The Earth After Rebirth

"Wait, isn't he an outsider? I thought this was only for us?" Nikolai asked confused.

Kiro's eyes fell on Viktor, who was already getting up, prepared to wait outside. It wasn't as if he didn't trust Kiro, he just didn't want to look for him in case this thing didn't work. He spent quite the money, Kiro had integrity there was no way he wouldn't give him his money back if it didn't work.

"That's alright, he can stay, this is guardian news anyway. He drank the potion, he'll be one soon enough." Kiro explained.

"Then shouldn't Saanvi and Isla be here too?" Ishaan asked confused.

Kiro shook his head. He didn't need a crowd looking at him funny at what he was about to tell them. He, himself, thought it was insane. If he didn't see it himself, he'd find it hard to believe coming from anyone else.

"Idiot, then Isaac and Ursa would have to come too." Felix shook his head disappointed.

Kiro chuckled nervously, "what I'm about to say is totally insane, absolutely unbelievable, batshit 'are you out of your mind' kind of story but I'm not crazy. I only ask that you consider it very carefully before letting your thoughts known."

He gave them a brief moment to soak in his words before starting the story. He told them everything they needed to know, with each reveal the people sitting there listening, were trying their best not to burst out laughing.

Kiro obviously noticed this but hushed anyone who tried to interrupt him.

They wanted to laugh, they didn't want to believe him but the story was actually matching the events. If not from their actual world, ones from the game. Everything was just falling in place like a perfect puzzle piece.

Each of them would be lying if they said they didn't have at least one weird experience in the game.

"I never thought you were the imaginative type."

"Yeah man, why are you wasting our time with tall tales. Aren't you too old to be believing in fairytales anyway?"

"My rival has absolutely lost his mind. It must be the tower, there's nothing else, he was fine before it."

Kiro was tempted to beat the truth into them, he took a deep breath however. Calming himself down, reminding himself that, this is also how he'd react if he were in their shoes.

"Didn't I tell you idiots to think before you let your thoughts known? I'm feeling insane as it is, there's nothing you can say about my sanity that I haven't already thought of." He said, as calmly as he could.

Continue reading on empire

Hiro was the only one who was quiet. Kiro was looking forward to his words of shock the most, but his best friend was sitting there, still as the chair he sat on. Staring blankly at nothingness.

"Hiro?" Kiro's voice sounded muffled and faraway, but it managed to grab his attention anyway.

"Mm?" He unconsciously answered.

"Are you okay?"

He looked him in the eyes, "so you were telling the truth? back then, on our first quest, do you remember? You told me and I didn't listen. I thought you were just fooling around."

"There was no way to convince you then, there's no way to convince you now. But I'm telling you, that's why I was so adamant about buying this game, that's why I know things about it people don't." He shrugged, that was about the only thing he had.

"Did we know each other? Then...you know—"

"No we didn't. My first time, that I can remember anyway."

"I don't know why but that's kind of a relief. You know, some things make sense now. Your hatred for Isaac, it must've been hard going through all that alone."

This conversation was taking a very strange turn, one Kiro wasn't expecting. Instead of being worried about the possible doom their world faced, Hiro just wanted to know about the life he lived.

Everyone's snarky remarks were quietened by his questions — his curiosity. This was all fascinating to a brain like his.

"Yes, it was." Kiro answered, feeling a little hot under his skin.

Hiro's words towards him were free from judgement. He was like a child, his curiosity was genuine. Which made Kiro a little, just a tiny bit emotional.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't find each other in the previous one."

Kiro simply nodded, appreciating his words that were accepting instead of rejecting him. He was afraid that if he said anything at that moment, tears would fall all on their own. He didn't need that, not right now.

He had to hold himself together. Even if with just tape.

"How could you just believe him?" Viktor was shocked.

"Why would Kiro lie about something like this? Think about that. If you don't want to believe it, fine, but any logical person has that 'what if' voice in them. If you take this lightly, we could all die."

He mumbled something about pranks but didn't argue with anything of substance.

Felix was quiet. He wasn't moving where he sat. His mind was going faster than he could say anything coherent to say. He was speechless.

"You're taking this rather well." Ishaan commended him.

"He's not, that's his thinking face not his calm face." Nikolai corrected him.

Their reaction was of course very normal. Not only were gods real, but there was also a god from a different universe trying to take over theirs.

Anybody in that room who wasn't scared by the portrait Kiro had painted for them was only lying to themselves — and it was a vivid one, he didn't leave a single detail out, he dumped everything on them as it was dumped on him.

Ding!

[Kiro is correct. You all need togetherness now more than ever. The ancient one knows what we are up to, so they're pushing the takeover to happen very soon. You can't be away from the game for long periods of time. At least two hours a day.]

"YOU COULD DO THAT THIS WHOLE TIME?"