Ep. 1 — Chapter 3: Long Awaited Official Release (2)

I don't know how long it's been since I passed out, but I felt something nudging me. At first, I tried to ignore it, too deep in my sleep. But as the shaking persisted, I suddenly remembered that I was still in the car and jolted awake.

"Gah—!" I let out a noise and my eyes shot open. It took me a little while before I managed to process everything.

I was still in the car. How long?

I quickly looked down on the floor and picked up my phone to check the time. [11:45]. Panicked, I hurriedly grabbed my bag and tried to exit the car. Looking outside, the sky had gotten dark, the sun was no longer visible.

"Hey, kid, where are you going?"

The driver asked and I turned back to him. "It's 11."

"Yeah?"

"Did you not wake me up?"

"I just did."

"I mean, before that…"

"I tried." He said, a cigarette in between his fingers as he fidgeted with it. "You're a real heavy sleeper. You said you didn't need to get home early so I let you sleep for a but longer."

"…"

I frowned, still unsure of the situation. The driver sighed and pointed outside his windows. "We're stuck in traffic since earlier. Doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon."

"Ah…"

Several notifications were piled up on my phone, and as I expected, they were all from Hua Lin.

—Don't forget, ok?

—Better be on your way rn

—Hey, where are you???

—Are you coming???

—Don't tell me you're asleep.

—UHH

…

And it keeps going. I felt a bit bad, but it wasn't really my fault since she kind of forced me into this, especially because the whole thing is at midnight. Not only was I unable to get home, I was also not able to get to where Hua Lin and I 'agreed' to meet.

I decided to text her and inform her of my situation so she doesn't think I was bailing on purpose.

But before I coukd finish what I was typing, she sent another message.

—I know, me too.

Eh? I deleted my sentence and rewrote something else and sent it to her.

—You're stuck in traffic too??

However, no reply came from Hua Lin anymore. My phone was silent. Like normal. But for some reason, it felt too silent. Abnormally quiet.

Of course, that didn't last long as another norification came on my phone from [World Ascension].

[Your daily streak is expiring! Log in to claim daily rewards! Your current streak is: 99 days!]

[Game scheduled for release: September 4th, 12AM. All servers will be reset, save progress to protect your accounts.]

I mumbled a curse, but I thought it was a little too loud as the driver glanced over at me through the rearview mirror. I averted my eyes from his gaze and stared outside. For how long have we been here? The people outside had left their cars and were talking to one another. Some were even stargazing while laying on the top of their cars.

"Did you know, you're always riding my cab?"

I turned back to the driver with confusion. He chuckled heartily and continued, "Everyday you leave that bookstore at the same time. I also happen to pass by there at that same time, so you're always my customer then. But, judging by your look, you must've not realised it, huh?"

"I guess…"

"Hah, young people these days. Your phone has taken over your brain, kid."

I quickly tired to change the subject. Why do older people have to make everything about us using our phones? "You don't look that old, sir."

The driver laughed. "Really? How old do you think I am, then?"

"In your 30's."

"Wrong!" He laughed louder and continued to spin the cigarette in his hand around. When it stopped, the cigarette butt pointed to me through the rearview mirror. "I am 47, boy. But I suppose I should take that compliment."

"My name's Arthur." The driver said, looking at me from the mirror as he held the cigarette, seemingly to ask for my permission to smoke. I opened my door to let some air in and nodded to him. He lit up the cigarette and rolled down his window. "What's your name?"

"Rayes." I replied, realising how weird I sounded. "Rayes Kim."

Arthur blew out a smoke and continued to speak, "Maybe you should go out too. I doubt that we'd move any further for a while. Who knows what kind of accident happened up ahead."

"How long have we been here for?"

"3 hours."

I frowned, trying to see if the man was kidding, but he continued to smoke instead, making it hard for me to tell. But he seems to be telling the truth. I should've been home before 9, but here we are, still stuck. It was almost midnight too.

Speaking of, Hua Lin never gave me a response.

I stepped out of the car and felt the night breeze going past me. Other people were outside as well, talking to one another and even smoking together. To think that such a situation could bring people together.

As I stepped out, someone walking next to the car skidded to an immediate halt and I reflexively reached out my hands.

It was someone around my age.

"Ah, sorry. You okay?" He asked and I nodded. The man looked to be a bit younger than me, despite his massive build. His muscular body was topped with his blonde hair and blemishless skin. An eye-catching individual. He laughed while scratching the back of his head. "There are a lot of people here, huh? But they were all older people, so I didn't expect to run into you here."

"Do you know me?"

"Oh, no, no. I was just glad I found someone around my age…I hope."

Ah. That's what he meant.

"I'm Leon Fells, a student at that the university there." He pointed to the massive building that was visible even from here.

"Huh, next to the bookstore?"

"Yes, do you know it?"

Who doesn't? I smiled at him, "And I happen to be working at the bookstore. Rayes Kim."

After a brief moment of introduction, the both of us started walking towards the edge of the overpass—also providing ourselves with the view of the city during the night. This was probably the only way out of this tight packed space, but of course, it was an immediate death.

I glanced down at my phone, still receiving no reply from either Hua Lin nor my sister. Not that I expect the latter to anyway, but Hua Lin is a different case.

Also, the time now was [11:57]. Three minutes before the time of the official launch of the game. There was no way to tell whether or not Hua Lin had made it to our appointed location, but there was nothing I could do about it either way.

Leon leaned on the ledge, staring off into the distance. He looked awfully attractive in that position, the bright moonlight reflecting off his golden coloured hair.

"How old are you, Leon?" I asked, coming closer to the guy, but not so lose to make him feel uncomfortable. He turned to me, looking at my direction for a while before replying.

"21 years old. What about you?"

I knew he was younger than me. But not that young. I curled my lips before giving him a reply, "29."

"Oh. I wasn't expecting that."

"Excuse—?"

"Ah, no offense."

"…"

We remained in silence for a short while.

Then suddenly, the sky started to rumble. Murmurs raised from the crowd of people behind us as bright flahses appeared in the sky. Dark clouds started to form instantaneously and circled around above us. Despite it being the dead of night, the difference between the dark blue night sky and the pitch black clouds were clear.

It looked as if a storm was approaching, lighting crackled and struck the ground in multiple areas, one after another. A bizarre phenomenon was happening.

Understandably, everyone else started to rush towards the edge of the overpass, crowding around us as well as they tried to get a clear look. I heard the sounds of cameras shuttering from behind me.

"What's that?"

"Oh my god…!"

…

Voices rose from he large crowds as everyone pointed to the pitch black skies, which was now seen illuminating with a bright red colour. Something was floating behind the clouds. Something large—massive, even—floating behind the clouds, emitting the red light.

The sight brought different ideas to many people. Everyone had their interpreation of this sudden phenomenon. The religious people thought of this as the Judgement Hour, while some others agreed that this was nothing but a prank. Or possibly some sort of show.

As for me, I continued to stare at the sky, mouth with open, gaping at the sight. My mind rambled, trying to find an explanation for this event, and however, no matter how hard I thought, it would trail back to the same source.

['World Ascension's release date: September 4th…]

My eyes trailed over the city scapes, landing on the clock tower from the distance. The time was now

[12:00]…