"Ryuseiii!! It's already time for lunch! Wake upppp!!!!" A loud shouting is heard throughout the house. One could say the silent house became lively for a second..
"Where is he? It is unusual for him to overslept" The voice could be heard once again. The voice belongs to a young woman in her early 20's. She is the eldest child and the only daughter of the Yukimoto family. Her name is Yukimoto Yua, her birthday is in the 18th of January and was born in the 2010's. She excels in computing work especially programming and her hobby is.. taking care of her little brother.
*TAP* *TAP* *TAP*
They both currently lived in a two story modern japanese house. They are living modestly themselves while they are both doing their own work and studies.
"Ryusei!!" Yukimoto Yua knocked on the door of her little brother's room. His room is on the second floor right next to hers. Both of their rooms are almost soundproof to protect their own privacy for a reason..
"I am coming in!!" But both of them trusts each other enough to never lock their own room even in sleep. After all they are both siblings who only had each other.. why should they distrust each other?
*CREAKK*
The sound of the creaking door opening is overshadowed by the sudden cold air that gushed out of the room.
"Ugh.. it's so cold.." Her little brother's room is cold enough to be said as a human refrigerator room.. it has a temperature of around 14°C as her little brother's preference to colder temperature.
In Hokkaido right now it is in the peak of it's summer.. so the average temperature is around 39°C and as her little brother said 'If you force a penguin to live in a desert it will most certainly die, you know?'.. that is his excuse to be in this cold room.
"Ryusei! Wake up!" *CLICK* She turned the lights on to try and wake her little brother up in the dark and cold room of his..
Looking around of his room, his room is pretty much a normal standard boring teenager room. Plain, no decorations or posters, no otaku stuff either. But the think that made his room unusual is the unusually high grade PC that is sitting silently on his desk while next to it is a high grade tablet made specifically for drawing and gaming. There is also a very high tech VR gear that sits right besides his bed..
"Ryusei!!" She went over to his bed to try and woke him up but her hands suddenly froze in place as her mouth opens and hangs in shock.. her brain suddenly stopped working as she stared at the view laid in front of her..
...
..
.
"A girl..?" I know that Ryusei is a handsome boy and is quite popular at school but I didn't think of him as the type to suddenly invite a girl to bed..
"Most importantly.." How could I not know..? I mean we always lived in the same house.. well I guess that's his secret I guess.
But where is Ryusei..? Is he in the bathroom..? No.. if he is in the bathroom he would have answered my shoutings.. Is he out somewhere..?
"There is nothing to worry.." I approached the girl carefully and tried to woke her up gently from her sleep..
"Little lady.." I shook her body trying to wake her up as gently as possible but what it did is only flipping her sleeping position and now she is facing towards me..
I must say.. Ryusei really pulled a beauty.. she is gorgeously beautiful. She looked like something straight out of a fantasy novel. She has big eyes and a small nose. She also has a thin lips making her looking like a silent type. Her face proportions made her look like a cat.. a very cute one.
Her hair is long and messy, but it is very soft, smooth and silky. The white hair colour also looked natural for her as well. As if she had that kind of hair since birth and it is not colored. She is wearing Ryusei's shirt making them looked oversized for her stature and body.
"Little lady.. wake up!" I pinched her cheeks this time to try and wake her up.. and thankfully it worked.. Her eyes seemed to slowly open while trying to adapt to the bright light of the room..
When she had gathered her consciousness enough she fully opened her beautiful gleaming greyish eyes and opened her mouth and spoke out two words..
"Onee-chan..?"
"'What..?"'
What she spoke out shocked me.. but it also seemed to shock her as well because she seemed to be widening her eyes in surprise and shock.. we both became silent while staring at each other for a while until the girl suddenly stood up and tried to ran somewhere..
"Wai-" Before I could say anything.. she suddenly trips and fell face first to the hard floor..
"Are you okay, Little lady?!" I immediately rushed to her aid and helped her to get up but she seemed to realised something..
"Little lady..?" She then went to Ryusei's desk and grabbed a pocket mirror that he placed on the table and she used that on her self..
"This is.. me..?" She spoke in disbelief and shock.. but I didn't understand anything that she said.. what does she mean by that..?
"Little lady, could you tell me who you are? What are your relationship with Ryusei..?" I asked her with a gentle tone to try and calm her down..
"Onee-chan.. I am.. Ryusei.."
"What..?"
.
.
.
Today 21st of July 2035, it is one day before our two months long awaited Summer Vacation. It is a time where we live to become ourselves by doing whatever we want..
'But the weather is..' But unlike others I only enjoy the part of the 'vacation' but not the summer..
'Troublesome..' I am currently sweating because of the hot temperatures even in the northern colder climate part of Japan.
'As expected of Japan.. the summer really hits hard..' I thought as I wiped away my sweat using my brought handkerchief.
But summer is also a chance for me.. a chance for me to be holed up in my room like a hikikomori while playing games, finishing up some commissions, and editing my videos..
"Yukimoto-san, instead of spacing out there, could you answer question 5 at page 63 here?" I heard the voice of the teacher who called out to me despite my very vague presence..
"The answer is the square root of 3" I answered without giving it too much of a thought.
"That is.. right. Excellent, Yukimoto-kun!" This teacher is a mathematics teacher and we are currently learning the basics of introductory trigonometry. It is as easy as it sounds that even me who never paid attention in classes could understand..
But back to the topic of summer vacation, tomorrow is also the time where one of the most awaited game of the decade fully released. It's first teasers were released a full 3 years ago and finally after that excruciating 3 years of waiting.. it finally is releasing.
Stars Above Online is it's name. This is a revolutionary VRMMORPG which promises the player an immersive modern sci-fi fantasy adventure. The game is run with a specific device made only for the game which is called Neuron Connecting Virtual System making the experience as real as possible..
*RINGGGGGG*
"Well then everyone. That is it for our lesson today. As tomorrow is the start of Summer Vacation, I wish for all of you to have a great vacation. Have a nice summer!" Is what the teacher said before our school time is finally over..
"*sigh* Finally done.. I am really sweating profusely here.." Our school is considered to be a wealthy school.. but even then the Air Conditioning really couldn't match my room's Air Conditioning.. and because I was seated quite away from the Air Conditioner.. I never really felt the cold.
"Hahahahaha!! Ryusei really is sweating a lot! Damn!" I heard a very energetic voice behind who grabbed my shoulder hard enough to press me down.
"*sigh* Always energetic aren't you, Ichiro" This guy's name is Fujimura Ichiro. He is considered to be one of the school's most popular student. He has a kind expression on his face all the time, his smiles are as bright as the sun, and just like his smile he also has a bright golden hair that he dyed himself. His brown eyes are sharp yet gentle which holds a level of understandings that only he had..
He is skillful in aspects regarding sports and is a master at Kendo. He is also very much stronger than me despite having the same body proportions as me.. though he absolutely despise anything regarding studying.
"That is how he always is, Ryusei" Another guy came and spoke up. I looked back at him to only see him smiling in his usual face.
His name is Sakurai Shoichi, he is the class rep of our class and one of the best strategist that I have ever known. He is also one of the most popular students in our school as he is quite the unusual one. He has the most natural looks out of us, consisting of normal black hair and eyes. But what made him stood out is his almost perfect facial feature which encaptures his humble and kind nature.
He is very good in games that requires strategy to play but is absolutely shit in things involving anything physical.. he also couldn't do any sports and much rather study than moving.. but still he had learnt quite a lot of martial arts because of his family.
"*sigh* It's troublesome.." And then there is me. My name is Yukimoto Ryusei, I am a normal student with nothing outstanding in the class. I am good with my studies and my physical but not to the point where I am amazing at it. But that is what makes me very amazing. I am crazy good in terms of adapting to my changing environments and thriving in those conditions. By the way somehow, I am also one of the most popular students in our school.. well we are called the 'The Invincible Trio' after all..
I have a quite similar face to my sister. With a face that is close to feminine with a sharp eyes and straight short black hair. I have what they call a 'pretty boy' face..
"You guys got the thing ready right?" Ichiro asked us with full excitement. Of course, he is excited though, it is pretty understandable. The thing that he asked us about is of course the game Stars Above Online. The three of us had saved up such money to buy the device and the game itself.. it is our hard work.
"Of course! I am very excited as of how it will be!!" Shoichi said while also being excited. Being the game maniac he is, it is also such understandable reaction.
"Hahaha! We'll play together like usual, right?" I also am very excited about it though. After all the three of us had always been together, through tough and easy times, through tears and laughters.
"'Of course!!"' The three of us laughed together. The students around us also seemed to be staring at us weirdly. Knowing the surrounding atmosphere did not die down our excitement though.
"Should we play our usual roles?" Shoichi asked us while fixing his glasses.
"I'm going to play 'Tanker' as usual!" Ichiro said while flexing his muscles in real life.
"Well I am going for the 'Damage Dealer' as usual as well" I also said while looking at Shoichi knowing what roles he will play as.
"Then, I will be in both your care as always. I am going for the 'Strategist/Support' role" He said while smiling confidently.
"The game's server will fully open tomorrow at 3 P.M." I said to both of them trying to set a promise time for the three of us to meet each other.
"Well, I think we could meet at 6 P.M.? How about that, Ichiro?" Shoichi said while looking at Ichiro who just shrugged and said.
"Whatever, I mean I am free anytime!" He said that nonchalantly.. well he is a person who usually has nothing to do..
"Well sure then. We'll meet at 6 P.M, I'm sure I could recognise you guys anywhere in the game" I said confidently while chuckling a little.
"Hahaha! Let's get home then, I have some errands to do!!" Ichiro said while he grabbed his stuff and just started running out of the room..
"*sigh*.. That guy.." I sighed while I pinched my forehead after seeing his behaviour while Shoichi only hold a bewildered face..
"Let's go, Shoichi. We should also get going.." I said to Shoichi while I also started walking away.
"Hey, wait for me..!"
.
.
.
"I am home.." I said loudly as I entered the house and was greeted by the fragrant sweet aroma.
"Ohh! Ryusei! You came at the right time! The next door Grandma apparently baked some shortcake and gave some to us" She is.. well if you have read the texts way above..
[Author: Wait! Wait! That's out of the script!!]
"So..?"
[Author: Don't break the 4th wall that easily!!]
"*sigh*.. Okay! Okay!" This damn Author is so damn annoying..!
[Author: Oi!]
"Ryusei? Who are you talking to?" Suddenly my big sister appeared in front of me who was staring right into nothing..
"Ah, nothing..! More importantly.."
"What is it?" She eyed me curiously.
"Could you save me some of the cake? I will eat it near midnight. I'll go to my room and sleep.." I said to her because I wanted to sleep. I am pretty tired after the long day inside that sauna/school..
"Sure, sleep well" She said while going back to the kitchen.
"Thanks.."
...
..
.
"Hey.." A voice.. I could hear something..
"Wake up.." I tried.. but I couldn't.. who are you..? where are we..?
"Look above.." I tried to look up.. but the more I tried the more I realised that what around me is nothing.. literal nothing. I couldn't feel myself, I can't see anything, sense anything, hear anything.. other than the voice.
Am I going crazy? Am I hallucinating? Am I drugged? Am I just in reality of denial? I do not know..
I kept on struggling where to find the way up until I saw something.. something inside this infinite of 'nothing'. Something that made this place isn't 'nothing' but into something.. I see a dot of light..
"Do you see it..?" The voice asked again. This situation is clearly abnormal.. unusual.. even to the realm of unknown.. but even then I am strangely calm..
"See wha-" I tried to answer but my sentence was cut off in the middle.
"Do you feel it..?" I looked at the distant dot of light.. it felt strangely familiar.. reminding me of something..
"Feel.. what..?" I tried to understand what the voice wanted to tell me.. but after a while it clicked..
I tried to.. walk, to move away from my current position. Even if I do not know if I am really walking, or am I just walking in place, or am I walking into nowhere, or am I walking into a realistic direction.. I may not know. I could just be going north, or south, or west, or even east.. or I could have been walking downwards.. or upwards. There is nothing to determine how to check the directions. But there is one thing that I knew..
'I am walking towards the dot of light..' I do not know if I am ever gonna be able to reach it.. but I am going to try anyway.
With every step I took.. the more dots of light that I see.. I looked down and I saw that the ground had became a field of water. Every step I took sends a vibration into the unknown. Yet, it is silent.. completely silent.
"Have you felt it..?" The voice asked again. The dots of lights I saw was all in the sky.. I am walking while looking up to the sky..
"This.." Then I realised.. I was stupid to not realise this before. What I am seeing.. are not only dots of lights..
"They.. are.. stars..!" After I said that suddenly the sky became bright.. but it is the brightness of the night sky..
"Beautiful.." I have never seen a night sky as beautiful as this one..
There are stars of different sizes, shining planets of different luminosity, comets and meteorites of different speed, galaxies of different distances, nebulas of different colors and so much more.. the sky became lively under the lights of those objects..
"Have you seen it..? Have you felt it..?" As the voice spoke suddenly from under me the lights from the sky gathered to one place..
"Remember your feelings.. remember your soul.. remember your promise.." The lights that are gathered condensed into one becoming something sort like a puzzle piece.
"You are the sole owner of this place.. this is your Soul Palace.." I was surprised to hear that.. I am the owner of this place..?
Suddenly without me knowing, the puzzle piece made out of the lights gathered approached me and is already right in front of me..
"Follow your soul.." The voice said but I didn't understand what it meant.. until suddenly.. my body moved by itself..
"Stars are the lights that covers the emptiness of Void.." The voice spoke calmly..
"The ones who light up the darkness of Void.." My body moved by itself approaching the puzzle piece..
"The Rightful Owner of the Fragment of Cosmic.. and The Rightful Owner of The Soul of Origin.." Right after the voice said that.. the puzzle piece started glowing even more brightly.. until my body suddenly touched it.. then suddenly all things went black just as before..
But strangely.. I didn't feel it was empty.. in fact I was strangely nostalgic and calm.. just like I was remembering a forgotten memories.. just like it was how it was supposed to be..
"We shall meet once again.." Then suddenly I felt like my body was sucked away from this place by an unknown force..