After the creation of Sensory Augmentation which allowed the mind to inhabit a virtual space many laws were created to protect the individual rights. The Protection of Virtual Persons Rights Act was one of many laws set into motion to protect consumers. These laws were universal regardless of median as long as a person was in virtual reality. One such law made it illegal to hold someone in virtual space longer than they desired to be there and the command to leave virtual space needs to work at all times. Failure to have a way to leave a virtual space regardless of circumstance is akin to kidnapping and can lead to hefty fines or the black listing of the offending company.
Kevin and Jessica ran through their list of skills to see if they could stop their endless descent into the void beneath the map. In a panic they both tried to open each of their in game menus with voice command, thought command and even manual hand movement, however nothing seemed to work. They knew that they should be able to leave the game at any time if they are able to open menus or not. All one should have to do is think about leaving the game and it should automatically log a person out of the game. If it doesn’t it would be the same as a company committing corporate suicide. Even if they couldn’t log out from inside of the game, once Jessica and Maria got to the Orbital Elevator she would deactivate the SensoryMap. Minutes of falling in the void slowly turned into an hour, then two, then three with no signs of stopping.
“This isn’t right, Jessica your sister should have gotten you out by now right.” Kevin yelled over the rushing air.
“Yea, we should be at the elevator by now.” Jessic responded. “What’s going on? You don’t think we are actually stuck do you?”
“No that’s not possible, I don’t think anyone has ever been stuck before.” Kevin said. “But I am here with you so we will get out of this fine.”
Harahel’s glowing wings were the only source of light in the void. Electricity arced into the distance and searched the darkness in every direction for them. They looked around frantically but there wasn’t anything below or above. Since the air didn’t react like normal, either Kevin or Jessica could ride pressure to get closer to one another. They were always just out of reach of one another only able to look into each other's eyes.
Then as if nothing happened at all and with great jolt through their entire bodies, they were on their feet in the same exact spot in the guild hall they had fallen through. The jolt was painful as if someone stabbed a hot blade into every joint and was actively twisting it. Pain shouldn’t be possible in the game; it was outlawed and illegal for Sensory Augmentations to replicate extreme feeling. Kevin winced letting out a scream as he fell to his knees.
Then Jessica as Lilitu did the same; she screamed as the unknown affliction rattled her very being. Kevin’s eyes shot open through the ache in his body when he heard Jessica’s agony ridden wail. It shouldn’t be possible for her to feel anything, he thought to himself as he painstakingly crawled the few feet to her. Jessica’s SensoryMap should not allow her to feel anything in virtual space. He reached out his hand to check on her expecting it to pass through her body which it would normally do in the game. However, his armored gauntlet made contact with flesh and he was able to touch her.
Kevin scooped his arms under her head and lifted Jessica’s weak form into his arms. The impossibility of being able to do this in the game is the last thing on his mind. Jessica’s eyes were closed tightly as she struggled in misery. Jessica wanted more than anything for the nightmarish experience to end. The torment was as if every nerve was burning, spreading and spreading out from her core in waves.
“Jessica, Honey! I am here, are you alright?” Kevin said as panic stripped away the world around him. “Can you hear me? I am here, listen to my voice!”
Jessica’s screams stopped as she looked up at Kevin. She gritted her teeth as anguish rattle both of them mercilessly.
“What is going on? Are our real bodies having seizures?” Jessica asked through gritted teeth. “Why can I feel this?”
“Don’t think about anything, just look at me.” Kevin said his eyes locked on to hers.
Tears streamed down their faces but they did not break eye contact. For what felt like hours for them was actually just a few excruciating minutes but just as suddenly as everything else happened the pain stopped. They were alone again this time in the quiet emptiness of the guild hall. Now that they could think without what felt like embers burning their nerves they just looked at eachother. Jessica reached her hand up to touch Kevin’s or rather Harahel’s face still wet with tears which for angels looked like streams of glistening light. Neither believed that she would be able to do it. Normally if a player tried to touch another face their hand would simply pass through them.
“Are you okay?” Kevin questioned.
“I am, you?” Jessica asked back.
“I don’t know what is going on but it looks like we are back in the game properly.” Kevin said with a long breath trailing from him. “I think we should try to log out now.”
Jessica nodded but was still freaking out with how things had gone. She was worried that they both may have had epileptic seizures in the real world which is why she could also feel the pain. However, if this was the case her Maria would have been alerted and would have turned off the connection. That would have instantly taken her out of the game. Maria was mean but not heartless; she wouldn’t just let her die or so Jessica hoped. Then there was this: she knew for fact she could feel Kevin’s armored hands holding her up, she could feel his face and the wet tears, she could feel her unnecessary breaths as it strained her body. None of those things should be possible.
Jessica retracted her hand as Kevin helped her to her feet. She looked at her hands, opening and closing them as if to test the sensations. Kevin watched her for a second making sure she would not fall again even if it wouldn’t hurt. Kevin tried to open his various menus when they didn’t open from a thought he moved his hand in an arc which would usually do the trick however this time it did not.
“Log out, open menu, open contact list, open character profile, open console command, open debug menu,” Kevin said listing out all of the menus he could think of. “Contact support, call GM, open quest menu, open map…” he continued.
“Why can I feel this?” Jessica asked while turning her attention to rubbing up and down her robes. “I shouldn’t be able to feel this.”
“What do you mean?” Kevin responded.
“I have a SensoryMap!” Her eyes opened wide and she paused as she touched her face. “SensoryMap doesn’t allow for touch, or taste, or smell.” She said calmly. “I can feel my robes. I I… I could… I could touch you! I can smell the pine scent in the air… I can taste it too. I… I can’t log out.”
“It’s going to be alright.” Kevin said but his voice cracked.
Kevin hesitantly reached out his hand again to grab Jessica’s free one. He was hoping that it would pass through her again like it should at least that would mean things are returning to normal. He grabbed it to his dismay as his eyes stared at the impossible connection between the two of them. Now wasn’t the time to think about it though he had to push panic to the back of his mind and think logically about this illogical situation. Which he found surprisingly easy, almost as if he could just flip a switch in his mind that cut his emotion.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“We are in the guild hall so let's just go talk to someone.” Kevin stated more confidently this time. “There should be players close by and we can get them to contact the GM for us. Let’s just hope when we get out your dad doesn’t sue Tharsis09 into the ground.”
Jessica nodded shakily and pulled herself together as well. She took a deep breath which felt like it was the first time she had ever breathed so much at one time. The sensation in her lungs was odd as if it were unnecessary and straining for her to breathe. She stopped and found that it felt better and less stressful to not inhale at all. After a few heart beats she looked at Kevin and squeezed his hand.
“No telling what he would do if he found out they scared his precious little angel… well demon right now.” Jessica said with a slight chuckle. “But you go first. I’ll make sure you don’t fall.”
Kevin took the first step to the grand door to the Guild Hall then he stopped looking at the floor cautiously. He turned to Jessica who was still standing in place. Kevin did a slight nod as if to signal that they would not fall through the floor again. Jessica reached out her hand and Kevin took it at least if it happened again they would be together. They cautiously stepped forward in a manor that if you had not just fallen through the very same floor would have looked silly. The twenty or so steps which would normally take no time at all took them ten minutes as they tested the integrity of the ground on each step.
Kevin opened the door with a sigh of relief that instantly turned into shock. Normally the Guild Hall was an estate on the outskirts Silivale, one of the many starter towns for new players, which prospect Guild Mates could find easily. The estate sat on roughly seven hectares of land. The land was mainly grass with a wide stone entrance and well maintained flowers, bushes. Trees were arranged along the perimeter fence as extra privacy.
However, what the couple saw on the other side of the door was a dense dark forest all around. It looked as if someone had picked up the Guild Hall and placed it there. From where they stood the treeline a round grand entrance way was so thick that they could not even see more than a few feet in any direction. This only served to further confuse and alert Kevin and Jessica.
“I am going to get a sky view.” Kevin stated with resolution on his face. “All we have to do is find a player.”
“I am going too.” Jessica said. “Don’t think you are going to leave me here.”
Kevin’s wings, which up until this point were draped over his armor like a feathered cloak, opened to their full magnitude. A brilliant orange halo appeared behind his head as the wings began to electrify the air around them. In a flash of speed too quick for the human eye to follow he used a combination of movement powers, Flight [Awakened] which allowed him to fly, a trait inherent to angels, Flash Step [Awakened] which allows for quick incorporeal movement for short distance, and finally Gift of Hermies [Awakened] which allows angels to move at increasing quickening rates. In a single moment in time he stopped a mile high in the sky looking over the landscape while hovering in place.
Jessica’s swirling dark vortex from her Lesser Teleport [Awakened] ability opened next to Kevin. She steps out of the portal floating in place with her Flight [Awakened] ability. Demon flight ability caused wings made from pure demonic magic to sprout from her back holding her in place next to Kevin. The portal she used did not dissipate once she was through and merely floated behind her as well.
Kevin was in shock at the landscape around them. They weren't in any location he had ever seen. The Guild Hall was in the middle of a forest shadowed by a long mountain range that stretched far out into the distance. Lush grasslands marked the end of the forest and seemed to go on forever. There was a river through the forest into the grasslands before branching into multiple directions.
While Kevin scoured the landscape for something familiar, Jessica looked at the Guild Hall below. She watched in awe as several more buildings started to appear. Trees, shrubbery, and anything in the way of the incoming buildings vanished without a trace. Strangest of all she recognized many of the buildings, they were businesses and homes she and Kevin owned in the game across all of their avatars. A few buildings became hundreds, then thousands interspersed throughout the woodland.
In Decide players could build entire industries if they wanted. Employees were NPC’s they would hire to fill the roles of whatever they were producing. Kevin and Jessica had several large scale operations in the game. One produced high rank adventurer gear which they also sold at their shops in multiple cities. They also had several smaller businesses such as bakeries, restaurants and pubs. It was common for more affluent players to own multiple ventures for grinding out gear, and farming gold. Between all ten of Kevin and Jessica’s avatars they probably only owned a few hundred buildings. The sheer number that appeared was concerning to say the least.
“Kevin, look.” Jessica said. “More of our stuff is appearing.”
“Huh?” Kevin exclaimed.
He looked down at the growing number of buildings below. They dotted the emerald green of the foliage. Birds and animals fled from the strange event far beyond their understanding.
“Maybe some of those buildings are other players.” Kevin said. “Let's go back down and check it out.”
“Yeah, hopefully we see someone.” Jessica said.
The two floated in the air for a few moments before Kevin followed Jessica through her portal. There was the slight momentary sensation of passing through a fog before the couple reappeared at the other at the entrance of the guild. They looked at the treeline around the guild and as they were getting ready to trek through the wilderness felt the presence of someone behind them. They turned around and saw the familiar armored guards that would usually follow Lilitu around while she was at the estate.
Something did not seem right about the guards. They looked panicked and one took off their helmet revealing the pale expression of terror. When he saw the forest surrounding the guild hall. In Deicide it was not possible to change the appearance of the NPC in the Guild Hall. They were just nameless guards that patrolled the grounds. Most of them didn’t even have voiced dialogue.
“Lady Lilitu,” The NPC stated with a bow. “What is going on? What was that pain earlier? Are we under attack?”
“Pain?” Kevin interjected. “Explain.”
“Of course master Harahel!” The NPC stated. “All I remember was falling for what felt like hours. Then me and Noah woke up over there but there was suddenly pain shooting through our bodies. When it stopped, you and Lady Lilitu were gone.”
Kevin and Jessica were shocked the NPC responded at all with the same story they had just experienced.
“Who is Noah?” Jessica asked.
“I am Lady Lilitu.” The second guard responded. “He is Cullen.”
Noah took off his helmet as well. He was human and just as pale as the first man. Both of them looked sickly from their experience with the pain. Kevin and Jessica looked at each other for a second dumbfounded by the revelation. These two NPC were talking and responding in ways that they shouldn’t be able to.
“Is there anyone else here?” Jessica asked.
“Sorry we don’t know, we were only just now able to move again.” Cullen responded. “What’s going on?”
“We don’t know either,” Jessica stated, not having anything else she could possibly say.
Suddenly a chorus of misery started. Wails of people in pain erupted from around the forest. The voices of hundreds of men, women and inhuman cries littered the otherwise silent landscape. The group ran back inside of the guild hall when they heard equally pained yells coming from the grand entrance. They were surprised to see maids, butlers, and guardsmen on the ground squirming in agony. They appeared one after the other as if being dropped from the ether.
Jessica before she even knew what she was doing reached out her hand and a crack in reality formed which looked as if she just broke a clear window. Blood and fire spilled from the shards and pooled on the floor as she reached her hand further in the wound in space and time. She retracted her arm and pulled out a massive guandao which seemed to be made from the very fragments of reality she pulled it from. It dripped black blood which vanished after making contact with anything. The blade warped the air around it and the shaft had the faces of the damned carved into it. This was Jessica’s main weapon for Lilitu’s Battle Sorceress class. The weapon was the highest tier of craftable gear called [God Craft] much like all of her and Kevin weapons and items. The guandao was called the Weaver of the Ancient Sigil, which would increase her area of effect spells to encompass incredibly large swaths of land.
“Your blood is not yours to shed.” Jessica said while planting the staff end of the guandao firmly on the ground. “Reclaim what belongs to me.”
Green speckles of light lifted from the ground all around them and even out into the forest for hundreds of meters. The spell [Deal with The Devil] S was Jessica’s largest AOE healing spell. It affects anyone considered an ally or in this case all of the wailing people in the forest. The sounds of agony quickly subsided as the confused NPC felt the rejuvenating power of Jessica’s spell. Color even returned to the pale faces of Cullen and Noah as they looked at her with admiration.