Rose
Aeternus || Nexus
The rain pounded against the windowpane in an unending torrent turning the world outside into a mash of fuzzy shapes. Victoria sighed again as if her expressed displeasure would have some sort of magical effect on the weather but, as expected, the rain continued and she was stuck inside for the day. Pushing herself off the couch, her bare feet slapped against the hard wood floor as she plodded into the kitchen but even the contents of the stainless steel fridge could not interest her. The door swung closed and her gaze fell onto the sticky note left by her mother.
Dinner is in the freezer.
Don't forget to preheat the oven. 400!
Watch your brother, please.
Be home tonight.
Love,
-Mom
Victoria's bright green eyes rolled after reading over the note again. She loved her mother but she'd been home from university for two days already and her family hadn't given her the time of day. Maybe she was expecting too much? Sometime's it's hard to remember that they all have their own lives even when she's away...
Passing back through the livingroom Victoria made her way into the small study that housed the family computer and was not surprised to find her brother illuminated by the screen's faint blue glow. He was fiddling with some new toy and didn't notice his sister's approach until she tapped him on the shoulder. "What do you have there?" She said, pointing to the strange device.
"Jesus, Vic!" He spun in his chair, slightly startled, a look of annoyance shooting across his scruffy teenage features. A small smile curled on her lips, still relieved that her sibling hadn't changed much since she'd left, before she nodded at the strange helmet he held in his hands. "It's a new video game... Just came out. I'm trying to get it installed."
"Oh..." She muttered, quickly losing interest in the device. An awkward moment of silence ensued as Victoria wracked her brain for some sort of connection, some common ground to meet her brother on but she was coming up short. Thankfully, a buzz from his cellphone sitting on the desk drew away his attention as he moved to answer a text. "Well... Would you like to go see a movie or something? I'm kind of dieing of boredom..."
Her eyes watched him as he typed excitedly, failing to respond until after a long moment. "What? Oh, ya... Sorry, but I was just gonna head out for a bit. Kristy sorta invited me over to watch a movie at her place..."
Her eyes narrowed and her lips drew into a thin line. "Ben..." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest in suspicion.
"Aw, c'mon! It's innocent, I swear!" The teenager shot back, sinking into his chair beneath his sister's unwavering gaze. "I'm 17... Not like I'm a little kid anymore."
"Well..." Victoria muttered after a moment of thought. "Tell your girlfriend I said 'Hi' and don't be out late or Mom will have a fit..."
"Ya, ya... I know how to handle mom." Ben replied, face breaking out into a mischievous smile. "Mind if I, eh... Borrow your car?" With a pained sigh she dropped the keys into his hand. "Thanks! I seriously owe you one!" Bolting past, he snatched a jacket and rushed out into the rain. She watched him till he pulled out of the driveway and the taillights disappeared into the haze.
"Damn..." She muttered, running her long fingers through her short red hair as she contemplated her confinement. Slumping into the comfortable computer chair, Victoria spent several minutes staring at the Google search window but couldn't find the mood to surf. With a break from school and basketball practice, she needed something to focus her energies on and watching hundreds of random cat videos hardly seemed fitting. Inevitably, her eyes fell back to the helmet and after a moment she gingerly picked it up. It was a strange device, very few buttons, a thin glass visor, and thickly padded on the inside. "Sensors...?" She thought aloud, running a finger along the inside of the rim. Glancing up at the computer screen she spotted a window with a flashing message.
Congratulations!
You have successfully installed Soul Story Online, the newest generation in full-immersion 3D gaming!
Please put on and connect the included headset to get started.
Victoria stared at that screen for a long moment, contemplating her next move. "Not like I have much else to do..." Without so much as a shrug, she slipped the device over her head and activated the launcher.
Welcome to Aeternus...
Rose awoke with a gasp, bright green eyes flying wide and searching desperately about the room. The images of the dream faded quickly, leaving her breathing deeply as small beads of sweat formed on her brow, matting strands of bright red hair to her fair skin.
Damnit, I'm still here... How can this world be so real? She thought, not for the first time, as she looked down at her hands and the level of detail in which the game rendered them. It was truly a breakthrough in technology and the thought of how it was being used for such sadistic and twisted ends was enough to make her stomach turn. Sliding to the edge of the bed, pulled up the in-game clock to check the time and sighed in relief when she saw she hadn't slept through the
whole day. She'd been out for only an hour and a half but the nap had been sorely needed after the emotions of the afternoon. With the initial announcement of Aeternus becoming their prison, panic had swept through the city as thousands of players struggled (and frequently outright refused) to accept what was happening; unsurprising considering how not one person saw it coming.
Well, not one besides the creator.
Bastard... She thought angrily. Rose had spent those initial hours trying to quell the panic, to form some sort of calm that would allow them all to face their predicament logically and look for some form of escape. When things finally began to settle, she found that there appeared to be no easy way out; they were trapped in this hell and would remain so until the creator saw fit to release them, or there was some sort of intervention from the real world. It had been to much to handle, that revelation, for even someone like Rose, and so she managed to find herself a room, one of the last ones available, and felt determined to try and escape through sleeping or at least whittle away the time until rescue arrived. Clearly her plan had failed and so she would have to start searching for another way.
It looked like rescue would not be so forthcoming.
"Better start by getting a better lay of the town..." Rose's alto voice muttered aloud as she pushed herself to her feet. Before receiving the letter she had found plenty of time to familiarize herself with the the game's systems so she had no trouble putting on her equipment with the game menus. The plate armor was quite extravagant in scheme, dull blood-red metal with black leather straps and gold trim, but was plain in style and clearly made for mobility and functionality; that suited her well as she had little interest in playing 'dress up' in a game that could claim her life. She slung the black traveler's cloak over her shoulders but left the hood down, sliding the gold-trimmed silk through her fingers and marveling at the feel of it. Last she put on the large sword, which appeared sheathed at her waist, and the even larger shield that came with a buckled strap across her chest so that it would hang on her back but still be within easy reach. The weapon was simple in design, a red-leather wrapped hand-and-a-half hilt with a pommel of blackened steel with a plain cross-guard, but the shield was rather magnificent to behold. It was roughly four feet tall, a tower-shield by all accounts, made from an incredibly lightweight metal Rose could not identify but that had the same color and texture as obsidian glass. The edges were outlined in a cap of dull gold which was styled like vines that twisted into the shield's center and formed a single blooming rose. Clearly it was made in a reference to the name she'd chosen on a whim, some sort of internal system that designed her equipment to fit her theme. She'd even noticed there was a faint scent of the flower that hung about her like an aura, though she could not place from where it originated. Thankfully, Victoria had always loved roses and so this sort of aesthetic appeal did not bother her in the slightest.
Finally prepared, she slipped out of the room and checked with the innkeeper to be sure it would be rented throughout the evening, giving her time to find the coin to keep paying for it.
Outside the inn, Rose quickly gathered that the city was preparing for some sort of festival and found herself rather enthralled with the extravagant decorations. Streamers of gold and silver lined every roof and lanterns burned with flames that appeared to change color from one moment to the next, casting a magical glow on the streets that had seemed so foreboding only hours before. Spotting a flier on a nearby post, she gave it a quick read. "Lantern... Festival? Is this really the time?" She grumbled to herself before her eyes glanced over something far more interesting. "Cash prizes? Can you really win coin and levels from something like this...?" It was a rather curious discovery for she had always thought these kinds of video games only involved monsters and fighting.
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HP: 100%
SP: 100
Level: 1
Inventory
Potion x4
Gold x0