Later that day, Markus and Edward met on the bottom floor of the building. It had been several hours since they had lunch, and now the two of them were planning to hang out at Markus's place. Nothing was strange about the event, as they had known each other for nearly half a decade. Edward had been to Markus's home several dozen times.
Luckily, his boss lived very close to the office, so they only had to walk for five or six minutes. Markus lived on the fourth floor of an apartment complex. The apartment wasn't large, but it was spacious enough for Markus's lifestyle. As the two of them exited the building's elevator on the fourth floor, both of them chatting about the new game— Avalon— they quickly noticed the presence of a large package awaiting them.
"Yep, it's already here. Gotta love how fast their delivery system is," Markus breathed, his voice filled with excitement. Markus practically skipped toward the package as soon as he noticed it. He didn't even bother unlocking the front door before tearing the tape from the box. Soon after, he lifted a large black helmet with his hands and showed it to Edward. The helmet looked similar to a motorcycle helmet, but it was much slimmer and a little lighter. Edward doubted the helmet would protect him from a simple fall, much less a dangerous motor accident.
Then, after a full ten seconds of excitingly inspecting the helmet, Markus finally remembered what he was supposed to do. He opened his apartment door, then swung it wide to allow Edward inside.
"Honestly, I feel like my chest is about to explode. I've been waiting for this thing ever since I saw the announcement trailer six years ago," Markus confessed. He kicked the empty box inside the apartment after Edward made his way inside. Markus's apartment was very simple, with an opening hallway just past the door. Connected to the hallway were his kitchen and his bathroom, both on opposing sides of the hall. On the other end of the hall was his bedroom.
Markus quickly walked past Edward as the door closed, his body still skipping forward like an excited child. Edward thought Markus's actions were mildly amusing, but he did not say anything to prevent his friend from feeling embarrassed. Markus set the helmet down on the bed, near his pillow, before sitting down himself.
"Luckily, it doesn't need a computer. I just need to connect it to power," Markus spoke as he pulled a retractable power cord from the helmet, "and then press the power button! It's so convenient."
Edward threw himself on a small beanbag chair in the room's opposite corner and watched Markus excitingly set up his new toy. Markus quickly plugged the headset into the wall and then turned to Edward.
"Do you want to go first?" Marks asked with a massive smile on his face. Edward shrugged and stood up.
"Sure, I might as well," Edward replied with a smile. He took the headset in his hands, trying his best to be careful with it, before slowly slipping it onto his head. Edward was quickly taken aback by how comfortable it was. It was like he was slipping a cloud around his head, then keeping it in place with a tough exoskeleton. The soft material that most VR face pads were made out of had been wrapped around the entire headset, allowing Edward to wear it with ease. It may have looked uncomfortable, but damn did it deceive appearances.
Edward lied down on the bed, then pressed the power button on the helmet's left side. He had to fidget with it for a moment before he found the right button. During this time, Markus said a few words.
"The game won't go online until lunchtime tomorrow. They've done that so everybody that had ordered one would have it delivered on time," Markus told him, "That'll leave you enough time to order one yourself and participate in the game when it first goes online."
"If this thing will even work," Edward muttered under his breath. He felt his fingers press into the power button.
In an instant, all of Edward's senses went dark. The sight of his friend's ceiling disappeared, replaced by an infinite void of darkness. The familiar ambiance of the city suddenly went silent, replaced by only a low, hollow wind that echoed through the vast expanse like a wandering ghost. Even the gravity affecting his body seemed to change in that instant, growing weaker and stranger.
No longer was he lying down, but now he was floating in the air like a falling feather. After a moment, his bare feet touched the ground below him. The cold, wet floor soaked his toes like he was stepping into the shallows of a running river.
"No way," Edward whispered to himself, his voice echoing far and wide. He looked to his left and right, his brows furrowing in surprise as he tried to make sense of his situation. Only a moment ago, he was in Markus's room.
Did he die? Did some alien race abduct him? Edward tried to remember the last thing he did in hopes of explaining this outlandish situation. It didn't take long for his memory to catch up, and he soon recalled the moment he activated the DDS. At that moment, his current situation made perfect sense to him.
He was inside a game! Edward turned to look down at his own body. His feet were bare, but he still wore his pants and shirt. He rolled up his sleeves as he concentrated on the texture of the cotton passing over his fingers. He looked down at his arm and stared at the individual hairs climbing his body like skyscrapers over the horizon. He wiggled his toes and felt the cold water underneath him.
This feeling was too accurate— too real— to be a video game, but Edward couldn't help but accept the truth.
"This… this is impossible!" Edward shouted. However, despite his shock and horror, he couldn't help but feel a little excited, "It works! Oh my god!"
Edward clenched his fingers in an attempt to feel his own strength as a wicked grin began to spread across his face. Suddenly, he was alerted by a high-pitched chime echoing through the vast expanse. It sounded light, like a smartphone app notification, but also unfamiliar.
A moment later, Edward saw a massive game screen appear before him. Considering what he was doing now, he already knew what the screen was for, but seeing it hover in front of him was a surreal experience. The navy blue game screen looked similar to glass in how it reflected the light, but it was also as thin as a hair and as sharp as a knife.
However, when Edward attempted to run his finger across the sides, he was surprised to find it as dull as a baseball bat. His fingers could touch the screen as if it were made of glass, but it wasn't dangerous.
After inspecting the screen's exterior for a moment, he turned his attention to its contents.
︽
The existence of your Avalon account has not been detected
Would you like to register a new account?
Yes | No
︾
'Sweet,' Edward thought to himself. The color of the white font contrasted well in front of the navy blue background, which made the screen easy to read and pleasing to look at. Edward quickly pushed the | Yes | button, then watched as the screen collapsed in on itself. A moment passed before another screen took its place. Edward was momentarily surprised to find that the game didn't request an email or a password from him, but Edward quickly assumed that would be required at a later stage.
︽
Would you like to link your account to this current headset?
(Doing so will claim this headset as your property, blocking the log-in process for any other account)
Yes | No
︾
"This is Markus's helmet. I probably shouldn't," Edward spoke to himself as he selected the | No | option. The screen collapsed once more. This time, a third screen appeared in its place. This screen was slightly larger than the others, but the color and font remained the same.
︽
Welcome to Avalon Online!
︾