Game invitation (2)

Train wheels screeched against the faint luminescent railway, the realm rift shattering an opening to the real world. 

Johannes had no time to be curious about the stop. Aksel passed out cold on the floor, his body temperature was dropping rapidly before, but now that they're temporarily in the real world, his temperature returned back to normal. 

Once the train came to a full stop, Johannes could see Aksel's eyelids twitching and slowly opening. 

"What… happened?…"

"You're awake!" He yelled out.

The carriage door slid open and a passenger stepped inside. Once the door closed, the train began moving again, re-entering the realm rift. Aksel's head dropped against the floor with a splats. It sounded so bad, it was as if his skull broke or something. 

"NO!"

The female passenger who just stepped inside got startled by his scream. Concerned, she walked over to check out the situation. She didn't need to ask to know what was going on.

"Bring your friend to a private room. I've got the pills."

Johannes turned around with hopeful eyes, but he was met with another worry. The private rooms cost a lot and could already be reserved by others. She reassured him that she'll handle it later. Hopefully the owner of the room will be understanding. If not, she promised to take responsibility.

For now their priority is his well being. Now that the train is back in the realm rift, his body temperature will be dropping drastically again.

***

Waking up from what seemed like a deep nap, Aksel found himself in a fancy room. He couldn't make much sense of his surroundings since his vision was blurry.

From his left, he could hear the sound of a door creaking open. Though his vision is blurry, he could see a radiant blonde shade of hair staring back at him.

In the corner of the room, he sees a Daniele figure who seems to be Johannes.

The more his vision got clearer, he could make more sense of what was happening. 

He hears the door shutting, the radiant blonde hair disappearing from sight. 

Repeated thanks sounded from the same corner where Johannes bowed and bowed to a woman in black hair. 

Johannes seemed to be thanking her for lending him something. His vision was clear, but his edre still seemed to be recovering from earlier. 

Johannes stopped thanking the woman when he saw Aksel wide awake.

His dear best friend was beyond relieved to see Aksel awake, but one thing questioned Aksel.

"Johannes…"

"Yeah?"

"Why is… Thea here?"

"The…a?"

Eyes flapped shut and open twice as he slowly turned back to look at the woman in an awkward manner. He couldn't believe his eyes. 

He strutted over to the door, his body swaying around as if he was about to pass out. 

"Y'all can chit chat all y'all want, I feel like I'm gonna get a headache again…"

Left in the room after that exchange was only Aksel and the other woman who he called Thea. 

His mind stormed with questions he had been wanting to ask for all these years. However, he was forced to let it wait when an announcement came. 

They had reached the final destination, where the game was scheduled to take place. Aksel wondered how much time had passed while he was unconscious, for the train to have already arrived at their destination.

The woman named Thea glanced at him and said, "You've been passed out for about six hours."

Aksel was taken aback by her words, surprised by how she seemed to read him like an open book.

It took him aback, because the version of her he remembered, she who he remembered was a stubborn and naive tyrant who overthrew everyone with brutality, was very different from the calm and collected person sitting in front of him. 

Despite the passage of 12 years, he finds it hard to wrap his head around how much she changed. She felt like another person, wearing that smile which Aksel relates to. It holds no humanity or meaning behind.

It is ironic, he is in no place to judge when he himself had undergone a drastic change too. 

Thea stood up from her seat, "C'mon, we've gotta go."

"Go where?"

Her arm raised, finger pointing outside the window. His jaw felt like dropping. The scenery out there was otherworldly, like literally. The land bore no resemblance to the earth he knew, not with those tall towering snowy peaks in the distance. Amidst all those is a random skyscraper.

As he took in the scenery outside, Thea opened the door, heading outside. 

Outside the room, the two were met with Johannes sitting on a bench, who had been waiting for them this whole time.

Right as he they stepped out of the train, a strong gust of wind hit them in the face like a harsh slap. It didn't hurt much, nothing new when compared to his homeland which becomes a winter wonderland during winter with equally cruel snowstorms. 

Though he is used, no one really likes to stand in snow while being hit with strong gusts of winds.

Up close, the skyscraper was tall with fancy double doors, adorned in detailed carving. 

Upon entering, the interior to him seemed nothing more than like a hotel lobby. A reception in the middle, but no staff to be seen anywhere. Decorated to the brim with expensive plants and so on.

He wondered if this was really where the game would be taking place. Before Aksel could choose who he wants to ask the question from, Thea reads him like an open book, "This building is for the players to rest at. The real game takes place in another place," followed by an unsettling, blank smile. 

Johannes, who wasn't part of the earlier conversation, had no clue what was going on, but went along. 

Thea and Johannes begin chatting about what floor their rooms are on when they remember Aksel being a newbie.

They inquired about his room, which led to them inquiring about the screen. Aksel, being a newbie, had no idea what to answer nor did he know what the screen they were asking about was. 

To save herself and Johannes some time, she yanked a guide book from the reception and threw it at Aksel. 

Calling the screen is a basic command, so the guide book wasn't needed yet. 

Thea guided him to draw his finger across the air and just imagine. A blue screen popped out of thin air, it was like a video game. On the screen contained his profile which he could edit and others could see. There also seemed to be rankings, an inventory space and a balance account. Aksel, who was a newbie, had zero coins in his balance.

Instead of looking at the person she planned on doing it for, she turned to Johannes, "Choose a number between 10 to 100."

"91."

They could see Thea tapping something on her screen.

Moments later, Aksel's screen popped out without his command which perplexed him and also Johannes. On the screen was a notification.

[ 91 000 coins have been transferred to your account. ]

Both pairs of eyeballs nearly popped out of their eye sockets at the sum. Aksel who couldn't accept the money and Johannes who found it unfair. He meant it as a joke, but the next thing he knew, he got the same message as Aksel. To make it fair, she also sent him 91 000 coins.

It raised concerns for them whether their childhood friend had a life outside of this game or not. To be able to nonchalantly give 182 000 coins and still can confidently state you have enough to lend money whenever they needed.

"Thea… Isn't this unhealthy…?"

"Why do you say so?"

They were heartbroken, seeing their childhood friend had become an addict to a game. Thea read their thoughts like an open book. Aksel could tell so by her unamused expression.

That aside, Thea told Aksel to open the settings. There, it is stated that his room is on the 90th floor. It surprised him greatly, when he was still on the train and outside the building, it did not seem that tall. Perhaps it was the harsh snowstorm that was camouflaging it.

Searching around, he saw no elevator in sight nor anything that could seem like an elevator. Aksel felt a surge of dread thinking they'd have to climb all the way to the 90th floor by foot. 

Behind his back, he felt the same pair of eyes staring at him. 

"Don't stress too much," Thea said, tapping him on the shoulder.

She wandered forward to a cylinder platform centered in the lobby. Johannes too followed after.

"Thea, this…?"

She said nothing and instead gestured to him to step on too. A screen same as theirs popped up, but it had a different interior compared to theirs. It was a control panel, floor numbers ranging from one to a hundred. Thea's finger landed on the number 90. A what seems like a barrier was casted around the platform as protection. Steadily, the cylinder platform ascended from the floor, going upwards at a rapid speed. 

At the ground floor, it was desolate and silent, but the higher floors he reached, the more people he saw. It wasn't a big number by any means, but still better than seeing no one at all.

Nearing the 90th floor, the supposed elevator began slowing down. It felt as if gravity was leaving the area within this platform as his body felt lighter than a feather. 

The protection barrier faded away, allowing them to step out of the elevator. He was welcomed by an intersection of a corridor. The interior of this skyscraper was more than fancy and modern with even a minibar on every floor. He speculated that such splendor was provided only because their lives are on the line. Might as well enjoy while it lasts.

 Johannes went ahead and headed to his room, saying he had some urgent business to handle. 

Thea had no problem guiding Aksel, she loved guiding newbies she said. So far, they've been stuck in this intersection of a corridor. It seemed more like a maze than anything. 

It was then when a man approached them. Aksel was wary, ready to throw hands but Thea who went ahead and jumped on the man for a hug while calling him by a unique name, Latio. 

Assuming their closeness, he gets the feeling they're siblings. It confused Aksel slightly since, if his memories serve him right, Thea always stated she was an only child. However, he reminded himself that family matters are private and resolved not to be nosy.

Speaking of which, though the corridor was dimly lit for it was nighttime, Aksel couldn't help but notice the moonlight shining its luminosity on Latio's hair which was a beautiful shade of platinum blond. He couldn't believe his eyes. How someone could be so good looking. His looks were otherworldly. It was fictional men level beauty. At this point, Aksel might become a fanboy. 

He got a sudden shiver feeling the same pair of eyes on him, originating from Thea. He wondered if she read him like an open book again. Strangely, this time she said nothing. 

The two siblings had a bonding moment before they had to break apart once again. Thea went her own way, trying to search for Aksel's room in this maze of a corridor. 

Latio felt pity, so he was offering to help Aksel and Thea find Aksel's room. 

Aksel opened his screen and showed his room number. While Thea blabbered about how no matter how endlessly they wandered for, they just can't find that darn door with those numbers. 

Considering Thea is someone who had a lot of ingame currency, he was surprised she didn't know this building like the back of her hand. 

While Thea continued blabbering, Latio pointed at a door, Aksel's eyes followed. 

A hand landed on her shoulder, in which she quieted down to look over her shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"We found it."

"You found what?"

"The right door."

Thea looked past Aksel and Latio's shoulders, behind was a door carved with numbers same as Aksel's door number. 

Feeling defeated and ashamed, she sat beneath a console table leaned against the wall. 

Latio sighed as if this isn't the first time his little sister has acted like this, "Can you stop?"

Thea said nothing and continued being gloomy.

"I apologize on her behalf," he tapped Aksel on the shoulder, "She's a bad guide so good luck."

Left in the corridor was Aksel and Thea who was still being gloomy. He tried to console her saying he isn't bothered at all, but that wasn't what upset her most. It was the time. His heart dropped when she said when the game was going to start. 

He spent nine hours unconscious on the train. They spent an hour trying to look for his room. They had merely eight hours left before the first round. Aksel felt like cursing but that would be of no help. 

"Can you at least… Help me settle in my room?"

"Aight…" She stood up, brushing the dust off her clothes. 

Opening the door to his room, he was expecting a comfortable bed to hop on to sleep, but to his disappointment the room was deadass empty. Not even a single dust particle was to be seen in the room. He felt like crying.

His body slumped from defeat.

"Wait-! AKSEL-!" Thea tried her best to keep him standing, but he was losing hope. 

She pitied the poor guy, but she was also part of the reason for his suffering.