But suddenly the quietness of the chamber was broken by a noise that suddenly filled the whole room. The sound was like that of pressure being released. And if one looked towards the cryogenic pod that, built with luxurious things, still had its lid begin to open up…
The almost white-green, translucent, jade-like glass trembled and pushed itself upward, revealing the one that was sleeping within it.
That was a young man with fair skin and dark hair with a tint of blue here and there. His physique was as if it had been sculpted by the gods themselves, appearing perfect, just like his face that could put the stars to shame.
A few small robotic arms came out from the ground and began to move around the sleeping young man, and instantly layers of clothing began to form across his otherwise naked body.
Soon he was completely covered in a dress that was completely black with golden and white stripes around it, though it looked more like a dress that was a mix of royalty and military.
After the robotic arms had done their jobs, just like they had appeared, they all disappeared below. Not long after they were gone, the closed eyes of the young man began to tremble, visibly showing the sign of awakening.
As the trembling grew on the eyelashes, even the tips of his hands and toes began to move slightly. Not long after, the trembling eyes of the young man opened.
Revealing dark gem-like eyes that had a mystical gleam within them…
"Ugh…" A few words came out of the young man who had just opened his eyes, as if feeling the light drilling into them, eyes that, who knows, had been closed for how long. He raised his hands and brought them in front of his eyes, shielding them from the lights around him.
He took a few moments to get used to the weird feeling before his eyes adapted to the surroundings, and he stepped out of the pod with a strange face and unsteady steps. So much so that he had to take support of the cryogenic pod to stand steady.
The boy couldn't help but say, "What's going on? Where am I? And what's happening to my body? Why can't I stand properly, for God's sake?"
His voice came out as if he found the surroundings weird, along with the situation he and his body were in, as he felt very strange, like he was not at all used to walking properly or something.
Looking around the weird chamber that was absolutely grand and full of luxury, the young boy felt perplexed.
Where is this place even…? Wasn't I hiking with Celeste and the others on the university-organized trip just a while ago? And then I fell down the ridge saving Celeste…
Remembering what he could recall, a hint of melancholy flashed through his eyes as he remembered the girl he had said goodbye to.
Shouldn't I be dead then? So why the hell am I here? Clearly this isn't heaven or even hell where I should be at this moment…
But uhh… suddenly, as if something clicked in his mind, the young boy narrowed his eyes and looked around the grand room once again. And he noticed a few things.
First, the weird feeling of familiarity, as if he knew this place or something…
How could it be? If my memory is right, and indeed it is right, there's no way that I have come to a place like this, full of lavishness and luxury. After all, this kind of thing is very much far away from me…
Then why… why am I feeling familiar…?
While thinking and letting his eyes wander around, trying to find why he was feeling so familiar with the surroundings, he suddenly looked above and saw the magnificent art done on the ceilings.
The mechas, the ships, and the various alien species waging war against each other on a scale reaching multiple star systems at once…
"This…" the young man spoke, surprise in his eyes, as if he had found something. Or rather, those images above… he had seen them before. No, saying that is incorrect.
It would be more correct to say that he was a person involved in that battle.
"Isn't… isn't this the Galactic War? The one that was waged by the alien races against humanity in order to crush the humans altogether? And isn't that the Horizon Star System… where I, along with my guild, fought against the minotaur, fox, orcs, and goblin platoons in an intense stand-off…?"
But that was in Intergalactic Warfare, a VR game launched two years back…
So why does this wall contain the cinematic of that war? What's the relation between Intergalactic Warfare and this place that I am in?
As he stood there in confusion, his eyes passed through the almost real artistry above, reminding him of how intense that battle was, where literally tens of millions of players across many star systems were huddled in a great battle, each side fighting for their own interests.
The players who had their characters set as humans were fighting for their race's existence and in order to achieve a firm ground among the many strong alien races that always oppressed humanity, a race that they saw as weak.
While similarly, many players had their characters set as different races. Some were elves, some even minotaurs, orcs, goblins, asura, and what not, similarly hell-bent on putting humanity back in its place.
The battle was obviously intense and was even broadcast all over the world at that time… a battle that took over a month to come to an end, and in game it was even longer. After all, in-game time passed two times faster than outside.
He, or many others, didn't know how it was achieved by Celestial Co. Ltd., but the game was absolutely magical.
And as one of the winning side, and that too contributing the most, he, Adrian, had received a grand gift that was under construction based on his demands and even his design, something he was waiting and looking forward to having…