-Candace's POV
Have you ever felt a pure, deep, and intense curiosity into something? I just did. Like my instinct is telling me about something but I am also scared to point it out. I can still feel my heart racing while staring at the rewards sent by the system to my mail.
As soon as my twin sister Kate went to her room, Lorraine and Queen also logged off their accounts. I was left sitting alone in the living room while absentmindedly looking at my screen.
Some people may not agree with me but I find the online gaming world fun more than the real world. Among the four of us, I am the most veteran in online gaming. I played the various virtual game before but when MMORPG ADVANCE launched out, I was completely hooked.
This is not the best online game several years ago. It was even branded as the worst! There are so many gamers giving a one-star review on this game because it is not user friendly. There are too many tasks to do that can be done with just a single click on the other games. But the quests and tasks were so enticing that I disregarded the negative side of the game.
I clicked on the memorial that I got during the Desert Blessing Quest. Something tugged inside of me. I did not even notice that a single tear slips on my left eye until it drops on my lap. Why am I crying? I was taken aback by my tears while brushing my fingers on my eyes. As soon as the system displays the item on the screen, I subconsciously held my breath. My curiosity deepened when I saw familiar words were carved on the memorial. Words that I could never forget.
-
"The best duo - STORM & TYPHOON: Signing off."
-
How could it be? I mumbled to myself as memories started flooding my thoughts.
~
Six years ago
~
MMORPG ADVANCE
Location: Desolate Desert
Two highest ranking players are standing above the large rock in the barren land staring at the vast fields. Some rocks are smoothed down while the wind harshly sorts the sand into uniform deposits. The only sound that they can hear is the howling of the wind.
Above their characters are their IGN (In-Game-Name). STORM & TYPHOON Both are wearing black robes but each has distinctive patterns. The one with golden patterns is called TYPHOON and is a male avatar. While his companion with a name STORM has silver patterns and is a female avatar. Their expression is as lifeless as the desert area.
"So, what is your dream when you grow old?" The user of the female avatar had spoken.
"I want to build a platform that will erase the stigma of a gamer. One day, I will make sure that every gamer will gain the highest respect in our society." A voice from the male avatar responded.
"Sounds great! Before we leave this game, let's make a memorial of the happy teamwork we had." A sorrowful tone from the female avatar sounded. A soft sob escaped from her lips.
"Yes, let's do that." the male avatar agreed. They both jumped on the large rock where they are standing and landed on the desert sand.
"Hmmm, I have a small 'Prickly Pear Cacti' in my bag. I will plant it here. This will serve as our remembrance in this game." The female avatar suddenly kneeled on the sand and buries a tiny plant on it.
"Well, I have an infant 'Predator Scorpion' here. This will be the guard of 'Prickly Pear Cacti'." The male voice stated and bent his body to put a small scorpion beside the plant.
"I will also make an engraving." the female avatar mumbled and placed a square metal plate behind the plant. Soon after, the words appear on the plate.
"The best duo - STORM & TYPHOON: signing off."
The two of them did not move for a while. A single tear slips from the eyes of the girl who owns the female avatar as she stared at the in-game characters on her monitor. The sad reflection of the eyes is also evident in the boy who owns the male avatar. They both released a deep and dejected sigh.
"Goodbye, STORM." the male avatar whispered softly.
"Hmmn... Bye, TYPH." the female avatar murmured.
Before their characters have completely vanished on the screen, a chat messaged appeared both above the head of their characters.
The boy shakes his head and chuckled bitterly upon seeing the message. The girl forced a smile but also bite her lips to stop herself from making a sniffled noise. They are indeed the most powerful duo in MMORPG ADVANCE. Even on the last day inside the game, they managed to deliver the same message to each other.
.
.
.
"GG" (Good Game)
~
Present Time
~
"Ahhh... I want to travel for a couple of hours! Kate!" the frustrated voice of Queen calling my twin sister snapped me back to the present time.
The two guardians guarding the memorial in the quest. The back story of the quest. And now, the memorial itself! This is definitely not just a coincidence. I exhaled deeply and took a quick look at the memorial item once more before I finally logged off my account.
"Yes... I am also bored, Kate! Let's go out for a while! It's a great Saturday to do mountain hiking! There should be a mountain or some peak that is open for climbing today, right?" I heard Lorraine said while walking towards the dining room.
"We will go out after an hour. Do whatever necessary things you needed to do, we might get back late." I heard Kate's approval from her room followed by the victorious shout of 'yes' from the two.
In this apartment, my twin sister is like the navigator of our group. What she says, we follow. Kate is like our anchor. She puts us in place. If we ever commit a mistake, she is always behind our backs with a solution to it.
I decided to set aside my curiosity and walks silently towards the dining room. When I entered, I saw Lorraine eating a bowl of cereal. She made a gesture of offering the cereal to me while smiling sheepishly. I smiled back and shook my head. Then gently, I opened a cabinet where our kitchen utensils were placed and grabbed a plate.
"Queen looks stressed out, Ace." I heard Lorraine commented while I am heating the food on the microwave.
"Yeah, I did notice that earlier!" I responded.
"I asked her if something is wrong, she said it's nothing but it's so obvious that something is bothering her." Lorraine continued expressing her worries to Queen. I pondered for a while when our main subject of discussion suddenly appeared from the door and joined us in the dining table.
"There is really nothing wrong, Raine. I just needed to breathe some fresh air." I heard Queen said before she tapped Lorraine in the head like a child.
"You are just paranoid, Raine!" I told her with a teasing tone while placing my breakfast on the table.
"Ouch, Ace! Be gentle with your words." Lorraine responded while awkwardly holding her chest as if someone just stabbed her. For a moment, a deep silence enveloped the three of us before we burst out a hysterical laugh.
"You have a future in acting, Raine, keep it up!" I told her in a playful manner while trying to control my laughter.
"Yes! A bright future, it is!" Queen giggled as she grabbed a glass of pineapple juice and drink on it.
"What a terrible bully you two are! Kate! They are bullying me, Kate!" Lorraine shouted loudly while looking at the two of us with her mocking eyes.
"No way! I accuse you of slandering me!" I continue making fun with her while chewing my delicious food.
"And I am charging you with a libel case!" Queen followed through my joke as our laughter filled the whole apartment.
"Hah! That's it! I'll leave you, two bullies, here! Talk to my lawyer!" Lorraine responded and attempted to walk away.
"Awe, you Raine is the sweetest person I know. But there is no need to worry about me. If you continue worrying, you will get old faster than the three of us here!" Queen chuckled and followed Raine from behind.
"Yes, you will look like you're older than me Raine!" I giggled with food in my mouth.
"Ha! As if. Look at your face in the mirror Ace. Your eyebags will make you look older than all of us!" Lorraine said and finally left the dining room.
"That's because I did not sleep last night! Give me a day of rest and you will see my angelic face!" I retorted with a playful smile. Queen just waved her hands at me and followed Lorraine. I looked at the two of them with a genuine smile on my face until they went out of my sight.