooth blue skin.

  This time, he focused more intently, trying to understand the mechanics of flight. As he concentrated, something strange happened—muscle memory that wasn't his own seemed to surface, guiding his movements. The wings beat in a steady rhythm, and suddenly he was airborne again, rising steadily above the golden plain.

  "This is incredible!" he shouted, his voice—Lilith's voice—ringing out across the landscape.

  Within minutes, he was soaring through the air with surprising confidence. The wind rushed past him, carrying scents and sounds from miles away. The sensation of freedom was intoxicating—banking left, diving right, climbing toward the twin suns before plummeting in a controlled fall that sent adrenaline coursing through his veins.

  "I could get used to this," Jacob laughed, executing a perfect barrel roll.

  As he flew lower over the plains, something caught his eye—a large, bristling form moving through the tall grass. Jacob descended for a closer look, immediately recognising the creature.

  "A dire boar," he said to himself. "Level 30 or so. Perfect for testing this body's combat capabilities."

  He landed gracefully in front of the creature, which snorted aggressively at his sudden appearance. Its tusks gleamed wickedly in the sunlight, and its red eyes fixed on him with primal hostility.

  Jacob raised his hand, preparing to cast a spell, but suddenly realised he had no idea how to activate Lilith's magic. In the standard game, he'd simply press a hotkey or click an icon.

  "Fireball?" he tried, feeling foolish when nothing happened. "Hellfire Blast? Demonic Surge?"

  The boar pawed the ground, preparing to charge.

  "Inventory!" Jacob called out desperately, hoping to access a weapon. Nothing appeared.

  The dire boar launched itself forward with surprising speed. Jacob sidestepped easily—Lilith's reflexes were incredible—but panic began to set in. He had no weapon, no access to spells, and no idea how to fight in this new body.

  "I should have read the damn guide," he muttered, dodging another charge. "This is what I get for rushing."

  He knew attempting to log out during combat was futile—a basic game mechanic prevented players from escaping fights. He'd either have to defeat the boar or die trying.

  "Unarmed combat it is," Jacob decided, taking a fighting stance.

  Even without magic, Lilith's physical stats far outclassed a monster designed for mid-level players. Still, punching a dire boar to death seemed inefficient when he knew Lilith could easily incinerate it with a spell.

  "If I could just throw a fireball," he growled in frustration as the boar circled him.

  Something clicked in his mind at that moment—a connection forming between thought and action. Without questioning the impulse, Jacob extended his hand, fingers splayed. A glowing arcane circle materialised above his palm, symbols spinning in complex patterns.

  "Yes!" he exclaimed, and instinctively pushed his will through the construct.

  A streak of smoke erupted from his hand, crossing the distance to the charging boar in an instant. Upon impact, the spell erupted into a roaring inferno that engulfed the creature completely. Jacob felt the heat against his face, the concussive force of the explosion, and smelled the acrid scent of burning hair and flesh.

  The boar's squeal of pain cut through the air, shockingly realistic, before falling silent. When the flames dissipated, only a charred corpse remained, smoke rising from its blackened form.

  "That was... intense," Jacob said, staring at his hand in wonder. "The sensory detail is incredible."

  A troubling thought occurred to him. The visceral nature of the kill—the smell, the heat, the creature's scream—seemed more appropriate for the 18+ server instance. But that should have been impossible. The Full Dive VR was supposed to be limited to the standard server to prevent neurological issues from the incompatibilities between the two versions.

  "Maybe it's a bug?" Jacob wondered aloud, kneeling to examine the boar's remains. "Or maybe the difference between experiencing the game through a screen versus actually being here changes things."

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Jacob stared at the charred remains of the dire boar, his mind racing. Something felt off about this entire experience. The sensory detail was incredible—too incredible, perhaps. He needed to check his status, inventory, abilities—anything to ground himself in the familiar mechanics of Infinity.

  "Status," he commanded firmly. Nothing happened.

  "Inventory." Again, nothing.

  "Character sheet. Skills. Abilities. Menu. Options." Jacob cycled through every command he could think of, growing increasingly frustrated when none produced any response. "Help. Exit. Log out!"

  The golden plain remained unchanged around him, the twin suns beating down on his blue skin. No translucent UI windows appeared, no helpful tooltips, no indication that the game recognised his commands at all.

  "This can't be right," he muttered, running his fingers through Lilith's long, silky hair. "Even without reading the guide, basic voice commands should work. That's standard across all VR platforms."

  He tried gestures next, swiping his hand through the air in patterns that typically activated menus in other games. Still nothing. He even attempted physical movements—jumping in place, clapping his hands, snapping his fingers—desperate for any response from the system.

  "I must be bugged," Jacob concluded, his frustration mounting. "Great start to Full Dive."

  He took a deep breath, reminding himself that this was just a temporary issue. The headset had built-in safety protocols—it would automatically shut down after four hours of continuous play, forcing a two-hour break before allowing the user to reconnect. The feature had been controversial among hardcore gamers, but government regulations had made it mandatory for all Full Dive technology to prevent addiction and physical deterioration.

  "At least I won't be stuck here forever," Jacob said, finding comfort in that thought. "Four hours max, maybe eight if he's unlucky."

  He recalled reading about software modifications circulating online that claimed to bypass the shutdown timer, but even those couldn't overcome the physical limitations of the headset's battery. Eight hours was the absolute maximum anyone could remain in Full Dive before the hardware itself powered down—another redundant safety feature mandated by regulators after early testing revealed potential psychological risks of extended immersion.

  "Smart move, for once," Jacob admitted, thinking of the bureaucrats who had insisted on these failsafes. He'd never imagined he'd be grateful for government intervention in gaming, but here he was, counting on it to pull him out of whatever glitch he'd encountered.

  With several hours to kill before the system would force him out, Jacob decided to make the best of the situation. This golden plain with its strange twin suns seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it within Infinity's vast world map.

  "Might as well explore while I'm here," he decided, stretching Lilith's wings. The sensation still felt extraordinary—the pull of muscles he'd never possessed before, the weight of the leathery appendages, the instinctive knowledge of how to position them.

  Jacob scanned the horizon, looking for landmarks. In the distance, he spotted what appeared to be a forest line, its trees strange and twisted even from this far away. In the opposite direction, the plain seemed to end at a cliff edge or steep drop-off. Something glinted there—perhaps water.

  "The forest or the cliff?" he wondered aloud. Both might offer clues to his location, and by extension, a way to find civilianisation or an NPC who might help him understand what was happening.

  Jacob turned away from the charred boar carcass and gazed toward the distant cliff edge where something glinted in the sunlight. Water meant civilianisation—a principle that held true both in reality and in Infinity's carefully crafted world. He unfurled Lilith's leathery wings, feeling the strange muscles flex beneath blue skin.

  "Water it is," he decided, launching himself skyward.

  The sensation of flight was intoxicating. Wind rushed through Lilith's dark purple hair as Jacob soared above the golden plain. The twin suns warmed his skin while the air currents created perfect pockets of lift beneath his wings. He experimented with different positions—wings fully extended for gliding, angled for sharp turns, beating rhythmically for bursts of speed. Each movement came with surprising intuition, as though his body had always known how to fly.

  "This is incredible," he whispered, executing a perfect barrel roll. "I could get used to this."

  As Jacob approached the cliff, the landscape revealed itself more clearly. A river flowed above the precipice, winding through the terrain before cascading over the edge in what must be a waterfall. Beyond the river, nestled in a small valley, sat a cluster of buildings—a village of some kind. The thatched roofs and wooden structures suggested a human settlement, not the gothic architecture of his Empire.

  "I must be really far from my domain," Jacob muttered, circling higher to get a better view.

  The village appeared peaceful—smoke rose from chimneys, tiny figures moved between buildings, and fields of crops surrounded the outskirts. It wasn't large, perhaps thirty or forty structures at most, but it represented something vital: information. If he could speak with the locals, he might learn where exactly he was and perhaps find someone who could help with his technical difficulties.

  But a problem presented itself. Lilith was a demon—blue-skinned, horned, winged, and unmistakably inhuman. In Infinity's game mechanics, demons and humans were inherently incompatible races. Without a disguise, the entire town would turn hostile the moment he approached. Guards would attack on sight, while civilian NPCs would flee in terror, triggering alarm bells throughout the region.

  "I need to use Human Visage," Jacob realised.

  If he could cast Fireball without accessing a menu, then Lilith's other abilities should also be available through some intuitive process. He just needed to figure out how to activate them without the interface he'd relied on for years.

  Jacob landed in a small clearing about half a kilometre from the village—close enough to reach it quickly but far enough to avoid being spotted. The grass beneath his feet felt surprisingly real, each blade distinct against Lilith's bare soles.

  "Okay, Human Visage," he murmured, trying to recall how the ability worked in the game. It consumed mana continuously while active and couldn't be maintained during flight.

  He closed his eyes, concentrating on the concept of appearing human. Nothing happened. He tried visualising Lilith's human form, focusing on the auburn hair and emerald eyes that replaced her demonic features. Still nothing.

  Jacob tried different mental commands, different visualisations, even gestures with his hands. After several frustrating attempts, he finally hit upon the right mental trigger—a specific intention that felt like pushing an internal button.

  A shiver ran through his entire body, starting at his scalp and cascading downward. The sensation was bizarre but not unpleasant—like pins and needles but somehow satisfying. He felt his wings folding, not disappearing but somehow compressing and sinking into his back. His horns retracted with a strange crunching sensation that reminded him of cracking knuckles. His tail shortened progressively until it vanished entirely.

  The transformation wasn't instantaneous as it had been in the regular game, where one frame showed a demon and the next a human after a puff of smoke. This was a process—organic, fluid, and strangely natural. It felt like stretching after a long nap, a realignment of the body that brought relief rather than pain.

  When the transformation completed, Jacob looked down at his now-human hands. The pale rosy skin replaced the blue, and he could feel the subtle weight difference as his wings disappeared. He reached up to touch his head, confirming the horns were gone, replaced by what felt like soft auburn hair.

  "That worked," he said with relief. "Now to see what this village can tell me."

  Jacob approached the village, his steps tentative as he adjusted to walking without wings and a tail. The Human Visage spell felt strange—like wearing someone else's skin stretched over his own true form. Each step required conscious thought as he balanced on Lilith's curvaceous body without the counterweight of demonic appendages.

  The village bustled with activity despite its small size. People moved with purpose—women carried baskets of vegetables, men hauled timber or tended to livestock, and children darted between buildings in games of tag. It struck Jacob how natural everything seemed. These weren't the stiff, repetitive animations of NPCs he was used to seeing in Infinity. Each villager moved with fluid, unpredictable motions, their faces expressing a range of emotions.

  A group of children playing near the village well spotted him and stopped their game. They stared openly, whispering among themselves before one small boy with tousled blond hair broke away from the group.

  "Pretty lady!" he called out, pointing directly at Jacob. "Look at her hair! It's like fire!"

  The other children giggled, hiding behind each other as Jacob smiled awkwardly. He hadn't expected this level of detail from NPCs—the way the boy's eyes widened with childish wonder, the natural hesitation of the shyer children. The developers had clearly pushed the boundaries of what was possible with their new 'organic AI system'.

  "Hello," Jacob replied, his voice emerging as Lilith's sultry contralto.

  The children scattered at his response, laughing as they ran back to their game. Jacob continued through the village, searching for familiar landmarks. In standard Infinity, settlements always followed predictable patterns—taverns for quests, blacksmiths for equipment, alchemists for potions. But this village seemed designed purely for realism rather than gameplay convenience.

  Thatched cottages lined dirt paths. Chickens pecked at the ground near doorsteps. A communal oven stood in what appeared to be a central square, where women kneaded dough. No quest markers, no shopkeeper icons, no convenient signs indicating services.

  "They weren't kidding about the immersion factor," Jacob muttered.

  As he passed what looked like a small shrine, a man carrying a wooden yoke across his shoulders stopped abruptly. He was middle-aged with a weathered face and calloused hands—clearly a farmer or labourer.

  "Pardon, miss," the man said, setting down his buckets of water. "You seem lost. Are you a traveller?"

  Jacob was startled by the unprompted interaction. The NPC hadn't waited for him to initiate dialogue—he'd simply reacted as a real person would to a stranger in their village.

  "Yes, I am," Jacob replied, deciding to play along. "My name is Lilith."

  The man nodded respectfully. "Miroslav, at your service. We don't get many strangers here in Oakhollow." He studied Jacob's face with curious eyes. "If I may say, you look somewhat... confused. Is everything alright?"

  Jacob hesitated, uncertain how to frame his questions without breaking immersion. "I'm afraid I've lost my bearings during my journey. Could you tell me where exactly we are?"

  Miroslav's eyebrows rose slightly. "Basic questions from one who travels alone? Strange." He shrugged. "Well, you're in Oakhollow village, eastern province of Landskavia."

  "Landskavia?" Jacob repeated, the name unfamiliar.

  "Yes, the kingdom of Landskavia," Miroslav confirmed, looking increasingly puzzled. "Three days' ride east of the Empire's border, if you've good horses."

  "The Empire?" Jacob asked, thinking of his Demon Empire.

  "The Solarian Empire," Miroslav clarified, now openly concerned. "Lady, did you take a blow to the head during your travels? Everyone knows of the Empire that's ruled these lands for centuries."

  Jacob's mind raced. Solarian Empire? Landskavia? These weren't names from any region he recognised in Infinity. Either this was new content from the update, or something very strange was happening.

  "Thank you for your help," Jacob said, trying to mask his confusion. "I've been... travelling for quite some time. The names of places sometimes escape me."

  Jacob cleared his throat, adjusting to the strange sensation of speaking through Lilith's vocal cords. "What about the Demon Empire? Specifically, the realm of Nocturne?"

  Miroslav's brow furrowed, genuine confusion crossing his weathered face. "Demon Empire? The demons mostly occupy the wastelands, but that's far from here." He gestured vaguely westward. "Far to the west, in the wastelands within the Solarian Empire's borders. Dangerous lands those are, where only fools or the desperate venture."

  "No, I mean the formal empire called Nocturne," Jacob pressed, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice. "Ruled by the Succubus Queen?"

  The villager scratched his chin, eyes narrowing in thought. "I've never heard of any such place, my lady. Are you certain you're well?" Genuine concern flickered across his features. "Perhaps you need to see our village healer? Head injuries can cause strange thoughts."

  "I'm fine," Jacob replied automatically, though he felt anything but. His mind raced, struggling to process this information. What was happening? Had the developers completely retconned his empire? Years of gameplay, thousands of hours building Nocturne from nothing into the most powerful faction on the European server—all erased without warning?

  "Perhaps I'm mistaken," he added weakly, trying to maintain composure.

  This had to be some bizarre update. Maybe a time-travel expansion? The developers were known for dramatic changes, but this seemed extreme even for them. He needed more information.

  "What year is it?" Jacob asked abruptly.

  Miroslav looked increasingly worried. "It's the year 1000 A.S., my lady. The millennial celebration was just last harvest."

  "A.S.?" Jacob repeated, the unfamiliar designation sending a chill down his spine. "What does that stand for?"

  "After Shattering," Miroslav replied slowly, as if explaining to a child. "The great cataclysm that reshaped the world? Surely even in distant lands, they mark time from the Shattering?"

  Jacob felt his borrowed heart pounding in his chest. This wasn't right. In Infinity's timeline, the current year should be 673 D.E.—Dragon Era. There was no "Shattering" in the game lore he knew.

  Irritation flared within him. The developers couldn't have done this—reset the entire game world without warning. He'd spent months—years—building his empire, crafting alliances, crushing enemies. His entire career was built on Lilith's legend.

  But as he stood there, feeling the gentle breeze against his skin, smelling the earthy scent of the village, something deeper clicked into place. A horrifying possibility that he'd been subconsciously avoiding since he first awoke in this body.

  What if this wasn't the game?

  The sensations were too vivid, too consistent. The NPCs too natural in their responses. The world too detailed in ways that served no gameplay purpose.

  What if this was real life?

  His hands—Lilith's delicate blue hands beneath the Human Visage spell—trembled slightly as the implications cascaded through his mind. If this was real, then he was no longer Jacob. He was truly Lilith, a succubus in a human disguise, standing in a village that had never heard of his empire.

  The thought was too enormous, too terrifying to fully comprehend. Jacob struggled to maintain his composure as panic threatened to overwhelm him.

  "Are you certain you're well, my lady?" Miroslav asked again, reaching out as if to steady him. "You've gone quite pale."

  "I'm fine, truly," Jacob said, backing away from the concerned farmer. "Thank you for your help. I just... I need some air."

  He turned and walked briskly away, ignoring Miroslav's concerned gaze boring into his back. Once clear of immediate view, his pace quickened until he was nearly running, Lilith's legs carrying him with unnatural grace despite his panic.

  The village blurred around him as his mind raced. This wasn't Infinity—at least not the Infinity he knew. The timeline was wrong. The geography was wrong. His empire, his legacy, his very identity—all gone.

  And this body... this wasn't just an avatar. The sensations were too real, too visceral. The weight of breasts on his chest. The subtle swish of the tail he could feel even through the Human Visage spell. The constant, low-level hunger that gnawed at him, a hunger he instinctively knew normal food wouldn't satisfy.

  "No," he whispered, his voice—Lilith's voice—cracking. "This can't be happening."

  He reached the edge of the village and kept going, breaking into a full sprint across an open field. The implications crashed over him in waves. If this was real, if he was truly Lilith now, then he was a succubus. A demon who fed on the vitality of others. Who needed to drain life force to survive.

  The thought made him stumble, nearly falling face-first into the grass. How could he live like this? How could he feed without harming others? The game mechanics had sanitised the process, but here—in this reality—what would it mean?

  The sunlight suddenly felt too bright, the sounds too sharp. His vision tunnelled, darkness creeping in from the edges as his breathing grew ragged—

  Jacob bolted upright in bed, gasping for air. His heart hammered against his ribs as sweat soaked his sheets. His own bed. His own body. His own room.

  "Holy shit," he whispered, running his hands—his human hands—over his face. "What the hell was that?"

  Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting strips of light across his rumpled bedding. His gaming setup sat in the corner, the expensive Full Dive headset still in its packaging.

  Jacob laughed shakily, the sound tinged with relief. "Just a dream. A freaky, intense dream."

  He swung his legs over the side of the bed, steadying himself before standing. Walking to his desk, he glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall.

  April 1st. 8:00 AM.

  Two hours until the servers went live with the Full Dive update.