Roth stared at the telescope and threw glances at the large crow. He wanted to confirm he had understood the Emperor’s plan. “So what you're saying is that all I need to do is touch the telescope and turn myself into light,” he said the last phrase between air quotes.
“Precisely.”
“Your Majesty, I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t know how to do that.”
“You’re thinking too much, Lightbringer. It’s easy. Just touch the telescope. I'll help you do the rest.”
Roth took a deep breath and looked at the starry sky. This quest seemed to concern the very lore of AstroTerra. In his experience, when a quest was connected to the opening cinematic of the game or its lore, it was usually game-changing and paid handsomely.
However, he didn’t really need this right now. He already had a plan. He was on the path to buying an entire city and building a new one from scratch. He already owned an item he’d purchased from the lizardmen which enabled him to fuse affinities. If he did these three things, he was sure he would reach the top 10 in the game.
At the same time, after coming all the way here, it would be a waste not to pursue it. “How long will this take,” Roth asked the Crow Emperor.
“What do you mean, Lightbringer?” the emperor asked as if there was a profound riddle hidden in his question.
“How long will I have to be light?”
The Emperor laughed aloud. Despite his polished politeness, his laughter still sounded obnoxious, as characteristic of the corvids. “What do you mean, Lightbringer? When one is light, everything else stops. Even though things will happen at a normal speed for you, to me, it will all seem to end in the blink of an eye.”
Roth scratched his head. “Really?”
“Yes,” assured the Crow Emperor.
How was the game going to pause or slow down time for everyone else? Unless…
Roth reached for the telescope and touched it, causing a window to appear.
Warning!
You will be transported to an alternate map, and your brain activity will be accelerated by a factor of 10. For you, 10 hours will feel like one hour outside of the alternate reality. While on the alternate map, you won’t be able to log out or send or receive messages from the outside world.
Are you sure you want to transform into light?
“So that’s how they do it.” It was one of the first instances where the game bothered to inform him about what would happen in a quest. Accelerating his brain so much probably came with legal considerations that forced Nexus to divulge what they were doing just in case a player suffered a brain hemorrhage and their family decided to sue.
Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, Roth told himself. This was a world-class company. It was highly unlikely they would do something so dangerous. There probably weren’t any side effects to speeding up his thoughts like this. Besides, the health ship had sailed long ago.
He’d been inside a capsule for months. His health was already in the gutter. Even when anti-atrophy technology worked well, it wasn’t good for people to spend so much time in a capsule. Roth had often spent days at a time in capsules back in his days on New Earth. Despite using the very best hardware, he still experienced funny symptoms when he left the capsule: ooziness, sadness, mental fog, and a sense of disconnection from reality. It took a few hours outside of the capsule to shake off the funk of a long dive. Back then, he had made a rule never to spend more than a week on a capsule. Now, here he was, months stuck into a shady gaming pod and about to put his brain through a blender.
Sighing, Roth refused, dismissing the window. Quickly turning to the emperor, he added, “Just give me a few moments. I need to get ready before I transform into light.”
“By all means, Lightbringer.”
What he was most desperate for was time. If he could spend 10 hours inside this map while only one hour passed outside, he would risk it. It was a good opportunity to catch up to higher-level players in the ranks.
Speaking of which, he had to talk to one of the high-rankers. It would feel like a long time for him in the quest. He’d miss Mel, so he’d better send her a message.
“Hey Mel, just reached my quest destination in the Dark Abyss, and I will be transported to an alternate map for a while. I'll see you once I'm out. Don't worry. I'll make it to our date on time. I miss you.”
He sent messages to Sarg, H, Drake, his mom, his brothers, Kurt, Leanne, Rhapsody, and Godsfried. Seeing how many friends he could send messages to, Roth’s heart warmed, and his apprehensions faded. After spending so many years in prison, he had often wondered if there would be a life for him out there. But this game helped him forge new connections and even get a beautiful girlfriend!
After several minutes of sending messages, Roth went to the forums and looked for the game's opening cinematic. It was very easy to find. In addition to all the players who streamed for a living, the developers themselves had added a link to a video of it.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
The video had a 1st person view, similar to what he had experienced at the start of the game. Someone was floating in the darkness of space and then heard the deep, rumbling voice welcoming them to AstroTerra. There was a swooshing meteor approaching Earth and a barrage of shots from the many planetary defenses, breaking it into bits. The smaller, surviving pieces of the meteor proceeded to shower the earth. Roth watched the video again and again. He tried to take in every frame of the video.
Roth replayed the video yet again, but this time closed his eyes, paying special attention to the dialogue.
This was the day that fire rained down from heaven. The fire rain changed everything. First, we discovered that none of our technology worked as well as it used to. Our cities’ defense shields, jets, tanks, computers, satellites, and submarines… all became obsolete and worthless. Our robots, who served us, became crazy and turned on us. Then, sightings of alien monsters and strange creatures began. Reports of war and burning cities followed. The animals started speaking and developing mutations. We thought that animals would help us defend our planet, but we had mistreated our fellow earthly creatures for too long. They refused to assist us. Finally, in our direst straits, our potential awoke. Our children started to show incredible abilities. Super-human strength. Incredible speed. Telekinesis. Energy blasts. The rock that fell from space... We now call it Astro. It changed us. It changed everything. We later found out that the rock was made of congealed reality. The elements of creation fractured when the impact occurred, and now the world is divided. Maybe one day, we will again unite reality and bring peace to the planet. Welcome to AstroTerra. In this time when we’re so alone, we thank you for being willing to fight evil and make humanity prosper again.
Roth wasn’t sure if he could watch this video while on the alternate map. Who knew what other limitations accelerating brain activity by ten could bring? If he couldn’t receive messages, he probably couldn’t open the forums either. Just in case, he copied the opening cinematic into his pod’s internal memory and the dialogue transcript into his notes.
After all these preparations, Roth was feeling more confident. He decided to touch the telescope again.
Are you sure you want to transform into light? [Y/N]
“Yes!” Roth said decisively.
Nothing happened.
The Crow Emperor took a few steps forward and stretched his wing. Right. He had mentioned that he’d help Roth transform into light. “Don't forget, we want to understand why the Rain of Fire happened. I'll do what I can to assist you from here, but you'll have to investigate on your own.”
Roth nodded.
Are you sure you want to transform into light and travel to the past? [Y/N]
“Yes.” Roth's body lit up, and he disappeared. The only proof he had ever been on the tower was Lin, who looked around confused, looking for his owner.
“Hello, little kitten. Where have you been hiding?” The Emperor greeted in a friendly manner.
Lin hissed at the massive bird, big enough to swallow him in one gulp. “Back off, Crow Emperor. I have friends in high places.”
“Caw, caw, caw. Do you mean King Zion and the Table? Caw, caw, caw. You don’t need to threaten me with your kitty-cat friends, little one. I won’t harm you. You came here with the Lightbringer, after all. You have to be quite special for me not to see you or feel your presence.”
“So, what if I am?” Lin asked, with a puffed-up chest.
“Nothing, nothing. So you're a friend of the Lightbringer.” The Emperor leaned closer. “Oh, and you're a creature of darkness like me. Well, what are the odds? Sit here, little kitty. Your owner will be back before you know it.”
Lin scratched himself with his leg, keeping a wary eye on the emperor. But seeing that he wasn't attacking him, he curled into a ball, waiting for his master to return. The Emperor looked at the kitten pretending to sleep, but whose every nerve and muscle was taut and ready to flee if he made a move. Then, he looked at the stars and smiled.
That Lightbringer. What a riddle. Perhaps that’s for the best. It’s a small step from being a good riddle to a good riddle-solver. And I need him to solve this one for me.
The Emperor closed his eyes, and his figure darkened, sucking in all the light from the night sky. He touched the telescope and concentrated.
*
Congratulations, you've transformed into light with the help of the Crow Emperor.
+100 light affinity.
You've learned a new skill: [Elemental Awakening].
Elemental Awakening (Legendary)
Description: You can partially transform into any of the elements you have an affinity with, triggering special effects.
Effects:
Doesn’t occupy a skill slot.
Active. Bonuses depend on how high your affinity is and which affinity you use.
Darkness awakening: Strengthens poisons and debuffs;
Fire awakening: Increases damage;
Light awakening: Increases all stats;
Nature Awakening: Increases health and boosts health regeneration.
“Wehey!” He had just gotten here and had already received such awesome rewards. 100 light affinity was amazing. And learning a skill that didn't require any skill slots? Things were already looking up for him.
He checked the system clock. As advertised, his brain activity had accelerated so much that each second took forever to pass.
Roth was floating once again in the darkness of space, just like when he had first entered the game. He was back at the introductory cinematic. However, unlike before, nothing was happening. The earth floated quietly among a sea of black. Had he been too late? Had he arrived too soon?
In other games he played, it was necessary to uncover the secrets of alternate maps before breaking out of them. Roth performed a few swimming strokes but didn’t move. He tried walking, and nothing happened either. He experimented with focusing on a nearby point. His figure disappeared from where he was and appeared where he had looked at. “Woah!” It felt similar to when he used the [Blink] skill.
“OK. I know how to move around. Now, where am I supposed to go?” he asked aloud.
Despite the scientific coating they had put on this quest, much of it wasn’t making sense. First of all, if he was light, he shouldn’t be able to remain still. As far as he knew, light was always on the move. Secondly, he could speak! There was no sound in space. Thirdly, the chances of him reaching the Crow Emperor just in time to capture the light of a distant star were infinitesimally small. This told Roth that the developers had probably stretched science to accommodate whoever got this quest.
Roth stared at the planet. Something felt wrong about it compared to the video. After a few moments, he figured out what it was. He was on the wrong side of the planet. This wasn’t where the comet had come from. Focusing on a distant point, Roth began his teleportation journey to the dark side of the planet.