Post by Taront on May 6, 2016 15:41:59 GMT
It felt as if the very world around Taront had come crashing down around him as Kayaba faded into nothingness among the red sky. The <<Warning>> symbols gradually began to disappear, revealing the last light of the day. A bloody, orange light was cast over all the faces of the players who were now stuck in this death game. Looking down at his shaking hands, Taront flexed his fingers. This has to be a joke right? They’re playing a prank on all of us and this is just part of the welcoming event. He laughed slightly to himself. Yes that has to be it. One of the players beside him suddenly grabbed him by the arm and forcefully turned him.
“This is a joke right?! It’s all a dream or something! C’mon, you all got some sort of message that I didn’t about this event right?! Jokes on me! Right?! Right???!!” Taront jerked free of his grasp and just stared at the player with wide, confused eyes. The other player's eyes were so wild and filled with fear that a cold, icy tendril, flowed down Taront’s spine. Out of fear, he took a quick step backwards and smacked into a female player who let out an ear piercing scream. The entire plaza fell deathly silent as the last of the scream echoed off of the buildings and faded away. Out of nowhere, everyone began yelling and screaming, crying, and running to the exits. More than anything, players stood there frozen, their eyes empty and vacant. The mass panic and confusion caused Taront’s mind to shut down. He couldn’t believe what was going on before his eyes.
“Hey Raine! We’re all going to log in as soon as we get home so be sure to have your gear good and ready to go alright?!” Raine (Taront in game) looked at his friends and smiled brightly, “I look forward to it!” They had all been looking forward to this game for months and it's launch day had finally come. It was all they had been talking about since the game was announced. They had invited Raine to play as well as a distraction from the passing of his late grandfather. Getting excited, he logged in early so he could meet them all as soon as possible. All of them had looked forward to this death game, not knowing what was going to happen to them.
He shook his head, he had to find his friends. They had to be here somewhere. Hesitantly, he reached out in front of him, pulling out his menu and went to the friends tab. His breath caught in his throat as he looked upon the names of all three of his friends. Each of them were greyed out and in parentheses next to it; offline. Taront felt sick, as if someone had drove a sledgehammer into his stomach. No no no no. They can’t be dead, they just logged out before they disabled it. Yeah, that has to be it. He had just been questing with them earlier before the random teleport, so he knew the truth but he didn’t, no he couldn’t admit it. He couldn’t admit that his best friends were really gone from the world. It didn’t logically add up. This was supposed to be about them being heroes and questing together, not about losing your life the moment you slip up.
Taront was in such a bad daze that he began wandering aimlessly through the <<Town of Beginnings>>. Eventually his legs gave out and he fell against a wall to the entrance of a musky alleyway. Even though they were inside the game, his eyes felt hot and the steady caress of tears fell from his chin. He didn’t even want to try wiping them away. “Damn,” he muttered. “Dammit dammit. Why? Why the hell did this happen?!” A few NPC’s glanced his way but continued on with their day. There were no other players in sight as the last rays of the sun dipped down low over the town. Taront lost track of how long he just sat there, eyes staring at nothing but his feet.
The sound of people screaming snapped him out of his daze. Curiosity caught the better of him and he groggily got to his feet. His vision still seemed blurry from all of the crying and his head hurt something awful. Stumbling out of the other end of the alleyway, he spotted a crowd gathered around the edge of the town. Making his way into the crowd, he watched in horror as a player climbed up onto the low stone wall, looking out over the vast, empty sky. Without thinking, he rushed forward to yank the player backwards...only to grab nothing but air. The shrill scream as they went down into the sky pierced his ears and he dropped to his knees. It didn’t make sense! Why would they jump?! Rage and sorrow filled his chest. This world is filled with so much darkness… Is there no hope anymore? Is there no longer any light? What is the point of any of this?
“Remember to go forward with kindness and hope in your heart. If you don’t show hope, then those around you won’t either.” Taront blinked, the words his grandfather had spoken to him so many times, cut through him. What am I doing? Staying here on my knees, giving up on the world? The crowd of faces were all players; some crying, some with downcast looks, even some with angry faces. There wasn’t a single attempt at smiling or happiness. Not only himself, but it seems that everyone else had given into the despair. Biting his lip, he slammed his fist into the ground before jumping to his feet. He looked each one of the players in the eyes and spread his arms out before him.
“I won’t let any more of you jump!” He shouted. They all looked at him perplexed at his sudden outburst. “I won’t let anyone else waste their life when we all still have a fighting chance! Look at us! We’re still here, we’re still breathing, we can still smile and move on!” A few looked at each other and started muttering under their breath, looks of distrust and sadness being thrown around. “Don’t give in to the despair that Kayaba threw at all of us! We have families and friends, even jobs that we want to get back to someday! If we give up now what would it all be for?!” People were slowly leaving now. Muttering, shaking their heads, not even saying a word to him. He looked each of them in the eyes as the last words faded away. One person all that was left. She gave him a weak smile before walking away.
Hope and joy filled his chest as he watched her walk away. That smile was the only thing this world needed. He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. He would make it his goal to be like the heroes from his grandfather’s tales and bring hope to this world filled with despair. If even one person could smile, everything would be that much better. With a sigh of relief that everyone walked away, he rested his hand on his rapier Gabriel (named after his grandfather). He vowed that he would become a light in the world and walked into the <<Town of Beginnings>>.
WC: 1,243
“This is a joke right?! It’s all a dream or something! C’mon, you all got some sort of message that I didn’t about this event right?! Jokes on me! Right?! Right???!!” Taront jerked free of his grasp and just stared at the player with wide, confused eyes. The other player's eyes were so wild and filled with fear that a cold, icy tendril, flowed down Taront’s spine. Out of fear, he took a quick step backwards and smacked into a female player who let out an ear piercing scream. The entire plaza fell deathly silent as the last of the scream echoed off of the buildings and faded away. Out of nowhere, everyone began yelling and screaming, crying, and running to the exits. More than anything, players stood there frozen, their eyes empty and vacant. The mass panic and confusion caused Taront’s mind to shut down. He couldn’t believe what was going on before his eyes.
“Hey Raine! We’re all going to log in as soon as we get home so be sure to have your gear good and ready to go alright?!” Raine (Taront in game) looked at his friends and smiled brightly, “I look forward to it!” They had all been looking forward to this game for months and it's launch day had finally come. It was all they had been talking about since the game was announced. They had invited Raine to play as well as a distraction from the passing of his late grandfather. Getting excited, he logged in early so he could meet them all as soon as possible. All of them had looked forward to this death game, not knowing what was going to happen to them.
He shook his head, he had to find his friends. They had to be here somewhere. Hesitantly, he reached out in front of him, pulling out his menu and went to the friends tab. His breath caught in his throat as he looked upon the names of all three of his friends. Each of them were greyed out and in parentheses next to it; offline. Taront felt sick, as if someone had drove a sledgehammer into his stomach. No no no no. They can’t be dead, they just logged out before they disabled it. Yeah, that has to be it. He had just been questing with them earlier before the random teleport, so he knew the truth but he didn’t, no he couldn’t admit it. He couldn’t admit that his best friends were really gone from the world. It didn’t logically add up. This was supposed to be about them being heroes and questing together, not about losing your life the moment you slip up.
Taront was in such a bad daze that he began wandering aimlessly through the <<Town of Beginnings>>. Eventually his legs gave out and he fell against a wall to the entrance of a musky alleyway. Even though they were inside the game, his eyes felt hot and the steady caress of tears fell from his chin. He didn’t even want to try wiping them away. “Damn,” he muttered. “Dammit dammit. Why? Why the hell did this happen?!” A few NPC’s glanced his way but continued on with their day. There were no other players in sight as the last rays of the sun dipped down low over the town. Taront lost track of how long he just sat there, eyes staring at nothing but his feet.
The sound of people screaming snapped him out of his daze. Curiosity caught the better of him and he groggily got to his feet. His vision still seemed blurry from all of the crying and his head hurt something awful. Stumbling out of the other end of the alleyway, he spotted a crowd gathered around the edge of the town. Making his way into the crowd, he watched in horror as a player climbed up onto the low stone wall, looking out over the vast, empty sky. Without thinking, he rushed forward to yank the player backwards...only to grab nothing but air. The shrill scream as they went down into the sky pierced his ears and he dropped to his knees. It didn’t make sense! Why would they jump?! Rage and sorrow filled his chest. This world is filled with so much darkness… Is there no hope anymore? Is there no longer any light? What is the point of any of this?
“Remember to go forward with kindness and hope in your heart. If you don’t show hope, then those around you won’t either.” Taront blinked, the words his grandfather had spoken to him so many times, cut through him. What am I doing? Staying here on my knees, giving up on the world? The crowd of faces were all players; some crying, some with downcast looks, even some with angry faces. There wasn’t a single attempt at smiling or happiness. Not only himself, but it seems that everyone else had given into the despair. Biting his lip, he slammed his fist into the ground before jumping to his feet. He looked each one of the players in the eyes and spread his arms out before him.
“I won’t let any more of you jump!” He shouted. They all looked at him perplexed at his sudden outburst. “I won’t let anyone else waste their life when we all still have a fighting chance! Look at us! We’re still here, we’re still breathing, we can still smile and move on!” A few looked at each other and started muttering under their breath, looks of distrust and sadness being thrown around. “Don’t give in to the despair that Kayaba threw at all of us! We have families and friends, even jobs that we want to get back to someday! If we give up now what would it all be for?!” People were slowly leaving now. Muttering, shaking their heads, not even saying a word to him. He looked each of them in the eyes as the last words faded away. One person all that was left. She gave him a weak smile before walking away.
Hope and joy filled his chest as he watched her walk away. That smile was the only thing this world needed. He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. He would make it his goal to be like the heroes from his grandfather’s tales and bring hope to this world filled with despair. If even one person could smile, everything would be that much better. With a sigh of relief that everyone walked away, he rested his hand on his rapier Gabriel (named after his grandfather). He vowed that he would become a light in the world and walked into the <<Town of Beginnings>>.
WC: 1,243