Alex groaned, cradling his pounding head in his palms. He slumped on the ratty sofa that moments ago had directly abutted his apartment's far wall. Until reality decided their relationship required sudden rearrangement."Why me...why is all of this interdimensional insanity happening now?" he muttered at the dingy ceiling, as if broken plaster and errant water stains might reveal the secrets underpinning his absurdist lottery-winning ticket to chaos.Just days ago, Alex's concept of normalcy meant juggling exhausting minimum-wage jobs between cramming for critical exams, and desperately treading financial quicksand against his mom's healthcare debts.Now? Now he possessed forbidden skills allowing manifestation of physical objects from virtual realms and involuntary teleportation between dimensions. All while escaping predatory extradimensional dictator types and their viral brain-hacking forces across the multiverse. Totally normal Tuesday stuff.Alex groaned again, more loudly. He n
Alex unlocked his nondescript apartment door, gesturing for Emma to enter the dimly lit studio first as she gazed around curiously. His bed, desk and overcrowded bookshelves occupied most available space not taken up by his prized gaming computer rig."Cozy! And way cleaner than your dorm room used to be," Emma noted wryly, poking Alex in the side. He batted her hand away good-naturedly, moving stacks of textbooks for her to perch on the scarred oaken desk.Alex grinned ruefully. Clearing his throat, he said "So, talking magic swords is one thing - want to see real magic manifestation instead?"Emma's eyebrows shot up, but she waved a "go ahead" at Alex's dramatic pause. Taking a deep breath, Alex closed his eyes, mentally navigating the familiar fantasy environment of Elysium Quest. With intense focus, he unequipped his avatar's ornate greatsword and then it suddenly appeared in his hand.Emma yelped in surprise as a glinting blade abruptly winke
"You better explain yourself, NOW," Alex demanded, glaring furiously at Nexus hovering interface while checking Emma for injuries. "That unprovoked attack could have killed my best friend!""I am deeply regretful, but per my erroneous threat assessment, she aligned flawlessly with an extremely dangerous profile in the newly integrated databases," Nexus replied.Noticing Alex's uncomprehending frustration, it quickly clarified. "Here, observe evidence leading to my catastrophic misjudgment." Nexus streamed images and DNA models lighting up augmented reality displays in Alex's visual cortex.Flashing security footage showed a stern woman in a dark military uniform - undoubtedly "The General" Nexus referenced - torturing prisoners for information. Alex reeled at stark similarity to Emma in the footage. Another DNA map flipped out, highlighting insane 98.6% shared genetics."Holy crap," Alex gasped under his breath. He force closed the damning concord
Emma took a deep, bracing breath as she pushed open the front door to her childhood home, an upscale two-story in the peaceful suburbs. Alex followed just behind, surveying the graceful architecture and manicured lawn briefly before focusing back on his friend. Her body language telegraphed knots of tension that had nothing to do with the early hour.Striding down the foyer, Emma called "Dad? Are you awake yet?"Heavy footsteps echoed down the stairs as Emma's father emerged - Aaron Ross, late 40s with salt-and-pepper hair and a tidy beard framing kind, weathered features well known to Alex. Aaron's gray eyes crinkled happily seeing his daughter unexpectedly."Emma, sweetie! This is a surprise so early," he exclaimed, hugging her in fatherly affection. His gaze landed on Alex hovering by the door. "And Alex too! Sorry I haven't come by recently to check on your mother...""No need to apologize, Mr Ross," Alex demurred politely. "I know you would v
Exhausted silence hung between Emma and Alex as he drove them back towards campus after the intense emotional revelations. Noticing a cafe still open, Alex pulled over, suggesting they recoup with some coffee. Emma numbly agreed.Settling into a shadowy back booth cradling warm mugs, Alex studied his friend's raw expression, eyes still puffy from earlier tears. He reached across the table to grasp her hand."How're you holding up after...everything?" he asked gently.Emma inhaled shakily. "Honestly? Kind of a mess trying to process it all logically..." Her composure crumbled once more."Aw Em..." Alex moved quickly to her side of the booth, wrapping a supportive arm around her shoulders as she cried again into his s
Taking a deep, centering breath, Alex planted his feet in the lush grass of a wide meadow, peering ahead at the treeline marking the threshold into the untamed wilderness. Nexus had directed him here, to a high-risk area of Elysium Quest called The Overgrowth - perfect for rapidly accumulating combat experience from ruthless plant and beast creatures dwelling within the sprawling forest.According to Nexus, successfully battling through the dangerous mobs and completing resource harvesting objectives in the Overgrowth's depths would provide the last push Alex required before hitting the necessary prerequisite level to attempt the Guardian Ascension promotion class quest."Remember, utilize your augmented sensory capabilities I unlocked to remain vigilant for threats," Nexus reminded Alex through his neural interface. "Channel instinc
Golden afternoon light slanted into Alex's studio apartment as Emma blearily opened her eyes, confused momentarily by the unfamiliar surroundings. Then realizing she had crashed at her friend's sparse apartment, everything that had happened rushed back into her mind making it heavy once again.Now glancing at her phone, Emma jolted fully awake seeing the time. "Whoa, I conked out for almost 12 hours?" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"Alex looked up from the notebook he was scrawling formulas into. "You seemed like you could use the rest after all that had happened yesterday," he chuckled while retrieving leftover soup from the mini-fridge. "Here, eat something first before interrogating me."Emma smiled affectionately through her bed-tousled mane accepting the food. Same old Alex, always trying to take care of everyone else even when his world crumbled unrelentingly.Between grateful spoonfuls of hot broth and rice, Emma's gaze
When the recording died, the room was totally silent.Emma sobbed quietly. Alex on the other hand was confused because he couldn't piece the information together.“Nexus, can you verify the authenticity of what we just heard?" he asked.“Analyzing data now" Nexus replied.After a few seconds it replied “93% authenticity. I could not analyze any further than that, my apologies"“93% is more than enough to know what Rosaline said was the truth"Still something bothered Alex more. Rosaline told Emma to find a host for Nexus, was it because she needed the Nexus to be activated in a living host before they can be able to locate the Accession System Codex?“Nexus, while you were in the room I met you, were you given any command?"“Command, please rephrase"“Okay, like were you told to find a host based on instructions? Like you were to come out with me or you were, come on you are an intelligent supercomputer you know what I'm talking about" " I have no command whatsoever to follow you, I f