She opened her eyes to complete darkness. Blinking uncertainly, a light sound of an electric switch, and the surroundings suddenly brightened. The crowd erupted, everyone speaking at once.
She sat in a game booth’s swivel chair, facing a computer screen for trial play. Looking around, several other players exchanged glances, one even cursing: “I just completed the first mission and the power went out! What kind of luck is this?”
She blinked blankly. Closing and reopening her eyes, this wasn’t a dream. She had truly returned to her original world.
Her struggles in Verdya were just a momentary power outage at the comic convention.
The booth staff apologized and reassured the players: “We’ll restart the computer and game right away. Please wait a moment!”
She was still somewhat dazed.
The screen lit up, the manufacturer’s logo flashed, the game title slowly unfolded, and epic-style music played through her headphones as the opening cinematic began.
“Once upon a time, there was a land blessed by the gods, its name was Verdya…”
The rich male narrator had only spoken one sentence when she removed her headphones. The staff member approached concernedly: “Is there a problem with the equipment?”
She shook her head, speaking softly: “No, it’s not…” but couldn’t finish her sentence.
Enduring the puzzled looks of others, she quickly escaped against the still-queuing crowd. The convention hall’s air felt stuffy and oppressive; she couldn’t stay a moment longer, quickening her pace and almost running to the exit. She paused by the door, looking back. The game manufacturer’s large advertisement was still clearly visible:
“A different RPG legend…”
She twisted her mouth, walking quickly and muttering to herself: “I hate RPGs the most.”
The metropolitan noise rushed over her, making her feel alive for the first time. She looked down at her hands, checked her reflection in the glass door – everything had returned to normal.
That brown-haired, blue-eyed girl was now just a distant dream.
Her thoughts stalled before she mentally recited her name, age, ID number, and address, telling herself she was a first-year medical student returning home from a comic convention. Taking several deep breaths, she looked up at the smog-covered sky, gripping her messenger bag strap and took her first step toward the subway.
※
For Karl, death was void and meaningless.
