Arthur exhaled the breath as he waited there for a while. The sun slowly set in the distance as he stood there, all alone. When the darkness finally engulfed the island and the lights turned on, illuminating the world around him.
“… I think it’s time.” He muttered as he finally pushed himself off the wall and walked out of his hiding spot, heading straight back toward the academy.
Since it had been a while, everyone had already left and gone back home so the place was very empty and quiet. The wind blew on his face gently, making him shudder slightly. It was a cold night.
Reaching the elevator, Arthur looked behind him. There was no one there, and he couldn’t feel any eyes on him. So, he got inside the elevator before it carried him up to the institution again.
When the door opened, Arthur stepped inside the hall, only for him to notice that someone stood on the other side of the empty, dark hall.
“…” Arthur squinted his eyes as he stopped moving immediately. The man was completely shrouded in darkness so he couldn’t really see him. But, Arthur instantly recognized the man. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before the stranger turned around and started walking away.
Arthur raised an eyebrow and then slowly started walking after him. No words needed to be said. The two walked in silence, their steps echoing across the entire massive hall.
They moved through the stairs up to the S-Class section where the man entered Arthur’s class and left the door open behind him. The boy stopped for a moment and stared at the open door before he slowly walked inside too.
“Close the door.” The man said as he sat where Arthur was sitting.
“…” Arthur squinted his eyes before he did what the man asked. Then, he walked into the classroom and sat down at the professor’s table as if he didn’t care at all. “So, what is the all-so-great Founder want with me?”
He said as he stared up at the man. Through the light coming from the window, the black mask revealed itself in its full glory.
“Hahaha!” Hearing that clearly sarcastic remark, the man laughed heartily. “I appreciate the compliment, Arthur. I have heard that you have a great sense of humor and I’m already seeing it.”
“I try to be funny. Humor helps me cope with ridiculous shit.” Arthur shrugged.
“That… Exactly, I’m just like you in that regard. They say laughing robs your enemy of the pleasure of their victory.”
“In this case, I’m making my enemy laugh. What would you call that?” The boy asked back, clearly jabbing at The Founder without any hesitation. He didn’t care if this man was the strongest man in the world, Arthur was already disturbed by the fact they were sitting in that classroom talking in the first place.
“Hahaha! I already like you, Arthur! I knew we were going to get along when I wanted to meet you.”
“And why did you want to meet me? Theodore had told me you’re “eager” to talk to me.”
It was indeed the truth, when Theodore asked Arthur to stay after the hours, he told him one thing.
“The Founder wants to meet you.”
That simple sentence shook Arthur and he instantly started asking questions. For instance, why the hell would The Founder want to meet him? frёeωebɳovel.com
But, Theodore didn’t reply and simply told him to wait for 30 minutes and then come back inside the academy and that he must not tell anyone else about this meeting no matter what. Especially those people he befriended. Then, the man left him alone in the Training Realm to think about those words.
It took him several minutes to calm down completely and then pretend as if nothing happened. He didn’t know what The Founder wanted with him, but Arthur certainly wasn’t going to turn down the invitation.
Ever since he saw that man for the first time, something told him that he had to know who that person was. He didn’t know why, but he certainly found him intriguing. Now, here he was, talking to him in person.
“Of course, I wanted to talk to you, Arthur. I wanted to talk to the Rank 1 player in my game. The person that seems to understand the game more than anyone else in this whole world.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean, you are the only person who has found the true purpose I created Divinity Online for. The reason I spent all my life perfecting that world and everything in it. I worked day and night, just so that someone could truly see what I wanted.” The way The Founder was speaking made Arthur frown. There was endless excitement in his voice that almost sounded… maniacal.
“And… What is it that you want?” Arthur asked. ‘What does he mean by that? I’m simply playing the game to enjoy myself.’
“When I first announced the game, all the world looked at it as if it was some kind of myth… Like a fugazi of sorts. They said it was a lie and a pipe dream that would quickly shatter. But, as more and more of it was revealed, that started to change quickly. Those who attacked us began hailing praises at us and our historical achievement. Then… The world started taking the game seriously.” He said.
“…” Arthur listened attentively to his story. He was already aware of all of that and had seen it happen live in front of his eyes. He knew the insane backlash the company received for their ridiculous claims. A full-immersion game of that scale was simply impossible. Yet, against all odds, they were able to actually deliver their promises and more.
“All the nations of the world started working to establish their presence in this new world. But, if I have to be honest, I wasn’t happy to see that.”
“… Why? Isn’t that what you were looking for? Recognition?”
However, the man shook his head slowly. “I wasn’t looking for any of that. What I was looking for was to see people enjoy the dream I worked hard to achieve. I wanted to see people like you discover the Divine Realm. I had never been in such a privileged position before in my life. I had been drawing the image of the Divine Realm in my head for my entire life and everyone that heard about it mocked me and bullied me.”
“…”
‘Sounds really tough. Dreams are never to be mocked.’
“But, I never gave up. Deep down, I knew one day I was going to see people eager to play my game and that day had finally come. The very first person that found the essence of my dream. It was you, Arthur.” He pointed at Arthur slowly. “That freedom to explore every nook and cranny of the world. Going and doing whatever you want. That is what I was looking for my entire life… I wanted that~”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3