❦Gadan

"Wu-ssi, this is a limited edition of Switzerland chocolate that hasn't get in the market yet. I bought it exclusively for you."

Kris glanced at his side to look at a female with long wavy hair presented the box of chocolate wrapped in elegant maroon wrapper but it wasn't a first time someone ever gave him that. This was the tenth presents he got this week and truthfully he felt sick of it as he knew the very reason of each of them who gave him those presents solely just to make a good note with him, the son of Wu enterprises; one of world most influential company. With those money Kris could buy anything everything he wanted to but truthfully he's sick of it. Those fake friends, those fake smiles he had to see everyday slowly run his patience low it wasn't long for him to completely break down in anger but he knew if he ever did something like that he wouldn't hear the end of it from his father. He suddenly remember about the virtual world game headgear he bought a day before. The console immediately picked his attention as what those salesmen told him "This console would make you enter a new world, Sir. World where no one would judge you. People would be friend with each other without knowing the real life you, it's your choice if you want to tell them about it or just leave it as mystery."

He immediately stood up not minding about the shocked look on that chocolate girl and quickly made his way out from the school building. Kris get inside his car and drove back home with a grin on his face; he couldn't wait to finally try the game. It didn't take a long time for him to reach the Wu mansion, he just parked his car and dashed to his room ignoring the weird look he got from the butlers and maids he passed along the way he just informed his personal butler to "Don't let anyone get inside my room for whatever reason or I'll fire you." Once he locked his door, Kris' eyes quickly scanned the room for that box and almost jumped from happiness when he found it under his study table. He took the box out and read the manuals quickly; after he understand how its work, Kris quickly set the machine accordingly his heart beat faster in anticipation of seeing how this virtual world work as he never was a gamer.

Turning the machine on, Kris laid down on his bed and trying to get into more comfortable position as the machine checking his vital sign and brainwave making sure its at normal condition. He blinked when he saw floating words asking him to input a username and to chose the fairy race he'd belong to; all the while he hadn't stopped grinning as the excitement engulfed his entire being. After getting it all done, all the light slowly dimmed and in a blink of eye everything changed. Kris scanned the area which looked like a town in desert and smiled as he heard the voice saying "Welcome to Fiore online. Current location The capital of Gadan." He looked down to take in his appearance and again a smile of satisfaction appear on his lips "Well, time to find out more about this world." Now there's no one named Kris Wu, instead of that man here stood the salamander Cain.

A sigh escaped from the corners of Hyojin's mouth as she plopped down her chair. She examined the unopened box on her hands with curiosity, wondering how a device could bring her away from the real world. Based on her experience with video games, the virtual world was enough to make her forget for a while, but it was temporary. Once she turned the TV off, everything will be gone, and she was back to the real world. At some point, she would feel like she was a part of the game, but that was just it. She could not feel how is it like to kill an enemy, or defeat monsters with a light saber or some sort.

"It would make you forget," the salesman told her when her eyes laid on the headgear's box back in the store. "You will see, feel, smell, and be a part of the game. Trust me: it works with basically every teen like you."

She suspected that it was just an exaggeration or some sort, but trying wouldn't hurt, would it? "I must be going nuts," she muttered before opening the box. She examined the gear for a while before she put it on, letting it drift her to another world. The next thing she knew, she was entering a username and choosing a fairy race. And then she was in a completely different world.

But that was her purpose of buying the headgear: getting away from her own world, and entering a new one.

Her mindless entertainment ended when the screen blinked and flashed to darkness once more, enough for momentary apprehension to resurface before any objections were silenced by complete immersion. Resplendent surroundings and realistic aesthetics, the world before her presented limitless capabilities if she surrendered herself to idealism, releasing her earth-bound stresses through a virtual reality – one almost idealistic to truly exist.

“Okay.” She breathed out an exhilarated, anticipatory sigh, nerves already humming with the desire to move, to act. A broad smile broke through her stoic exterior, feet carrying her to an unknown destination and instincts only urging her faster, farther. “Okay.”

[ 3/3 ]

Glancing at the clock and gauging the exact movement of the hands, Sojin timed her approach to the closet and aimlessly sifted through the contents, purposefully delaying the inevitable despite knowing the box's exact location. She continued shuffling around items unnecessarily, repressing the compulsion to reorganize the disaster she created as her fingers brushed against the box, securing around it and carefully extracting it. Staring down at the minimalist design of an otherwise gaudy product, Sojin permitted herself a reluctant, bittersweet smile, fingers tightening around the corners before her attention was recaptured and immersed in preparation. She was committed.

Hooking up the machine with methodical precision, she briefly scanned the instructions for precautions, eyes flickering uncertain towards the headgear. Her classmates had always been more technologically knowledgeable than her and, despite her intended major, her knowledge of actual machinery (particularly luxury products) was minimal. Her hesitance intensified as each second passed, extended into tortuously long moments of silence as she stared ahead at opaque dark shading, hearing her measured breaths coincide with her irregular heartbeats. Finger resting upon the power button, Sojin inhaled swiftly and pressed down, watching as a clean interface appeared before her. The set-up alone amazed her; already beyond her expectations as she navigated the menus in awe, leisurely and reluctantly inputting and confirming the necessary information.

[ 2/3 ]

Sojin needed an escape. She needed a distraction to reality, an alternative to the truth. She craved relief.

The g(x) headgear stored in the closet offered that momentary preoccupation, that illusory concept of productivity and contentedness, and was enticing in its accessibility. It could relieve her of her burdens and responsibilities, ease away her worries and fears, enrapture her in splendor and indulgence. Addicted to oblivion, she previously sought solace in exhaustion, physical fatigue and mental weariness a state of secure debilitation as a product of her independence and diligent labor. In her occupied consciousness, she could not dismiss the concerns and doubts that arose from her actions, but in internalizing weakness, in collapsing and allowing herself rest, she'd succumb to the suppressed necessities of humans and lapse into blissful unconsciousness. For years, this repetitive cycle of self-induced negligence and recuperation had been enough. She'd never faltered, never surrendered and was never caught, but recent consideration for her exceptional work merited her increased pay and more recreational time – a concept she'd never confronted before.

Suddenly, minutes and occasionally hours weren't occupied working, studying, cleaning, exercising, socializing; left to confront her bleak reality. Time had been wasted in inconsideration and her adherence and prioritization of orderliness and structure had been fractured, replaced by the disheartening loneliness and debilitating disappointment at the realization of her needless efforts. Rather than seeking fulfillment or happiness, she craved nothingness instead – the mindless repetition of a wholly occupying schedule, uninterrupted by trivial actions and praised as exceptionally efficient. The g(x) could satiate that desire, could occupy those numbing minutes and re-stabilize her life.

[ 1/? ]