Welcome to Birth of Heroes

Unhurriedly, an old silver key is inserted into a round door knob yet pauses. The small slender hand gripping the key slightly shakes before - as it had been about to do - turns to the left.

CLICK!

Lips parting as they release a broken sigh a pair of dirty black Converse step into a tiny dingy apartment. Letting a neat brown over-the-shoulder bag slip, those black Converse easily come off leaving a pair of socked feet in its place.

Staggering forward unsteadily - like scooping up an unsuspecting jello - arms push away a hanging blanket. Such blanket's use was to provide a bit of privacy between the apartment's entrance and the owner's designated living room/bedroom.

The blanket opened up to a view of trash, more trash, and trash. Scoffing in disgust both on tangent with the apartment and himself, some trash scattered away loudly with a single kick making way for Cleo.

Within distance, he turned, letting his body flop onto his mattress.

"Hah-" Cleo let out a breath with the closing of his eyes. "What a long day."

The happenings of the day swam around in his brain from the smallest details to the biggest. Yet - as any other that came before - his shoulders seemed to stiffen and his lungs seemed to constrict as though a chain had been wrapped around it.

A day of stifling pressure accompanied by the piercing words of others. Contrary to his belief and act of shoving those things down - like somebody in an attempt to garner more room in a trash can - they more or less could only overflow. They weren't gone. They didn't not hurt him. Never would they fade away into obscurity without a care in this world.

They were here to stay as a haunting ghost - never to leave.

Cleo laughed bitterly at these recurring painful emotions that appeared to be more of the parasite kind. "Can't even relax at home, can I?"

((ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ Oh no! He's sad!)

(Wow, who knew you were a genius.)

(I'm not even gonna comment on that! Stupid bone-head! __〆(￣ー￣ ))

(You just did.)

Eyes slipping open gazing up at the ceiling, Cleo recalled the game he had collected from his brother - Ash - today. With sudden vitality, he pushed himself up from the growing comfortable place of his bed and hurried over to his abandoned brown bag. Hands fishing around without care for those things inside the bag it came as no surprise when his fingers curled around the DVD case he had been searching for. With the ruffling about a large biker-like helmet rolled out.

Otherwise known as VRHA. Created by the Virtual Reality Headset Admission - a billion-dollar company with expansions into every corner of Tokyo, Japan. This company was well-known for identifying as the official publisher of Birth of Heroes.

They've also made a name for themselves by erasing the original author of the series entirely from the limelight.

(٩(╬ʘ益ʘ╬)۶ How dare they! Authors should get their credit for creating beautiful pieces of art!)

(I wonder why they did so?)

(It doesn't matter why! They're gonna pay! Hmph. (⌐■_■))

Such percepted complicated setup for the VRHA had not taken long and before Cleo knew it the helmet slipped over his head gradually. Settling on his head comfortably, the helmet lit up a bright yellow as a notice that soon he shall enter the beauty of virtual reality.

Carefully he slid his way toward his bed - managing still to kick several pieces of trash - until laying comfortably back on his bed.

(Don't try this at home kids (￣▽￣)!)

Thus the eyesight of his flickered completely turning black like it had been with a TV a few centuries older.

[WELCOME HERO…TO YOUR BIRTH]

When his eyes fluttered open, as though the act of closing his eyes was something he had done, they exponentially widened.

Pure fresh air - already a contrast to the grey blanket that covered the Tokyo sight of the sky - revealed a beautiful bright blue sky. Though such a smell as pure air made no home in his nose it was enough to simply experience it.

Summoned in this small-flowered area - as he observed - he took notice of a very elegant table and chair set snuggled under a large cherry blossom tree. Swiftly, Cleo propped himself up then proceeded to stand up on his two feet.

An avid gamer - so he likes to claim - Cleo remained indifferent on the outside at the most uncommon sight low and behold. Tutorials peacefully handled such as this were of basic nonexistence for they provide nothing in gripping the player into a chokehold. In other words, a peaceful tutorial was not beneficial to provide a reason for players to continue playing.

((✯◡✯) He ain't wrong~)

A sudden, child-like voice of a slightly higher pitch nature, echoed in his ears. Blinking, "Huh?" he released an audible sound in confusion.

(Wait. He can hear us?)

Another voice, much deeper than the other yet still of child-like nature, spoke.

"Y-yeah…I can hear you?" He said. "Am I not supposed to?"

(Waaaah! (ʘ ʖ̯ ʘ) This is so creepy!)

(And weird.)

[WELCOME HERO…TO YOUR BIRTH]

The sudden onslaught of the triple voices ringing in his head resulted in pain. His eyes tremble until they slipped completely shut and his hand grips a few strands of his hair as a lifeline.

(UH, What's happening!? Why is the place glitching? (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`))

(This is too strange. Perhaps there was-)

[WELCOME HERO…TO YOUR BIRTH]

All progress was wiped as the pain in his head tripled ten-fold causing a shake in his legs. Like a twig snapped under a shoe - this case being pain was the shoe - the strength in his legs that held him up crumbled.

His knees hit the ground.

[WELCOME HERO-]

Tears surfaced around the corner of his eyes.

Was he dying?

[WELCOME HE-]

His body further met in the ground - in the form of his elbows - whilst desperately now holding the crown of his head.

[WELC-]

Then everything was rendered to silence.

(ಠ_ಠ Seriously…what just happened?)

(Cleo, are you okay?)

That harsh pulsing pain, a simulating effort of what it would have been like to feel a painful death, disappeared like a dandelion being carried in the wind leaving nothing in its wake. As though the poor dandelion had not been there at all. What had not disappeared was those two child-like voices and the shaky ness of his limbs.

Breathing heavily, he pushed his body up through the shaky ness of his arms sitting upon his legs. "I-I'm fine, I think?" He reassured the second voice despite the confusion about why a strange voice would show any care. "Do…Im sorry, what are your names?"

(My name is Ariel! (●'◡'●)ﾉ)

(...Ester.)

(Stuoid bone-head! That was a lame ass introduction! (￣^￣)ゞ)

(Well, at least I don't use excessive emojis in every sentence.)

(Pooey head!)

His lips tilted up into an amused smile at the small, yet clearly affectionate banter between the two, before just about realizing the change in his surroundings. In contrast to that of the beautiful small flower area he now resided in a pure white room filled with nothing. It was safe to say that if he could compare the room to one thing it would be a psychiatric prison cell.

It made him shiver.

"Welcome Hero."