Light Within

Finally...

Thank God it Saturday, Katherine can go outside without having to tell her father that she is out doing an assignment. Eddie tends to be protective of Katherine since it was only him and his daughter. He did not want to lose anyone again. For Katherine, she thinks that it is a bit too much as she was already a teenager. Anywise, she had to listen to her father, cause it was his way to protect her. Only for today, Katherine disobeys him, "Sorry, Dad. I want to play some game". She passed through her dad's workroom and watched him, focusing on his laptop. "Dad, I'm leaving. Bye!", she shouted by the door and left. "Remember to back before 8".

            Katherine makes her way to video games store with ease. She took the bus, as walking would be exhausting. Besides, it already afternoon, the sun burns brightly for today. "I don't want to get my hoodie wet for today. Better take this bus", Katherine talks by herself. When she arrived, she bought a strawberry blended from the nearest vendor to quench her thirst. She pushed the store's door gently, "Uncle Jimmy, does the games ou...Claire?!" Claire was there. "Katty! Oh my god, I miss you", Claire runs then hugs Katherine while they were at the door. Katherine embraced Claire's hug for a while until they split, "Why are you here? I thought you didn't like video games". Claire fixed Katherine hair and took her hand to the counter while showing her to the specific games. "Yeah, yeah, but listen, Eternal Quest. You know I love VR things right?", Claire, looking straight to the game's content in the monitor. "And you know I almost have all of the simulator VR games in my room. Of course, I want to play this game. The thing is..." Claire stops in her middle sentence. Katherine takes a look to the monitor to watch a bit of trailer about that game. The game itself is an RPG game, which you can choose your look, your class and your appearance. The setting of the places is also looking mesmerizing as it combined both futuristic and classic. "It kinda cool. Oh, the thing is what?" Katherine already amazed with the game but cannot figure it out why Claire is not buying it yet. "The thing is...I want you to play with me! Please, please say yes", Claire grabbed both of Katherine's hand, begging her to play the game together. "Claire...I don't have the VR. How am I supposed to play with you?" Katherine reminds her about that. Claire smiled and said: "And that's why I'm going to buy you one". When it comes to fortune, Claire's family is not a stranger to it. The Aldan’s is well-known by their corporate company, hence no wonder they were also known as the Big 5 here. Usually, they do not associate themselves other than the other Big 5, but Claire did not play by the rules. She wants to befriend with anyone that she likes, regardless of their fortune, fame or looks. Claire knows how the rich-looking girls will act. Hence, she picks Katherine instead as she is real. "Are you for real?" Katherine's eyes opened wide as she does not believe what her friend had said. Claire nodded and replied: "You heard me right. Uncle Jimmy, one VR set and two of the games, please".

            "I see you tonight. Online, I mean virtual", Claire walks away as she had to attend fencing class that her parent signed her in. Katherine and Claire had their day by talking about the game. They choose to talk about it in the small cafe nearby. They want to be different in the game. "So, Claire, what role do you want to be? I heard that the game offers almost 15 roles in it", Katherine, still unsure what to pick. Claire smiled after finishing sipped her drink, "Of course it is a secret, but, maybe I'm going with something with a light, slender sword like a rapier as the main since I'm learning to fence. Need to keep the skills, you know". Katherine completely forgot about how proficient Claire was in handling a thin,long-narrowed and sharp sword such as rapier. She looks like she was dancing when she trained in the fencing class. Claire used to compete in a few fencing tournaments, and she always has her spot in the top three. In short, Claire is unbeatable with a slender and sharply-pointed two-edged blade. "Claire already decided on her role. A swordswoman, I guess? I still can't decide mine", Katherine stop rolled after she had done it for a couple of times. Katherine looks at her new VR set with the Eternal Quest set on her table. "Ugh, it so tempting. Maybe I need to call Claire for a sec", Katherine still pretty not sure whether to play alone or to wait for Claire for exploring the game together.

            Meanwhile,

"Ah, the time has come, to use this", Void, sitting in the room, filled with dark, velvet red curtains around him, watching the screen. "Let's see, how Eve will react to this for this time", Void smirks while working the chip he received from the Era. The time to work his plot starts now. "Now, who will be the lucky one".

            "Katty, sorry. I forget that I need to study for my upcoming test tomorrow", Claire, from the end of the line, sounds like she was about to cry. Claire was also in another prestige school for all girls, who maintain their grades by doing test frequently. "I hate this school. So sorry Katty, but can you play by yourself? You seem like you need to lose for a bit, have fun first, okay?", Claire still has her phone in speaker while studying in her desk, wants Katherine to have fun. She knew that Katherine was always by herself in her new school without having her around. "But promise me, don't leave alone in the low level, please", Claire begs, as she is also excited for the game.  Katherine quietly giggled as she found it funny for an almost perfect girl like Claire loves to play video games. "Okay, but don't study too late. You need enough sleep too. Bye, Claire", Katherine ended the phone call. She walks to her study desk. She sets the VR up as she lies on the bed.

"Well, time to go virtual".