Chapter 1: Gaming God

The arena was packed with lights during daytime and it could be seen from every corner of the huge stadium where brilliant lights were flashing.

People stood up and arose from their seats with a loud shout before one voice raised the name of the champion again and again.

Jaxon! Jaxon! Jaxon! ’’

The voice of the announcer over the huge screen was flashing with excitement.

"This year again, the winner of Deathmatch Valor! The genius! The undefeated! The top gamer in the whole world: Jaxon Sterling!"

The crowd went wild. Hands clapped, voices roared, cameras clicked nonstop. Every lens zoomed in on the young man walking calmly to the stage.

Jaxon’s face was sharp, his expression calm, his eyes bored. He didn’t wave, didn’t smile. He just walked like a king who already knew he ruled the world.

On social media, hashtags exploded.

#JaxonUnstoppable #DeathmatchValorChampion #GamingGod

The announcer thrust the mic toward him. "How are you feeling after retaining your title once again, Jaxon?"

The crowd leaned forward, hungry for his words.

Jaxon tilted his head slightly. His lips curled, but it wasn’t joy. It was closer to a sigh.

"I’m bored."

The single word hit like a bomb.

Then silence fell over the stadium before he continued speaking.

"I’m bored with my life; nothing is left for me to get thrilled about. There is no competition in seeing me walk on stage every month to dominate every game and yet", he scanned the audience. "There is no one who can really make me feel like I’m going to lose."

He was calm, but the voice was not cocky-the words carried the weight of arrogance.

"It’s getting pretty boring. Honestly think I should just quit this stupid profession."

The crowd gasped.

Some people saw a god mocking his subjects. Some saw an idol speaking raw truth. Some thought he was trolling. But every ear listened.

And only Jaxon knew he wasn’t joking. There was no ego in his words. Just reality.

His life was simple: wake up, enter the arena, beat everyone, collect trophies, return home. Over and over again.

No thrill. No challenge. No fun.

-- -- --

Jaxon was home in the evening. After a long nap, he came downstairs looking for food.

The living room echoed with fast clicks and cheerful background music.

There sat his younger sister, Maya, glued to the screen, controller in hand.

Jaxon frowned. "Maya, how the hell are you still playing this dumb game nonstop? I checked the ratings. People said if there was an option for zero stars, they’d use it. Giving it one star is an insult to that single star."

Maya puffed her cheeks, not even looking at him. "You don’t get it, brother. It’s awesome! The heroines—"

"Yeah, yeah," he cut her off with a wave. "I’ve heard this crap a hundred times already. A world where women dominate, men are dumb toys, and no hero exists. Trash concept. Trash game."

Maya glared. "Say whatever you want, but I like it."

"There’s no future in this game. No sponsors, no competitions. It’s worthless."

"Competition, competition." She smacked the pause button and turned toward him. "You’ve gone mad with it, brother. I play for fun. Not everything needs to be about winning. I’m not like you, who gets pissed at games when they don’t feel challenging. This one makes me feel good. That’s enough for me."

Jaxon clicked his tongue. "Tssk."

Maya stood, grabbing her bag. "Well, thanks for breaking my concentration. I’ll just go to Zoe’s house instead."

"It’s evening already. You sure? And who is this Zoe?"

"Relax. It’s just Zoe, my friend. She invited me for a girls’ night sleepover."

"Oh, Zoe." He shrugged. "Go on. That’s better than wasting your life on this stupid game anyway."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Don’t miss me too much. I’ll be back in the morning."

"Hell, I’ll miss you. Now get out."

She laughed, "pss," and left.

-- -- --

The house grew quiet.

Jaxon grabbed some food and carried it upstairs.

Their mother was gone years ago. Their father was always abroad, hardly ever visiting. So it was just the two of them, living like this.

He turned on his console, flipping through the store. Not a single title caught his eye.

"Trash. All of it." He tossed the controller aside.

Then a voice replayed in his head. His sister’s voice.

"Brother, I play for my own fun. I don’t care about competition."

’Fun, huh...’

He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. The word gnawed at him.

Eventually, he went downstairs again. On the way, he noticed the console still glowing in the living room.

"That girl. When will she grow up? She left the TV and console running."

He walked closer.

The game screen was paused.

Curiosity tugged at him.

He scoffed. "Let’s give this shit a try."

He unpaused it, then selected New Game.

The screen lit up with colors and dramatic music.

Hours passed.

One hour. Two hours. Three hours.

Jaxon cursed under his breath the entire time.

"The hell is this? Trash. Dumb boys? Are you kidding me? Reverse harem bullshit."

Punching the couch cushion, he played on anyway.

Finally, he slammed the controller down. "Fuck this."

He punched the console once, then stormed upstairs.

The game’s name blinked faintly on the TV before the screen faded:

Queens of Domination: Rise of Heroines.

Lying in bed, Jaxon replayed the absurdity in his head.

The game had shown men as brainless pets. Women as cunning, intelligent, and strong.

Every plot was some heroine’s rise to power.

Every ending was a reverse harem.

The only thing he found remotely interesting was that everything status, power, even ownership of bodies was settled through games.

Games decided everything.

Bet money. Bet property. Bet dignity. Even bet flesh.

And in this twisted world, women always came out on top.

He exhaled sharply.

’What trash. Still, at least that part was... different.’

His eyes grew heavy.

The long day, the constant boredom, the three cursed hours spent in that ridiculous game, they all pressed down on him.

Sleep took him.

But something was wrong.

His chest felt heavy. Too heavy.

Like a giant stone pressing down.

He gasped, clutching his shirt.

"Hhhk—!"

His heartbeat thumped erratically.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Sweat dripped down his temple.

The air in the room twisted. The walls seemed to blur, the ceiling stretched unnaturally.

A faint voice echoed, not his own.

[Initializing...]

His vision darkened.

[Player found. Jaxon Sterling recognized.]

His body convulsed, as if electricity shot through his veins.

[Syncing data: Linking gamer profile with host body...]

"W-what the hell..." His voice cracked.

Light swallowed him whole.

[Welcome to Queens of Domination: Rise of Heroines.]

Jaxon’s scream was the last sound before everything went black.