The World of ONA

Chapter 12

The gates of Castle Bromme were sealed when I returned to the battle world. I was pulled from the virtual reality connection when dinner was delivered.

The icons for Loaf and the Source Aura were blinking red and standing in the center of the castle, the status updates indicating a battle.

I was attempting to contact my friend as we marched closer to the castle, but there was no response. I turned to Onisa and said, “If I remember correctly, Red Knight, the small secret tunnel at the base of the keep is another way into the castle.”

The Red Knight considered the number of fighters marching in the group. She said, “The tunnel is good for one or two people to sneak in, but moving a full army is impossible.”

I noticed a message in the shared virtual reality connection. “Hey Bromme! I won the battle! I had a character stats notice about reaching the highest possible level and the game ended.”

The Trynn-Ror soared above the castle walls in an impressive formation then dropped, motionless into the courtyard. The castle gate dropped and the army I recruited broke into a loud chorus of victory cheers.

Ona ran to the front of the army and looked at the sky. “The Source Aura made a wrong move.”

I said, “What happened?”

Ona said, “Loaf defeated the final boss with a single battle cry.”

I said, “He wanted the virtual world of Ona to be the first virtual game world he completed. And the Source Aura used the Castle Bromme encryption codes to end the battle.”

Ona said, “Yes.”

The sky turned dark and I looked back at the army, low murmurs of concern raising the question of another monster attack.

Ona began to chant in a unknown language then raised her hands. The glow from the power behind the mysterious girl, and the world of the virtual reality game, slowly began to draw a pattern of bright ribbons across the horizon.

I said, “The sky is filled with wonders to celebrate the victory or the end game!” I recognized the pattern as similar to the northern lights. I was interrupted by a ping from the virtual connection and noticed an invitation from Loaf to join him in the castle courtyard.

The army was celebrating a victory on a plains in front of the castle as the drawbridge dropped with a loud bang over the moat.

The Red Knight was close behind when I ran to the castle. “Future husband, wait for me!”

I was soon greeted by Loaf to congratulate him on the victory. He was standing alone in the courtyard, surrounded by hordes of monsters piled as high as the castle walls.

The virtual reality game went silent and I was pulled back to the real world. In an hour, I returned after a quick run to the store. The batteries in the old used equipment needed to be replaced after a short couple of hours of playing time.

I heard a voice as I started to reconnect the virtual reality equipment to the computer, my girlfriend was on a phone call. I dropped everything when I realized what happened.

I could hear my girlfriend raise her voice in frustration, “The Source Aura was deleted. I talked Loaf into getting my boyfriend to be his mentor so they would ruin the the player balance and make it easier for me, but the security programs were too hard to break…don’t worry about my boyfriend overhearing, the competitive gamer will stay online until morning.”

I returned to the game, not wanting to hear more of the conversation.

Ona entered the courtyard and with a wave of her hand, the monsters evaporated into a blue pixel mist, rising above the height of the castle walls, and floating through the ribbons of light, and vanishing out of sight.

The Red Knight looked around impressed and leaned close to speak in whispers. “The champion was a gamer with no skills…perhaps the designers of the world could learn a lesson.”

The Source Aura was nowhere in sight when the preparations were completed for a victory celebration.

I was crowned the king of Castle Bromme, and requested a knighthood for Loaf. I tried to change Ona’s mind about a marriage to her sister Onisa, but soon found myself standing in the great hall exchanging rings.

The Red Knight was silent, unusual for her, and stood holding my hand, as the artificial light turned the sky to a deep shade of purple, then black, filled with the ribbons of a green aura.

The Red Knight and the King of Castle Bromme were dressed like royalty as Loaf proceeded to raise a toast in celebration. “The world of ONA is back!”

The gathering of resurrected player characters, a hundred strong army from the resurrection at the Eternal Pond raised their mugs and shouted “To world of ONA!” The sun began to rise on a new day.

The End.

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