Ona

Level 11

The defeated Trynn-Ror dissolved into a cloud of blue pixels. The water in the pond began to quickly drain into a deep chasm and the whirlpool roared to life in the otherwise silent forest.

Ona walked to the chasm and looked down.

Onisa stood at her side and laughed. “The Source Aura pulled the plug on the game?”

Ona said, “Yes, it does look like the game was disconnected from the servers.”

Onisa said, “How much time?”

“Five minutes.”

I received an urgent message in the chat window and read the player names.

Loaf stood at the gate of the castle with the Source Aura. “The guide returned! She promised to delay the end game so I can level up and practice my fighting skills.”

I returned the message. “Loaf, the game was disconnected from the servers. The Source Aura lied.”

The ground shook and several of the nearby trees dissolved into mist.

Onisa turned to face me and mouthed the words, “Goodbye” as she dissolved into mist.

Ona said, “Emotion is the end and the beginning. ” She continued to stare into the chasm until I pulled her to safety.

The older sister of the game’s main character, Onisa returned, and to my disappointment, she was parading around in her red dress and shouting commands. She took the lead and we walked to the castle. I noticed tears streaming down her face, but said nothing. The fighters revived at the Eternal Pond stood in the clearing, silent. I had the feeling the events were playing without input from the small group of human subscribers logged into the game.

I whispered to the former red knight about a plan I was forming, and then raised my sword with a battle cry.

Onisa and I shouted in unison, like warriors in a fantasy movie. “Onward to Castle Bromme!”

Ona shouted above the voices with a battle cry of her own. “The Source Aura must be defeated.”

The retired pro gamer named Bromme in the game, wanted to have some fun. I scanned the virtual reality menu options for a list of all activate players. “The Source Aura? I thought she was blocked from returning?”

The ground shook and the chasm of the Eternal pond vanished into mist, but the forest also vanished, changing the game world into a plain flat black surface with no end in sight.

Castle Bromme was visible in the distance. I shouted to a small group of the fighters who began to waiver and turned back. “The castle still stands!”

Onisa said, “Yes, future husband. The castle is protected by an advanced encryption layer designed by Ona. I doubt the Source Aura has the hacking skills to delete the tutorial level. It was necessary to design a safe place in the game for new players and account holders with subscriptions so the game would be trusted.”

“The game failed in a crowded marketplace of advanced game designs?”

Onisa said, “The virtual world was never designed to be a product for sale. The game was released to the public to help a brilliant mind test a proof of concept theory. I’m here to protect my sister, the inventor of the technology, and have a little fun in the process. Unfortunately, there are people who want to steal her advanced encryption technology.”

I said, “The castle Bromme?”

Onisa said, “Do you think I look good in this dress? I sacrificed the red knight character to continue the game. The Source Aura thinks I was deleted, but she never discovered the liked profile of the red dress character model with matching stats.”

Ona said, “My sister would like to meet you outside of the game. She is college educated and unemployed. The fault is with the game publishing company, not her lack of game design skills.”

I turned to Onisa and said, “No job, dear? I can recommend you to the king of castle Bromme.”

Onisa grunted and said, “I was the lead designer. I have skills.”

I continued the march to the castle and was amazed at the number of Trynn-Ror creatures were flying in circles over the keep.

Ona said, ”Level 12.”

© J. Bateman

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