THE ILLUSION

01. Little Demon

A girl crossed her legs while the red high heels she was wearing seemed to shake a little. The girl's long straight hair brushed against her thighs as she supported her chin. Her eyes were rolling, looks like she was getting tired of waiting.

There was a map containing several sheets of white paper on the chair next to her. Although she was quite uncomfortable with it, humans made her more uncomfortable.

She then used the light object to distance herself from other humans. But still, once again, she had to deal with an annoying world.

A man with blonde hair with freckles approached her.

"Hello, may I sit next to you?" he asked.

The girl snorted softly, then decided to look at the man with a grin.

"You better not sit here, this chair is cursed."

The man's brow furrowed. Before the end, a female secretary appeared from behind the door.

"Miss Merin?" call the secretary.

Without letting go of her grin, Merin inched up while grabbing her folder. She just passed the man, then entered the room.

"Merin Noella Amyra, nice to meet you!" said the head of human resources.

An older woman with still taut skin. She invited Merin to sit on the soft sofa.

The girl's big round eyes scanned the entire room, which she thought was like a director's room. It's almost the same size as the classroom. Yeah, she was in a big company. There are two big screens showing game characters that are already worldwide.

The woman sat covering the board named Sofia Francheska. Her eyes widened as she realized something the girl was wearing.

"Oh, your blue eyes are so pretty!" she said pleasantly, "we are delighted that the best graduates from Eagle Technology University are willing to work with Opera Games Corporation."

"Indeed, it was my initial goal to join," Merin explained while taking out the application file.

"Why do you want to join our digital art team?"

While Sofia's hands were shrewdly checking the files one by one with enthusiasm, Merin smiled faintly. Who knows what the girl thought that made her smile provoked.

"Because there's a character I really want to create."

"Well, as I expected. Your grades are perfect to make the character come true," said Sofia.

Shortly after Sofia confirmed her hopes for Merin, the smile on the woman's face faded as she checked the last file.

"Fantasia license?" she asked, "you ...?"

Merin exhaled softly. "That's right, Mrs. I am a special criminal."

"Then your blue eyes aren't contact lenses," Sofia muttered. She then looked at Merin. "What crime have you committed?"

Merin didn't answer right away. For a few seconds, she fiddled with her lower lip with her teeth. Sorting out the right words to convey, but she felt it was becoming unnecessary. Merin returned Sofia's gaze with a smile, even though there was a hint of sadness.

"I killed someone."

***

Silence fell over the first-grade classroom at Pertiwi junior high school, Jakarta. At first, the little kids couldn't stop cheering because they got their first report card. But, with the warm applause from their parents, they obeyed for a moment of silence.

The dimples of a young woman in formal dress broke out. Standing by the table, she picked up the remaining report cards and a trophy.

"Okay, now what we've been waiting for the most. My children, give a big round of applause for our top of the class, Merin Noella Amyra!" exclaimed the teacher.

As soon as a name aired, the figure of a little girl in red shoes appeared from the corner of the room, past the children who were applauding on their parent's lap.

She walked alone without a smile. Her gaze seemed to be intentionally blank. Her hands clenched. Before the end, she was forced to embrace the report card and trophy that almost covered her body.

"Congratulations, beautiful Merin. Do you have anything to say to your friends?" asked the teacher gently.

Merin pressed her feet together. She looked at everyone present expressionlessly.

"Why bring your father and mother? You are all devils! How dare you show off your parents!" the girl growled, making everyone dumbfounded.

"Mrs?" she called, "even though they show off, I'm still the winner. This cup proves it."

Merin laughed cheerfully. She made horror on her teacher's face. Meanwhile, everyone in the room gaped at the little girl's behavior.

Merin pursed her lips. "Okay, Mrs. Merin is sleepy. I gotta go, bye."

Holding her report card and trophy, she just walked out of the room. As if she had understood her behavior, the young teacher only saw the back of her protégé slowly disappearing behind the door.

***

The destiny of the girl in red shoes is that she always walks alone. Every step of the hunt, with time, made Merin Noella Amyra has grown up.

A luxury apartment was built in Sydney, Australia, especially for Merin when she asked to be studied abroad four years ago. She believes being away from her parents is better than feeling close but isolated. A father who is a pilot and a mother who is a famous actress makes Merin unable to demand much time.

The gurgling shower finally stopped. Merin's tiny body wrapped in a towel emerged from behind the bathroom. While stroking her wet hair, she approached her maidservant.

"How? Did you bring my order?" Merin asked with sparkling eyes.

Olaf slightly shifted her body. She was featuring a set of clothes hanging from an iron. Merin grabbed a waist-length red leather jacket with a row of chains on either side of the front. Similar to rock band personnel.

"Good! Exactly what I wanted," said Merin.

Olaf slightly looked up. "Isn't it too flashy to wear to college, Miss?"

"I don't care! I have to look special on this important day."

***

In the middle of a large and crowded room, the fingers of a young man danced on the keyboard. His eyes twitched slightly and rarely blinked in front of the thin computer screen. Instead, the light reflected on his face, revealing a firm jaw. Now and then, his index finger brushed the surface of his curly lips.

There's no one there. At least, until some people start arriving.

"Good morning, Professor!" cried the boy with short hair. He led the line of 2 other teenagers behind him.

"I told you, Jasper. Just call me by name if you're at headquarters," complained the professor.

"You have to understand, Eldric. This kid is compassionate. The chairman is still our age," said Olivia Barlie, the blonde girl with bangs.

Jasper pursed his lips for a moment while glancing at the girl scornfully.

"I'm just wary. Afraid of being disrespected," he said, turning to Eldric again, "oh yeah, are you out of class?"

Olivia interrupted back with a chuckle. "Jasper, what the heck do you know? Today is the first session of all majors. Eldric did not apply for the board of judges."

"I do not know! After all, we are not students here. Isn't that right, Loey?" Jasper asked for sure.

Joey Alexander, the boy with curly hair, without answering directly, pressed the light switch. Eldric Lee Peterson's headquarters is in the corner of the Eagle Tech building. University is also displayed. The young lecturer specially made this base for the Fantasia project.

A holographic project to punish the bad guys.

Blue lights dominate Fantasia's headquarters, but the brightest lights are still white. There must have been hundreds of coils of wire inhabiting the place.

Four computer desks arched onto a big screen attached to the wall. Like the roses in the movie Beauty and The Beast, in the middle of them stands a tube that floats an object that looks like an eyepiece. It's an eye lens, but they call it a bright lens. An intelligent lens that can unite the human world with the holographic world.

While his friends were preparing to restart their work at their desks, Eldric was still focused on the screen. He propped his chin, monitoring the numbers that kept rolling in.

CONNECTED 3D POSITION TO SMART LENS ... 100%

CONNECTED 2D ANGLE POINT TO SMART LENS ... 100%

CONNECTED TIME POINT TO SMART LENS ... 100%

CONNECTED LIGHT TOOLS TO SMART LENS ... 100%

... 7D PLENOPTIC FUNCTION COMPLETE ...

Eldric immediately jumped from his chair. "Guys, we have reached the final stage!" exclaimed the lecturer.

Eldric's enthusiasm instantly spread to his three friends. They rushed over to the chairman's desk with big smiles.

"Good! All the characters and situations that I created have been entered into the smart lens," laughed Olivia.

"Jasper, thoroughly check cyber security!" Eldric's instructions. He turned to Loey.

"Loey, prepare for the operation!"

The two boys immediately nodded and rushed to carry out the instructions.

"When are we going to do the testing?" Olivia asked.

Eldric's brows furrowed. His hands were clenched into fists, filled with determination and passion.

"Tomorrow. We'll do it tomorrow."

Hearing the leader's strong determination, the girl's eyelids widened. It was undeniable that fear was tucked into his mind. The project they worked on for five years finally found common ground. No, this is not the end. But, this is an actual start. However, Olivia's sigh was a sign that she would try to trust her friends.

She was sure it would work.

Olivia nodded. "Then, I'll contact our model, Isabella Liu."

Eldric held Olivia's hand as she was about to turn around. Eldric's head shake made the girl with an eagle's eyes squinted.

"Let me do it. Besides, I miss that kid."