Chapter 1 - Update

In the vast expanse of space, amongst a sea of stars, laid a man- battered and bruised. His spacesuit blared, warning him of low oxygen levels as his ship fell to pieces. He watched as a fleet of ten ships started to surround him. Ships the size of skyscrapers. They bore sigils and dawned colours separate from each other, making them stand apart. Their only commonality was a metallic gold which shone under starlight. It enveloped a large part of their ships. 

Clank Clank Clank. The sounds of armour got increasingly louder. 

The half-dead figure turned towards it as a man walked out in red and gold armour, resembling the ship whose deck he stood a top of. With turrets on either side, he stood poised and authoritative. He pulled a small, sphere-shaped device with a little antenna of it from seemingly mid-air. 

He took a deep breath. "Zeika, I am here to offer you an ultimatum." the man's voice thundered. "Either surrender all that you have stole from us- or face this unending slaughter." 

Zeika closed his eyes ever so slowly. 

*** 

Beeps of a barcode reader rang throughout the store. Zein Karpa. A man in his early twenties who hunched behind the counter. He scanned the remaining items of an old man. Zein stared at him as he examined a gift card with a circular badge. Artwork depicting wyverns soaring through the skies adorned it with a logo which read 'AGE OF DIVINITY'. On the back, in large red text 'Forge your destiny alongside 500 million other divines in a universe with endless possibilities. To begin your journey, a VR Spacequest is required. At the bottom, a PG13 sticker. The old man threw the card towards Zein. He billed it.

"That'll be 50.55." he said expressionless. "How would you like to pay? Cash or card?"

The old man rummaged through his pockets and found a crumpled coupon. He slammed it on the counter. 

" I have a 20 dollar coupon, I'll be paying the rest in cash." said the old man.

Zein studied the coupon, squinting through his round-rimmed glasses. He looked back and forth between the man and his coupon.

"I don't know how to tell you this…" Zein gathered himself. "But your coupon expired."

"What!"

"Twenty years ago in fact. An artefact of the past."

"That can't be right!" 

"It says so right here."

Zein ran his index finger over the expiry date, showing 2007. 

The old man, heated "So what! I still don't see why it can't be accepted! I'll have you know, kid, I have been a loyal customer of Rich's for a long time now, longer than you've been alive!" 

Zein had lips pursed, as the old man continued to demean and argue. At the front of the store, a taller man entered, dressed in glossy, oxford shoes, an overcoat which brushed his ankles, and a shawl. His eyes drew towards the ongoing struggle between cashier and customer. He decided to watch in amusement. Zein, noticing him, shot the man a glare. 

He regained his composure and attempted what he thought was a smile. "Would you like-"

"Bring me your manager now! I can't believe his hiring practices. All you youngsters don't know your place" he interrupted. 

An awkward laugh. "I ensure you I'll bring-"

"What's all the hub ub Zein!" he was interrupted once more by a shorter man with a bald head and a moustache covering his mouth. "Ah!" Zein tripped over himself. They both turned to face the old man. 

"Oh! Why if it isn't Ronald. Zein, why don't you go and pack up for the night. Your friend seems to be waiting for you as well." he said. 

"Manager! I need to speak with you about your employee right here who has been nothing but arrogant and unhelpful from the start." he said, voice growing louder.

He stroked his moustache "Oooh is that right." he smiled. 

Zein took this time to escape towards the taller man, making sure the registry was closed and the bill was laid out on the counter. 

"Yo, Clark. Why are you out here harassing me at my place of employment."

"Harassment! Lil 'ol me? How could you say that when I drove all the way down here just to see my buddy. My hombre. My friendo. My-"

"Alright alright." Zein exhaled. "Let's go get my stuff."

"Let's go! Let's go!" Clark said with a toothy smile, throwing his arm around Zein. 

The store was lit a warm orange and lined with shelves stocked with a plethora of sports equipment. From football to table tennis, one could find it all. Clark ran his finger across the shelf, a speck of dust unseen on his fingers.

"Who cleans this place?"

"I do. The manager can't reach the top shelves so he asked if I could take care of it." 

"Not bad Zeizei." Clark smirked. Zein felt a shiver run down his spine. 

The boys made their way to the back of the store and entered a back room. Inside the dull grey room, benches and a couple of lockers existed. Zein unlocked one of the lockers and started packing a small rucksack. Clark took a look around at the other end of the room. "Zeizei, mind if I get some wifi." He called. 

"Sure, yeah, hand me your phone."

Clark threw his phone. "Catch!"

"Huh?" Zein snaps his body, juggling the phone like a circus act. "Don't ya drop that! It's a high-end you know." Clark laughed. Zein clutched it. "Yes, yes you've told me. Multiple times." he typed in the password. " Wait. Why don't you just use your data?" Zein asked, throwing it back. Clark caught it with one hand " Don't wanna waste it. Plus I wanna watch an Age stream. They're announcing something today. Something big according to 'em."

Zein finished packing up. "Is that right."

Clark's eyes lit up. "What are you interested in?! You gonna come back!"

"Not at all." Zein brushed him away. "I'm just happy playing cat cat collector at home." he giggled. "My kitties are so cute."

"But I wanna play with my pal!" Clark cried. "C'mon man, at least one raid. Please!" he pleaded.

"Listen-" Before Zein could finish, a jingle. 

"Oh, it's starting. Watch with me, at least." Clark gestured to sit with him. Zein sighed and took a seat beside him as the stream kicked up. 

"Hello everybody!" A boisterous man came on screen. "I hope you all have been well. As you may know, we have a huge announcement to make! Something which could shake the world to its core. But before that, let's talk about some bug fixes and class adjustments."

The stream dragged on. Zein, in the meantime, ventured outside the room. Confused by his manager's disappearance, he made his way towards the vending machine, located by the entrance of the store. Zein, pleased with himself, returned with the cheapest sode he could find. He tossed it to Clark who popped it open without looking and started downing it. Clark, exasperated in breath "Eugh, grape" he downed it once more and passed it back to Zein. They continued to pass it, taking a swig each until the announcer's voice started to boom. 

"Finally, the big announcement. I hope you all are as excited as I am cause hoo boy this is a doozy. I am happy to introduce our largest expansion to Age of Divinity yet, Babel. A cyberpunk world with a whooping four dungeons! Each with its own ancient legend to discover." 

Zein leaned in as a city surrounded by walls and barren wasteland had skyscrapers touching the clouds shown. Babel City held a complex road structure and a tram which rides the skies, shuttling between various buildings. The further you got from the centre, the smaller and dingier the buildings got. Some almost falling apart. Its entrance was an underground tunnel built with white, glossy metal and blue strip lights. 

"Within this world, we have decided to let the players be in control of the economy. There will be open buildings and shops which can be bought by players and guilds in different districts of the city!"

Clark leaned in as footage showed empty buildings, ranging from grandiose furniture, and chandeliers which screamed gaudy, to floors covered in grime and flies buzzing about. 

"To make it even more special. We will be releasing the expansion for free at midnight! We hope to see you all at Babel!" The announcer walked off-screen. Zein and Clark stared in astonishment. Jaws agar and soda dropped. Lucky for them, it was empty. 

"Wait!" the announcer exclaimed. " I have one more thing to share!" He reversed into view. "For our PvP lovers, we are introducing the ADCS, a.k.a the Age of Divinity Championship Series! For the first time in Age's history, we will be holding an open qualifier into a main-stage tournament where people from all over the world will compete for five million dollars! More details on this will be released soon. Once again, thank you for watching!" the announcer waved goodbye and the stream came to a close. 

The boys sat in silence, unable to process what they saw. Clark jumped from his seat.

"I-I need to get back to the guild." he stuttered. "What about you?"

Zein couldn't conjure a reply. All he could repeat was "I"

"C'mon please please please please please please please please please please-"

'Clark. Stop." Zein's eyes drooped. He faced the floor, resting his arms on his knees. Clark contemplated for a second. He reached for Zein's head and shook it. A personal, mini earthquake. "Enough, you're going to undo my hairband." he said in dizziness. 

" I ain't gonna force ya, Zeizei. But, if you really don't wanna, then I guess I'll just have you be the first to hear of all my exploits in Babel." he said boisterously. Zein's gaze shifts towards him as Clark removes his hand. "I wonder what the dungeons are gonna be like." he laughed, plotting. 

Zein shuddered. "Guess I may have to get back into it after all." he grumbled while standing up. Clark smiled. "That's my boy."