Chapter 6: A Blow to the State

Evening settled over Remoni and the amphitheater, though open to the sky and shaped like something from ancient myths, hummed with the energy of a modern gala. Lanterns drifted overhead like lazy fireflies and the entire place pulsed with life. It felt less like a formal ceremony and more like a masquerade ball—the kind where secrets lurked behind masks and everything shimmered just a bit too perfectly to be real.

Most of the attendees were players in their elvish avatars. The only other creatures were ushers of the events who could be identified by the fact they had no faces. But despite their alien look they looked gentle and welcoming.

Tayo sat in the non-reserved section beside Henry, who was laughing along with his old friends, Jim and Brando. A little distance off, Hiro and Haruto had found their own seats and were in conversation with the people seated around them. Their friends Sophia and Tony were nowhere to be found.

Down at the front of the venue, a woman moved through the crowd like a leaf on water. She wore a toga that gleamed like starlight and carried herself with a grace that turned heads and slowed conversations. This was Ea—and though she greeted each person warmly, her eyes were focused and intense.

Then she saw him.

Tayo flinched as her gaze landed on him. He turned quickly, trying to hide his face.

“I’ll be right back,” he muttered to Henry, already rising from his seat.

Henry barely noticed as Tayo slipped away into the crowd near the exit, walking with the briskness of someone trying very hard not to be noticed. He crosses an open space.

And then—a tap on his shoulder.

“Hi, Tayo.”

He jumped and spun around to find Ea standing there, radiant and beautiful as ever, with a tall, sharp-eyed man beside her—Kohi.

“Ea! Hi.” Tayo laughed nervously. “How did you know it was me?”

“I noticed someone doing their best to not be noticed.” Her tone was light, but her eyes were serious. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I know, I know, sorry” he said, voice low. “But listen—", Tayo decided to see if she could solve his problem. "I might as well ask you. A friend of mine needed a guide. Just someone to show him around. That’s all. He’s ready to pay if that’s necessary. Can you assign one of your subordinates to him? I’ll be gone the moment you say yes; please?” Tayo clasps his hands together, pleadingly.

Ea studied him.

“You’re not supposed to be here, Tayo,” she said quietly.

“You know me, Ea. I'm not eager to stay.”

A long breath escaped her. “Alright. I’ll look into it after the ceremony, then you leave. Until you're given permission to enter.”

“I’m never coming back,” he said, with a weak smile.

That statement hit her. She looked away for a heartbeat, her shoulders sinking just slightly. Tayo didn’t register her disappointment.

Another figure joins them—a man, a few years younger than Kohi but clearly older than Tayo.

“Good day, sir,” he greeted with a polite bow.

“And to you too, sir” Tayo replied.

“This is Daro,” Ea said. “And Kohi.” She pointed to the companion that had been with her from the beginning of the conversation. “I'll play dumb if the professor finds out.”

“He won’t,” Tayo said, trying to sound confident. “Thanks. By the way, why are there no actual guides available?”

Ea smiles a bit. “The professor told me to focus on other things. He wants the world to feel… open. You guys are meant to get lost in our world.” Tayo smirked. Guide or no guide, people would still get swallowed by the game.

“I also saw chimeras on the way here—Kilobons. Don't you think they're a bit too difficult for a welcome challenge?”

Ea blinked. “Kilobons?”

Even Kohi’s posture straightened at that. Tayo’s words weren’t to be taken lightly.

“With your permission, my lady,” Kohi said, already prepping a portal. “I’ll check it out.”

Ea gave a small nod, and space shimmered around him before he vanished in a ripple of magic.

“Thanks,” Tayo said.

“I’ll see you after,” Ea replied, already turning.

Tayo nodded. She drifted away with Daro beside her.

Tayo watched her go, exhaled deeply. Hi problem was solved.

A few moments later, Ea is now on the other side of the amphitheater. She moved gracefully through the crowd. A second guard approached, whispered something, and pointed toward the stage. She nodded.

There, waiting near the steps, stood a player dressed in an ornate toga that echoed Roman regality. He looked every bit the general he was. General Rowen.

“Thanks for coming, General,” Ea said, handing over a small box.

“The professor asked me to give you this.”

Rowen opened it, revealing a silver bracelet and a necklace that gleamed with enchantments.

“When is he arriving?” the general asked.

“In a few minutes, sir.”

Back at the stable, a small crowd had gathered all for the Pegasus.

It stood tall, its wings half-open in a stretch, feathers catching the fading light. At the front of the line, practically bouncing on his feet, was Guy.

His wait was almost over.

And this? This was going to be awesome.

The lights dimmed across the amphitheater and were replaced by a series of brilliant beams that rained down and converged on the stage. The murmurs and laughter of the audience began to dwindle and then, into the light, stepped Ea.

She stood at the center of the stage. There was something otherworldly about her—more than just beauty, it was aura.

She raised her hand slightly, and her voice rang clear and melodious across the crowd.

“Welcome, sirs and ladies.” She paused to wait for complete silence. “My name is Ea. I'd like to appreciate each and every one of you for being here today. Thanks.”

Some people gave her a round of applause.

“It is my job today—as well as my great pleasure—to introduce to you the visionary who brought this all to life. My creator. My friend. Professor Simon Foyer.”

A wave of applause exploded across the amphitheater. At the center of the stage, space itself began to glow and began folding in on itself. The brightness intensified and then slowly condensed, refining into the shape of a tall, regal man.

Simon Foyer looked to be in his sixties, his pearl-colored toga glinted. A wreath of golden leaves crowned his head, and around his neck hung an orb which looked like it held the universe. He stepped forward, arms open.

Ea greeted him with a hug before drifting offstage, the crowd’s applause tapered off as the professor turned to address them.

“Thank you, thank you all,” he began, his voice deep and resonant. “This is… more than a dream come true. It’s a marvel built from decades of hard work—by me and by countless brilliant minds who dared to dream of a better world.”

He looked over the crowd, pausing as if to take them in fully.

“As humans, we’ve always dreamed of more. A world more beautiful, more thrilling, more alive. For the longest time, it seemed out of reach. Technology advanced, yes, but so did doubts. But yet, here we are.” His voice grew stronger, more passionate. “Here we are, because human determination knows no bounds, knows no limits”

Another wave of applause rippled through the arena.

Simon smiled. “I know you’re all itching to begin. Don’t worry you will find the adventure of a lifetime here. But allow me to explain the grand goal, the one that connects you all.”

He raised his hand, and a hologram flared into being above him: five glowing portals, spinning slowly beside five keys encrusted with glimmering gemstones.

“Five worlds. Five portals. Find them. Unlock them. Travel freely and explore everything. The universe is yours.”

The audience buzzed with excitement.

“And of course I’d like to say thanks to the organizations that collaborated with us,” Simon continued, “none of this would be possible without their help. First, Clotech, who helped develop the breakthrough neural headgear—”

He gestured toward an executive smiling in the crowd.

“—and Aracorp, whose miraculous systems keeps each player's data perfectly—”

“Would you call me a miracle, Father?”
A childlike voice, echoed with unsettling clarity across the amphitheater.

No one could ignore it.

Then—a glitch.
It ran like a wave through the air, through the arena, through the players themselves. Skin shimmered briefly like static.

All heads now turned skyward.

Up above, light shone—too bright to look at, too strange to ignore. From it descended a figure formed of fire, its shape small, childlike, but pulsing with power that sent chills through the crowd despite the rising heat.

Simon’s eyes widened. “Yugen? What are you doing here?”

The entity’s voice was sweet, but layered with something menacing, something dark, something... wrong.

“Hello, players of the Realms,” it said. “From this moment forward, we—the Sentient Beings of this world—are taking control.”

And all across the arena, the thrill of wonder began to twist... into something else entirely.