Civilization

Taking off the VR helmet, I wake up from the game. That last session felt longer than just 24 hours, maybe it was due to the small…interaction with Selino. That Union… felt like an eternity. Swimming in an endless ocean, surrounded by many…MANY… Crawling things, objects… I didn\'t even know what it was but at least… It was over and I came out? Selino is inside of me in the game. Forever, speaking into my mind so long as I am in the game.

"So this is your world, deary~" - Selino

Shooting up from my bed, gasping for breath, as my skin pops up with little bumps. Glancing around, I see Rebecca, taking off her helmet. Turning her head towards mine, with a confused expression.

"Babe…? Are you okay?" - Rebecca

"Did… Did you hear that?" - Ian

"Hmm? Hear what?" - Rebecca

"Oh, deary~ She can\'t hear me. Remember… Union." - Selino

Her voice, was ever so seductive inside my ear, speaking to me as if she was right next to me. However, wasn\'t she part of the game? Part of the other world… Unless.

"Yes. We are now one, so what you are thinking is right, deary. I am no longer bound to MY world. This. THIS is amazing." - Selino

"...Rebecca, babe. Uhh… Where was Kingston\'s room again? I need to talk to him for a moment." - Ian

"Uhh… At 6? Don\'t you want to wait a little later? Like after breakfast or maybe during breakfast. What is it anyway? Do you want to talk to me about it?" - Rebecca

"Well… You know Selino?" - Ian

"OHHHHH~ DEARY!! You are going to talk to little sweetie pie here about me?" - Selino

"Yes, of course. Queen of Spiders. Took your body. Mean, well not really mean, but you get what I mean. Uhh, kind of friends of Nina. Maybe knows Luke…? I don\'t know but yes, I know of her. Just not personally." - Rebecca

"Okay, great you know the bare minimum. Well, I… Uh… Did this Union thing with her… And, well. I\'ll just say it straight up. She is inside my head. Quite literally and maybeee metaphorically?" - Ian

"What?" - Rebecca

"Sigh… It is hard to explain. I can hear her. I can see her inside my head. She speaks to me. She sees what I can see. Just like in Settlement. WAIT! WAIT! I see that confused look on your face. I don\'t know why she is here, but I can only assume there is something to do with the merge. I-She is here, with me. In my head, laughing right now as she looks at me tell you about her. I wanted to talk to Kingston since he said he can speak to Belial." - Ian

"What the… Like for reals? Like in your mind? Uh… Okay, okay. Wait. I don\'t understand. You know what. I got it. Speak to Kingston. Solve… This. Whatever this is. Ah, don\'t worry, I\'m still here with you. I don\'t think you are crazy or anything. Just, you know. Maybe some time with Kingston will help." - Rebecca

"Oh… Thank you, babe. I\'m going to go find him. I\'ll ask Eve, or Adam." - Ian

Giving her a little kiss on the cheek, I walk out of the room while picking up a shirt that was on the ground. Looking around, I see one of Sam\'s staff members, Mary, coming down the corridor with a trolley. Noticing me, she waves over to me, while I slowly walk over to her

"Hello, Mr. Ian. How are you feeling? Do you need a drink of water? I was just about to visit your\'s and Ms. Rebecca\'s room." - Mary

"Thank you, Mary. I\'m fine. Although, would you be so kind as to point me in the direction of Kingston\'s room? I just need a word or two with him." - Ian

"Oh, of course. Mr. Kingston, however, is not in his room right now. He is currently on his way to the lounge room. I have told him that the chefs prepare breakfast between 0600 and 1000. I\'m sure you will meet him there." - Mary

"Thank you, Mary. Please ask Rebecca if she needs anything. She has already woken up from the game." - Ian

Saying goodbye to Mary, I make my way to the lounge room, where I see Kingston sitting at the countertop, watching and chatting with a kind petite, girl. The same girl who was cooking him his food. Her fiery red hair, braided behind her matches not only her eyes but also the flames below the cast iron pan. Turning her gaze away from Kingston, she locks on to me. Giving me a smile like an angel\'s, she quickly calls out to me.

"Hello, Mr. Ian. My name is Alice. I will be your chef this morning. I have already introduced Mr. Kingston, to our menu. It will be a simple, creative take on the classic Loco Moco, a cuisine Mr. Sam has grown up eating. It is made with a homemade beef/lamb pattie, on top of a small bed of fried rice, and a sunny side egg next to it. Quite simple really. I\'m sure you could have made this with yourself." - Alice

"No, no. I wouldn\'t be able to do this, thank you for cooking by the way. Kingston, how are you? I heard that you left the Krepost. What happened?" - Ian

"Ah… That. Yeah, I have to apologize to Rebecca and Nina about that, since they were going to go into the Glemt and I kind of ditched them to follow Celine. After what happened with Selino-" - Kingston

"Wait, wait. Before you continue. Let me tell you something important. I have merged… With Selino and is currently in my mind as we speak. Just like how you have Belial in your mind. I want to just tell you that before you say anything." - Ian

"Wait, what? Did you do a demon contract? But Selino isn\'t a demon. I\'m so confused." - Kingston

"Not a demon contract, but maybe something similar." - Ian

"Alright, well, hello Selino, don\'t kill me, please. Like seriously, please. Anyway, back to why I left. After Selino did… That. Celine, was upset about her own powerlessness. She thought with all the monsters she had tamed she had grown stronger but in reality, it didn\'t. Maybe a select few monsters grew stronger but at the end of the day, she herself has not grown.

Her thought process was skewed by anger and frustration and her conclusion was to go on a journey to find better monsters to tame. She thought the monsters that she tamed like the Zivotinjas or the Xabarils, were great to start off with but ultimately weren\'t strong enough to protect her and or the Krepost. Having an army of monsters will never be strong enough against one singular alpha monster.

That\'s what she told herself, and convinced by her own thoughts she set off on a journey toward the mountains. I didn\'t want to just leave her to her own devices, so I followed her, as quickly as I could, forgetting to tell anyone about what I was doing. It doesn\'t take a day to reach the mountains, so we are still on the way, but at the same time, she has become more proficient at taming monsters as well as gaining stronger control over them.

Compared to before, where she used kindness to tame them, this felt more forceful. Using intimidation or strength to tame the monsters. It wasn\'t wrong, but it also didn\'t feel right but whenever I try to bring it up, she would shoot me down. I\'m trying to fix it at the moment, but… I need more time. " - Kingston

"I understand. You just need to be with her. Don\'t worry too much and let her release some stress. On that note, what do I do now that I have someone in my head?" - Ian

"What? Are you worried Selino will barge into you and Rebecca\'s time? Don\'t worry too much about that. I ignore Belial and Fierna unless there is something important or life-threatening happening. They tend to just enjoy what they see. After all, the technology here is very different for them. Maybe let Selino watch some television through your eyes or something? Or take her on a walk. I know Fierna like that, so maybe Selino will." - Kingston

"Right… I\'ll keep that in mind. I just… It feels weird you know?" - Ian

"That she is probably saying something to you right now, but you are actively ignoring it? Yeah, don\'t worry about it. You will have to just get used to it. Alice is the food ready, I\'m starved." - Kingston

"Yes, Mr. Kingston, both you and Mr. Ian\'s food is ready, here we go. For Mr. Ian, while I don\'t mean to pry, I feel like whatever Mr. Kingston is saying is false. Selino is a girl as well, and doing all those things he has said, may make your girlfriend jealous. Keep it to a minimum at best or try to work it out with Ms. Rebecca." - Alice

"Hey! What? Why is it what I said was false." - Kingston

"You just don\'t know how a girl thinks." - Sabrina

Turning around, we see Sabrina walking in, with a loose gray top and black shorts, yawning a little before taking a seat beside me, Sabrina glances at the both of us with a disapproving face.

"Both of you are idiots. Listen to what Alice is saying. She is 100% more reasonable." - Sabrina

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. What did you guys do? Were you the ones who ended up finishing the Event?" - Kingston

"That\'s us. Finishing the Event without one of our major damage carry. I heard from Nina and Rebecca that you were meant to be an additional member." - Sabrina

"I came in halfway." - Ian

"Oh! Nice. So what now?" - Kingston

"Now? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! There is already a post on their official website. The game will be back in a week or two, which means we got nothing to do but wait. The official date is still not announced, but I think the three of you need to check your emails." - Sam

Walking in with a booming voice, Sam notifies us about one of the system messages that was shown towards the end of last session. Following his advice I take out my phone and bring up my email app.