Avalon 2001

Ash, Małgorzata Foreemniak, is a famous solo player navigating a near-future world where Avalon—the immersive VR shooter—draws in millions who chase experience points and in-game currency that can be exchanged for cash. The system links their minds directly to the action, pushing players to the edge where intense focus can blur into danger, and where a single misstep might leave someone catatonic. The game alternates between solo runs and organized raids against AI-controlled foes and rival players, a high-stakes cycle that can deliver glory or ruin in the blink of a laggy moment.

The journey begins with a wary warning from the GM, Władysław Kowalski, who urges Ash to join a party for the tougher next level. The warning isn’t just about difficulty—it hints at a hidden cost to pushing further into Avalon, where the line between virtual and real grows perilously thin. On the horizon rises a new challenge when a Bishop-class player, who keeps a record-breaking time on the same mission, appears and refuses to reveal himself. Ash’s attempts to learn more about this enigmatic rival—his avatar, his strategies, his motives—prove fruitless, and she exits the terminal with more questions than answers as the Bishop watches from a distance.

Her path soon crosses with a familiar face, Bartłomiej Świderski as Stunner, a former teammate whose presence stirs memories of past missions and lost trust. The narrative pulls back to a hospital where Ash and Stunner visit Murphy; the former leader—Jerzy Gudejko—pursued a hidden NPC in Avalon, a young girl nicknamed “ghost.” That pursuit ended in tragedy, leaving Murphy comatose and the ghost a looming symbol of a gateway to something elusive and dangerous. The appearance of someone who resembles the ghost in the hospital adds to the sense that Avalon is not merely a game, but a doorway to consequences that echo outside the booth.

Back at home, Ash’s search through Avalon lore deepens her obsession. Her inquiry leads her toward the Nine Sisters, a mythic-influenced thread that threads through the world and hints at the creators behind Avalon. A new invitation pulls Ash into a perilous meeting, only to be ambushed by griefers who want to strip her of her gear. It’s a stark reminder that the rules of the virtual world can become a matter of life and death in the real one. The chaos is interrupted by a helicopter attack, its missiles seemingly teleporting through a lag-induced delay, and Ash’s ability to reset becomes her lifeline as she exits the game with her avatar intact.

When she returns to the real world, the world around her seems to have slowed to a standstill, save for a dog that refuses to be seen. The unsettling quiet is pierced by the sound of the helicopter—and the sense that Avalon is reaching into her life in ways she cannot ignore. The next day, Stunner reveals the existence of a high-level Bishop who can even conjure the ghost, a figure sought by factions aiming to breach the Special A—the rumored ultimate mission where a reset can’t release a player from their avatar. The hunt leads Ash back to the terminal, where a direct encounter with the Bishop—Dariusz Biskupski—pulls her deeper into a plan to assemble a party and push further into Avalon’s core mysteries.

Ignoring the GM’s cautions and the receptionist’s warnings, Ash commits to entering Special A in search of Murphy. Inside the game, the party confronts the Citadel, a formidable boss that tests their teamwork and timing. Stunner and the Bishop scramble distractions with their dummy players while Ash targets the Citadel’s weak point, the strategy paying off only after intense cooperation. In a pivotal moment, the ghost appears again, and Stunner is struck down, leaving Ash to confront the lingering threat alone. The confrontation ends with Ash destroying the Citadel and stepping through a gateway in the aftermath—an act that closes one harsh chapter and opens another.

Back in the “Class Real” world, Ash awakes in her apartment within the game booth, clothed in civilian attire and stripped of gear. The Bishop arranges a new path forward: the only exit from Avalon is to defeat the Unreturned haunting the world she has been pulled into. With that grim directive, Ash accepts a mission to a grand venue—an Avalon-themed concert performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra—where the boundaries between performance, reality, and simulation blur once again. Along the way, she moves through settings that feel more expansive than the earlier levels, hinting at a closer link between Avalon and the real world than anyone anticipated.

Inside the concert’s luminous frame, Ash encounters Murphy in a tense exchange that tests both of their loyalties. Murphy, who once championed a deeper immersion into Avalon, expresses a troubling preference for the “reality” he has found there, urging Ash to stay within the world he chose. The struggle ends with Murphy fatally wounded, his plea echoing as he vanishes, leaving an emptier hall in his wake. The scene transitions to an empty stage where the ghost lurks, a final test for Ash. With the weight of her choices pressing in, she trains her weapon on the ghost, who smiles in a way that suggests the gateway she must take is both literal and symbolic—one that could redefine what it means to “win” Avalon.

The film closes on a cryptic note: Ash awakens again at the apartment, the mission’s true nature now clear only to her. A message from the Bishop hints at another move through the gateway, the path to exit now tied to completing the objective of confronting the Unreturned. The final sequence returns to the concert hall, where the ghost stands alone on the stage, a quiet witness to Ash’s next decision. As the curtain falls on the empty seats and the screens that connect two worlds, the smile on the ghost’s face lingers, leaving viewers with a question: is the escape from Avalon a liberation or merely a doorway to a more enduring fixation?