"No!"
"No....this isn't how this should end...."
"NO! I refuse to end it this way!!"
The majestic and dominating voice continued to shout at the void of nothingness after witnessing an event that just occurred a few moments ago. That voice continued to stare at the nothingness not uttering a single word after that.
"Sigh"
The voice sighed displaying a hint of pity, sadness, and tiredness in his voice.
"If this is what you wish for then I will comply. I will "Restart" the "Play" again making you choose and suffer again...But please, even if you don't remember what transpired here.....Artis.....Always remember this...."
As the voice spoke his final words, the void filled with darkness started to fill with light. Multiple rays of light started to appear behind the voice that started forming a silhouette. As the silhouette raised his right hand, the entire world was filled with light and the silhouette disappeared making the entire realm full of light.
...
And so, Artis who was having the recurring dream finally woke up opening his eyes slowly and slowly rising from the bed clutching his head as if he was in pain.
Artis slowly woke up and moved towards the nearest mirror in his room and saw a man in his late teens with short, black-messy hair, and sharp facial features who looked rather handsome and would make all the ladies fall for him with lake-blue eyes looking rather thin and having long arms clutching his head.
As he looked at himself in the mirror fixing his hair, he checked his smartphone to see the current time and today's news.
It was currently 11:00 am!
'Oh crap....' The boy silently cursed himself for waking up late and hurriedly brushed his teeth and wore his clothes which only consisted of a white full-shirt, a black jacket, and light blue jeans.
He had to quickly get ready and pack his bags as today was his last day at this place. He would be boarding a cruise at 4:00 pm with his elder sister to leave for the Aurosia continent and start a new life there, where he would be starting his career as an assistant teacher at the most prestigious academy in the world, Varhard University.
On the weekdays, he would work as an assistant teacher and use his talents and skills to teach the youngsters martial arts and elemental sorcery. At the same time, at the weekends and holidays, he would join any other circus and work as a magician to earn some extra cash and as a hobby, he developed at a young age when he saw a magician perform a show before him.
Seeing how the magician made people happy and surprised with his small tricks, he marveled at them and practiced using and creating magic tricks so that he could spread happiness around young children as well.
He was a citizen of Paradise City located in the Inloen continent and has lived his life for as long as he can remember. The streets of Paradise bustled with activity as Artis made his way through the city, the sounds of vendors hawking their wares and the chatter of pedestrians filling the air. As he walked, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled over him since waking from his dream.
To distract himself from that dream, he for one last time visited the Game room that he always visited during his free time as a means of escape from his struggles and responsibilities.
As it was a holiday today, there were already too many people inside the place. People were busy playing bowling, and air hockey or busy playing shooting or PVP games with each other.
Artis found an empty machine and inserted a coin to play the PVP game [Sorcerer Supreme 3]
The character he created was called Divine Sorcerer who had mastered every type of magic and sorcery ever created and was based on the Strongest magician to have ever lived, Miracle Magician Taro.
As he used various skills to beat multiple opponents, he felt satisfied by the victories he was getting. Just as he was getting continuous victories, he felt a deep presence tower over him.
"Hmmm, isn't it just an AI you are playing against? Why don't you try challenging real people? Like me, perhaps?"
A sweet and melodious voice snapped Artis out of his thoughts as he looked around startled, to see a cute girl who seemed to be in her late teens behind him wearing a black full shirt over a white jacket with a black skirt having a round face with sharp facial features, blonde hair that cascaded her shoulders and unique sparkling red eyes that exuded an air of beauty around her making the people look at her as if she was a goddess herself.
Artis couldn't help but be captivated by her beauty and her unique red eyes that seemed to sparkle with mischief and allure.
"Hi?" greeted Artis.
The girl smiled gleefully as she acknowledged his greeting, "Hi! You seemed to be having quite the time with the game," she remarked, gesturing towards the screen where Artis had been engaged in battle.
Artis chuckled nervously, "Oh, it's just that...Today's my last day on this continent so I was playing my favorite game around this time. Since I don't think I'll be coming back here."
The girl's eyes widened with interest as she listened to Artis's explanation. "Last day, huh? That sounds like quite the hassle," she replied, her voice tinged with curiosity.
Artis nodded, a wistful smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, it's a big change for me. Starting a new life in Aurosia," he explained, his gaze drifting to the bustling arcade around them.
"Aurosia? What a coincidence! I'm from there as well!" replied the girl cheerfully.
"You are?" asked Artis to which the girl nodded.
"Well, if this is your last day, how about we play this game you were playing? You seem to be a good player. How about it? You must be bored playing against AI all the time right?" asked the girl with a hint of mischief in her voice.
Artis, unsure of this proposal couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. But since he had no reason to deny this beautiful lady in front of her, he accepted her challenge.
"Sure. I accept your challenge." Artis accepted her challenge.
"Great! Let's get right into it!" the girl replied enthusiastically.
As they sat on opposing sides, Artis chose his character Supreme Sorcerer. To his surprise, the girl didn't choose a sorcerer but chose the greatest swordswoman of the Empire, Marianne—a legendary knight who firmly believed in justice and slashed all her enemies with her legendary sword.
'That's an interesting choice she got!' thought Artis as he prepared himself for the battle.
The game began and Artis found himself struggling already with the onslaught attacks by the girl as she slashed all the magic thrown at her with a simple slash.
The battle raged on as a crowd formed between them. Artis couldn't help but admire this girl's skills as the pressure mounted, but Artis knew he would win if he kept going.
As the battle reached its climax, Artis pulled out a last-ditch effort to attack her weak spot which was her heart, and managed to clinch a victory at the very last second.
As they both caught their breath, Artis stood up and looked at the girl with a smile of respect, "That was a good match."
The girl also stood up as she extended her hand for a handshake with a smile, "I agree. I had fun!"
As they shook hands, Artis couldn't help but notice the warmth and sincerity in the girl's smile.
Artis said, after a moment of silence, "Well, I'm glad to have that match with you."
"The pleasure is all mine. You are not too bad yourself!" the girl chuckled. At that moment, a phone rang from somewhere all the people looked around to see whose phone it was ringing.
"Oh. Excuse me, it's my phone," said the girl as she picked up the phone. As she talked, her expression turned into that of annoyance as she cut the call and faced Artis, "I would love to continue this conversation
, but I have to go soon. My dad is calling me!" as she turned around to leave she looked back and said one last thing before she left,
"Oh, and by the way, I'm from Aurosia as well. So we might have a chance to meet again." she waved her hand and left the arcade.
Artis waved his hand back unconsciously as he was also done with the games and left the arcade. Before he left, he looked back at the arcade for one last time, memories of his time at this place flooded him.
Some good memories, some bad memories, his first win winning a competition, and much more. Smiling at the sight, he left the arcade and made his way back home.
...
As he reached home, he packed his bags left the house for the final time, memories flooding in his mind about the way he lived in this house, the good and bad moments he created with his sister, all the times he messed up learning new tricks, countless hours of study he did to score better marks in his academy, and much more.
As he remembered those times, he chuckled softly, looked at his room for one last time and made his way to the dockyard where the cruise ship St. Annie was there waiting to be sailed.
As he looked at the huge cruise, he checked the time and saw it was 3:30 PM.
"She's late!" grumbled Artis as he took out his smartphone and let out a call.
But a familiar ringtone was heard behind him as he turned around only to feel a light chop on his head.
"Worried about me, little brother? Don't worry, I won't miss this cruise even if my life depended on it!" said the woman coolly who had light red hair wearing dark sunglasses covering her lake blue eyes as she wore a white summer dress carrying two suitcases.
That was Artis's sister, Alice Janes! His elder sister is older than him by 7 years.
"Who's worried about who? If you hadn't shown up, I would've boarded this ship all by myself!" grumbled Artis annoyed.
Alice chuckled as she hugged her brother with one hand, "Well, now I'm here right? C'mon, let's hurry and board this cruise before we are too late."
Artis, who remained silent nodded slightly as he began walking towards the cruise ship with heavy steps.
"By the way, have you eaten anything?" asked Alice.
"Not at all! I thought we would be eating a good meal when we board the cruise so I didn't bother with it!" replied Artis nonchalantly.
"Oh, you!" Alice smacked her forehead as she shook her head in worry.
"Let's board quickly so that you can eat something."
As they soon boarded the cruise, Artis couldn't help but look back at the gloomy weather and dark clouds that surrounded Inloen today. He felt that something ominous was about to happen.
But, thinking it was all just his imagination, he shook his head and entered the cruise St. Annie where a new adventure was about to begin for him.