In a distant future, the world had now become a technological utopia. Everything was automated, the computers were more advanced than ever before. But along with this, one thing that has always remained was society's attitude and the ever-lasting bullying in schools.
"Come on, wimpy Eisen, carry our books for us! Maybe your brain can actually absorb what's inside it, you dumb sack of trash!" A large and well built individual exclaimed as he stomped on Eisen Evans who was already on the ground. "Y-Yeah. I will, RandyâŚdo not worry." Eisen replied back with a forced smile.
He knew that if he ever tried to fight back, it would end horribly. Probably in him getting beaten close to death. This school was the worst one in the neighborhood, but he had no choice but to go there because of his family's financial situation.
This was just one day of Eisen Evan's high school life. He really thought that the bullying and discrimination would stop once he reached his senior year, but it only ever got worse.
Eisen had no friends at all. Anyone who he tried to befriend got away from him as quickly as possible because they were afraid that they would be in the crosshairs of the bullies just for being friends with him.
The day ended with them putting garbage inside of Eisen's backpack. He did not react in the slightest. "Another day of my life, huh?" He asked himself as he sighed and smiled in a self-pitying manner.
He walked back to his place and stared at the skyscrapers piercing the sky. And even he noticed the looks of disappointment written on the faces of the people. "My, what an absolutely pathetic looking boy." One of the pedestrians whispered to another. "Hey, what do you think happened to him? Why is he so dirty?" Another one pointed out, little did they know, this was because of him being thrown down the stairs earlier and made to carry his classmate's books.
As soon as Eisen got home, he opened his quantum computer and put on the Reality Altering Headgear or the' RAH' on his head. This was the most evolved gaming essential during these times.
In real life, Eisen Evans was a nobody. He was merely the target of bullying and discrimination because of his weak stature and short height, as well as his bad eyes which needed glasses. But online, in the world of Zodiac Ascension, he was actually someone of importance. There he sat in his room, smiling as he logged on to the game.
This game was Eisen's solace. It was where he could truly find peace. It was his haven of happiness in this sad world. And every single time he booted his computer up, he knew that the few hours he would spend on the game would have been better spent studying, but Eisen knew that this is the only way to make the pain go away.
From his world of technological advancements and overwhelming buildings with towering billboards, he was now transported to a world existing in much simpler times. Zodiac Ascension was set in the medieval times where Kael, the Chaos Sorcerer tries to take over the world, and it is up to the players to stop him from doing so by combatting his forces every single night.
As soon as he was transported here, Eisen was no longer called by his given name. In Zodiac Ascension, he was more commonly referred as 'The Gemini.' Eisen had become one of the Zodiacs because of his strength and power level. Only a handful of players were ever chosen by the Game Admin to become one of the Zodiacs.
Eisen Evans walked around the town and greeted the people who knew him. "T-That is the Gemini, right?!" One player exclaimed as he kept shaking the one near him in excitement. "There is no mistaking it, that truly is him."
His white armored robes which draped down his knees glowed white, much like a divine figure would. His overall apparel and clothes were shining, it was so bright that it made the other players turn around to see who it was. One player ran towards Eisen with a paper in hand.
"G-Greetings, almighty Gemini! I would like to ask for your blessings in vanquishing monsters in a nearby dungeon! Give me your orders and I will do so successfully without fail, sir!" The player said with such dedication before being taken away by NPCs in the form of guards. "Move along now. You are not allowed to disturb one of the Zodiacs so casually!" The guard retorted back.
Eisen gave a thumbs up to the player and signed the paper he carried as he gave it back to him. "Good luck." Eisen added with a smile. His snow-white hair was scruffy but stylish at the same time, and his cerulean blue eyes were like that of a shark's. The Gemini in Zodiac Ascension and Eisen in real life could not be more different. As in this game, he actually garnered the respect of his fellow players because of his strength.
The Gemini went outside the town and was now in the open fields, where the NPC guards would no longer follow him. He sat down underneath the shade of a tree and proceeded to read the chat logs. "Greetings, Gemini. You look awfully gloomy today." A one horned beast appeared out of nowhere to greet him as he said that in a comedic manner.
"Oh, it is you, Blizz. Eh, I've had a tough day, can't really help it." Eisen replied back to the blue horned beast which stood at nearly seven feet tall. "You want to talk about it?" Blizz asked him as he played with his long beastly hair. "No. Not really." Eisen shook his head.
Blizz was a halfling. A half-man, half-beast creature which embodied the other side of the Gemini. If Eisen was the one who embodies the human side of the Gemini, well, Blizz was playing the part of the beast side. He is not a human player, in fact, the Game Admins just placed and bound him together with Eisen's account because he was one of the Zodiacs.
As Eisen was busy reading the chat box, he was suddenly interrupted by someone screaming. He got up and Blizz followed shortly after. "What is it?" Blizz asked him. "I hear someone screaming. That voiceâŚwhere could I have heard it?" Eisen replied as he desperately tried to pinpoint who that screaming belonged to.
His confusion would soon be answered as the bully who was kicking him down the stairs earlier was the one screaming, running away from a massive high-level undead knight. It was Randy. As soon as he spotted Eisen, he expression of hopelessness turned into that of gratitude. "P-Please, save me!" the bully shouted.
Sure, he did not know it was Eisen Evans' avatar. He was asking for help from someone whom he had bullied all throughout high school. Eisen was confused because he was in his normal 'real life' clothes, complete with the high school uniform and all that. "Maybe this is a bug?" He thought to himself as he quickly snapped out of it.
"Blizz, we have not fought something like this in days now, right? I hope you have not gotten rusty." Eisen, the Gemini said to his counterpart. Blizz grinned and pulled out his giant great sword. "Heh, me? Rusty? Never." The two of them jolted forward.
Blizz took charge and blocked the undead knight's sword with his own. "Good cover, Blizz." Eisen confidently complimented him before casting his own magic. "Frost Half: Immobilize." He whispered as he placed his hand on the ground, causing blizzards of ice to form up from the ground and held the undead knight in place. The monster tried to get its feet off of the ice, but it was just not happening. Eisen shook his head as he saw the monster's desperation.
He walked towards the monster and looked it straight in the eyes. Even if the undead knight was not able to move, it was still capable of swinging its sword, which it did shortly after. Eisen closed his eyes in an attempt to taunt the monster.
Blizz quickly came to his rescue and brought his greatsword down on the undead knight's weapon, shattering it in the process. Even the very ground itself shook was soon as Blizz's sword made contact with the ground, sending shards of ice up in the air. Eisen lifted his right palm and aimed it at the undead knight's head. "Flame Half: Vermillion." He said as he smirked.
A blast of flames with a wide radius was expelled from his palms, burning the undead knight's bones into charred remains of what used to be a monster. "I thought he was strong? High leveled monsters nowadays are just pushovers when it comes to us, eh?" Blizz nudged his shoulders at Eisen as the latter nodded his head.
But what was now even more confusing was the Randy. Eisen walked up to him, Randy was in tears and was kneeling in front of him. "Thank you for saving me! I-I really thought I was going to die!" He exclaimed.
"That is odd. I thought you did not like video games, Randy?" Eisen asked him, which made the world of Zodiac Ascension flicker for a bit. "G-Games? What games? I just took a nap and I got transported into this medieval fantasy hell hole!" Randy replied back. He still did not know that it was Eisen behind the avatar. "Also, how do you know my name?!" His question remained unanswered.
"Hm. This is odd. Have you ever had stuff like this happen before, Blizz?" Eisen asked his Gemini counterpart, to which he shook his head in response. "Nu-uh. None at all. At first, I thought it was just a bug, but something weird is definitely happeningâŚ" He said as the two of them stared at Randy, who could not be more out of place if he tried.
He was a high schooler in the typical high school clothes right in the midst of a war inside an online video game. This should not be possible under any circumstance at all. Something was happening. Something out of the realm of possibilities.