25 - VR

Inner City, Seijuro Aston's Apartment

Beyond the glass, shining under a golden sunrise, her city awakens.

Beyond the glass, the world is painted with the hope and cheerfulness of a new day.

Beyond the glass, any number of beautiful and wonderful things might unfold.

Hope…

"Seijuro, if we don't leave now…"

"I don't care."

That's right. She doesn't care. She doesn't care about a single thing under this beautiful sky.

Not the city.

Not the people.

Not today, and not until…

Kuro sighs, exasperated, and Seijuro hears his body falling softly against one of the flat's sofas as his gaze seems to prickle a trail on her back.

"Have you managed to figure anything out about the announcement?"

Seijuro pauses her impatient foot tapping for long enough to give him a glance over her shoulder, before going back to watching the window. "No."

In spite of looking for most of the night.

"Seijuro, look… I know this must feel like torture for you, but I doubt the announcement will solve things immediately. Why don't I drive you to school, and you watch it in the car? Doing something will-"

"Leave."

"…Excuse me?"

"Leave. I wish to be alone."

Another sigh. "I'm trying really hard here, you know. Babysitting isn't exactly my expertise."

"Then leave!"

Kuro sits straighter and scratches his short hair as he meets Seijuro's burning glare with a questioning gaze.

"Was that an order?"

Deciding to ignore him, Seijuro turns once more to stare at Fioro's morning glow, even as the sunlight seems to burst a flash grenade inside her brain; In spite of being exhausted from her spar with Kuro, she doubts the number of minutes she slept this night measure up to an hour.

After all this time, after having finally given up, she is now so close, so close to recovering something she thought to have lost forever; And now, as hope devours her insides in a way akin to despair, Seijuro wonders whether a difference has ever existed in between them to begin with.

"Sorry. I know this is much harder for you than it is for me. I didn't mean to call you childish."

Continuing to ignore Kuro, Seijuro clenches her hands into fists as she glances toward the numbers in the corner of her vision, which she turned on for the occasion.

06:59:02 am.

Almost a full minute still.

She is tired of waiting; She has been tired for a whole five years now.

Still, containing her urge to punch the wall of glass ahead with all of her considerable strength, Seijuro clenches her teeth as she meticulously watches the timer turn its seconds around, reaching seven o'clock.

***

Outer City, Sara Palmer's Bedroom

Sara forces herself to pry open her heavy eyelids in order to glance at her vibrating smartwatch.

'Good morning, Miss Palmer. Was tonight's sleep to your satisfaction?'

Slowly, Sara's focus changes to the corner of her vision, and the numbers there present.

07:00:03 am.

"Fuck! Why didn't you wake me up?!"

In a single movement, a cursing Sara jumps from her bed, grabs a pair of, hopefully, clean pants, and heads for her bathroom.

'I tried. Miss Palmer seemed very intended on continuing her sleep, however.'

It decided to turn off her morning alarm?! After how many attempts?! Sara doesn't even remember…

Regardless, what matters is that she overslept; Again. Even though she went to bed earlier… Sara shakes her head as she grabs her toothpaste.

'An official announcement by His Majesty is scheduled to begin shortly. Does Miss Palmer wish to connect? I would like to remind you this transmission is broadcasted countrywide.'

"Sure," Sara murmurs through the foam quickly increasing in her mouth. Approaching the mirror to better look at the dark circles under her eyes, she wonders if she could do with some makeup today. She glances at the time… Well, she is already late anyway. Her dead body might as well look pretty once Avril finishes her off.

'The broadcast,' her AI warns, a semitransparent black square covering about half of Sara's reflection on cue, soon replaced by Aston Industries' logo.

Might as well leave it on as she finishes dressing herself.

The logo is once more replaced by the image of a handsome man sitting behind a table, and a beautiful view of Fioro displayed beyond the large window at the back of his office.

Needless to say, Sara recognizes their sovereign's office from previous transmissions, as well as the man himself, Liam Aston, Elysium's king, and Aston Industries' current CEO.

'Elysium citizens, good morning. I apologize for interrupting your morning routines,' Liam starts, smiling politely as his confident voice sounds in Sara's head, and she finds herself averting her gaze from the king's piercing green eyes.

…Not so unlike his daughter's after all.

From the corner of her eyes, Sara notices the king's relaxed posture and his easy smile. Impressive. Does it come with the title? She would never be able to appear so calm under the eyes of hundreds of millions of citizens, all focusing on her. Or rather, she would most likely faint on the spot.

'Even so, I ask for a brief minute of your attention,' the king says as he rises, walking toward the window and crossing his hands at his back in order to stare at the city below. 'Beautiful, isn't it?'

As Sara struggles to shove herself into a hoodie, she realizes she has no idea whether the transmission is a recording or not… For some reason, she doesn't think so.

'Our home,' the king continues, turning partially toward the camera as he gives it a sidelong glance, 'Ether gave us all a new chance, a new future… And while some have sought to keep it to themselves, draining from this new, miraculous source to satisfy their own selfish desires, my family sought to build a place free of fear, a place free of poverty, a place where humanity would be able to start again, reborn anew. They sought to build a paradise on earth, a place they called… Elysium. Our paradise.'

'Would you like to see it grow, people of Elysium? Evolve? Become even more than the paradise it was meant to be?'

Sara stops. One of her shoes hangs from her hand, the other remains untied on her left foot as she gives the System a command to form a hologram from her smartwatch to replace the image previously playing on her retinas.

"Where my predecessors have succeeded, I seek to better," Liam's voice echoes through Sara's room, now almost filled by the amplified hologram, "Humans never asked for a boring paradise; They have no need for one."

After a single movement of the king's hand, several lists of names appear in the air around his large office, gleaming in golden.

Sara intakes her breath sharply. How could she, or anyone else living in the country, not recognize the Ranks? Glancing through the displayed names, she quickly identifies one where she recognizes most names; For Glory's list. For a moment, she wonders how it would feel for her name to be displayed there, as if up in the clouds… Her highest rank has been eightieth, from when she was playing the game every day, before taking a stupid monthlong break. Sara has never wished so strongly to go back in time just to kick some sense onto her past self.

"To compete, to fight, to strive for glory," Liam continues, "Those are the feelings I wished to nourish with the growing of our small heaven. And it was… fun. The world has watched us. Now, they seek to imitate us, pursuing the profit our ways might bring their ever-growing appetite. My advisors warn me of their approach, fearing their greedy hands might infiltrate – and destroy – hundreds of years of effort gone into building this country. Effort, I might add, paid with the blood of my family." For a moment, Liam's eyes shine dangerously, but the glow disappears just as fast as it had appeared. "Let them try, I say. For it is time, my beloved Elysiums, for us to move towards something better; For us to move onto an even greater stage!"

Liam moves his hand once more, causing the lists of names to disappear. In its place, floating at his side, the image of a strange helmet appears, rotating slowly... And although she has never had enough credits to buy one for herself, Sara recognizes the virtual reality equipment.

VR? Aston's new product is a VR product?

Liam gazes at the strange helmet as he approaches his open palm from it, causing the rotation to stop. He stares at the camera, smiling proudly. "Welcome, Elysium citizens… To a new era."

***

Seijuro Aston's Apartment

Seijuro cannot believe her eyes. She does not want to believe them.

A game? A GAME?!

"System, connect me to Liam Aston."

'Mister Aston does not wish to be bothered at this moment.'

"Connect me to Liam Aston, RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

'Mister Aston does not wish to be bothered at this moment.'

On the large hologram, Seijuro watches dumbstruck as her father proudly walks around the stupid toy, his word as if coming from far away. He is proud of it?! PROUD?!

The princess feels her heartbeat increasing. Her breath comes in short bursts.

"Seijuro," Kuro interjects, his tone rushed, "You're jumping to conclusions."

On the back of her head, a voice tells her Kuro might be right. Still, all the princess hears is the gritting of her teeth, the rushing of blood in her ears-

Suddenly, Seijuro feels something against her lower back, a soft touch, causing her neck to snap around.

And as she finds herself facing Kuro's calming gaze, Seijuro barely contains herself from attacking.

"…C'mon, I'm not your enemy, remember?" Kuro murmurs, "Breathe with me."

"Move."

"…And then what?"

"I'll find him. He'll explain, carefully, the meaning of this. And Gods save whoever tries to get in my way."

"…You'll walk?"

Her father's voice still fills Seijuro's apartment, but the words are lost to her, her gaze locked against Kuro's as their uneven breathing intertwines.

"Out. Of. My. Way," Seijuro forces in between clenched teeth, "That's an order!"

"You're not thinking straight. I can't let you walk through that door."

"MOVE!"

"No."

"…Then I suppose I'll have to make you," Seijuro murmurs, her voice now dangerously low.

The man's calm, black eyes akin to hers, stare at Seijuro's expression before turning away, as if ashamed.

"You can't."

"Say that again."

After a moment, Kuro returns her stare once more, fearless. "I've said, my princess, that you cannot."

***

Sara Palmer's Bedroom

"Virtual reality," Liam Aston continues, confirming Sara's suspicion, "I must admit, has been a subject of my curiosity these past years. And now, joined by Ouroboros and Irwin Companies, our old friends, I'm proud to announce Aston's newest release… Eden."

Eden? Is that the game's name…? Tacky. Then again, these are the same people who named their country Elysium.

"Connected to our System, the helmet has been designed to take its user, along with their senses, of course, to a new reality… To a new world." Liam pauses. "Which brings us to the reason for this broadcast. Eden was designed as a savage, unexplored land of mysteries and wonders… As a challenge, and not as a place for the weak of heart. To be one of its first explorers is a gift, and a gift I hesitate to bestow lightly."

"As such, while all of its first ten thousand copies are ready for release and cleared from safety issues, I thought something special was necessary. A trial, if you will, for those claiming to be worthy of their place among the top."

The king's eyes seem to stare straight inside Sara's, causing her hair to stand on end.

"Who among you wish to stand among the first ten thousand? To be remembered throughout history as the first to have explored a completely new world?" Liam smiles mysteriously. "But there can be no fire without fuel, and as such, for the first among you to clear the game, I shall concede a wish; Something within my power to give, or realize. Those who fail… Will soon wish they had succeeded."

As the hologram showcases Aston's logo once more, Sara blinks, Liam's words slowly registering through the fog of her overslept brain.

A wish…? Anything…?

Sara realizes a series of words paired with numbers have replaced Aston's logo as she refocuses her gaze on it. Vacancies, competitions, and locations; Sara has no doubt.

Quickly, she finds herself scanning the list for Fioro's information, as well as the Institute's, when she notices a particular set of words: Competitions to be held tomorrow.

Not quite believing her eyes, Sara rereads it once, and then again.

Tomorrow?! But that's… That's like, after today!

'Indeed, tomorrow is the day after today, Miss Palmer.'

Not even bothering to reply, Sara steps back from the hologram, trying to organize the amount of information that was suddenly thrown at her. That is, until she glances toward the numbers at the corner of her vision, and Sara feels her heart stop for a moment.

WHEN DID IT BECOME THIS LATE?!