[Is he here yet?]
A speech bubble appeared right atop the avatar of a petite girl wearing a white swan hoodie. The avatar moved in a bubbly way, as if eager to show her impatience.
[Come on, this is Antoine Dawn's stream. He is known for being fashionably late.]
A more subdued avatar that looked like an old, grizzled man with battle scars answered. They stood next to each other, highlighting their contrast.
[Fashionably late my ass, he's probably off doing some rich people thing somewhere.]
Another avatar with the appearance of a man wearing a dark hood obscuring his face answered. His voice sounded crude and angry.
[Hey! That was uncalled for!]
The swan hoodie avatar spoke again.
Half an hour has passed since the announced starting time of Antoine Dawn's stream. In the virtual space, which has been designed into a massive ballroom similar to a stage for musicals, thousands of virtual avatars have gathered. Some looked ordinary, if a bit strange, while others pushed the boundary of what could be called human, such as a dragon lookalike walking on two legs, a small three feet tall raccoon, or even a metallic construct being that looked like it came from the Bronze Age.
However, all their eyes were focusing on the stage, where the famed Antoine Dawn was supposed to appear.
[Dammit, these people are noisy…]
The one who spoke was a man with a default avatar. The default avatar was simplistic, consisting of a white shadow shaped like a human, with the only discernible feature being the "?" plastered on where the face was supposed to be. The shadow default avatar wore a plain shirt and a pair of pants. It was meant to be a display of how realistic the purchasable avatar clothes and customizations are.
He looked a bit eye-catching amongst the other stream viewers. After all, he could not afford the customizations, so he just had to make do.
Skylar did not intend to speak loudly. However, the VR device implanted into the shell of his right ear was able to detect his voice anyway, turning it into a chat bubble. Luckily for him, his muttering was quickly drowned out by others discussing about Antoine.
Everyone in this world know of Antoine Dawn, including Skylar.
Antoine was everything Skylar could not be. Antoine was a billionaire practically swimming in money, a philanthropist whose deeds have spread into all corners of the world, and a brilliant scientist with hundreds of inventions under his name. Without Antoine's contribution, it was no exaggeration that humanity wouldn't have reached this point of technological marvel.
Hearing the chatter, Skylar begun to regret tuning in. It was time he could use to rummage the trash can for food or search for a random passerby whose food he could steal.
Thanks to the advent of cashless payment linked to the VR device in each person's ear, there was no need to carry any other device for payment, creating a secure wallet without apparent exploitable weakness. Nowadays, hacking to steal money was practically unheard of.
Skylar touched the device on his ear with a slight disdain. The device was about the only thing he has that is of any value, yet there was no way to get rid or scrap it to put food on his nonexistent table.
The device had spelled his life's misfortune the day he was born, citing his Potential as zero, and giving him no chance for a career path in this society.
Must have been nice to not have to worry about money, he thought, his hand automatically darting to the other possession of value he has. It was a necklace with a physical memory card as its pendant, a relic from the bygone era adorned with the picture of a couple holding hands.
Even if his life depended on it, he would never sell the necklace.
After all, no price offered by the collector of old relics would be comparable to the sentimental value. Though no device existed that could read it, it was the last memento he has of his missing parents.
[Look, there he is!]
[By fucking hell, he took his sweet time.]
[Hey, Antoine! Look at me!]
[Antoine! Tell us the new invention!]
[Shut up, you look like a maniac creep!]
Were they not in a virtual space, the noises would have been so deafening. He would not have questioned it if the room ended up exploding from the sheer amount of chat bubbles spamming the place.
After all, this was a stream from the human being that has practically brought the whole of humanity to the top. It was almost a miracle people did not kiss the ground he walked on at this point.
Skylar felt his face twitch in sheer disgust. If that man was truly the benevolent force he claimed to be, he would not stay silent and bask in the unnatural adoration.
[Welcome, everyone! Thank you for waiting!]
Antoine's avatar looked imposing. The ornate dark blue cloak he wore seemed long enough to reach the floor, yet the cloak never touched the ground from the force of invisible winds, ensuring it always fluttered and showed off the beautiful golden markings. His avatar's face brought to mind a young man in his early twenties, complete with a blade with black sheath.
The avatar's bright golden hair and blue eyes sparkled under the light of the stage. The image exuded from the avatar's movements brought to mind the impression of a fantasy hero, a savior… and perhaps even a conqueror.
One thing was clear, it was definitely a handsome avatar, decked to the nines with the most expensive avatar cosmetic items. For Skylar, the appearance of the avatar only exacerbated the gap between the two even further.
[Were you anticipating the new invention? First, I would like to extend my congratulations, for everyone present in this stream today, shall be the witness of a new history!]
The chat bubble from Antoine's avatar once again prompted the crowd to spam variations of affirmations, praise, or attempts to bootlick the stream host.
Skylar shook his head. On one hand, it would be a lie if he said he didn't want to leave. On the other hand, he was truly curious. From what he had heard, Antoine was a kind, genuine sort, and he would never have exaggerated anything.
The latter was a claim that he'd be ready to refute from then on should the invention be lacking.
With the practiced flair of someone who has been the center of attention all his life, Antoine snapped his fingers, prompting a massive, multicolored crystalline ring to appear behind him. The lights reflected by the crystals gathered into one point right in the middle of the ring, creating the impression of a portal.
Reactions from the viewers were almost immediate. Everyone jumped to theorizing what the ring was meant to be.
Antoine spoke with a massive chat bubble, immediately silencing all the other chats. For a short moment, Skylar saw Antoine smile. It was a smile of triumph.
Perhaps, one could say the inventor's smile was a little deranged. The avatar's eyes looked empty, devoid of any light that signified a soul within.
[From today on, we shall transcend the boundary.]
Snap!
Another snap of Antoine's fingers, and the streaming room turned dark. It was not like the artificial darkness used to create virtual rooms with a creepy effect, it was an utter darkness where no one could see even the fingertips of their avatar.
Then, a cracking sound was heard as the virtual world shattered.
--
[You have been booted from the virtual world connection!]
"Dammit, did they have a system failure or something?"
Skylar's head felt heavy, throbbing as if he was hit by a thousand hammers from within at the same time.
A cursory glance revealed that he was back in the real world. Yet, unlike the outside world he knew, there was no artificial lights from the multitude of devices supporting the daily life of humanity.
It was a sign that something was very, very wrong.
When he attempted to get his bearings, Skylar felt the ground shake. From above, a booming sound, far louder than a thousand thunders, echoed in the air.
Once.
Twice.
By the third booming sound, something happened.
CRACK!
Cracks leading to nothing but dark voids opened up above, and with it, there was a rain of light spheres.
"Someone, help!"
"No, my dear, stop—"
"This is me, what has—"
Upon the touch of the lights, all of the still dazed people turned as pale as corpses, their faces contorted in pain and panic. Their movements turned stiff, as if each of their limbs was stuffed full of lead, while their head and torso started to contort into unnatural angles.
"Sear— He— Wh— A—"
Strange noises erupted from their mouths, mixtures of different voices creating an inhuman symphony. That was to say nothing of the sounds of tearing and shattering and screams of agony, the last dregs of voices begging their loved ones to remember and recognize them drowned into the sea of what could be called the living dead.
The rain of light had hit his body as well, causing the light motes to be absorbed into his skin.
Was this the end?
A world of wonders, falling to the fantasy absurdity that is a zombie apocalypse, off all things?
Right as he finished that thought, the implanted VR device on his ear beeped, and a notification appeared in front of his mind.
[Processing Potential reassessment…]
[New Potential future has been detected
[Potential: World Savior]
Then, as if responding to the notification, the memory card on his pendant started to heat up. With it, came another series of notifications in front of his mind.
[Memory Permit has been detected]
[Congratulations!]
[You have activated the Sixth Divina System!]
[System Designation: The Lovers]
[Processing System avatar…]
Skylar could only watch in mute bewilderment as white moths, each around 30 cm in size, started to gather from all around him. The insects then started to merge, creating the form of a woman.
Beautiful would be an understatement for her.
She radiated an ethereal charm, each movement from her fluttering cloak made even the chaos sound distant in comparison. Her smile was nothing short of a miraculous sight, enough to outshine even the silver spiked crown adorning her head, while her red eyes sparkled with well-deserved pride.
Her beautiful, long white hair reached down her lower back, while a cloak of white adorned with golden-brown patterns fluttered in the wind, forming the shape of a moth's wings. She possessed a fair skin, not pale and sickly, yet it enhances the overall look of nobility she had projected.
With sure steps, she walked towards the terrified Skylar until his back hit a wall.
She cupped his face with her cold hands, her red eyes peering into his soul. Specks of red stained Skylar's eyes, turning his eyes into the same brilliant shade of red.
"Greetings, Skylar Ferros. My name is Agrippina. I am the avatar of the Sixth Divina System, your protector and partner, and…"
She raised her knee and let it rest between his legs. Skylar was able to feel every part of her soft clothing rubbing against him.
"I am your other half."