Alexander opened his eyes to the world and found himself in a strange place.
His whole environment was black, and the sky was very different from the sky on Earth…
The whole sky was tinged with a fluorescent pink glow, and thousands of unknown constellations twinkled in the sky while beams of purple energy crossed each other overhead.
Of course, Alexander's first thought was that his VRI disconnect had failed. He tried to open the system menu…
But nothing happened.
He pinched himself violently on the forearm to see if the pain would be similar to what he would feel in "Horus"—present, but in a virtual way that was not exactly like that of the real world.
The pain from this pinch was completely realistic. He had indeed disconnected and returned to the real world.
But then, what was this strange place? Why couldn't Alexander move, and what was he even doing here?
Then, in the darkness, something strange happened.
An incomprehensible shape began to move.
Then a white line appeared on the moving shape, then another a few inches from the first. They formed what looked like eyelids, and a third line formed what was unmistakably a mouth.
He heard the voice of a woman who shouted his name.
"Alexander!"
***
He woke up, sweating, in his bed.
Fear flooded Alexander's body, and he'd even peed himself.
He was totally disoriented. Even despite what had just happened, how had he ended up in his bed anyway? Hadn't he just disconnected inside his gaming booth?
Alexander rose, his head pounding as though he'd drunk three pints of vodka before going to sleep. He groaned in pain as he glanced at the time, seeing that it was nearly nine o'clock. Time to wash up and join his family, who were probably about to have breakfast.
After washing, Alexander quickly changed the sheet and went downstairs. Seeing his father staring at his laptop screen, he said, "Hello, Dad!"
His father didn't even look up. "Err, good morning, Alexander..."
He seemed to be almost totally unaware of his son's presence, as though absorbed by whatever was showing on his computer.
Alexander looked around the apartment. "Where's Mom?"
"You don't remember?" his father replied in the same vacant tone. "She, um, has chemotherapy from six to noon..."
Alexander said, "Ah, I forgot, sorry. By the way, I wanted to talk to you about something. My butler should have finalized the process of acquiring an apartment in Sector 16 by now. So, I'll be moving soon, and I'd like you both to come and settle down with me. It's a big apartment, three hundred square meters! Just think of how nice it'll be."
His father seemed annoyed at this, though he still didn't look up. "No way! I already told you that I don't want your money. All I want is for you to stay by your mother's side and spend time with her during these last months."
Alexander sighed in frustration. "I know, but I can't just watch her die in front of my eyes! I'd rather do everything I can to avoid that."
"What, by playing 'Horus?'"
Alexander nodded. "Yes."
His father didn't even answer, seeming to pretend that he hadn't heard anything and that Alexander wasn't even there.
This discussion twisted Alexander's guts to such an extent that he didn't even eat breakfast, but simply called Diana, his butler, and walked out.
***
Alexander waited outside his apartment for about ten minutes, his spirits dropping even further as he took in the familiar details of his disgusting street, the one his father refused to leave.
The facades of each building had crumbled with nobody to repair them, and some buildings were even abandoned to the elements. Homeless people begged everywhere, and a couple of drug addicts even raved in the streets, though it was still only morning.
This was the sad reality of life in Sector 18. Alexander had thought his parents would be as overjoyed to leave it behind as he was, but pride was a powerful force.
Suddenly, a beautiful Audi X stopped in front of his house.
Alexander was shocked! This was the car he'd always dreamed of owning, and it seemed that his butler had bought one with the million credits Alexander had left for expenses.
A familiar, beautiful woman exited the car and opened the door for him—Diana, his butler.
"Good morning, Master. Please take a seat."
Alexander looked for the last time at his apartment, the place where he'd endured the most miserable failures in his life. He told himself that this would be the last time he'd ever step foot back on this rotten street.
He got into the clean and luxurious car. Diana closed his door, separating him from the disgusting depravity of his former home.
Once back in the driver's seat, Diana locked the doors and said, "Where shall I take us, Master?"
Alexander realized his appetite had returned. Even his headache seemed to feel a bit better. "First, I'm going to have breakfast on the Champs-Élysées in Sector 8."
"Very good," said Diana. She started the vehicle and began the journey. After a moment, she glanced back at Alexander in the rear-view mirror. "I should inform you that all the preparations for your apartment in Sector 16 are ready. We're just waiting for you to set the date."
Alexander said, "We'll do it this afternoon. You can also organize the move. We'll only need to retrieve the contents of my room."
Diana was silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was professionally tactful. "I see. Will your parents be moving in at a later time?"
Alexander looked out the window at the passing buildings, which were in better and better condition as they left the misery of Sector 18. "My father doesn't want to leave yet."
Diana cleared her throat. "I'm terribly sorry, Master."
Alexander decided to shift the conversation away from himself. "By the way, how have you been faring? Have you reduced your Neo-Crack addiction?"
Diana's tone shifted into slight wariness. "I'm doing fine, thank you. Unfortunately, though, I'm still stuck at one dose every day. As you know, Master, Neo-Crack addictions have a reputation for being impossible to break. But thanks to our contract, my financial worries are greatly lessened."
Alexander nodded, feeling genuinely glad that her addiction was not as bad as many others he had seen. "I'm happy to hear that, Diana. If you need anything, just let me know."
"I'm good, but thank you, Master. If you don't mind me changing the subject, I saw your fights on Cronos I, and the one against Lucifer… It was incredible! The whole 'Horus' community is talking about it. They say that you're now the best player in the game."
Alexander thought back to Gael, Lord Of War's masked guild leader. When people at her level were in the game, it would be very pretentious to assert himself as the best player of "Horus." At least for the moment.
Besides, what did 'best' even really mean? Best at PvP? There was so much more to the game than that.
Besides, "Horus" was still very new, having only been released six months ago. Its players were still very inexperienced. Once the community as a whole began to understand the game better and to share their knowledge among themselves, things would be very different and power would no longer be so consolidated between a small handful at the very top.
Of course, Alexander 'was' certainly an excellent player, but that expertise came from possessing ten years of knowledge and experience about the game. Without that, MMORPG geniuses like Ceasar and Lucifer would have overtaken him with barely a thought, as they had in his original life.
***
The Audi finally arrived at "Fouquet's Paris," one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Here, even a coffee cost 50 credits, the equivalent of a good meal for two people at many other restaurants!
Alexander had just ordered a tea and several chocolate breads when a racket rang out!
It was a horde of journalists following a black limousine that had stopped in front of the restaurant.
A beautiful, young, blonde woman got out of the car.
It was Elizabeth de Montcalm.
Or, in the MMORPG world, Zelda.
