Chapter 1 - Asleep

“Alternate realities are now a possibility thanks to quantum—” He turns off the TV.

It’s night, the monitor lights up the room. You can hear the sounds from his keyboard and mouse. “Reserve”, it says, and *click, click*. He begins to rub his sore shoulder, before yawning and putting his glasses on his desk. “I hope I can pick this up in time tomorrow after work”. 

He shuts the computer off, and the light turns off

....

The next day. 

~Beep Beep ~ The alarm goes off.  He begins to put on his clothes before heading to work. 
Time for another day at the convenience store. *yawn*. I hope today is less packed than yesterday.

...

He bows with a fake smile as the customer walks out the door with their items.
It's 17:43—he keeps looking at his wristwatch frantically. 
“Only a few more minutes now”. he thinks. 
"You sure look antsy today, Kiyoshi”  The manager looks at him with a funny smile.
“Ah, I’m sorry, I'm just worried about the sale today” 

The manager grabs his broom and looks up, “Ah, I see—that thing. Just remember to clock out before you go.” He nods. Today is a special day, as he has an agreement with the manager to clock out a few minutes earlier. 17:45 - He puts on his jacket before rushing out the back door of the store to grab his bike. His colleague Kathy looks at him while getting ready for her shift, dumbfounded.

“What's the rush, Kiyoshi?” But he can't hear her; he is completely locked onto his mission for today. As he starts picking up speed with his bike, there is a gust—a faint dripping sound, drops of water hitting his jacket. Before it suddenly starts to pour down. 

“Damn it, rain wasn't on the forecast today, I didn't bring my umbrella”. 
"Ugh, I need to hurry, but I can't bar-.... A loud honking sound—*HONK* *HONK*.
A bright light flashes in front of him. It's as if time has frozen. 

There is only white

...

It turns dark again. He feels himself, I’m... okay?—His face is pale white.
He opens his eyes. A large white truck has stopped in front of him. 

“Are you okay ?!”  A voice comes from a man peeking his head out of the window.
“Uhm, yes! Thank you, I’m so sorry...” While lying on the wet pavement crossing.
“Don't worry about it, just be more careful !” Kiyoshi is visibly shaking from all the adrenaline. 
In shock, he gets up and starts to walk slowly— guiding his bike with his hand. 
He looks down, his leg is bruised up with some minor cuts, and sees that his pants are soaking wet. 
...
he suddenly snaps out of the shock and looks at his watch, 17:45

Wait, it's still 15 minutes left?? he shakes his head in disbelief. How has time not passed since I left?
Didn't I leave at this time? He thinks for himself while brushing the grime off his pants. "Well, no time to lose!" He thinks to himself before getting back onto his bike.

The store clerk looks out the store entrance to see if anyone else is about to enter, before seeing Kiyoshi, soaking wet and bruised, approaching. He made it just in time. 

The clerk hands a large box to Kiyoshi and bows, "Thank you for your patronage"  
He walks out— It's now dark and the rain is still ongoing, but has started to clear up.

He returns home and puts his newly purchased item on the desk. 
It's the powerful X-VR set made to run the newest software within the gaming industry. It's a full suit and headset with an advanced C1 sensor technology needed to play VR-MMORPGs. He has saved up for this moment for months with his salary. He starts unpacking the box— He looks at the time, 22:03. "I can't wait to play tomorrow after work, finally, after all these months, I can play Yggdrasil online." He puts the newly purchased game and equipment on his desk.


He gets in bed and gazes up at the night sky. “What if those stars were like alternate fantasy worlds? I wonder what it would be like to live in such a world” He looks over to the game he just purchased. With a smile, he lies down.

...

Welcome traveller

...