Everything was too confusing… He needed to understand what had happened.
No one would believe it if Lido told them about his vision, about that strange place that felt so real. Even he, despite what he had experienced, could barely comprehend the scale of what he had seen. But the inner drive to seek the truth only grew stronger with every moment.
After quickly dressing, he glanced down at his clothes. Just yesterday, they had seemed familiar, but today they looked tasteless and foreign, like something distant, left in the past.
With a hint of irritation, he ordered something completely different, suited to his new state of mind, and, having received a fresh, formal suit, left the room. This suit reminded him of the resolve that filled him. As a symbol of something new, it underscored his inner strength and calm.
When the elevator doors opened, and he stepped into the hotel lobby, the staff instinctively bowed to him, as if performing some kind of ritual. These gestures had now become familiar to him.
Everyone who met his gaze felt his changes. He was no longer the same Lido – but a man with cold determination and purpose, ready to get to the truth. People had once seen him as a young man used to jokes and entertainment, but now everyone who crossed his gaze felt a barely perceptible yet unsettling tension.
Even the guard at the entrance, after glancing at him, froze, then hastily looked away. Lido moved on, paying no attention. His whole being was focused on understanding what had happened to him in that vision. Everything that had once filled his life seemed to disappear, losing its meaning, while he himself moved as though driven by an inner call that would not tolerate delay.
Seated in the car, he gripped the steering wheel tightly, lost in thought. His mind raced in all directions, but each turn brought him back to one thing: he needed to return to the beta-testing department. The answers might lie in those archives. Perhaps there he would find at least something to explain what kind of reality had appeared to him in Zircol.
As he pulled up to the company building, tall and made of steel and glass, it looked completely different to him. It had once evoked a feeling of confidence, pride, maybe even a slight unease. Today, Lido felt nothing but calm, cold composure. He stepped out of the car, walking quickly toward the entrance.
– Sir, your pass – came the voice of the guard at the entrance.
Lido only glanced at him briefly, and this look was entirely foreign. Once, he might have felt embarrassed, perhaps tried to explain himself. But now he was focused on only one thing: uncovering the truth, and on this path, any delay was unacceptable.
– My pass? It's at home. Let me through – he replied calmly, but his voice left no room for objection.
– Without a pass, I can't let you through – the guard responded, not looking at Lido, mechanically following instructions. He clearly had no idea who was standing in front of him.
Lido had been here countless times and could have easily avoided conflict, but now this requirement seemed absurd. Something firm and cold rose within him, as if from the depths of his consciousness.
– Lido le Dio. I will enter – he said, not even attempting to mask the internal power in his words.
A mocking look appeared on the guard's face.
– Lido? The same Lido who does nothing but play? Don't make me laugh – he sneered, not hiding his contempt.
Once, Lido might have laughed along with him, but now the guard's words sounded like a pitiful noise, unworthy of his attention. He simply looked at him as if at an annoying obstacle.
Fumm! Boom!
It all happened in a split second. The guard didn't have time to understand what had happened before he found himself on the floor. His colleague instinctively stepped back, looking at his hands, covered in blood.
– I hope next time you'll show more respect – Lido said coldly, his voice sounding as casual as if he were simply saying, "Goodbye."
Walking down the corridor, he felt the stares of employees. Normally, someone would greet him, nod, stop for a quick word. But now everyone who looked at him quickly averted their gaze, as if afraid to meet his eyes.
The former Lido, smiling and open, was gone. Now he was completely different. Everyone felt it.
His face remained cold, his gaze steady, and within him burned an icy fire, calling him to what now seemed inevitable. Everything in life felt like an illusion, and that illusion was shattering before his eyes.
Entering the elevator, he stood, looking at his reflection, and understood: something deep within him had changed. He was different, as though he had stepped onto a new level of existence. The world no longer brought him fears or anxieties. He was as solid as a rock. Now only Zircol and the answers mattered.
When the elevator stopped, and the doors gently opened, Lido stepped into the corridor but immediately sensed something was wrong. Directly in front of him stood ten armed guards. They had been waiting for him – his strange premonition was justified.
Lido raised an eyebrow slightly, looking them over, but instead of the usual adrenaline, he felt… boredom. As if these armed men were uninteresting, unimportant. His eyes skimmed over them without lingering.
– Stop! Raise your hands! – shouted the guard captain, not taking his eyes off him.
Lido didn't even stop.
– Young master Lido? – one of the guards suddenly recognized him. His voice was filled with uncertainty and surprise.
– That's right, idiots – Lido said coldly, not slowing his pace and passing them as if they were mere obstacles in his path.
The shocked guards remained standing, unable to understand what had happened. Lido walked confidently, his thoughts absorbed by something else – something that genuinely concerned him. The world around him had changed. He felt he belonged to something greater than everything surrounding him in ordinary life.
Employees, busy with their tasks, noticed his presence and immediately looked away. No one dared to speak to him, and even the usual conversations and jokes fell silent when he appeared, as if everyone feared disturbing his inner strength. They instinctively sensed changes they themselves couldn't explain.
Walking down the corridors to the archive, Lido didn't once think about what had changed. For him, this was a natural state, as if his former life, with all its fears and doubts, had receded. Now his mind was entirely focused on one thing: to understand what was hidden behind his vision, to find out what had really happened to him.
Entering the archive, he stopped, surveying the shelves of files stored here since the company's founding. His mind was intensely focused, cold and sharp like the blade of a sword.
He knew he would find something here that could shed light on the vision and its connection to the world of Zircol. It was as if fate itself guided his hands to these files, as if they had been waiting for him, sealed in the glow of the screens.
Lido sat down at the computer and activated the search system. His fingers instantly typed commands, and the list of files quickly flashed on the screen. He skimmed through each document, scanning each file, carefully studying every project, starting with the most popular and well-known.
The deeper he delved, the more it seemed that the worlds created by their company weren't merely virtual simulations. It was as if something more was hidden behind them.
Through rows of symbols and code, he saw worlds that felt hauntingly familiar. These were not just images on a screen, not just code. They had depth, they were alive, like in his vision.