Elias woke early the next morning and headed downstairs for breakfast, only to find that his grandfather had beaten him to the table again.
It had become an unspoken competition between the two of them over the years, one that Elias had yet to win.
"My boy, come and sit beside me," Friedrich intoned, his deep voice carrying easily across the dining room.
Elias smiled faintly and pulled out the chair beside him.
The breakfast table had already been laid with the quiet precision that seemed to define every corner of the Kassler household. A long silver basket sat at the centre, filled with freshly baked Brötchen, their crusts still warm and crackling faintly, alongside thick slices of dark rye sourdough and a glossy braid of Zopf, the pale golden loaf braided so neatly it looked almost sculpted.
Beside it rested a wooden board of artisanal charcuterie, thin ribbons of smoked ham, peppered salami, and air-cured sausages paired with wedges of aged alpine cheese and a creamy, soft-rind cheese whose aroma drifted lazily through the room.
A porcelain dish held softly scrambled eggs folded with chives and butter, the surface glistening faintly in the morning light. Nearby, a chilled glass bowl contained Bircher Müsli, oats soaked overnight with apples, yoghurt, honey, and crushed nuts.
Crystal jars of apricot and raspberry preserves completed the spread.
Elias poured himself a cup of coffee while a carafe of freshly pressed orange juice stood near his grandmother's place.
Across the table, Friedrich Kassler watched him with quiet amusement.
Even seated, the old man radiated presence. His hair had long since turned silver, though it remained thick and combed straight back, and the sharp lines of his face gave him an almost hawkish appearance. The world beyond the estate knew him as a man of iron discipline, a figure who had broken corporations and reshaped industries with a few carefully placed decisions.
To most people, Friedrich Kassler was a name spoken with caution, but to Elias, however, he was simply a grandfather who cheated shamelessly at morning wake-up competitions.
"Did you sleep well?" Friedrich asked.
"Well enough," Elias replied, tearing open a warm roll and spreading a thin layer of butter over it.
"And the machine?" his grandmother asked gently from across the table.
Elias glanced up."The pod?" he said. "It's impressive. I logged in last night."
Friedrich raised an eyebrow."Already?" he said, clearly pleased.
"What did you think of it?" his grandmother asked.
"The immersion is absurd," Elias replied simply.
"It feels real."
"I see then the technology is not overhyped," Friedrich said with a satisfied grunt.
Elias took a bite of the roll before continuing."I finished character creation, too."
That earned him the attention of both of them.
"And?" Friedrich asked.
"What does your character look like?" his grandmother added with curiosity.
Elias shrugged slightly before replying, "Nothing too dramatic. I left most of the structure the same, but I changed a few things."
"Such as?"
"My hair is cinder-blonde, eyes are steel grey, and the skin tone's a bit rougher than mine."
Before the conversation could continue, his grandmother glanced at the clock."Your parents should be arriving soon," she said.
Elias's eyes lit up as he spoke, "When?"
"They will arrive shortly before lunch."
"I see, but by then I will be busy with the game."
After finishing his breakfast and spending some quality time with his grandparents, Elias made his way to the pod and logged into the game.
Alpha 3x99er was waiting patiently for Elias to return, and as Elias approached, Alpha spoke, "Welcome back!"
"I wish to play the game."
The game menu appeared in front of his eyes, but the 'Start Game' button was hidden behind a timer that was counting down.
1:43...
1:42...
1:41...
.
.
.
0:03...
0:02...
0:01..
"All the best, and I hope you enjoy it."
As Alpha chirped happily, the surroundings were bathed in a blinding bright light.
Golden wheat swayed beneath a warm sky; the air was gentle, quiet, alive with the scent of summer.
For a fleeting moment, Aetheris knew peace.
Elias stood within the endless fields, sunlight washing over the land in waves of gold.
Then, a sharp sound split the silence, like glass breaking, and the sky cracked.
A jagged fracture tore across the heavens, and from the wound spilt a fog darker than night.
It poured downward like a living tide, as the world trembled.
Narrator:
Long ago… before the age of iron and war…
Aetheris was a world of laughter and light.
But on a day long buried by time…
The heavens shattered.
Thunder rolled across the horizon, and the sky dimmed.
The drums of War howled.
Across the fields and shattered cities, armies gathered, knights clad in steel, mages wreathed in blazing sigils, warriors of races long forgotten.
Swords clashed, cannons roared, and spells burned across the sky like falling stars.
They fought against the tide of things that emerged from the fog, shapes twisted and nameless.
Still, they fought, and still, they endured.
A deep horn sounded across the battlefield, and then the earth shook.
From the distant hills marched towering columns of mechas and ancient golems, their iron frames groaning like walking fortresses.
At their head stood a colossal machine, as vast as a moving citadel, and upon its crown a lone figure draped in a dark cloak.
In their hand rested a great scythe, while behind them drifted radiant beings of impossible beauty, entities whose very presence bent the air around them.
Gods, or something close enough to be feared as such.
Narrator:
For a moment…Hope returned.
For a moment…The world believed the darkness could be driven back.
The battle surged, the fog recoiled, and Victory seemed within reach.
Then... a blade struck from the shadows, and the cloaked figure staggered.
Steel burst through their chest, and a single scream cut through the battlefield.
Narrator:
And in that moment…The alliance was shattered.
Trust turned to ash.
And the fate of Aetheris was sealed by betrayal.
A harsh klaxon tore through the hidden facility, its shrill cry echoing across steel corridors and arcane halls alike.
Knights rushed to defensive posts while robed mages scattered across the chamber, their hands already weaving hurried sigils. Layers of glowing barriers flickered into existence as runic traps activated across the floors and walls.
Despite the chaos, one figure moved with unwavering purpose.
An elderly mage, his long robes trailing behind him, strode quickly through the chamber surrounded by several anxious attendants. Age had bent his back slightly, yet his eyes burned with fierce urgency.
"Faster," he ordered. "We do not have time."
They reached the central chamber of the facility, and at its heart stood a massive console of brass and crystal, humming softly with restrained power. Beyond it stretched an impossible sight, endless rows of spherical vats, each filled with shimmering liquid.
Within them floated barely recognisable humanoid figures, suspended in silent slumber.
Tens of thousands, and perhaps even more.
The old mage reached the console and slammed his palm against its surface.
"Begin the process immediately," he commanded. "No authorisation required. Release the—"
A soft laugh echoed through the chamber, melodious, sultry, and yet utterly wrong.
Every person present froze, as beads of sweat formed on their brows, as the sound drifted through the hall like silk wrapped around a blade.
"DO IT NOW!" the old mage roared.
The attendants scrambled to activate the console, but the laughter returned.
"How foolish," the unseen voice purred.
"How very foolish of you… to deny me."
The temperature in the chamber seemed to drop.
"How audacious… to believe you could stop me."
The old mage suddenly laughed, but it was dry and defiant.
"Please," he said calmly, though his fingers trembled slightly. "We are not nearly so arrogant."
His eyes hardened as he continued resolutely, "But delay you?"
He raised a small glass vial shaped like an hourglass."That much… we can manage."
Before anyone could react, he crushed it in his hand, and as the glass shattered, golden sand spilt across the console.
At once, a massive barrier of radiant energy erupted across the chamber, sealing the far end of the facility.
From beyond it came a furious scream, the voice that had been playful moments before now burned with rage."YOU DARE—"
"Release them!" the mage shouted.
Across the chamber, with a thunderous hiss, the spherical pods disengaged simultaneously from their frames and launched upward through hidden shafts.
One after another, hundreds, thousands fleeing into the world beyond, while the barrier began to crack, and light splintered across its surface, the old mage watched silently.
"May you find a future," he murmured.
The barrier shattered, and something stepped through, and what followed lasted only moments.
Screams echoed through the chamber as the intruder tore through knights, mages, and attendants alike with terrifying speed, steel shattered, and spells collapsed mid-cast.
Within seconds, the chamber fell silent, as bodies lay scattered across the floor.
At the centre console, the old mage collapsed slowly against the controls, blood staining his robes.
Far above, unseen beyond the facility's hidden vaults, thousands of escape pods shot into the skies of Aetheris, disappearing into the unknown.
Elias's vision changed as he was sucked into one of the spherical orbs.
The spherical orb flew towards the ground at an incredible speed before abruptly stopping a couple of centimetres from the ground, before it burst open like a soap bubble.
Elias fell to his knees, as a strange liquid that seemed to be coating him vaporised at a visible pace.
As Elias rose to his feet, he found himself facing a woman who looked as though she had stepped straight out of a high-end fashion spread.
She was tall, long-legged, poised, and effortlessly striking. Her fair skin seemed almost luminous beneath the ambient light, and her hair, a deep, vivid red, fell in a smooth cascade all the way to her knees, swaying faintly with even the slightest movement.
But it was her face that held his attention, more precisely, her eyes.
They were… wrong.
Beautiful, but unmistakably unnatural, as her sclera was pitch black, swallowing the light around it, while her irises gleamed a molten gold. At first glance, they seemed ordinary until one looked closer.
A primary pupil sat at the centre, and flanking it were two smaller ones, positioned along the periphery, perfectly aligned, and perfectly symmetrical.
Elias blinked once, then let out a quiet breath."Veronika, is that you?"
The woman tilted her head slightly, those strange golden eyes narrowing with amusement, and a slow, confident smirk curved her lips.
"Of course, Elias," she replied, her voice laced with playful arrogance.
"What's wrong?"She took a small step closer.
"Did my good looks finally manage to dazzle you?"
"Kind of, your eyes especially, they remind me of that elderly mage who released out vats."
Veronika stopped her face mired by confusion, as she spoke, "What are you talking about? I certainly did not design my eyes to look like that."
"Check your stats page, there you can see your avatar."