8 Connection: Severed

- Meanwhile, Outside of the Game -

(Hina's Perspective)

"Alright... and, done!"

I turned off the stove and let out a deep breath. Dinner was officially ready. We were having tomato and eggs tonight- Kaze-kun's favorite Chinese dish. I'm sure he would love it!

I headed upstairs and knocked on Kaze-kun's door.

"Kaze-kun, dinner is ready," I said, gently turning the door handle, trying to peek inside. But the door was shut tight.

I frowned. "Mou~ what is he doing in there that he has to keep secret from me?"

"Hello? Dinner is ready!" I repeated again, this time in a slightly louder tone. Still no response. I began to get suspicious.

"...Kaze-kun?" I tried knocking again. Still nothing.

Realizing something was off, I stepped back for a moment, and blew the door open with a good solid front kick. Being a black belt in karate really pays off.

"Kaze-kun!" I yelled, looking around. Then, I spotted him lying on his bed peacefully, a helmet around his head. "Oh... he's just on the AR set thing."

I let out a sigh of relief, thinking that he wasn't in any danger. I didn't know much about AR technology, but I knew people had no idea what was going on in the outside world when they were in game.

But... wouldn't that be a little unsafe? Robbers could just get into your house and get out without you even realizing until you notice that certain items were missing from your home. I'm sure there were security measures in place to prevent this; I just didn't know about them, that's all.

That wasn't my problem, though. I just had to worry about Kaze-kun, and Kaze-kun alone.

I sighed and looked on the helmet. I found a button with a power symbol above it, and pressed it, thinking that would forcefully kick him out of the game. But after a few seconds, nothing happened. I frowned in confusion, then pressed it again. Still nothing.

"Mm... I have no idea how this works," I muttered to myself in frustration. "I have no idea, but...

I turned my head, then spotted the user manual to the helmet laying beside Kaze-kun's body. "... This should tell me, right?"

I crawled onto Kaze-kun's bed, careful not to accidentally fall on him, and reached for the guidebook. I got back off and began flipping through it.

"Hm... where is it... aha, here," I smiled as I found what I was looking for. "Forcibly log out... unplug the helmet. Huh, okay, that's easy enough."

Closing the manual, I leaned over Kaze-kun and wrapped my hand around the plug. In one swift motion, I yanked it out with ease, then let go and backed away.

"Kaze-kun, time for dinner~" I said happily, waiting to see his response.

But then, suddenly, something I never would've expected happened.

To my shock and terror, I watched as Kaze-kun's body turned into billions of tiny triangular shards of light, slowly rising up into the air.

Then, they collectively vanished all at once, taking Kaze-kun and my emotions with them.

My heart dropped, and so did my body.

"Wha..." I collapsed to the floor, and could only gasp in horror at what just happened, unable to do a thing.

As much as I wanted to believe it to be, this was not merely a dream. I saw it happen with my own two eyes, right in front of my face:

Kaze-kun was gone.

*****

- Inside the Game -

(Kaze's Perspective)

I froze - I stopped moving, as I felt something like a jolt of electricity travel up my entire body.

I had been on my way chasing after another player in search of more information when this occurred. Suddenly, I felt as if something entered my very soul, and against my own volition, I fell onto the sandy ground, panting.

"Wha... what just happened?" I murmured, looking down at my two open palms.

"Hey, big brother, are you okay?" a little kid and his group of friends rushed over after seeing me fall.

"U-Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Thanks for the concern," I replied, then hurriedly stood back up, still confused as to what the hell that was.

For some reason, even though everything was already realistic enough before, now, my surroundings and the scenery all around seemed even more like real life.

It was as if I was physically a part of this game now - part of this reality.

Then, as I was in a state of confusion, the hologram from before appeared in front of me once more.

[Things have gotten quite interesting now, it seems. Fascinating.]

A mechanical female AI voice said these words. It was cold and emotionless. But what concerned me the most was that I recognized this voice. It was the same voice that had spoken to me in that pit of darkness, when I jumped off that cliff.

"You... who are you? How are you talking via the game menu?" I asked.

[That is not important. I have come to deliver you some important news. Also, the hologram displayed in front of you currently is not called a 'game menu'. It is called a System.]

"Uh... okay? What's the news?" I asked quietly, not wanting to attract too much attention to myself after that brilliant fall just now.

[It seems someone from your old reality accidentally severed your connection to that reality. That is the sudden jolt you felt just now.] The mechanical and somewhat monotone voice said.

"Severed my connection? Reality? What?"

Naturally, I was confused. I had no idea what this AI was talking about.

[To put it in simpler terms... you are stuck here, player. Once a connection to a Reality Plane has been severed, there is no reconnecting it.]

"What...? I'm still confused as to what you're saying," I shook my head, unable to comprehend all this. "So, you're essentially telling me I'm STUCK here? Inside a damn video game? That's... pretty cliche."

After a short silence, the mechanical voice continued.

[... Perhaps an explanation starting from the basics of the basics is necessary. However, before that, I recommend moving somewhere less conspicuous.]

I looked around, realizing I was surrounded by people bustling through the village. Definitely not the place to hold a long conversation. I casually slipped in between two houses and leaned against the wall of one.

"Okay. We should be fine here. Now, talk."

[I dislike that commanding tone you are using, unit. Do I need to remind you? I am not obligated to tell you anything. You are only one single player in my grand game of realities.]

[I am only doing this because I find this sudden turn of events interesting, as nothing like this has ever happened across all the reality planes in existence since the beginning of time. Therefore, I recommend you rethink your attitude.]

"Right... my bad," I took a deep breath and recomposed myself. "Can you please explain to me what you mean by all of this? Reality Planes? What even are those?"

I didn't really feel apologetic at all, but sometimes it was necessary to act weak in order to gain certain advantages. This was one of those moments. Letting your emotions and 'honor' get in the way of acquiring important information is the act of a fool.

[Better, but still not 100% satisfactory.] The mysterious AI replied. [I will start from the very beginning, then.]

I listened intently, for this could very well prove to be my only way out of this place. And what this AI was about to tell me, completely defied all physics and science of my old world.

Little did I know, the very concept of reality was about to be shattered - before my very eyes.