Nathan was currently on a date with his girlfriend, Eve. They had known each other since they attended Kindergarten together at the age of four or five. Since then, they have gone to the same school together. They rarely get to spend time with one another because Nathan spends most of his time at school with his friends and Eve spends times with hers. As a result, they only saw each other outside of school. Right now, they were both chomping down on burgers and slurping down on sodas.

Their relationship began with a simple sentence, "Hi, my name is Eve, what's yours?" she asked.

Nathan remembered he was sitting in the sandbox and digging a hole in the sand by himself. "Nathan," he said. Eve joined him in digging holes into the sand. They were together until the school began to separate boys and girls around the time they were eight. Since then, they have only had time with each other after school.

The one moment that brought them together was the eighth grade dance. Eve was the one who asked him. "Will you go with me?" Eve asked Nathan.

At the time, Nathan did not know what Eve was talking about. "Go where?" he said.

"To the dance," said Eve.

"What?!?" Nathan was shocked because it was the boys who usually asked the girls, but Eve did not care.

"I want to go, but I only want to go with you," said Eve.

Those were the words that changed everything for Nathan. At that moment, Nathan no longer felt alone. Eve was the one who came into his life on her own and kept them together for all these years. It was at that dance that Nathan had his first date with Eve. Four years later, they were still together, longer than all their friends and many of the other couples they had seen at school. A common joke at school was that they were the old married couple.

Nathan looked at the way Eve was dressed. Her hair was tied together in a pony tail. It was her preferred style because it kept her hair out of her way and did not require much work. She was dressed casually with a dark blue t-shirt and blue jeans. He compared her appearance to his own. He was wearing a grey t-shirt with black cargo pants.

"Don't you wish we could spend more time together?" asked Nathan.

"Hmm...?" Eve was not paying attention to what Nathan was saying. She was too focused on the food in front of her to notice.

Nathan saw that there was ketchup on the side of her face and pointed to the left side of his mouth. "I said, don't you wish we could spend more time together?" asked Nathan.

"You know we can't," said Eve as she picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth. "We both have homework to do at home and there's no time left in the day when we finish since it is already dark outside and my parents don't let me go out at nights."

"We don't have to go out to spend time together," said Nathan.

"You mean online?" asked Eve.

"Yeah we can always use virtual reality," said Nathan.

"Do you mean with the Virtual Glass?" asked Eve. Her face immediately turned red. "I remember my friends told me about it. A lot of people use it for their first time since it is safer because you can disconnect the moment you feel discomfort and and have no risk of disease or pregnancy."

The Virtual Glass was a special pair of goggles that resembled high tech glasses. It allowed one to immerse themselves in a virtual world. The only thing they needed to use it was an outlet to plug it in and a fast enough Internet connection. One of the primary functions of it was to allow people to interact with each other online like they were next to each other in the real world. But, the first thing it was used for was sex and porn. It was widely known that was one of the first uses of the Virtual Glass and that was often what came to mind when it was mentioned.

"Not what I meant!" shouted Nathan. "I'm talking about finding something we can do with the Virtual Glass together for fun."

"You mean like a game?" asked Eve.

"That would be great, but don't you dislike games?" asked Nathan. He really liked video games.

"I dislike the games where you just go around BANG BANG BOOM BOOM, shout DIE DIE DIE, and then shout something about someone's mom!" said Eve. She disliked those player versus player focused games because she believed it brought out the worst in people. However, she did like games that focused on teamwork and bringing people together.

"Then what do you like?" asked Nathan.

"There is one Virtual Glass game that I want to try," said Eve.

"What is it?" asked Nathan enthusiastically. This would be the first thing they might both have an interest in since soccer. Sadly, the school rarely allowed the boys to play with the girls, so they could only play together on weekends.

"History of Time," said Eve.

"History of Time?" Nathan wondered and thought about it. It was not one of the popular games like Swords and Sorcery or Ultimate Online. He then remembered what it was. It was the game that was built mostly on the worlds constructed by the University of America in an attempt to show people how the world was like in different time periods. The length of a day in the game was only two hours.Even though the game was popular among many people, they were often lost because they had no idea what they were doing in the game. They created numerous worlds and organized the worlds according to similar time periods. For example, there was a world based entirely on Ancient Civilizations, a world based on the Modern Era, and even a world based on different potential futures. It was probably one of the largest games out there in terms of size of the world, but not in terms of player base.

The goal of the game was to ensure that human civilizations across time survived until the End of Time. The problem was, it was a game that simply introduced the player to the game and then you had to choose where and when to go. There were skill slots, but level ups were rare, so no player has filled up their skill slots with what they wanted despite the game being released for over three years, instead they just filled it up with whatever until they discovered a skill they really wanted to keep and then remove the old one. Levels were based on achievements rather than experience and they granted big boosts. What could be considered as normal experience like other games only improved your stats and skills. That did not stop players from enjoying the exploration and open ended objectives.

"Do you want to try it together?" asked Nathan.

"Do you even have a Virtual Glass?" asked Eve.

"Of course," said Nathan.

"Oh?" said Eve. "I hope you're not using it for what I think you are."

"I mainly use it for games," said Nathan said embarrassed.

"Mainly," Eve emphasized that word.

"Do you have one?" asked Nathan.

"Yes," said Eve. "But I mainly use it for trying on different clothes quickly without having to actually do it."

"I don't picture you to be one of those people who dress up," said Nathan.

"Our next Sunday morning date," said Eve. "I'll show you."

"Really?" said Nathan who was surprised. "Will you actually let your hair down and wear a dress?"

"Is that what you want to see?" asked Eve.

"If it's okay with you," said Nathan.

"Only if you pay for everything we do," said Eve.

"For that chance, I will do it!" said Nathan enthusiastically. He really wanted to see what Eve actually looked like when she acted more feminine. He had only seen Eve wear a dress once, and that was during the eighth grade graduation dance. The only other time he might see her in one is during the upcoming school dance if she wanted to go.

"It's only because clothes can be expensive," said Eve. "You'll essentially be paying for half the cost of the date."

"How much is a dress anyways?" asked Nathan.

"For starters, the dress itself is about sixty dollars," said Eve.

"Sixty?!?" said Nathan.

"Then there's the boots, long socks, gloves, and other things," said Eve. "Altogether, it is probably about a hundred fifty before you include things like make up."

"A hundred fifty?!?" said Nathan. "That's so much."

"Welcome to the world of women's clothes," said Eve. "Now you're more informed and know why I dress like this most of the time."

The two finished eating and disposed of their trash. "So do you want to get the game now?" asked Nathan.

"Are you so desperate to spend more time with me?" asked Eve.

"Yes!" said Nathan. "I want us to be able to do something together in the evenings instead of just texting like we usually do."

"Alright then," said Eve as she grabbed onto Nathan's arm. "Lead the way!"

The two headed into the store and bought the game. In the past, most games were pay to play, but that model failed and many games converted to some kind of buy to play and charged players for services like maintaining extra character slots or selling items from the game in real world. The cover of the game showed a gear that was marked with numbers with a lever slightly tilted forward. On the far left was past. On the far right was future. It had a design that did not feature just the face or shadow of something like most other games did.

Afterwards, the two walked home. Eve lived a few houses down. "I wish you were my neighbor," said Nathan.

"I wish you lived in the same house as me," said Eve.

"That escalated quickly," said Nathan as he hugged Eve.

"I'll see you online later tonight," said Eve as he returned the hug. "Please make a character that looks like you."

"You too," said Nathan.

"I could always make my proportions a little bigger if you want you know," said Eve.

"Please don't," said Nathan. "It looks awful and I like the way you look now."

"Alright," said Eve. "You better make a character that looks like you as well."

Later on that evening, Nathan opened the game. There was some stuff that boasted how realistic it was, but it only contained a micro secure digital memory card. It had an incredible capacity of 512 Yottabytes to reflect the size of the game itself. That was not even counting installation into the Virtual Glass. "Alright, it's time to do this," Nathan said to himself.

Nathan inserted the SD card into the slot on the side of his Virtual Glass and waited for it to install. He put on the Virtual Glass and turned it on. The visor lit up and covered his entire field of vision. From this point on, his thoughts alone would be able to control everything that he is going to do. He focused his vision on the icon of History of Time, the game he had just installed. The old generations of virtual reality were poorly done. They lacked realism and often had security problems. Since then, most virtual reality devices have been running on software made solely for the virtual device and nothing else, so attempts to hack them have led to not much other than forcing someone to disconnect.

History of Time booted up with a picture of a gear being built. There was a lever attached to it that slid to the right just a little. Stars began to pop up in his vision with small little spots of light. The lever moved further to the right and sped up time. Over time, the stars gradually disappeared. When the lever moved all the way to the right, it was dark again. It signaled the end of the universe. In that instant, a single light appeared once more and from here, the character creation loaded. He opened his friend list and saw that Eve was logged in to character creation as well.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"What should I be?' thought Nathan. He thought about all the things he could be. A tall and handsome man. He could be a young and beautiful woman. He could even make himself look like Eve. But then, he remembered what he said to Eve and decided to make a character that looked like himself. The only alternation was to his eyes. Instead of making them brown, he made them green. It was just a little bit of fantasy so that it was not exactly like him. His default clothes was a tight grey shirt and shorts along with a pair of black shoes. His name: "SpaceCowboy." With this, he finished his character creation and went into the game.

Era: The End of Time

Nathan opened his eyes and saw a strange sight. He was alone with a single path in front of him. A text message appeared that read: "Walk forward." He did as instructed and then followed the subsequent directions. How to attack, how to maneuver, how to use items, and most importantly how to accept quests. Stats would only increase with repeated skill use and there was only four basic stats: Strength, Intelligence, Vitality, and Agility. Strength to increase physical damage, intelligence to increase magical damage, vitality to increase defense and health, agility to increase dodge rate and attack speed. The final text that appeared: "New stats and skills may be discovered by meeting specific requirements."

With that, Nathan finished the tutorial. A magic circle appeared on the ground. It was the exit. He looked through the skills to see what he could do. He chose to equip the Gun skill, Caster Shell for manufacturing, and Evasion. The manufacturing skill did not count as part of the main skill slots, so he only used two of his twelve available slots. One that used a gun to attack from a range and was able to manufacture special ammunition through Caster Shell, which would be used for certain skills. Normal shots only took away his mana and he would have to regenerate it to shoot if he ran out.

Level ups were rare in the game and only acquired with achievements, not by simply killing enemies. Killing enemies did give minor stats and improve your existing skills if done repeatedly.

Name: SpaceCowboy

Level: 1

Equipped Skills:

Gun - 1

Hand to Hand – 1

Mana Regeneration - 1

Caster Shell – 1

After he was done testing, he left the introduction zone.

New Quest: Time Guardian

Speak to the Time Guardian to embark on your quest as an agent of the Time Squad to ensure the survival of humanity across time and space.

Reward: Unique Skill

Nathan looked around and saw that he was in a strange place. The world was called The End of Time. There was not a single star in the sky even though it was dark. He looked around and saw many strange things. There was a man dressed in an eighteenth century suit standing next to be what appeared a robotic guard. There was also a European castle located next to a modern skyscraper. It was like if someone took a piece of every country across time and decided to put it in the same place.

Nathan sent a message to Eve, "Hey where are you in the game?" he asked.

"Can you come to me?" Eve replied. She also included a friend and a party request.

Nathan pressed "Accept" to both, adding Eve to his friend list and his party. To the top left, he saw a name and life bar appear under his own: "LotusCake." On the top right he saw a blue dot appear on the map. She was in an alley behind a building. He was worried and quickly hurried over.

When he arrived, he saw Eve. She was wearing a tight bodysuit that was a mix of bright pink and light pink. Her hair was blonde as well instead of black. "Why do games do this?" she asked.

"Well, men design most games," said Nathan. "I guess even after all these years, they still do this to women."

"Can you get me some clothes?" Eve asked.

Nathan checked his map. There were some stores for starters. "What weapon and skills did you choose by the way?" he asked.

"Clothes first," said Eve. "I can't walk around like this."

"Sure you can," said Nathan. "It's not like you're naked."

"You can, but I can't," said Eve. "Hurry up and get me some clothes that are not revealing."

Nathan had an idea. He got to pick what Eve wore. "Alright," said Nathan. He went to the starting stores. There was one for weapons and armor, one for clothes, and one for accessories. He checked his inventory for his money. There was exactly 1000 G. He decided to buy a few things for himself first. A black shirt, black pants, and grey shoes for himself for himself. Total price: 200 G.

Nathan looked at the women's section. A pink winter dress, shorts to go under, boots, and stockings. Total price: 700 G. It was three times more than his own, but he had to get something for her and if the starting amount could get this, he wondered what he could get if he had more. He noticed that there were no women in the starting area of the game. It was all men. Now was not the time for that though.

Nathan hurried back to Eve. "Alright, I got you something," he said.

"Thank you," said Eve.

Nathan opened the trade window and gave the things to Eve. As Nathan added each item to the trade window, Eve continued to grow angry. "Really?" she said.

"You can always pick out your own," said Nathan.

"Just give them to me," said Eve. She quickly pressed "Okay" the moment Nathan did on his and dragged the items to her equipment boxes.

Nathan did the same. In that instant, their appearances changed to match their clothes. Nathan and Eve looked like they were out during the Winter. "I suppose it isn't too bad," said Nathan as he looked at himself.

"I agree," said Eve. "At least you listened."

"To what?" asked Nathan.

"Our conversation about clothes," said Eve. "This isn't exactly a dress, but its close and it kind of works."

"So how are we going to do this?" asked Nathan.

"I know you can do it in a game, but this is neither the appropriate time or place for it," said Eve.

"That's not what I meant!" shouted Nathan. "I mean about playing the game."

"What did you pick?" asked Eve.

"I chose guns, magic, evasion, and to make Caster Shells to be a mage that can use guns," said Nathan. A gun appeared in his hands.

"Oh, I went the traditional sword and magic route with a side of food preparation for buffs," said Eve. A beam saber and an energy shield appeared in her hands.

"Did you use all your skill slots?" asked Nathan.

"Of course not not," said Eve. "I only used 3 of the 12, not counting my food preparation skill."

Name: LotusCake

Level: 1

Equipped Skills:

Sword – 1

Shield – 1

Health Regeneration - 1

Food Prep - 1

"So when we fight, you can protect me," said Nathan. He only had hand to hand if an enemy got too close. It was better than nothing though.

"Why did you not pick something like smithing so you could make your own weapon and armor?" Nathan asked.

"Because I feel that the best things are not made in games anyways," Eve replied. "They're found from enemies."

"That is true," said Nathan.

"So what do we do now?" asked Eve.

"Let's begin on the only quest we have," said Nathan.

Eve opened her quest window and looked at it. There was only one quest, Time Guardian. "Let's do everything together," said Eve.

"Is it okay if I play a little without you sometimes?" asked Nathan.

"Sure, but just make sure we do all the quests together," said Eve.

"I will," said Nathan. "I'm the one who suggested that we do something like this together. I won't go too far head of you."

"By the way is there any way to stop the creepers?" Eve asked.

"Creepers? What creepers?" asked Nathan.

Eve discreetly pointed to the side. Nathan from the corner of his eye saw there was in fact someone looking at Eve. "Unfortunately in an MMO, there's nothing you can do unless they actually touch you," said Nathan. "But if they touch you, you can report them and get them banned."

"I see," said Eve. She was thinking of something she could do.

The two headed towards a "!" they saw on the map, which signaled the start of a quest.The "!" appeared on the head of a person. It was a man in a black suit carrying a pocketwatch. "We're here for the mission," said Nathan.

"I am the Time Guardian," said the man. "My job is to ensure that time continues to exist, but I think I have failed."

"How?" asked Eve.

"Each of the worlds in the past are falling to something terrible," said the Time Guardian. "I have no idea how, but something is happening to the creatures of each world."

Quest Update: Time Guardian

Find out what is causing the time distortions to occur in each world.

Reward: Unique Skill

"How do we do that?" asked Nathan.

"Attach this to your arm," said the Time Guardian. He handed each of them a Personal Digital Assistant. Eve turned it on and started scrolling through it.

"How does this help us?" Eve asked.

"In each time period, there are multiple abnormalities that are greatly affecting the timeline," said the Time Guardian. "These abnormalities must be removed or repaired."

"The greatest one seems to be in 2012," said Eve.

"Yes," said the Time Guardian. "That is because there are not enough Time Guardians there. If possible, please head there first."

"What do you think?" asked Eve. "I'm going to let you decide since I'm not very experienced at games like this."

"It is likely that we will get some kind of bonus for playing in that world," said Nathan. "So I think it is a good idea."

"If something should happen to you, the device on your arm should protect you," said the Time Guardian. "Quickly now, activate it and start on your mission."

WARNING: Your party member has activated a time jump. All party members will be warped to 2012 in 30 seconds.

"It's not giving us a choice," said Nathan.

"That's alright," said Eve. She grabbed on to Nathan's arm. "Just as long as we stay together we should be fine."

A white light appeared underneath their feet and expanded. A blue portal of some kind formed above them and dropped over them. In an instant, what was the mess of the End of Time was suddenly replaced with a ruined city.

Era: 2012, The Beginning of the End