The phrase "I AM" seemed nonsensical, much like the concepts of the sun, the moon, and the stars. Is this some form of code or merely a delusional idea?
Shan remarked, "In any case, no one knows. For now, let's simply live. I just wanted to share this intriguing idea with you for fun." He chuckled nervously, seemingly apprehensive of potential judgment from me and others that he might come across as eccentric.
I knew he was serious about this, I shouldn't made it sound lightly. Therefore I pat him on the back "You might be right, for now, let's just live and see what is going on, haha."
There was a moment of silence, meanwhile, Stella was sitting alone looking at the dawn until I noticed Ginevra and Setsuna were heading her way.
Out of a sudden, Bridget raised his voice, with a mild laugh "What about the prophet? If the divine judgment exists, then they are probably wide awake right now ."
Stella who sat on a nearby bench responded to his question "Maybe they are meant to not be publicly revealed and work behind the shadows until the right time comes?"
"That is a good way to put it...." Bridget said with contemplation.
"Anyways, let's go get our stuff and return to sector 2," I said to everyone who was going to leave today.
Abruptly, Stella stood up from the bench and said with a serious tone "Everyone, I have something to announce to you."
I already knew what was on her mind, as well as everyone else who was prepared for this moment. We knew she needed her breakthrough and it was time for her to truly shine in the world, after all, she was destined to be a star.
"We already know!" Setsuna said with a sigh, she continued "You are leaving the band right?"
Stella didn't say anything, she just lightly nodded.
"Don't worry, we understand your reason." Said, Setsuna.
Ginevra smiled, and commented, "I am sure you will achieve what you want, go and do it!"
Shan also expressed his encouragement "You have both the strategy and emotional intelligence to achieve what you set your mind to."
Bridget added, flirtyly "And you are also beautiful hehe."
Suddenly Ginevra stood up from the bench, headed over to Bridget, and struck him in the head, perhaps as a way to warn him to watch his tongue and his mind.
"Damn it! I just recovered..." Bridget groaned in pain as he rubbed his head.
Funnily, I could imagine a star spinning around his head. Nonetheless, I didn't know what to say to Stella, but I would like to encourage her as well.
"I am sure, you are going to thrive beyond the up and down in life," I said with a smile.
She smirked and said, "Rare of you to encourage me."
I rubbed the back of my neck and looked away, am I shy?
A few moments later, we returned to the garage. Packed our stuff into the back of Setsuna's SUV, meanwhile, Stella put on her mask and hoodie as she hopped onto her hover bike and packed her stuff into the cargo box on the right side of the bike.
Before I entered the vehicle, I waved goodbye to Bridget and Ginevra. They waved back at me, even though Bridget had a big smile on his face. I could tell he wasn't sure what he would do in the future, I knew he was the kind of guy who would always hide his problem underneath a smile.
"Take care, Einsamer. When I have found an opportunity for our band to perform again, I will let you know." Bridget said with an energetic tone, with a thumbed up and wide smile.
I replied, "Take care as well, I will return when I have some free time."
After that I looked at Ginevra, she smiled with a subtle nod and I returned my nod to her, and then I shifted my attention to look at Stella. Now that I think about it, I hadn't asked her planned after leaving this vibrant city too.
"Where are you going next?" I asked.
"There are many plans that I canceled just to be in this band, so now I will have to resume my schedule with the Galactic entertainment production." Said, Stella.
"Just to be safe, you can follow Setsuna's SUV," I said.
Stella laughed, and stated, "No, I am going full speed."
A voice that commanded attention could be heard "Her Zvesda 3 is faster than even my flying car, but I am always up for a race." Said, Setsuna as she crossed her arms with a smirk, gazing at Stella.
"I don't have that kind of time, see you guys later!"
How about her coffee shop? I almost forget to ask her.
"Wait, will you hire someone to work for your coffee shop?"
"No, I will spend my time looking after my grandmother." She replied, and continued "I am going now, opening the door for me."
For some reason, it felt like she was in a rush.
I had always known that Stella was a fiercely independent individual, even though her appearance was quite feminine. As she ignited her hover bike, it emitted a surprisingly quiet sound due to her use of the eco mode. Meanwhile, Bridget opened the metal door of the garage, causing it to slide upward and reveal the vibrant neon blue and pink lights of the street lamps. Adjacent to them, holographic advertisements were projected by a device attached to the wall along the road.
I also got into the black SUV and glanced out the window to see that Stella had already left. Her hover bike hovered and then ascended into the sky. As the vehicle slowly departed from the garage and took off, I gazed through the car's glass window at the holographic sky that now turned on again so the time was at night, filled with numerous stars and shooting stars in vibrant colors.
"Why did they suddenly decide to turn on the holographic sky?" Setsuna stated as she maneuvered the wheel of her car.
I couldn't help but wonder if I could become a guiding star for someone going through a difficult time, being a star shining without a worry and just being themselves was an ideal life for someone like me who didn't even know what I wanted.
Hundreds of islands are illuminated with their neon lights, despite the world seemingly heading in a negative direction. In this vibrant city, many people continued to embrace their carefree lifestyles, while others diligently worked to support their families.
It was as if they were pretending that nothing significant was happening, creating a sense of detachment from reality. Perhaps this was their way of coping with the unsettling events, by simply choosing to ignore them.
The vehicle traversed through the circular gate, alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of other vehicles. It seemed like the number of people leaving the vibrant city had significantly increased in just one day. It appeared that there were individuals who shared concerns about the events occurring on Zero Zone Island.
Inside the dome of the vibrant city, it remained perpetually night, with the lights only extinguishing as early morning approached. However, outside the dome, sunlight flooded the surroundings, revealing remnants of the previously ruined world.
After an hour, we arrived at Sector 2, and as we entered the dome, everything seemed exactly as before. The towering skyscrapers and the holographic sky that concealed the red sky remained unchanged. However, the real sun on the horizon was now visible, as the lower portion of the holographic sky had turned off, allowing the sunlight to shine through. Meanwhile, the upper section of the holographic sky remained activated, concealing the red sky above.
Meanwhile, Setsuna drove through the city toward the Divine Light cathedral, as the Divine Singa floating island could be seen with naked eyes surrounded by other tiny floating islands. Flew above the building of the island and eventually landed on the grass field near the gate of the cathedral. Before I left the flying vehicles, I asked Setsuna where she was going next.
She responded, "Drop Shan next, then I will return to my father's mansion."
"Take care then." I waved them goodbye.
Shan who sat in the second row nodded and reached out to grab my bag pack at the back of the van and handed it to me, after I took it then the door slid closed, afterward the black SUV levitated toward the sky once again, and caught a lot of attention by the nearby people who had a picnic or just sleeping on the grass as they were staring at the holographic sky now looked at Setsuna's SUV.
Pretending to not notice them staring at me, I walked toward the gate of the cathedral. Arrived before the holographic gate entrance, I stepped forward as it scanned the Bio-Chip on my hand and allowed me to enter. Once again, it felt like I walked through a water wall without getting wet.
I was hoping to see Frederic, one of the security guards here, but I hadn't seen him anywhere; I just hoped I could talk with him and ask him about my performance. Since I hadn't seen him anywhere, I immediately went back to my dorm. On the way there were many girls staring at me and giggling; I just ignored them. Nonetheless, I still overhead their conversation with each other.
"Isn't he the guitarist and vocalist from Renegade 3?"
"Wow, I watched him yesterday via the live stream."
"Has Einsamer always been this handsome before?"
"I never knew such a talented guy was actually an orphan like us! This gives me hope to achieve my dream too."
I was glad to know that our band reached this wider audience, that even now these girls from the cathedral watch our live performance through the live stream.
A rouge voice that annoyed me could be heard, "Yoo, blondie."
I kept moving forward without paying attention to him.
Then with a modified mechanical arm, he tried to stop me as he raised his hand to obstruct my footstep. He wore a white jacket with long brown hair and blue eyes.
I looked at him nonchalantly. "Do you want to get beat up again?"
Actually, I had won a fight against him a few days ago. It seemed like he wasn't satisfied with the outcome.
Then two more men appeared from behind the bushes, including one woman with blonde hair.
The reason why the fight started in the first place is because this blonde girl lied to her boyfriend, Loran, that I was trying to harass her a few days ago when I tried to save one fat woman from being bully by her.
"No, I just want to apologize for her bad behavior."
His words took me by surprise.
"Apology accepted, now move." I tried to take a step, then he stopped me again.
"Wait. Let's do a rematch." He said with a cold smile.
"Last time I beat you, but you almost put me in a hospital with your mechanic arms. It was a waste cause for me."
"Let's change the rule: whoever touches each other three times first wins the match."
I locked eyes with him.
"What is the bet?"
"5000 coins," He quickly replied.
"The AR version of TWOD is also shut down, so we will have to do transcation outside the game system."
He smirked. "Sure, that is what I am about to say as well."
"Let end this as soon as possible."
"Such arrogant!" He said excitedly.
I put my backpack onto the grass of the sidewalk, and then I activated my biodata chip as my eyes glowed in blue light. Loran's eyes also glow the same.
At that moment I saw a holographic system appear before me, projected directly into my eyesight from the chip that connected to my brain and hand.
From the center of the floor between us expanded a blue transparent hexagon shield that increasingly became bigger until it covered a fifty-meter radius of our surroundings.
[Private System: Loran Stark is inviting you to an AR dual.
Notice: Since the TWOD AR version was momentarily under maintenance, skills can be used as a special effect to enhance your attack to deplete your opponent's health bar; however, rewards, achievements, and collections for engaging are momentarily halted.
However, once the duel ends, you cannot engage in any form of violence; doing so is against the law and will be charged to the measured degree.
If the system detect any form of serious injury, the duel will end, and we will alert the nearby authority
Please click "More" to read the terms and guidelines below. [-More-]
[Private System: You agree to the duel.
Coins could not be used as a bet since the TWOD AR version has been shut down; however, you can still enjoy the game.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[The battle begins!]
Without warning, he dashed forward, trying to touch my shoulder. With a swift movement, I evaded him and tried to touch his back, but he too was very flexible as he sat down and tried to swing his feet around to trip me. I quickly jumped up and tried to kick him in the face but refrained from injuring him and instead lost balance, giving him an opportunity to touch me.
I stepped back and said, "Did you plan that?"
"Yes, I know you won't hurt me." With a naughty smirk, he rushed toward me again.
But this time I wasn't holding back; I knew when to be gentle and went to go full psycho mode.
I threw a punch at him; he nervously dodged it to the side, but then I kicked him in the thigh and stomach, causing him to stumble on the ground, and then I walked to gently slap his head.
"YOU! THIS IS CHEATING!" Loran said in anger.
"Well, I know you are a prideful person. So I spice things up a bit to make you see another side of me."
He laughed. "I love the confidence; then I will go all out too."
"Wait... I don't want any injury!" I said, concerned.
He didn't listen and thrust his mechanic arms at me with a special effect, which meant he wanted to end the battle by depleting my health bar from 100 to 0 in one punch and even potentially put me in the hospital!
Then suddenly could be heard, "Hey, what the fuck are you doing this hour? The cathedral has a strict rule. Go to your dorm!"
Loran quickly retracted his punch; I could touch him, but I chose not to.
He approached us; he had a stern look and short black hair. He was the eastern male dorm president.
"Darius, bastard," Loran growled.
He then turned to look at me, and a screen appeared: [Private system: Loran is requesting to cancel the match.
You will receive your original deposit back.]
I accepted without a second thought, although my time was wasted, and I didn't want to stress about it as if I were exhausted.
"Einsamer, leave this to me. I know you are tired. Last time was unavoidable, but this is the second time; don't entertain these troublemakers." He said with a reassured smile.
"Thank you, Darius." I said with a nod as I turned my back toward my dorm.
Loran and his gang didn't stay for long either; they also retreated back to their dorm in the western area as well.
After arriving at the male dorm, I walked through the passageway and stood before my room to scan the biochip by swiping my hand on the door handle. Once I heard a click sound, I opened the door and closed it once I entered my room.
I took a deep breath of fresh air and the cozy warmth of my room; finally, I could rest in peace, not disturbed by anyone.
I switched my clothes to more loose clothes to feel comfortable. After I put my backpack away, I took my rollable and bendable guitar out from my backpack and took time to practice.
Now since I couldn't find coins anymore through the VR and AR version of TWOD and other virtual reality games, I must focus on being good at playing guitar so I can help my band reach a wider audience. Although people would use other means to bet their coins, the system of Duel still exists as the form of AR.
After spending 2 hours on practice, I took time to read a web novel and read various news on my tablet. One of the news items mentioned a solar eclipse that was going to happen in the next week; it would be visible to most domes.
Later, I did a stretch and push-up. Then I took a shower and ordered sushi from the delivery app. Upon waiting for 10 minutes, I looked at the map that tracked the drone that delivered my food; it was already in front of my dorm. Therefore, I went out to get it and returned to my room, filled my stomach, and listened to music for hours straight until I fell asleep. I hope tomorrow will be an easygoing day for me.
*
Dream
In my dreams, a purple-haired girl walked before me. She was one of my long-time friends in TWOD! I was alongside other players, gazing at the ever-glowing, painting-like sky of Midgard from one of the islands of the Tower of Eternia.
The attractive purple-haired girl noticed me; she looked me in the eyes with her purple eyes.
*
I woke up with a blushing cheek. "Lasiv... this girl gives me confused feelings."