2 And So, I Died

At one point in my life I went by the name Hishaku Arisu, even that time when I was briefly incarcerated. Now however, in this strange place with strange people, I am Aeolus, supreme overlord of Aeolia, conqueror of Elrev.

Aeolia is the name of the floating land above Dorma the capital city of Halrio in the game Kingdom Crawlers. It's a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Fantasy Role Playing Game aka VRMMORPG, with magic and dragons and stuff like that. Players around the world are supposed to complete various quests, compete in arena style contests, participate in player versus player events, gather XP and max out all their stats, skills and levels to advance onto greater quests, fame and fortune.

One of the major quests that almost every player in the land of Elrev wishes to complete or at least come close to completing is the magical floating land, Aeolia and obtain secret information, scrolls and skill boosts within the dark castle at the center, that may unlock hidden levels and skills in the game exclusive only to the person or party that finishes the quest. It's too high up for flight magic to reach and even so, it has a magical, level 140 barrier around it, and past that are the monsters and magical beasts that protect the interior. Players call it the floating fortress that puts Fort Knox to shame. I named my character wittingly aiming for the day I become the champion of Aeolia… And I did. I even remodeled the island and rebuilt the castle on it to my liking.

Since I was six, I've been a gamer. Didn't matter what kind of game, could be chess, cards or even mahjong, but I was the best at whatever game I started and online videogames were no exception. By the time I was fourteen I was so obsessed with computers and technology that I had already become a hacker without realizing, and since I was a major shut-in with no friends IRL, videogames were the only things I did tirelessly. By seventeen the entire gaming world knew my name. They called me the pro-gamer, Black controller, but since I made a living off hacking, I couldn't ever reveal my identity. Them knowing that I've beaten every game and currently hold the record in Japan for best online game player is good enough.

If people knew I was BC, they'd think I used cheat codes I obtained by hacking software companies to win. Winning would be fairly easy that way, I agree, but I have never cheated in any videogame. It's easy to cheat with cards and board games since that's what your basically supposed to do to win when not relying on luck, but I've never cheated in a videogame because the thrill of winning vanishes if I do. Occasionally, trolls spread rumors about how BC cheats to win all the games he's played. I don't really care what people think I do to win, however, since I'm basically an illegal hacker, I can't have anyone finding out I'm BC or I'd have serious jail time.

Five months ago, I was arrested on charges of assisted robbery. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, aka The Killjoys, found out I helped this crazy dude hack into the bank's security cameras, so he could rob the place without footage showing up. But the case was suddenly ruled inconclusive due to a major lack of evidence and I was released after five months behind bars.

The day I got released, I ended up dying. I know, lame. The funniest thing happened though, after arriving at Shinjuku, while heading to my apartment, I was pushed into traffic by some guy, but when I turned around right before getting hit by a car, I heard him say "Oops! Wrong guy." After that I woke up here, in this dark, empty space of nothingness, with the same appearance I had when playing Kingdom Crawlers; horns, cloak, staff, long straight hair and everything, and before me is the dude who ended my life. What the hell is going on?

"Don't be alarmed," He speaks, his voice sounding softer than I originally processed. "It's me. The guy who pushed you."