Free Web NovelChapter 2: Permanent Residence
Chapter 2–
Xavier stared at the message, his eyes wandering back and forth along the single line of text.
What did they mean by "you have made a huge mistake."
The longer he stared at it. The more he felt that something wasn’t right.
Were they so angry that he wasn’t streaming, that they messaged him for the first time ever?
No.. No.. it couldn’t be that...
"V" was the one fan he could count on, even though they never talked in direct messages. Well...until now.. that is.
He or She had the most fan value in his streams till date. And their gap from other fans worldwide was so vast...
The game actually gave them an exclusive platinum badge as per his own request. Because this very user had been in his streams longer than he could even remember.
And they were the one who had funded his little lifestyle since after his Medical school funds ran out. While he tried taking care of Grace alone.
That is not to say he didn’t have other wealthy fans but V gifted him money like it was planted somewhere in their house. Wherever that was.
And now... they had just taken it a step further to warn him privately after so many years of only chatting in the general chat.
They definitely knew something he didn’t.
"__What’s Going_" Xavier was half-way through typing when Marco’s voice cut through his concentration.
"Hey, X?"
"What?" Xavier’s back straightened.
"I think something’s weird with Grace’s feed."
With an eyebrow raised, Xavier moved closer to Marco. "You think?"
"I can’t pull it up," Marco let out a stressed groan. "The stream key is active and the pod says she’s online but the server... it seems like it disappeared off the face of the earth."
Marcus tapped his keyboard forcefully and then again and again.
"Shit... it’s not just her. All of Arillion’s servers just went dark," the boy’s brows knitted. "All of them."
And in that moment, Xavier understood.
V’s warning hadn’t been about the stream.
He dashed straight to Grace’s pod. Her heart rate was fine, the vitals looked normal and her neural sync was green, signifying safety.
But even while the pod metrics were clean. The feed that should be broadcasting her first moments in the game was gone.
All he was looking forward to, seemed to be crashing down slowly right before his very eyes.
"Log her out... now!" Xavier said without hesitation.
"There are no manual log outs on this thing. Virtual immersion doesn’t w–"
Without letting Marco finish, Xavier reached for the leads that were connected from the pods to his sister.
"I’ll pull the lead out myself."
He was merely half way through his first pull when the cold touch of metal on the machine became his first brush with death in a long while.
A static and violent burst of electricity jolted through his arm causing him to seize in place.
And before he could retreat or even conceive the thought. His entire body jerked as the force tossed him away from the pod, across the room, and into an equipment bench.
BAM
Several items came crashing down. Monitors toppled even as keyboards fell on his head before skidding across the floor.
"X!" Marco leaped from his chair and ran across to Xavier. "What the hell was that? You okay?"
Of course he wasn’t okay. Even now he could feel something swelling up on the crown of his head.
But none of that mattered...As he pushed himself up even though everything from his fingers to his elbow felt temporarily numb.
The pod which was in Xavier’s direct line of sight began to glow. The faint blue luminous light of the neural interface sparkled.
Then—Everything went blank. Every screen in the apartment went black.
And for the next three seconds. There was complete silence. Marco’s breathing, the hum in the pod and every Xavier heartbeat that hammered in his ears disappeared rerm
Fzzzt!
All the screens came back to life. Every known screen. Every monitor, Television, tablet, bill-board.
It all displayed one thing, all at once.
A crown wreathed with golden flames with a single burning word etched below.
ARILLION
A calm voice suddenly spoke. With origins coming from everywhere and nowhere. Across every speaker, and even deep in Xavier’s skull.
It began... "Denizens of Earth."
The voice reached everyone even as Marco grabbed Xavier’s hand in a small vice. "What is this X? What the hell is this?
[The game has begun. Those who have entered Arillion Online are now its permanent residents. They will remain until a champion rises. One who will claim dominion over all realms and earn a price befitting a champion .]
Xavier’s hands trembled, while he struggled to pay attention.
The voice continued... [Your fate is now tied to theirs. If they fail, you fail. If they fall, your world falls with them. Pray for your champions. They are all that stands between you and the end.]
The last words sounded absolute and immediately after, all the screens went dark again.
Marco exhaled slowly, but his relief was short as Xavier quickly noticed the pod where Grace was logged into.
The blue luminous glow from before had turned red. A deep ominous red.
Staggering forward toward the pod, Xavier screamed out. "Grace..."
"C’mon.." Xavier paused before touching the pod again. "Grace.." he kept repeating before he stretched his hand forward again regardless of the prior repercussions.
But before he made contact with the pod, a single screen brightened up the room. It was his phone.
Looking down, Xavier’s eyes widened and he turned tail immediately, jumping into the empty pod that was meant for him.
On the phone, a message pinged.
[V: Ten seconds. That’s all I can give you. Do what you must.]
The access panel hissed open, as he threw himself into the pod, hitting his head hard on the headrest.
Grabbing a fistful of the neural lead, Xavier didn’t care.. pressing them on his temples, his wrists, basically anywhere they could fit.
"What are you doing.." Marco screamed but to Xavier.. it felt like it was trailing.
The only thing on his mind was the countdown. Six. Five.
"Xavier... if you go in, you can’t–"
Three.
The canopy hummed as it slid down to cover Xavier.
Two
Xavier looked at Marco’s terrified expression through the transparent glass. The boy’s outstretched hand reached toward him.
One.
Xavier closed his eyes.
And his world turned white,..a blinding surge of light piercing through his mind. But what followed was darkness.
A chime suddenly resounded after a few seconds.
[A Player has logged in]
--End of Chapter--
