Oh God, to whom I have given all and been given all.
Bring calm to your soul. Soothe your anger. And please, come to me...
✦ ✦ ✦
Huh...? I thought I heard someone call to me... What happened?
I’m just exhausted. My limbs are heavy and my head’s fuzzy. I’m not coughing, so I think I’m okay... Wait, what’s okay? Well, so long as it’s not the flu or norovirus.
I slowly open my eyes... and see a really old style ceiling. No lighting of any sort. Curtains fluttering in the breeze. Feels like a late morning or early noon. The bed’s... well, simple to say the least, or I guess just plain hard. The pillow’s pretty crappy, too. You should never cut corners with bedding or shoes... Huh? Wait, wait, wait, there’s a cute little girl asleep on her arms on the side of the bed. It’s such a painfully adorable nursing style.
“Mm... Lady Kuroi?” She’s so pretty. Flowing silver hair. The bandages around her slender neck look painful. She needs to get some proper sleep.
“Lady... Kuroi?” Oh, she must really value that sword. Looks like it’s bent... But hell, just use the kill bonuses and it’ll be fine. I mean, the effects are permanent.
“Huh? Wha? D-Dad’s sword... is restored? And it’s warm... really warm.” Huh? Smells weirdly smokey. It’s coming in from outside. Wonder what it is. Hope it’s not a fire or something.
Damn, it looks like there was a fire after all. Out there, outside the window.
“Lady Kuroi... or not? Are you perhaps...” That’s awful.
There’s destroyed buildings left and right, and some of them are still smoking.
I guess that’s the North Gate. Wow, things are pretty awful there. That pile of rocks must be the remains of the Stone Tower and Stone Shield. Looks like a pain in the ass to clean up. Hope a sinkhole doesn’t open up or something.
A polite knock on the door. Feels odd when I give permission to come in. I touch at my throat. Huuuh?
“Hello hello. I’m glad to see you’re awake! You had us worried when you collapsed in the midst of victory. Guess we owe it to those secret elven remedies. I mean, we sure felt that for Jashan son Peine. Well, allow me to arrange something warm for you. I’m a bit hungry myself.” He sure got a lot out in a single breath. As for “a bit hungry,” a bit for him probably means quite a bit, given the gut.
“Oh, right right. There was quite a bit of movement during the night, so let me report on that. Oh, don’t trouble yourself, keep yourself comfortable. And please, refrain from training for a bit.” Comfortable, mmh. Yeah, guess my body feels pretty heavy. Especially my arms... Huh? They’re super smooth. What’s going on? They’re really soft to the touch.
“First, the vampire army; it appears they’ve fully retreated. There’s not a single skull lurking around nearby woods and mountains, in fact, it seems they’ve retreated from all the surrounding territories. This is information the elves provided, so a bit of skepticism is in order, however, I believe it’s trustworthy, for the most part.” Hrm. What’s with these hands? The fingers are long and thin, slender and pretty, but the palms are calloused and rough. The fingernails are also a bit of a mess.
“As for the elven army, they’re making noises about a formal military alliance. Given that the current situation is based solely on the discretion of the Dragon Commander. However things proceed from here, I believe they will end within the bounds of our estimates. Meaning, for the time being, they’ll maintain their presence here.” Looks like parts of this body are like that. Injuries, or more precisely, bits of accumulated damage.
But why... Oh, must be because of the endless fighting.
“The problem, I fear, may be the humans.” Oh, I see, this body is Kuroi’s. Reminds me of that one dream.
“Myself, Lord Willow, Ser Anze, we’re all using our connections, but... well, given what’s happened, even a small misunderstanding can cause enormous confusion. At worst, we might end up in a civil war. So we must be cautious moving forward...” So, this is a scene out of the world of DDR?
The chatty tubby in front of me is that scheming priest, and the girl cradling the sword must be her squire, Sira.
Yep, that sounds right.
“Hey! Heard Kuroi woke up so, whoa, hey, don’t push!” As for the group that just made their dramatic entrance...
The middle-aged dude tumbling in front is the sorcerer, the two youngsters that shoved him must be Ser Handsome’s capable subordinates. As for Ser Handsome himself, well, he looks so debonair it’s easy to tell he’s considered handsome. So why are you cradling that man covered with so many bandages that he looks like a mummy as though he’s your bride? The alluring witch is looking a bit exasperated. The crusty soldier looks crustier than usual.
“What are you all doing coming together like this? Lady Kuroi still needs her rest; the last thing she needs is this bustle.”
“I made some noodle soup, so these vultures decided to beg for their share.”
“Oh? Yet there’s still quite some time till lunch. Tch.” Several people note some variation of “look who’s talking.” Haha, yeah, saw that one coming.
The alluring witch’s tray has three bowls. The small one’s for Sira, the middle-sized one is for Kuroi, I guess? And the extremely large one with the holy symbol on it, well, who’s that for? It’s a hell of a bowl for a supposed mendicant to be using.
“We’re not here because we’re hungry.”
“I’m not so sure about that. After all, Origis is always hungry.”
“Ma-ri-us!”
“Save it for later, you two. Your holiness, the report to Lady Kuroi?”
“Is more or less finished.”
“Mrrggmrrg.”
“Oh? It appears my dear friend has even injured his mouth.”
“...Apologies, I wrapped it shut. He’s started yammering, from boredom.”
“Ah, so it was your handiwork, Ser Zakkow. I believe you made the right choice.”
“Tch, but anyway, is Kuroi alright? Given all that happened yesterday...” Oh, this is great. I can’t hold back the laughter, it keeps coming.
So this is the settlement. These are the settlers. This udon is also delicious. I actually wanted to try it. It really tastes like home.
Welp, this is a dream. Yep, a dream. It’s a beautiful, fun dream just fit for a gamer.
Worn down by the day-to-day grind, exhausted from everything they can’t change... and they just can’t help getting caught up in it, wanting to do something to change that monotony, starting up the game. Playing it for hours on end. They then start to see results and get further sucked in. Then comes satisfaction.
I’m sure there are those who would say, “Why invest so much in a game?” But it’s not escapism; not exactly. We take it seriously. That’s why the emotions are real, too. Each gamer’s heart has a life of its own. They feel joy and sadness, rage... all of them are truths of one sort or another. It’s not a mainstream philosophy, I guess, but I’m fine with that. I’m fine with being niche. I mean, gamers are always happy to cheer on the protagonist.
“My... God?” Sira’s voice. Yup, that’s right. In the ruthlessly cruel world of DDR, what they need is that. A God of War. Seems a little weak, still, but... it’s got potential.
“There’s hope.” I say with confidence. Whatever is missing in terms of God of War power, I, PotatoStarch will cover with player skill. Right, Kuroi?
“...Yea.” Wow, Kuroi responded. It feels a little bit like talking to myself, but I’m starting to drift away. So I could hear it... Damn, I’m sleepy... What’s this? I’m getting sleepy in a dream? Seriously? Just how tired am I?
But it’s a good dream. A really good dream.
Grr... It was a good dream.
But my head hurts so much I don’t want to wake up. The nausea’s pretty terrible, too. And then there’s my bladder. It’s damn near bursting! Gyaaah! My stomach’s acting up, too!
To the bathroom! Hurry to the bathroom! Oh Lord! Gaaaah!
Made it... Somehow made it.... I guess humans can cause miracles if they’re desperate enough.
Just as I’m coming to that sort of enlightenment, I’m hit by the awful reality of what had happened.
I passed out in front of the screen. This is so totally drunken passing out in front of the screen. And I recorded it to boot. Fuck. Drinking during a war event? That’s shameful for a self-declared hardcore DDR player. Totally stupid. Completely guilty.
Wait... What sort of event was it anyway? The war event?
Uhhh... So I did a stupid charge. Somehow made it. Then fought back using a Call type spell... Oh crap, it’s really foggy. I guess the bathroom rush was so intense I must have pissed out the details, too... Also, my head hurts like hell... Urrgh.
Oh well, what’s going on in DDR? Time to check my monitor.
Huh? Kuroi, why’s everyone surrounding you? Are they worshiping to you?
Wait, is this an event? No? I-It should be okay, right?
I set myself into observation mode and... Anyway, I need to check the recording. It’s time to face your own crimes, PotatoStarch... Ugh.
Mmh? What’s this icon? Mail notification? Did I have my mailer open? Let’s take a look... Err, the heck is this? Can’t read it. What foreign language is this? There’s like commas and stuff on the letters.
Times like this, I guess you just cut and paste a little bit of text and search what language it is. Internet’s really nice... Wait, what do you mean Romanian? We don’t have any business with that country at my job.
W-Well, okay, fine. Time for translation sites to come in! Go!
...Errr?
What on earth is this?
“Hope is a lie you tell to the future”... The hell does this mean?
What the... Why does this piss me off so much? So much it’s blown away my nausea!