The Virtual Realm

by Daniel Perusko

  “Let’s go, Karla.”

  “Yes.”

  Down then, down into the unknown depths of shadow they plunged, beginning their journey down the spiraling glassy staircase which seemed to descend endlessly into the depths of the earth. When their feet touched the staircase, it felt as though they were walking on pure air. They walked down the staircase cautiously, the feel of it unnerving some of the travelers slightly. Dusk almost expected the bowels of hell to be contained below this endless descent. Finally, after twenty minutes of walking, they reached the bottom. What was before them was a far more magnificent sight than the combatants had expected.

  Before their eyes was a stunning futuristic city. A carmine radiance was pulsating powerfully on the walls of the various buildings that towered above them. These luminescent shapes carved in intricate patterns even erupted from the floors, as well as beaming down from the ceiling, bathing the group of warriors within its brilliance. The structures themselves were composed into various shapes. Some structures vaguely resembled the modern skyscrapers of today, while others looked very similar to the pyramid where Phoenix resided. Towering circles and arcs were planted throughout with buildings stretching farther than the eye could see. Somehow, trees and flowers sprouted forth from this metropolis, meshing together perfectly with this technological marvel. The city and nature were not clashing with one another. Rather, they were somehow coexisting in perfect harmony. The buildings were supported by floating islands, connected by bridges that had the same crystal clear shine as the colossal spiraling staircase that had brought them to this place. This substance that made up the staircase and the bridges was not glass, but more like light that was given form. Far below these floating islands was a limitless ocean.

  Emerald’s mouth hung agape in wonder as she studied the sights before her, which seemed fit for a painting.

  It’s so beautiful.

  “So this is the raid, huh,” Joan muttered aloud. “It’s nothin’ like I was expectin’. Looks like a sci-fi futuristic city or somethin’.”

  “Ah, but this is the furthest thing from fiction, Kim,” the ever distant voice of Raven spoke once again, an unwelcome companion in this city of crimson.

  “You know my name too?”

  “I know more than that, little shrimp. Making such a tall Harian, trying to compensate for your small size in reality, truly amusing how human insecurities work, isn’t it?”

  It was true. She hated how short she was in real life. Everyone towered over her like skyscrapers. She constantly had to crane her head upwards and ask other people to reach things for her. She constantly had to endure the bite of short jokes. She hated it.

  “You really are annoyin’, after all. Just shut your mouth before I shut it for ya,” Joan demanded.

  “Worry not, Kim, the skeletons in your closet pale in comparison to some of the other people here. You have no idea the terrible things some of your friends have done.”

  “What are ya talkin’ about?”

  “You’ll see soon enough.”

  “Enough of your games, Raven,” Dusk admonished him, becoming used to dealing with his unpleasant demeanor. “This looks to be a futuristic raid. Why did you bring us here?” For some reason, ever since he set foot in this place, an agonizing headache began afflicting him, and it seemed to be climbing in intensity with each passing minute.

  “I wish you wouldn’t call it futuristic. This is actually fifty thousand years in the past, in the capital city of the Zaxin Empire.”

  “Fifty thousand years in the past? Humans didn’t exist on this earth back then. This city is nothing but a fantasy,” Muse responded, pointing out Raven’s folly.

  “A fantasy you say? You think that simply because there is no history recorded of this place that it didn’t exist? Open your eyes, fool. Humans existed a long time before earthly history ever recorded them. You’re right that this city was not on Earth, however. It was on Mars, shortly before the destruction.”

  “An interesting story,” Muse retorted, the sarcasm thoroughly baked into every word.

  Raven simply ignored the snide comment and proceeded with his explanation.

  “You see, the Zaxin knew that their home planet of Mars was beginning to become uninhabitable. It was growing ever colder over the centuries, with the climate becoming harsher. The Zaxin, knowing they had only mere centuries left, devised a plan to keep the spark of their existence burning brightly, even after their home world had frozen over. That is, before one person destroyed everything they had worked for.”

  “Um... What plan? W-who is this person?” Emerald peeped timidly, her need for knowledge trumping her desire to stay hidden.

  “Continue onward and you shall see for yourself, Claire Bernstein. The secrets that certain people are hiding from you will reveal themselves. Perhaps you can paint a picture of the gruesome truth you’re about to uncover. I’m sure it will be a best seller.”

  Emerald’s blood ran cold, her eyes becoming lifeless as if a corpse. For someone who wanted to keep everything about herself hidden, Raven speaking her name to everyone was the worst thing possible. On top of that, Raven knew she was an artist who was actually quite talented. The one painting she had sold became famous worldwide. However, she sold it under the pen name of Jade, since she wanted no one to know the true author of her painting. She entered this world for artistic inspiration, and for the hopes that maybe she would be less timid in a virtual medium than the real world. So far that was failing.

  “Stop, please...” Emerald pleaded.

  “Don’t listen to this man, Emerald.” Tsuki spoke firmly, reassuring Emerald. “He’ll make up any story to disturb you.”

  Raven’s omnipresent voice pervaded throughout the floating isles.

  “Now that’s not true. Have I told a lie yet? Was Kevlar being your fiancé a lie, Karla?”

  “He is my ex-fiancé, so yes.”

  “Now you’re just arguing semantics with me! You of all people have no right to accuse me of lying to others.”

  Tsuki let the unwanted words slide off her back like melting snow, determined to not let her armor be pierced by Raven’s sharp tongue.

  “Right, you just like to ruin people’s lives. I have no more words to say to you.”

  “Do you research everyone this thoroughly, you little shit? How disturbing. Think you need a new hobby.”

  Scarlet let her words assault Raven. He could taunt anyone else, but Scarlet would not stand by and let him talk to Tsuki like that without her having something to say about it.

  “I’ve only researched those within Phoenix and Descent this thoroughly. At least on the Lightning Continent. As a rule, I’ve basically researched the background of every member of all the top guilds in this world, as I’ll have to deal with them sooner or later. Phoenix was an exception; I researched you all from the start for other reasons.”

  “I’m so fucking honored.”

  “Ha! You should be. It means I’ve recognized you all as the strongest in this world, or at the very least, the most interesting.”

  “I’m so sick of listening to your bullshit,”

  Chaos interjected. He was the type to act first and ask questions later. Hearing this constant talking was really grating on him. The sound of their voices began to remind him of nails on a chalkboard.

  “I don’t give a single flying fuck about any of this. Just shut the hell up.”

  Raven laughed boisterously, finding the antagonistic attitude of Chaos to be refreshing.

  “How very amusing. The dimwitted cretin cries out in pain. If you could even understand what we were talking about, you’d probably be much more interested. It’s too bad you dropped out of school in the eleventh grade, so that you could snort all the drugs you could, like it was an all you could sniff narcotic buffet. You are simply a parasite which sucks society dry. People like you have no place in the world.”

  “Don’t speak as if you know me, shithead. You can do all the fucking research you want,
but you don’t know what goes on in here.”

  Chaos punched the side of his head twice, emphasizing his point.

  “I imagine it’s an endless vacuum.”

  “What? Why would a vacuum cleaner be inside my head? Are you on crack?”

  The inner realm of Raven erupted into laughter.

  “Your stupidity is amusing if nothing else. You are right about one thing, however. I’ve talked enough for now. It’s time for you all to see the truth with your own two eyes.”

  “So you’re finally going to shut up then?”

  No response. The area became completely silent as the flame of conversation had been snuffed out.

  The floating city itself was devoid of most sentient lifeforms. Aside from the plants which were entangled among the structures, the only creatures with a life force were the ten fighters, along with a few bosses. They were alone in this place, with only the humming of machinery to keep them company. Despite the shortage of organic foes, the city was rife with machines which took a hostile stance to the adventurers that had intruded upon their territory. The group had cut through countless swarms of the maniacal machinations—continuing to explore—continuing to push forward.

  The group was currently engaged in a boss fight against a large hulking creature of twenty feet in height. It stood on two legs with its body hunched over, its two arms nearly touching the ground. The hands of this monster resembled a human’s in that they had opposable thumbs, but that’s where the similarities ended. The beast wielded wicked claws on each finger which seemed sharp enough to cleave through an entire building if it so desired. The brutally honed claws were matched in intensity by numerous deadly spikes protruding outwards from its spine, poking straight through its back. His eyes gleamed with a purple so dark it was near pitch black, reflecting the evil nature within. The pronounced muscles rippled on its rough and sturdy skin as his mighty roar echoed from the depths of his being.

  This would be a terrifying sight to behold for most, a symbol of fear. However, the group of battle hardened adventurers was only stirred with thoughts of vanquishing their opponent. Terror had no claim over them. Omni kept up with every movement, blocking every claw swipe with his sword. Every group member was perfectly calm, as if this really was a game. Finally, a massive fireball shot forward towards the beast, enveloping the creature in its blazing misery as it cried out for the last time before falling forward onto his chest, its endless drive for bloodshed finally being curbed for good.

  The group took a moment to catch their breath as the merciless creature vanished into nothingness. Silence pervaded as the fighters took time to recover.

  “How long is this raid anyways?” Joan protested, hoping for an end to the endless combat. “We’ve been at this for eight hours now! That was the sixth boss!”

  In normal MMOs, raids typically lasted up to three to four hours if the group progressed cleanly without deaths. So far, this raid had gone relatively smoothly, but at this rate it seemed the raid would take days to complete.

  “We will have to rest soon,” Lena stated flatly.

  As soon as those words were uttered, three more fighters appeared instantaneously, ostensibly out of thin air.

  One was a woman with fair skin who seemed to have an air of nobility about her. Her long golden hair flowed down even below her back. Her emerald eyes had a piercing light that would see through any lies constructed by men. She was adorned with a loose fitting white robe that cut off at the knees.

  The other two were currently engaged in fierce combat. The woman looked onward in enjoyment at the two other men who were clashing with one another. She seemed to be recording everything in her brain like a computer; studying every fine detail of their swift and adept movements.

  “What are you guys doing here? Why are you fighting?”

  Reaper asked, momentarily perplexed by the trio which seemed to appear from another dimension.

  There was no response whatsoever. It was not that they were deliberately ignoring him. His words had simply gone unheard, like a desperate cry into the wind.

  The two combatants simply kept fighting. Their bodies were moving so fast that their features couldn’t be made out. They seemed to wield singular blades, their bodies blurring the very area around them with their unmatched speed. Several clashing noises were heard throughout before the two warriors came to a halt.

  One of them now sat on the ground, his blade having been knocked away from him, a wooden training sword pointed at his chest. Judging from the intensity of the way they fought, one would not think this was merely training to them, but a battle to the death.

  The defeated warrior had a head full of blonde hair, its shape almost adhering to a crown atop his head. His amber eyes showed frustration and disappointment locked within. He released the sighs of defeat from his body, closing his eyes and taking the outstretched hand of the victor.

  The one who had offered his hand in empathy was a brash, arrogant young man with jet black hair that trickled down to his eyebrows. His eyes entailed a matching dark color, seeming to swallow all light within them. The man felt pride over his victory, but used his better judgment to pin down the happiness behind those eyes, not wanting to upset his duel partner.

  There was one feature that was visibly striking, sticking out like jewels amidst a sandy beach. Though their eye and hair colors were visibly different, those faces were unmistakable. The blonde haired warrior was unfamiliar to them, but the other two people were identical in facial features to Dusk and Tsuki.

  “Good duel, Noah,” the sable eyed man said, dispensing the proper respect to his opponent.

  “Good duel, Drexel.”

  “Don’t forget that I’m dueling the winner,” the fair maiden called out, her voice ripe with anticipation.

  Drexel shrugged his shoulders, chuckling at her excitement.

  “How could I forget? Can I at least have a moment to rest, Kaya?”

  Kaya flashed a smile of boundless warmth towards Drexel. “Of course, it wouldn’t be a fair duel if you weren’t at your full strength.”

  “Hey, these two look familiar somehow.” Joan tapped her fingers against her head, lost in thought. The various theories fell like snowflakes in her mind. She was struggling to catch the correct one before it fell through or melted.

  “That’s because they are familiar. Look at Dusk and Tsuki,” Lena chimed in, guiding Joan to the correct path.

  Joan took a moment to look at Drexel and Kaya, and then at Dusk and Tsuki. Dusk was clutching his head in pain. Now he understood the reason his brain was pounding with waves of agony. As soon as he saw the woman with long blonde hair he knew her identity. It was the very same woman he had caught a glimpse of in his consciousness the first time he had met Tsuki. This city also looked exactly the same as that day... and he recognized the man called Noah, too. Those exploding sensations, those images... they were coming back in full force. Every brain cell was surging with the power of a supernova. Countless fragments were shooting through his thoughts—too much—it was too much. This amount of information—he couldn’t take it. His head was going to split open.

  What is going on here? Just what the fuck kind of game is this? The names Drexel and Kaya, those were the names Raven kept using to refer to myself and Karla. None of this makes any sense. Has Raven somehow implanted false memories inside of me? Since he rules over this virtual world, does he have that kind of power? Has Raven been screwing with me from even before I met Kevlar? No, maybe even from the first day. Or is there a grain of truth to this? No, I refuse to believe that!

  “Now that you mention it, their faces look exactly the same,” Joan realized, shaking her head vehemently in agreement.

  Dusk fell into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, letting the absurdity of the situation overtake him.

  “Hahaha! Ahahaha! Oh man, I was wondering just what was waiting for us down here, and this is it? Haha, I guess I should’ve expected something like this. I never thought Raven could’
ve made me laugh so hard. Fucking hilarious, right, Karla?”

  The only response Dusk was met with was bitter silence from Tsuki. Her eyes looked as though they had been caught within the grip of melancholy. She had retreated into her own world of reflection. This complete lack of response had unsettled Dusk, putting an icy halt to his laughter.

  “Karla?”

  “Is something the matter, Drexel?” Raven’s taunting voice resounded from above.

  “Shut up, Raven.”

  “You don’t like it when I call you that? But it’s who you are.”

  Dusk walked purposefully to his doppelganger, stomping the ground in his wake until he was within striking distance.

  “This...” Dusk emphasized with anger as he made a singular slash that traveled straight through the hologram of Drexel, “isn’t me! Honestly, just what are you trying to do here, Raven? You really think I’m going to believe any of this? You’re wasting your time.”

  The trio of holograms vanished immediately, much in the same manner that they had appeared. Dusk had thought it was because he cut through one of the holograms, but the trio had appeared a moment later, in what appeared to be a fast forward in time.

  They were now sitting around a table, talking rather than fighting.

  “So, what are you going to do now, Noah?” Kaya asked.

  “I want to use my skills to protect my country. I want to make this world a better place. For that reason, I’m going to join the Zaxin army.”

  “But the Zaxin government is corrupt and only concerned with themselves; do you really want to work for such an organization? What of their endless war with the Republic of Plur?” Drexel inquired, his voice carrying an air of worry for his friend’s future.

  “That’s exactly why I have to work for such an organization. I plan to change them from the inside. I will find a way to end this war. What about you two, what will you do?”

  “We will travel the world, and lead the lives of wanderers, all the while seeking the truth; seeking the answer of how to end this cycle of death.” Kaya spoke as her eyes were overflowing to the brim with passion.