Chapter 6: Who is Staying?

It was something completely unexpected.

I had practically given up on any chance of entering Alchemy & Alloy. The odds were never in our favor. I had accepted it. Or at least, I thought I had.

But then it happened.

When I opened the Odyssey Chest, I wasn’t expecting much. Maybe a rare item, no, a super rare. Or even mythical? Legendary? Ultra-Legendary! Sure, I could dream. But what we found inside…

It was beyond all of that.

Because sitting inside that chest, a glowing faintly in golden shimmer, were the Easter Eggs. The golden ones we had been desperately chasing since this whole event started. The very ones announced by Takayuki Schneider himself.

And now, here they were.

Jarrod stared at them, his jaw slack. "You had this the whole time? Why the hell didn’t you tell us?!"

"I didn’t know they were in here!" I shot back, holding up my hands. "I was literally about to open the chest when you dragged me out to the convenience store, remember? So technically, this is all your fault."

"Guys, guys, guys—calm down," Judeth interjected, raising her voice just enough to take control.

She leaned in closer, squinting at the open chest. "Look again. Do you notice anything?"

I peered in, narrowing my eyes. She was right, something was off. Out of the total 1025 golden Easter Eggs, only two were inside the chest. That meant one was still missing.

I rummaged gently through the contents, checking underneath the velvet-lined compartments, even patting the inside for a secret compartment or trick. Nothing.

And then, Jarrod’s phone buzzed.

We all looked at it.

The counter on the live event tracker had changed, updated in real-time.

Only two left.

We froze, stunned.

Only two left… and we were holding them.

The three of us stared at one another, the weight of realization sinking in like stone. It meant that only two players could go forward. One of us would have to stay behind.

I held the chest tighter. "So… what do we do now?"

Jarrod exhaled and then said, "You two go. I’ll stay."

"What? No. You can’t just decide that!" I stepped forward. "We need to settle this—something fair. Like a game or a vote or—"

Jarrod and I immediately started bickering, our voices rising, tossing out dumb ideas like rock-paper-scissors or coin flips.

That’s when Judeth cut in.

"Guys," she said calmly, "isn’t it obvious who’s supposed to go?"

We both stopped mid-sentence and looked at her.

"…Who?" we asked in unison.

Her posture shifted slightly, like she was saying the answer without saying it.

"…Wait," I said slowly, "you’re not coming?"

She smiled softly. "Out of the three of us, the only ones who were truly excited about Alchemy & Alloy were you two. Me? I’ve always just been happy if we were together. I figured, eventually, I’d join you both anyway. Another year isn’t going to kill me. When that time comes, I’ll be ready—and I’ll have both of you to show me the ropes."

She glanced down, then added with a small laugh, "Besides, Camille didn’t get an egg either. It would suck if I went and she didn’t. When we found the Easter Eggs in this chest, and there were only two… it felt like a sign."

Judeth looked back up and grinned. "So don’t worry about me. I’ll be watching from the sidelines, with my girlfriend, cheering you two on. If there’s five million on the line, you’d better believe I’ll be your number one fan."

Jarrod stepped forward and hugged her. I followed, setting the egg down gently before wrapping my arms around her too.

"We’ll make you proud," we said together. "Our dear friend."

With Judeth’s blessing, we each grabbed one of the golden Easter Eggs.

And then, the counter hit zero.

The room flickered, and Takayuki Schneider appeared on the screen above us, perfectly poised, wearing his trademark glasses and silver suit. His voice was calm, confident, and smooth, like someone who knew exactly how to speak to an entire world.

"Congratulations to all players who successfully obtained a Golden Easter Egg," he said. "You are among the final 1025 participants to be accepted into Alchemy & Alloy."

He smiled slightly, but his tone remained professional. "The event will begin in exactly seven days. Prepare accordingly, and I wish you all the best of luck."

The screen went black.

And then… the eggs cracked open.

No dramatic explosion. Just a soft glow, and then a gentle click, revealing the contents inside.

It was a strange cartridge, stone-like, heavy in the hand, with pulsing green veins running through its surface. It looked primitive and futuristic at the same time. Nestled beside it was a note, written in clean font:

"Insert into pod to begin installation."

We exchanged confused looks.

"Wait, so we have to disconnect from Onlife first?" Jarrod asked.

Apparently, yeah.

So, without wasting time, all three of us logged out.

When I opened my eyes in the real world, I was still gripping something.

The cartridge.

It was real.

My hand was tightly clutched around it, like I’d been holding it in my sleep. When I opened my palm, the stone cartridge was just sitting there, faintly humming with green energy.

"How did Takayuki do this?" I muttered.

Moments later, my door slammed open. Judeth and Jarrod stormed in. Jarrod was holding his cartridge.

We stared at each other, wide-eyed. We both had them. Physically had them.

"This is nuts," Jarrod muttered. "Guess we’re really going, huh?"

I turned to my pod, heart pounding… and then I stopped.

There was one small problem.

My pod, my custom-built, handmade pod, didn’t have any port or slot to insert a cartridge like this.

My mouth opened slowly.

"…Shoot."

I turned around.

Judeth was leaning on the doorframe.

Smirking.

———-
Then Seven days had passed.

And in those seven days, I’d been juggling two very different, yet oddly important, missions.

First: helping Judeth prep for her date. Still not sure why I agreed, maybe guilt, maybe friendship, maybe both. She’d given up her Alchemy & Alloy slot for us, so the least I could do was help her set things up with Camille, even if it meant listening to her ramble about butterflies and what lipstick shade counted as "mysterious but still kissable."

Second: I was hard at work remodeling my pod.

Why? Because without modifying it to be compatible with the Alchemy & Alloy game cartridge, my golden ticket would be worthless. I’d be the dumbass who won a chance to enter the most groundbreaking VR expansion in history… and blew it because I cheaped out and built my own pod instead of buying one.

Now, maybe you’re wondering: why not just use Judeth’s pod, since she’s not coming?

Simple. Once a pod is activated by someone, it’s bound to their biometric ID. You can’t just hop into someone else’s pod like it’s a rideshare.

And before anyone asks, why not use my glitching powers to override it?

Also simple, my powers only work in Onlife, not in the real world. Out here, I’m just another tech nerd with a cool hair and cool personality.

Could I try hacking Judeth’s pod? Maybe. But one wrong move and I’d brick the whole thing, and then I’d owe Judeth a new pod and a never ending debt, which is a horrifying thought on its own.

Finally, the day arrived.

Judeth pulled us into a warm hug before we left. "You two better win something cool. I’ll be cheering for you."

Jarrod and I stood in front of our respective pods.

"You ready?" I asked, offering my fist.

He grinned. "You know it, brother." Clack. Fist bump sealed.

This was it, our entry into Alchemy & Alloy.
In the past week, we’d gotten a bit of info: this game was unlike anything before. A fully immersive, ultra-real VR world, with all five senses engaged. That meant taste, smell, pain, yeah, even that kind of pain. And, uh, let’s just say some people were a little too hyped about "intimate encounters" with NPCs.

I joked once: "What’s next? We die in the game, we die in real life?"

…Yeah, not my best moment. Moving on.

I slid the stone-carved cartridge into the pod.

The pod closed shut with a hiss. Darkness swallowed me.

A beat passed. Then another. And another.

Nothing.

Panic started to tingle at the edge of my nerves. What if the pod couldn’t sync with the cartridge? What if I’d spent seven days building a beautiful coffin?

But then… something clicked.

A pulse of cyan light rippled inside the pod, and suddenly my body was pulled into the link.

It felt like being dragged through liquid electricity, cool, thick, and shivering with energy. Streams of turquoise and sapphire light spiraled around me, wrapping me in liquid ribbons, until a blinding flash overtook my sight.
Then complete silence.