A Rendezvous From Reality.
6 years later,
800 hours on the clock.
He slowly walked into the chamber. His journey this time around had taken a lot of time.
The strong music created by the usage of complex notes using the piano.
"Have you been keeping well? Thank you for M.t Coronet. I am truly grateful."
The blonde haired lady dressed in black. They had met each other many times on his adventure. She had helped him a lot of times on his journey, and they had saved the world from complete destruction together.
"Together, you and your friends overcame all the challenges you faced. However difficult."
He wanted to say something. But he couldn't.
"It means that you've triumphed over any personal weaknesses, too."
She placed brought out a capsule in her hand.
"The power you learned...I can feel it emanating from you. But that's enough talk. Let's get on with why you're here. As the champion, I accept your challenge!"
His heart was racing. He was feeling pumped.
She pressed at the center of the capsule, and threw it towards the center of the chamber.
He adjusted his glasses.
"I won't lose."
He had three monsters left. He took out his capsule and did what he had done so many times on the adventure.
'Time for battle!'
--------------------------------------------------
'Ding!'
A notification from his smartphone. He didn't pay it any attention.
'Ding!'
Another notification, not even a second later.
Michael sighed. He placed the DS down on his bed, and picked up his phone.
A message from Cory.
"Where is the video?"
The video was ready.
'It isn't 2 am yet.'
He looked at the watch. The minute hand was on 5, while the hour hand was on 3.
"Oh shit!"
He hurried and pressed the button on the CPU.
The system booted in an instant. He attached the edited video to the email.
"The file got corrupted. I had to redo everything. Sorry for the delay!"
A short message. It was a lie, but he had no other choice.
Cory replied,
"It's alright."
He sent a smiling face emoji.
Cory was a good guy. Michael almost felt guilty, but he knew that Cory wasn't going to post the video until 7 am.
He scratched his nose. His job was done.
"I should go back to my game."
He stood up from his chair. On his way back, he caught a glimpse of his face through the mirror on his wardrobe.
Pale face, Dark Circles. His physique had deteriorated a lot, leading to a thin body type.
'Should I sleep?'
He turned towards his bed. The blonde haired lady was waiting for him to do something.
After a few minutes, he said,
"Sleep is for the weak!"
He picked up the DS and lied down on the bed.
------------------------------------------
Cory opened his email.
The thumbnail was good. A Black Goat insignia in a red background, with small black marks all over the image.
"The Scam Of The Black Goat."
A commentary video. Around an hour long, and filled with all the information they could find about the organization that was conning people into buying online currency.
"Another hit."
After going through it once, he closed his laptop.
He messaged Michael once again.
"Good work."
With a thumbs-up.
Michael had turned his phone silent. He wasn't going to read it any time soon.
"I hope he doesn't overdo it."
He thought to himself while the coffee machine was busy making his life juice.
Michael had been overworking himself a lot these days. He was editing for 7 different people now, all because he was completely focused on making money. His work wasn't affected. The editing on the videos was top notch. But the mental pressure and the toll on his body was concerning. As his friend, he was worried.
He took a sip while browsing through his mail.
"Hmm?"
A familiar name. He hadn't heard of her for about 8 years now.
He clicked on the message.
"Sender, Lisa Wong."
Subject: Information on Michael's Whereabouts.
He read through the email. A frown appeared on his face.
"She doesn't know..."
He leaned on his backrest.
"Should I help her?"
He stared at the email for a few minutes. This could go horribly wrong.
"No. I can't do this to him."
He pressed delete. He did not need any more drama in his life.