Is this a game we perceive as reality or reality we consider a game?
*
"HWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!"
Amidst the darkness and despair enveloping them at that moment, both Lucien and Zuko felt as if their bodies were being peeled inch by inch. The excruciating pain transformed into madness without a trace. They suffered immensely, the agony so intense that it seemed like no other suffering could surpass it.
Should they open their eyes? Are they ready to confront the reality behind all that pain?
BRUUUUGH. Zuko's body landed first on the soft surface, like thick grass. BRUUUUAKH. Lucien's body landed afterwards, crashing onto the young man wearing a grocery store employee uniform. PRTAAKK. Zuko felt as if several of his bones were broken simultaneously when hit by Lucien's body, which bore an innocent expression.
"What has happened?" Lucien asked, lifting his face and surveying the situation around them.
"Can you ask that after rising from my body?" Zuko asked, almost collapsing. His extremely thin, emaciated body felt painfully crushed under Lucien's well-nourished and ideally proportioned one.
"No, we can't. We'll definitely die if we rise in a situation like this, Zuko," Lucien informed, tightly holding onto his friend's head to prevent him from acting recklessly while lifting his own head to witness the madness unfolding around them. Utter madness.
However, DRAP DRAP DRAP! The footsteps of people and the horses they rode on around them seemed reluctant to give any tolerance.
"Isn't it precisely that we'll die if we don't rise immediately from this position, Lucien?" Zuko asked, unable to feel even a bit calm. What kind of logic or common sense could possibly explain all this nonsense happening? Suddenly, he and his friend were transformed into a battlefield that seemed to be unfolding in the real world.
Will everything be okay? Can they survive? The sounds of battle and the horror of bloodshed unfolding before their eyes instantly made them forget the immense pain they had just experienced.
The war was horrific, even for someone merely witnessing it.
"Come on, hurry!" Lucien suddenly said, without pause he immediately grabbed one of Zuko's wrists to make him stand and then ran, trying to avoid all the barbaric-looking people around them, each carrying their own weapons. All sorts of traditional weapons like swords, shields, bows, spears, and so on.
Just by observing the scene, it was clear that this wasn't the kind of war that would happen in the real world.
While trying to keep up with Lucien's fast-paced steps, searching for a safe place for both of them, Zuko, with his sharp eyes, tried his best to understand what they were experiencing. He also identified the people around them. Were they all humans? Some indeed looked like it, but some looked more like giant creatures from one of the famous anime depicting the struggle between humans and titans.
"We'll climb that tree and jump to the nearby rocks, Zuko. Get ready!" Lucien instructed, trying to mimic how his older brother used to give orders to subordinates in the company. Although he didn't want to appear as frightening as Yael either.
However, when Lucien had already jumped and was on one of the branches, he saw his friend just standing there, with an empty look in his eyes, observing the chaotic situation around them.
Was the kid delirious or something?
"ZUKOOO!!!" Lucien yelled, placing a hand beside his lips to focus the sound towards Zuko's seemingly distracted ears.
Slowly, Zuko raised his head to where his friend was and said, "Lucien, you don't need to worry," he replied.
Automatically, Lucien furrowed his brow in confusion. "Are you crazy? There are hundreds, even thousands of people in weird costumes wielding sharp weapons and hacking at each other nearby. And you're saying there's no need to worry?"
Zuko began to lower his head and raised both hands that he stared at intently. "Because this must all be a dream, Lucien. There's nothing for us to worry about, and everything will soon be back to normal."
From above, Lucien responded, "Huh?" Could Zuko be right? And was he the one being overly paranoid due to living under pressure? When looked at from any rational perspective, what they were experiencing was completely nonsensical, wasn't it?
Zuko immediately lifted his head again. He looked at his friend with a face full of optimism, urging Lucien to come down and sit, waiting until everything returned to normal. "Soon, we'll wake up from this nightmare, Young Master Lucien. Things like this only happen in anime or comics; they won't really happen in our miserable lives. So, don't worry..."
SLAAASH. A medium-sized machete suddenly flew towards Zuko, right beside his head, almost grazing it. And, CLEP. Without hesitation, it embedded itself in the tree trunk after barely missing or actually almost completely cutting off the teenage boy's ear with the textured crop haircut. Blood instantly dripped from the severed tip of his ear. "Huh? What's this?" The teenage boy asked, feeling the immense pain from the severed ear. The smile and positive expression he had shown vanished from his face instantly.
"Hurt or not, bro?" Lucien asked from above. Just making sure whether they were in a dream world or not.
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Damn it!!! This is real!!!" Zuko shouted frantically. In panic, he quickly reached out for his friend's hand that he had previously rejected. "I'm going to die! I'm going to die soon! This hurts so much, damn it!!!" He cried out in distress, like a woman realizing she's menstruating without a sanitary pad in a public place full of men while shedding tears.
Throughout his life, Zuko had become accustomed to all kinds of wounds and pain. But, only the emotional wounds, which he could hide his reactions to, could truly be concealed. When it came to physical injuries, despite the societal pressure for men to always be tough, he could easily shed tears.
"Quick, quick, quick, climb up!" Lucien commanded, trying not to panic as he saw several large-sized humans and strangely dressed individuals resembling medieval European warriors with all sorts of war accessories rapidly approaching them, uttering words that sounded very foreign.