I sat in front of my computer screen, staring blankly at it. The dimly lit room was making the screen of my computer look like a portal pulling me in slowly. My eyes were vacant but thoughts were churning inside my head. How? I wondered.
My heart was pumping wildly and my breathing was a bit ragged. There was disbelief etched on my face and I kept recalling every little thing that made me realise the absurdity of the present situation. I asked myself - 'what exactly is the labyrinth?'
...
Five years ago, the entirety of the internet was united and a global discussion started amidst the release of a new game. Noone knew the developers. What company launched it? Or even the fact that this game, although a pixelated rpg, had an inbuilt AI module to give each character a unique personality and story. It was baffling. This was way too advanced for the era we lived in.
It became an instant hit! The open world format of the game brought loads of people from all-round the world. But soon after the game became popular, people noticed the very obvious flaw in it. The game didn't have any main storyline. What game had no story? But the people of the world lost no interest, probably hoping that it will emerge one day or the other.
But alas, even after three years of gameplay, the labyrinth did not give the players any storyline. Only largely spreadout world quest were available in the world of labyrinth. It soon got out of popularity.
Several news article mentioned it the next day -
"The best game out there had no storyline? The players show discontent!"
"Who are the developers of the game? I want to thrash them! Says the global super player!"
"'All the quests done for nothing! Take money from me if you lack it.' said the tycoon of the gaming industry to the company that created the widely hated game!"
...
All quest done for nothing? I scoffed at the ignorance of the people of the world. To me all of them were foolish. If you try, you could find even god! What about this small game?
To be honest, it really wasn't easy. It took me more than a few months to actually make sense of everything that happened in the game. All the world quest, side quests, the updates, everything! And I realised the grandeur of the world of labyrinth!
A world made intricately, with an intriguing geopolitical setup amongst the various kingdoms. A well established economic setup! The magnificent build of the society! The delicate balance between various organisations! A mysterious and enamouring past riddled with secrets! How beautiful!
I was dumbfounded by the magnificence of this world. But I was not going to stop after just knowing the setup of the game. I made sure of every point and started the game anew. And that lead me to the thing that noone ever witnessed.
"Now… this should be the last one!" I mumbled to myself and clicked on the 'submit' button on the screen. I held my breath. My eyes were shivering as I watched the lady on the screen take the parcel that I brought to her. On my quest panel, the last task status changed to completed!
[Congratulations! Player 1066, you have completed the world quest 'she, who devoured blood!' and have unravelled the mysteries of the world!]
[The reward for the quest has been submitted to your inventory!]
I looked at the screen and waited patiently. But no change happened. I frowned. This…should not happen! Where is my main quest?
I was a bit frustrated. After all these efforts and research, does the main storyline really don't exist?
I bit my lip and moved my cursor to the inventory that was wiggling excitedly on the side and clicked on it.
A new window popped on the screen, covered in square boxes and of all the multiple squares that were filled with in game items, the last square had a ribbon pasted on it that was inscribed with the word - 'new'. I clicked on the item and it expanded.
[The box in yellow!]
[A mysterious energy seeps out of this crate that was found in the ruins of the lost world. People who tried to inspect it were said to have lost their minds! They would shout, as per testimonies of the witnesses, strange words. 'the creepy eyes pops out of the box and tentacles wriggle in the midst of madness, to take away the souls of the bearers]
[(Inspect) | (Delete) | (Sell)]
I paused. The item was strange. It looked like a treasure box but no open button was there. Only inspect. Even the delete and sell options have been greyed out. This seemed like a mystery on its own and although my hopes had dampened a bit I still held onto it.
I clicked onto the inspect option.
[Tting! You have opened 'the box in yellow'! Generating random 'divine grade' item!]
[Opening – 12%]
[…21%]
Divine grade? My heart skipped a beat. Goosebumps rose all over my body and I took a cold breath in. So, even though I didn't get the main quest I got a divine grade item? An item that has never been seen before? Hell!
[…98%]
[…100%]
[Tting! You have received 'the order of stars' (divine-grade)(???)]
[This item is not tradable! Thus it is being inscribed on your soul!]
As I was being amazed at this unforseen event, another notification popped on the screen of the computer. My eyes widened in shock and I stood up.
[Congratulations! You are the first player to trigger the 'main story line'! New quest have arrived!]
[The priest of yellow
From times immemorial, it had been a norm, the warriors protected the orders and the artificers found humanity, ways of survival. But who, then brought to them, the knowledge of the mysteries that lurked beyond?
"They sung the praise of whom? They lived the life of what? No one knows. The only thing known is that they are the closest to the labyrinth!" — prof. Kant
Unfurl the mystery of the people who are the closest to gods!]
[Do you wish to accept the quest?
(Yes) | (No)
(Note: once the quest is declined, 'the order of stars' would be spawned randomly, i.e., you will lose the ownership of the divine object)]
]
My hands shivered. It was here! Finally! I did not think wrong! This was really the path to the main quest! I was so ecstatic that I could not think anything else. There was no describing the feelings inside my heart. I jumped at the opportunity and clicked yes!
Another window opened in front of me that had a pixelated lantern drawn over it. The divine item that looked like a diary covered in mirrors and was glowing in a hue of purplish blue flew out of my inventory and collided with the lantern.
A strange symbol of star started to etch itself on the surface of the lantern whose flames were flickering in a pale yellow light.
I watched everything with a great interest. My mind was calculating every possibility of the story based on the series of events I went through. When suddenly the sound that was coming from the computer screen vanished. I was bewildered. As I was about to check up on my speakers, A strange static noice rang out of them. I picked one of my speakers and I swear to god, I could hear something from it. A sound of mumbling. I was a bit horrified but I was a rational being that believed not in ghosts.
I brought the speaker up to my ear and listened carefully and to my horror, in an ancient voice someone whispered -
The puzzler of time closed his eyes,
Beneath the rain of stars, the mourning died
And pitiful was the creator, who painted this labyrinth red,
Wandering in silence, looking for his own lost head.
I put the speaker back in its place and smiled. It was an amazing setup to the start of the main quest. No wonder they left the best for this.
I brought my attention back to the screen and the process of soul etching was almost finished. I was smiling silly, with bliss in my heart when suddenly I felt something hot on my lips. Confused I touched them and brought my fingers in front of my eyes.
Drip! Drip!
It was blood! My mind went blank. I looked down and saw a river of blood flowing out of my nose. I tried to stop it but to no avail. My head became heavy and dizzy. Tears were flowing out of my eyes in desperation. Soon I lost control of my body and my head slammed onto the desk and one last word emerged out of my mouth - 'help'.
I lost consciousness.
But I knew not, that the moment I lost consciousness. Another pop-up notification opened in front of the computer screen -
[Beware! The King in Yellow is laughing at you!].