The electrifying sound from my Gamestation was the last thing I heard before coming into this fiendish world. Everything went dark as the night sky, without stars or any lamps that could pave my way. I had my eyes wandering from every nook and cranny, but there was still no colour in my surroundings. My limbs refused to heed my command, even if I tried. It was as if piles of corpses weighed on my body, crashing me to the depths of my grave.
'Is this the end for me?' I thought. 'I did not have the time to enjoy my game yet. Why can't I become the hero that people would depend on?'
My name was Arthur Wyllt. It was like the legends had foretold, where King Arthur would save the day and vanquish evil! But alas, my fate had not turned out to be like that. Even in the game, I did not have Excalibur. The villain that the game developers made took it away from me.
"I didn't even catch the guy!" I growled. But I knew it was too late for me to play the hero.
The madness prevailed forever as I went to the endless void. My head continuously descended into the dark pit, devouring everything I knew. It was what people had mentioned, "don't stare at the abyss, or..."
"... The abyss will stare back at you."
A sudden voice continued my unfinished sentence. It sounded like a growl of a feral beast that I did not know, warning me instead of threatening my existence. But as I looked around, nobody was there to greet me. Only the pitch-black realm addressed my eyes.
"Am I dead from the spark?" I asked.
"Yes," the mysterious voice answered. "You are dead, Arthur. As dead as a mouse caught in a mousetrap."
Silence filled the air as the two of us refused to resume our conversation. But if we looked at it the other way, the two of us did not have any topic to talk about, especially after my death. The conversation had become an awkward atmosphere that even the streamers in my world could never revive.
It was that bad of a situation. But I opened my mouth and attempted to communicate once again if I had a mouth.
"Are you a god?" I yelled, hoping for an answer.
"..."
There was no reply. I expected that much, but I yearned for an answer. There were thousands of question marks raised above my head, but none of them had meanings. Only more questions popped up inside of me as I flowed into the black stream.
I cleared my throat and asked the eerie entity, "Where am I? And am I dead or awake with only my consciousness?"
"..."
"Mhm… I see…" I appended.
But there was no answer. I did not add any sentences after stating my words. My thoughts left me floating in outer space, with my body swimming in the vast air. I was like a fish inside this infinite tank called space and time.
After a few minutes of standing by, the voice emerged in my ears, calling for my attention.
"You are dead in your world, but alive in our world." the mysterious voice replied, but I did not know the meaning behind its words.
"What does that mean? I was just playing a while ago? And what's this summoning thing?" I reacted. But I heaved out an exhausted exhale after absorbing all those thoughts. That exhale turned into a sigh of relief, knowing that I would never return to that world again.
"I guess not going back to that hellhole is a blessing in disguise," I murmured, and talked to myself.
"Do you still wish to become a hero, Arthur?"
"Do you know me? And a hero?" I queried. Everything was so sudden.
"But I steeled my heart and gave the mysterious voice my answer." "Yes. A hero that would save the town and kill the demon."
I pondered for a second after hearing such a question thrown at me without warning. The question almost felt like a scam. It was like those people in business that were trying to trick me. Those corporate individuals and this mysterious voice were comparable to each other.
But... It was my dream, after all. I wanted to become a hero that would serve justice and light to the world.
"Yes! I want to become a he-,"
"You are not a hero, and you will never become one."
Those words echoed inside of me. It was as if my heart got pierced by a billion thorns that came out of nowhere. Becoming a hero was my dream come true, yet this unknown claimed otherwise.
"Who do you think you are!" I screamed.
But my words reached no one. Soon, everything changed.
The dark place shattered into millions of pixelated light in front of me. It happened in an instant that my eyes never glimpsed the situation. All I knew was the world around me changed.
The coloured came together, forming an image of a green place surrounding me. Everywhere I gazed, a sea of trees welcomed my eyes. Beside the woodland was a field filled with billions of flowers blooming during the spring. As I squinted my eyes further in the distance, a town of some sort greeted me.
"Hey! What do you mean I will never become a hero!" I shouted, and a voice came out from my lips.
It was a sensation that I had forgotten since the time I got stuck inside that space. The dry land kissed my hands as I perched my body on the grass. The sensation had a warm feeling, as if I was touching my blanket to sleep.
"Where am I?" The question escaped from my mouth once again as my eyes wandered around the place.
The mysterious voice's words continued ringing inside my head. But the scenery nullified those negative thoughts.
"Incoming! Move out of the way!" A kid's voice echoed behind me.
It took me a while before I realised those instructions. However, my body refused to move out of the comfortable grass that acted like a couch. It almost felt that an unbreakable glue patched my bottom on the ground.
"I said move, mister! You'll get crushed by the..." The voice warned me again, but I did not listen. And it was too late.
I had to pay the price, and the fare came out sooner than expected.
A herd of boars trampled me with their numbers and continued marching ahead in my direction. These animals never looked at where they ran, so they rammed against me. After ten seconds, the mob of swine took off on the other side.
"I can't… feel my arms…" I groaned.
It was the same feeling that I had from the empty realm from before. My appendages refused to heed my command. However, there was still a good thing about this occurrence.
I could feel it again, and the throbbing pain surging through my skin confirmed it. It was unlike the void that I had been from before.
The boy who called out for my attention went beside my head and gazed at me. It was a kid wearing a white undershirt and a straw hat nestled on his head. If I had to guess his age, the boy was around twelve years old. He was still at an immature age.
"I warned you, mister." the lad confessed and leaned his head closer to mine.
I thought the kid was about to help me. But boy, I thought wrong! The boy curled up his lips and burst into laughter.
"Look at your ugly face! You don't look like an adventurer! You look more like an old man! Bwahaha!" The kid chuckled up a storm while slamming his back on the ground, with his sinister smile still carved on his face.
"Hey, Afenos! I told you to wait for me!" A feminine voice of a girl around the same age as the boy called out for him.
I knew now that the little kid mocking beside me had a name, Afenos. I somewhat remembered that name from before in my previous life.
"Look at this, Rain! A stupid-looking old man lying on the ground! What a loser!"
Rain, who I assumed was the sister of this douchebag of a kid, Afenos, sprinted in our direction. She was a petite girl that was a little older than her age. That girl had hazel coloured hair flowing on her shoulder, and a pair of green orbs sparkling in broad daylight.
She was a girl that would grow up to become a perfect wife for that lucky guy who would fall for her. I was slightly older than her. So I wouldn't dare hit on her.
"That's not nice, Afenos! Apologise to that stranger quickly!" the girl said.
The little girl's eyes stared at something attached beside my hips. My hands followed her gaze and tapped a scabbard wrapped around my waist.
"Is this... Clarent?" I murmured.
It was my legendary sword that I always equipped inside Magique.