Are you crying?

Arthur quickly washed, dressed and ate as if in a dreamlike state. He was pretty sure he spilled more food than he ate due to his mind continuing to wander. He just couldn't seem to figure out just what the hell had happened to him.

"Stop by the pharmacy after work and get some energy vitamins," His mother ordered him as she ushered him out of the door. "You're like a walking zombie this morning."

"Yes mother." Arthur grumbled as he waved goodbye and entered the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.

As the familiar godawful background music began to drone on and on, Arthur found his mind focusing back on m what exactly had happened to him.

It seemed that he had somehow travelled back ten years in the past after being hit by a truck.

Yeah, that still sounded insane.

"You're finally here!" A familiar yet haunting voice called out to Arthur and he looked up slowly to see Lance approaching him. That messy sandy blonde hair and dark green eyes made a sharp pain stab through his chest.

It was really him.

Arthur and Lance had been best friends since they could walk. Both of their mothers had been in the same birthing unit and became good friends even after the babies were born. They would spend pretty much everyday together and made sure to attend the same school and same subjects so that they were never apart.

They were more like brothers than friends and that was why it was so hard for Arthur to move on after Lance was killed.

"Are you crying?" Lance looked stunned for a moment as he came to a stop before Arthur and held him at arms length. "Do you really not want to go into work that badly?" Even now those dark green eyes were so full of concern and care for Arthur that it made him want to crumple there on the spot and tell Lance how much he had missed his brother after so many years.

But he couldn't.

"Eh?" Arthur jumped slightly and rubbed at his eyes. "My hay-fever is really bad today." He laughed shakily. Lance stared at him for a moment before shaking his head and put his arms around Arthur's shoulders before dragging him down the street.

They walked in silence for a bit and a thousand thoughts and questions ran through Arthur's mind.

Should he tell Lance what was happening to him?

No, he would definitely think he was crazy.

His mother would also freak out and send him to a psychiatrist if he began telling her that he died and managed to somehow travel ten years into the past. Hell, it even sounded crazy to him too!

As his mind wandered on and on through every possible reason as to why he came back in time, every thought lead him to the same question.

What the hell was he supposed to do now?

"Are we still heading to the store after this to pick up the new headsets?" Lance asked, his voice snapping Arthur from his warring thoughts.

"Headsets?" Arthur repeated confusingly.

"For Solistia Online you dumbass!" Lance groaned. "We've been talking about this for months! You really are out of it today, aren't you?"

Arthur froze and his eyes widened.

This was it! It was if a lightning bolt had just passed through him as his whole body lit up with excited energy. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as a grin creeped across his face.

He didn't know why he had been sent back in time, or why exactly he had been sent back to this exact date, but it seemed highly coincidental that he had been brought back to the day that the largest and most popular Virtual Reality game was released.

Was he being given a second chance? Did the universe agree that he was treated too cruelly by the ones he called friends? Did the universe or gods or whatever see how hard he dedicated himself to the game to give him a complete redo?

He had been addicted to everything that had to do with Solistia Online and that information was now all imprinted in his mind.

He was essentially a walking, talking guide book to Solistia Online.

He had played day and night and even when he wasn't in the game, he would spend hours reading through the countless forums and chat rooms that were to do with the game.

He studied every hidden quest and every hidden item that was discovered within the game. It was this obsession that lead him to be scouted out by the Guild that he used to be apart of.

If he entered the game now with this knowledge… he shivered at the possibilities of what he could become.

"You don't look so good man," Arthur snapped back to reality and watched as Lance stared at him, his face full of concern. "Maybe you should just head home, I'll sort something out with the manager."

"No, no!" Arthur laughed sheepishly, his body still trembling with excitement as he began walking towards the Café. "I'm just excited to get playing that game tonight."

"Hell yeah!" Lance grinned. "It launches at midnight. We'll meet up inside as soon as we get logged in."

"I can't wait." Arthur grinned back, his hands clenched in determination. After a morning filled with such confusion and misery, he was finally beginning to see the benefits of this crazy situation he found himself in.

If he had truly been given a second chance to redo the last ten years over again, he wouldn't waste it.

He would use his knowledge to become the most powerful and richest player in the game. He would build the worlds best guild and create the games best kingdom. He would save Lance and help the friends that were true to him till the end.

As for the ones that stabbed him in the back… he would make them pay.