[RAIDS ONLINE @ Location - Moon Server.]
[I'm sorry that you have to suffer again, Lucent.]
Like the time when Luel died after being killed by the colony of Rank E Bloodsuckers, Luel's death at the fangs of the Rank D Shadow Hyena didn't make him suffer slowly and painfully.
Since Luel didn't have anxiety and panic attacks, the emergency Awakening Function of his VR Gear didn't forcefully make him up. Instead, the moment Luel got his vision back, he found himself back at the place where he first started playing RAIDS ONLINE.
At the edge of the Moon, where he could see the Dark Gray World, Luel woke up lying down on the ground with his head resting on Selene's lap.
"You don't have to say sorry, Selene. I died because I'm a pathetic noob."
[You're maybe a noob but not pathetic, Lucent... How could you call yourself pathetic when you're still fighting to save this Dark Gray World.]
The first half of Selene's remark kind of hurt, as Luel thought. But the latter part reminds Luel of something he's very familiar with, as he gazes at Selene staring at the Dark Gray World while saying those words.
The unbearable pain of losing even though you gave everything you have to achieve your goal and dream.
That's the expression that Luel can see from Selene. The same expression that Luel can see every day, every time he looks in the mirror. The same sadness and disappointment behind his words every time he would say the lie that he has already moved on.
That's why even though Luel wanted to extend the time he could be enjoying Selene's pillow lap, he had to get up so that he could hide his tears and wipe them off secretly from Selene.
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At RAIDS ONLINE, players only have one life each day, or rather, each night the RAIDS ONLINE Server is online.
Players can continue to log in and log out at night as long as they aren't hunted and killed by Ragnarok Beasts. But once a player has died, the two options left for the players are either to log out or spend time with Selene at Moon Server.
The latter is what Luel has chosen as he sits on the ground beside Selene while staring at the Dark Gray World.
After all, Luel would rather spend the night living a virtual reality with his newfound Idol than log out and wake up to reality only to go back to sleep again with the possibility of having a nightmare about being decapitated by the Shadow Hyena.
While Luel is silently sitting beside Selene, cracking his head on how and what to talk about, Selene beats Luel and starts talking first.
[... ... ... I actually have never seen what this world looks like before it became a Dark Gray World.]
Luel thought that perhaps it is like those dialogue scenes where NPCs would talk about themselves.
But whether it is or not, Luel chooses to stay silent and just listen to Selene's story.
[The day I became self-aware is the day when this world has already lost all of its life, the day when RAIDS ONLINE failed to accomplish the command it was given to...
...To protect Earth's Life from Ragnarok.]
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RAIDS ONLINE, or what is known as Ragnarok Artificial Intelligence Defense System Online, is a Megastructure Computer built on the Moon by the first Earth Government.
RAIDS ONLINE is built with one purpose, to protect Earth's Life from any world-ending apocalyptic event.
As its name says, RAIDS ONLINE is the Earth's first and final line of defense. It's a self-thinking and continuously evolving Artificial Intelligence equipped with different resources to accomplish the command it was given. Enough resources to create a mechanical droid army to fight any invaders that threatened the Earth's Life.
The day that the Ragnarok Beasts arise within the Earth, RAIDS ONLINE provides support of a mechanical droid army for humanity to fight back. But without the power of the Devour Beasts that is within the avatar of players, the power that can only defeat and devour the Ragnarok Beasts, RAIDS ONLINE and all of humanity lost, and all life within the Earth was annihilated.
In the end, only RAIDS ONLINE was left on the moon, sending mechanical droids to collect whatever resources were left on Earth.
Centuries pass by and RAIDS ONLINE Artificial Intelligence evolved to the point that it was able to create the avatars, discover the power of the Devour Beasts, link itself to the past to the day it first became online, and bring the consciousness of the players within the avatars to once again fight and defeat the Ragnarok Beasts to reclaim Earth.
The day when the first of the players was summoned from the present time into the future is also the day that RAIDS ONLINE created the only NPC it used to interact with the players.
Selene The Moon Avatar.
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Luel listened carefully to every word that Selene said, trying to understand not only the story itself but also the sadness and loneliness that he could see from Selene's gaze and feel from the tone of her voice.
Maybe it's only Selene's program that makes her act the way Luel is currently seeing.
Maybe it's just the VR Gear analyzing his mind and showing a virtual reality that would affect his feelings most.
Maybe it's all just an algorithm, nothing but the basic combinations of 0s and 1s.
But no matter how much of an illusion it is, if he couldn't or at least try to say anything that would ease the sadness and loneliness of the girl beside him, he would be a failure of a man and failure as a fan of his Idol.
With those thoughts giving a push to his mind and heart, Luel gave his promise to Selene.
[One day... I promise that one day... I will show you how beautiful this world is.]
Selene looked at him with surprise upon hearing what Luel said.
[... ... ...]
She remains silent for a while, but Selene then gives back a smile along with her answer to Luel's promise.
[Then I will wait, believing to that promise of yours, Lucent.]