NOIM; Connected Worlds

I woke up as the sun hit my face. I immediately got up and started my morning routine. After that, I hit a cup of coffee then immediately opened up the interface.

[Alice] Wakeup guys...

[Alice] Yuhu...

[Alice] Wakeup...

[William] I'm up.

[Edizon] ...

...

I immediately recalled the scene from yesterday after seeing the group chat. I couldn't help but let out a smile. Yesterday, Alice and I made some new friends... Well... I guess you can call them that... Anyway, it turned out that they'll be also playing Noim... I know what you think... Right, an Immersion Accessory was shipped to everyone in the world. But, hey, so what? It's nice to have new friends... I mean, Alice is a great friend but... I don't know. It feels so much different when you're part of a bigger circle... It feels so much warmer... Somehow, your heart starts feeling all weird and pudgy... Yes, like your heart melting...

*haha*

I couldn't help but laugh. It was fun... We talked about food... games... all sorts of happenings... I really had a great time. I think we all did.

I don't know why? But... I felt really weird back when we first met William and Edizon. They were like those free birds doing whatever they want. They weren't snob, in fact, they seem really friendly. It's just that... there's something weird about them. Somehow they kept their circle small enough for just the two of them... Maybe they're just like me and Alice?

For some reason, I instantly recalled what happened yesterday... Why would she call me that? Am I silly? Maybe he... Maybe he had the same dream? No... That's not it... But what if he did? What does that mean?

...

Time passed by as I was lost in thought. I didn't realize that there were only a few minutes remaining before the launch of the game. I hastily opened up the interface, and immediately found Alice spamming the chat group.

[Alice] Any minute now...

[Alice] ~(OwO)~

[Alice] <<~(^^,)¬

[Alice] !"£$%^&*

[Alice] ...

[Isabella] Alice, calm down. It's just a game.

[William] Chill...

[Alice] It's up! Finally, it's up! Remember guys Lockeguard City!

[William] Well that was fast... See you...

[Edizon] Mmm...

[Isabella] Bye...

I was the last to log in to the game. Laying down on the bed, I waved my hand to summon the interface.

<System Message: Checking if the environment is safe...>

<System Message: Environment approved. Initiating Immersion...>

Everything went dark. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. Suddenly a melodic voice sounded out. And the interface appeared...

<Please define your username>

Cherry Cloud.

I didn't put any effort into deciding my username. I thought I'd just use an old one from the games we played.

...

.

.

.

Somewhere within the game.

"Uh... where am I? This isn't the character creation."

William muttered as his eyes scouted the area. He was amused. He didn't encounter anything like this in his previous life. He tried to access the interface but, it wasn't working.

"It's some kind of corridor..." William thought to himself as he examined the area. The corridor stretched endlessly. There were no twists and turns. Only forward.

After some time, he decided to start walking. After a few minutes, he saw a man wearing beginner clothes like him.

"Edizon? What are you doing here? Are you for real?" William asked.

"..."

Edizon didn't reply and only waved his hand. They continued walking forward occasionally chatting when something comes up in their head.

"What do you think about this?"

"It's probably related to your past life."

"Why are you here too?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you I know about what happened?"

...

"We've been walking for a while now..."

"They should've appeared by now..."

"Yeah..."

"Anytime now..."

***

"Hmmm?"

"Are they the ones?"

"It seems so."

***

Suddenly, the endless corridor vanished. The corridor was replaced by a huge room. The room was filled with statues taking shape of different creatures including dragons and even humans. It was really a sight to behold.

'Entities from other worlds...' Edizon thought to himself after recalling William's story back when they were at the coffee shop. They continued to look around before they noticed that two women appeared in front of them, they were wearing long robes but that couldn't hide their perfect and luscious curves, both of the ladies have the face of a goddess but each of them was unimaginably unique in its own way. There was no hint of threat within their eyes, yet, for some reason, a strong and powerful aura emanated from the two.

William was frightened upon seeing the two. He had not faced anyone this strong even in his entire past life. Looking at the two women in front of him, he started asking himself 'Is it even possible to enter such level...'

Moments passed as the four continued their silence. Drips of sweat continued falling down from the skin of William and Edizon, not even daring to glance at the two roses in front of them. They knew that it would be their end if they make the wrong move.

"You better not have any ideas with my wives."

A powerful voice sounded out. Suddenly the room vanished as the place was replaced by a throne room. There they saw a man sitting on the throne.

"Cedrick Mortalrich..." The two muttered to themselves. there was no aura emanated from the man in front of them but for some reason, they were terrified in their very hearts... The man didn't have a cape nor a crown but for some reason, they feel that this man in front of them was the pinnacle of all life. Something comparable to a God.

"Come closer." The man ordered.

The two didn't hesitate and immediately started walking forward. After a few steps, both of their knees fell down as if all energy in them was sucked away. They started experiencing the most terrifying moment of their lives. They couldn't breathe. It was as if their organs stopped working and their brain was trying to come out of its skull. It only took a few moments before Edizon and William started puking blood.

"At ease..." Cedrick said as he completely hid his aura. After a short moment, the two finally caught their breath. They were still trembling from the force that they experienced.w

"Is he... purposely trying to scare us?" the two thought in unison. Cedrick wouldn't summon them just to kill them right? They were perfectly clear about that.

"I've watched this world for a long time and It's actually one of my favorites. I've been protecting it in fact." Cedrick started talking, not even waiting for them to answer.

'Favorites?' The both of them couldn't help but be flabbergasted. Just what the hell was going on?

...

.

.

.

Lockeguard City Plaza

The place was lively. People were everywhere and all of them seems to be on good terms with each other. Everyone was carefree, even the soldiers were having a mug of beer in the middle of the day. Being surrounded for so long, the people must have gotten used to it. Having a common enemy really brings people together...

...

"Tsch, Where the hell are those two?" I said with an escalated tone.

"I don't know... Maybe they ditched us?" Alice replied. A hint of disappointment can be seen on her face.

"Maybe they started on the wrong Location or something." Alice followed up. Clearly, that wasn't enough to ruin her mood.

"They seemed pretty serious about this last night. Maybe they got caught up on some error or something." I patted Alice as I tried to convince her.

"Let's wait for a bit longer then." Alice harumphed impatiently.

*sigh*

It would really be a waste if they didn't come...

...

15 minutes later.

"I can't wait any longer, come on let's go!" Alice cried out pulling my left hand towards the locals.

"Tsch." I could only grieve in annoyance. Did those guys really ditch us?

...

.

.

.

"What do you mean one of your favorites?" Edizon couldn't help but ask. He knew that Cedrick was talking about the different worlds that started appearing in William's past life.

"This world is both lucky and unlucky. It was lucky enough that it only contains one superior and intelligent species but..." Cedrick played with his hand as he continued his tale.

"Similar to humans?" Edizon asked.

"It varies. Some are as smart as our kind. Some, even smarter. But even then, they all have one thing in common. And that is all of them love to rule above others. The boss... The top of the food chain... The one who decides the fate of others..." Cedrick mentioned in a playful tone.

"And although this world was unlucky enough to be void of Origin essence. It turned out to be quite fascinating. Yes... fascinating indeed. Since humans in this world couldn't break their own limits any further. They've focused on technology. Bringing comfort and automation, exploring endless possibilities through science and technology. An innovative way of continuous research and the passing of knowledge from generation to generation. I've always deemed your world as something beautiful."

"There are humans in other worlds? Are they playing too?" Edizon asked.

"Yes... Other worlds use Noim as an additional resource of Origin Essence... Not only that... they also use it to practice their abilities and use it as a way to settle grievances without real life bloodshed. But in your case..." Cedrick pointed towards Edizon and William before continuing...

...