Reunion

"It's you Eirwyn! Did you know I really miss you? Hihihi." A young woman greeted Eirwyn and giggled as she stood on the doorway.

One could easily discern that she was a tomboy. Her ravishing and stunning appearance and her outfit contrasted to each other.

Her face was oval-shaped with smooth pale white skin. She had attractive black monolid eyes. Her lips were thin and fresh, and her silky long black hair tied into a high and messy ponytail.

She wore black and white tracksuits that emphasize her sylphlike and willowy figure. Her neck was wrapped with black foulard scarf. She also wore black high top sneakers with a white shoelace.

"Long time no see Aria." Eirwyn greeted Wren, but his tone was aloof.

"Come in, come in!" Aria smiled as she opened the door wider so Terrell and Eirwyn could enter.

"Don't act like you own this place." Eirwyn came into the door. He removed his sneakers and placed it properly on a shoe rack.

"Hahaha! Don't act like that to her, Eirwyn." Terrell laughed as he removed his grey basketball shoes and then he followed them inside.

The condominium unit was not only a guild workshop, but it was also the place where Terrell lived.

Almost three years ago, Terrell bought this real property using the credits they earned from the guild to establish their very own workshop.

The apartment had separated into five areas. Terrell's room, mini gym, kitchen, bathroom, and their guild workshop which occupies the large space.

First, the workshop. It was air-conditioned, and the smell of the air had a hint of citrus fruit fragrance.

The marble tiled floor was covered wool carpets. Even though they are resistant to stains and dirt, Terrell didn't allow any people to wear shoes inside. He wanted to keep it nice and clean.

The large windows had roman blinds, when rolled down it makes the room darker when the lights are turned off.

The lighting fixtures were stylish and customized, it can be changed into different colors and lighting modes.

Ten comfy single sized beds were arranged neatly, each of them have cotton blankets and soft pillows. Core guild members would lie down and use their own Occult Xeno headgear to play virtual reality games.

There were also gaming computer sets beside each bed. The specs of these computers were far more advanced compared to the past century. The Xeno virtual headgears were connected each of these computers.

Each gaming computer set had gaming chairs, widescreen monitor, wireless gaming keyboard, mouse, and headset. The design was sleek and ergonomic.

Next, the mini gym was separated to the large workshop with translucent glass panes as a partition. It had five treadmills, two workout benches, and complete dumbbell & barbell set.

The marble tiled floor was placed with simple rubber gym mats for protection against damages to the equipment and the floor itself. The core members would exercise at the mini gym to stay fit and maintain a healthy body.

There was nothing special about the kitchen and the bathroom, they were simply designed but complete with essentials.

Lastly, Terrell's room. Oh, it's locked. I wonder what's inside?

Terrell and Eirwyn went to the sitting area of the guild workshop where the core guild members could sat down and relax on the sofas and recliners. They took a seat opposite one another.

Aria walked towards to her own computer. She sat on the gaming chair then she wore a headphone.

"Hmm... nothing had changed since a year ago, this is quite nostalgic," Eirwyn looked around the guild workshop.

"Yeah, but we're missing other core members." Terrell smiled but his expression became gloomy.

"Oh, they didn't come back?" Eirwyn wasn't surprised. He knew after 'Apolcalypse' — dubbed by the playerbase — many players abandoned the world of virtual reality and began to focus their lives on the real world.

"Uun... they decided to quit gaming and currently they were occupied on their jobs to make a living." Terrell nodded as he told Eirwyn about the situation.

"I see. Well, they needed a stable income." Eirwyn understood.

Aria was busy moving and scrolling her wireless mouse.

"Do you know why she came back?" Eirwyn asked Terrell.

"Nah, I had no idea. She just barged in. I was surprised she even kept the access key." Terrell shrugged as he shook his head.

Eirwyn shifted his gaze to Aria. Terrell noticed him and followed the direction where Eirwyn aimed his eyes.

"Oi oi oi, did you really missed her too?" Terrell had a devilish grin on his face.

Eirwyn ignored him as if he was nothing but air.

Seeing Eirwyn ignored him, Terrell approached him. He was whispering something to his ear.

'Shua shuahahsuahsa'

"Hahaha!" Terell laughed and shoved his elbow to Eirwyn.

"Oh, that really nice, I still have a chance..." Eirwyn was unaware that he talked out loud.

"No. I'm joking, she's not single." Terrell smiled.

"What?!" Eirwyn was totally perplexed, his expression was really terrible.

"Hahaha! Look at that face! What I said before was true, don't worry! Hahaha!" Terrell couldn't control his laugh.

"You ducking manhole, go duck yourself. I'll go and ask her." Eirwyn gave him a pinky finger. He stood up from the sofa and walked towards Aria.

Aria was busy scrolling her mouse while browsing through the forums. Her username displayed on the screen was 'Wren'.

Aria sensed someone was behind her. She took off her headphones and turned around slightly.

"What?" Aria tilted her head.

"Why did you come back? You're the one quit first before right?" Eirwyn asked, his expression was nonchalant.

"Huh? Stratus Isle shut down, right?" Aria replied back with a question.

"Yeah, that doesn't mean you should quit and left us without any reason." Eirwyn retorted.

"Nah, I'm just tired at that time. Besides, there are no other decent VRMMORPG released since then." Aria continued to scroll through the forums.

"You should come here and visited us every now and then even you don't want to play anymore..." Eirwyn grumbled to himself.

"Are you still mad at me? Now I'm here, right in front of you!" Aria took off her hair tie. Her long black hair dropped down and straightened out smoothly. The sweet scent from her hair reached to his nose.

"..." Eirwyn was dazed, he couldn't think properly and lost for words.

"So cold." Aria was referring either Eirwyn or the temperature of the air conditioning.

"..." Eirwyn was speechless.

"Did you heard the news about Halcyon?" When she realized Eirwyn became silent, Aria turned around with her chair and faced him.

"..." Eirwyn nodded.

"Could you guess now?" Aria tilted her head.

"..." Eirwyn shook his head.

"Can you speak properly when someone is talking to you?" Aria was annoyed.

"No. I'm neither an esper who can read minds nor a prophet who can predict your words," Eirwyn replied with nonsense.

Aria couldn't take it anymore and stood up.

"Dimwit. We will play together again like we used to do and rebuild our guild back to its former glory!" She poked his forehead with her soft finger.

"..." Eirwyn didn't speak but deep inside of him, he was happy.

Meanwhile, Terrell sat on the sofa while watching the entire scene.

He laughed silently and slapped his knees because of Eirwyn's awkwardness.