Bab 1: Chapter 1. Beginner
Chapter 1 - Start Again
Midnight. Sky Sector 9. Elite District Spire Complex City.
Auron sat in his private office, with the lights dimmed, a disarray of broken bottles, torn papers, and displaced furniture all around. The cabinet of his desk was open, papers scattered haphazardly.
Auron had once steered [Sunlight], a beast-taming workshop, acknowledged as a huge figure in the virtual world. The gaming workshop was established, with resources. However, a single moment shattered everything. That moment was when he rejected a merger with [Worldsinger].
In frustration, Auron paced the floor, his breathing turned erratic. Eyes bloodshot and hands trembling, he seized a bottle from the desk, hurling it forcefully against the wall.
Glass shattered, cluttering the floor with shards. "They took it! Sunlight was mine!" Auron growled, voice strained with sadness and anger. "They stole it away from me!"
His workshop Sunlight faced increasing pressure from corporate entities, particularly Worldsinger. This corporate behemoth ought to merge with his workshop to absorb its assets.
Auron preferred to remain independent, retaining control over his workshop. He valued the freedom to manage things on his own terms, rejecting the merger offer.
In return Worldsinger retaliated, using its corporate influence to dismantle [Sunlight]. Accounts were frozen, virtual assets seized, and Sunlight's position in the gaming industry collapsed.
Auron's personal life also crumbled. His reputation in the real world was tarnished. Legal and financial troubles followed. Sponsors and allies withdrew. The members of Sunlight blamed Auron for their loss, resulting in his isolation for weeks.
Insanity and rage taking over, Auron fell onto the couch, frenzied intensity taking hold as he clawed at the cushions relentlessly. Teeth tearing into the fabric, ripping it apart. Spitting out the tattered material, he muttered under his breath, "Decades of work... gone in a single night... Decades!"
"Forty years in gaming... Forty years taming beasts... Forty years of my life poured into Sunlight..."
Auron stood to his feet, knocking over a chair as he stumbled toward the desk half drunk. Another bottle caught his eye. He smashed it against the surface, watching the shards scatter. Blood seeped from the wound inflicted by the glass, disregarding it."I will mend it." he said, his voice growing louder. "I'll go back. I'll fix everything!"
Auron's movements became more erratic. He tore papers into shreds, upended the desk, and slammed his fists into the wall repeatedly. "I don't care how! Take me back!" His voice cracked. "Let me start over!"
Auron fell to his knees, his body trembled uncontrollably. "Before Sunlight. Before Worldsinger. Before all of it." Breaths quickened, words turning into frantic chants. "Let me undo it. Give me one more chance."
Then, suddenly, he froze. His body went rigid, his head snapping up. A wide grin spread across his face. A low chuckle escaped his lips, growing louder. His shoulders shook as the laughter turned into a hysterical cackle. He threw his head back, his voice echoing through the empty office. "Take me back! TAKE ME BACK!"
Another bottle flew across the room, shattering against the wall. Auron fell to his knees, his fists pounding the floor. His voice broke. "One chance. That's all I need. One chance to make it right." His body convulsed, spasms wracking him. He collapsed onto the floor, his breaths uneven, eyes fluttering shut.
---
Dawn.
Auron's eyes opened, his breathing was shallow as he was drenched in sweat. Jolting upright, discovering himself perched on the precipice of a rudimentary bed. a sense of bewilderment as he surveyed his unfamiliar surroundings, his eyes darting about with a perplexed expression.
This wasn't his high-end, spacious private office. The last memory he had, was of him clearly drunk and turning insane, so he expected to wake up on the floor. However, the room was clean, small, and... familiar.
His gaze darted to the walls. Chipped paint and inexpensive wooden furniture left no doubt that this was the dorm room he'd called home four decades ago. His breath quickened. He turned to a battered digital clock on the desk, revealing the date: March 23, 2187.
Auron staggered to his feet, legs weak. He neared the calendar pinned to the wall, finding the date matched the clock. 'Forty years.' The air caught in his throat.
Inexplicably, impossibly, he'd been wrenched 40 years younger, thrust backward to a period before it all began. Before Sunlight, before Worldsinger, before his legacy had been constructed and shattered.
"No," he muttered, shaking his head. "This... this can't be real." Auron stepped to the mirror across the room, barely recognizing the man staring back at him.
His grey hair was coal-black once more, wrinkles had vanished, and his once-weary body radiated youthful vigor. He tentatively touched his face. It was smoother and firmer. The visage of a man in his prime, not the battle-weary commanding officer he had been. Auron's pulse thudded in his ears. 'This must be a dream.' He splashed cold water onto his face at the sink in the corner, the sudden chill jolting him. Yet, when he looked up again, the reflection remained unaltered.
'If it really is a dream, why does this feel real?' Auron sat at the desk, doubt driving him and turned on the ancient, clunky terminal, his first connection to the virtual net. Also known as a computer.
The machine's flickering screen felt strange for how simple it was, given his years with advanced technology. Typing, he searched for proof or denial of what was happening. The browser loaded painstakingly slowly, held back by the outdated software. He searched for today's headlines, and the results sent a chill down his spine.
<<"Heaven's Reach VRMMORPG Opens Today!">>
<<"Digital Synthesis Labs Announces New VR Tech for 2187!">>
<<"Western States Economy Projects Record Growth in Renewable Energy Sector!">>
The headlines confirmed it. He remembered them all. He clicked deeper, reading articles he hadn't thought about in decades. The words were as he remembered them, down to the typos and the misplaced punctuation.
"No way." He typed the name of a major event from the following year. A catastrophic economic crash that had changed the gaming industry. The search returned nothing but speculation. The crash hadn't happened yet.
Auron massaged his temples, desperately trying to gather his thoughts. His heart pounded as truth began to weigh on him.
'This isn't just vivid déjà vu. It's real. Somehow... I'm back.' He scrolled to his emails, logging in with credentials buried in his memory. The inbox was full of messages from people he hadn't spoken to in decades. Friends, colleagues, acquaintances who had long since dissapeared from his life.
The final confirmation came when he checked the university forums. His own name was there, listed under an introductory gaming design course roster. He stared at it, unblinking. "Forty years," the weight of it hitting him hard. He wasn't sure how exactly or why it had happened, but it was undeniable now.
Then Auron's delusions took hold. "It worked," he whispered, his lips twitching into a smile. "It actually worked!"
Auron's laughter bubbled up loudly, elation in his eyes "I'm back!" he shouted, slamming his hands on his desk, being careful to avoid hitting the computer. "I'm young again!"
"Yes! YES! HAHAHAHA!!!" Auron's hands struck the desk repeatedly as his laughter spiraled into madness. His body shook as he began pacing, erratic and unstable. "I'll crush them all. Worldsinger won't see it coming. This time, they won't take anything from me!"
Auron's maniacal laughter filled the room, echoing off the walls. His bloodshot eyes bulged, veins visibly throbbing on his forehead.
Auron declared after coming down from his high. "They underestimated me, but now I'll make them regret it by burning everything they built to the ground."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone