Afterlife Dream

"YEAHHHHH!!!" came the cheer from the excited crowd.

The representative in the Dark Moon costume had to use party poppers three times for the crowd to settle.

"In the next few months, Afterlife Dream is going to enter into a new era," Devin Wentworth announced. "MMORPG is not going to be just a childish pastime that parents do not approve of. It is going to evolve to be something more than that. It is going to be part of everyone's life."

"Your parents will play with you. And your siblings. And your friends, your relatives, everyone. Everyone will play MMORPG and it will become something normal, something natural to the world."

"Your MMORPG account will be connected to your identification number. It will be possible to attend schools in MMORPG and also do some virtual jobs through MMORPG. MMORPG will be an extension to the life you currently know."

Everyone hung on Devin Wentworth's lips like they were hypnotized by his remarkable vision. For those who genuinely loved playing MMORPG, especially the outcasts who could not find their places in this world, Devin's words were like dreams coming true.

That was not all. Devin even challenged the separation of life and death.

"Inside MMORPG, you can live forever," he stated. "Death does not have to be the end. If we die in this current life, we can still remain alive in the game server. Our legacy shall go on."

Devin Wentworth ended his speech at that point.

"Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Devin Wentworth?" the representative asked.

Hands quickly shot up into the air.

"Okay, three first questions!"

The representative picked a stuttering young man with freckles and huge glasses.

"D-do you... do you mean t-that we no longer have to choose between MMORPG and the 'real life' as they call it?"

Devin shook his head and beamed at the young man. "Nope. MMORPG is going to be your life too. Virtual life is also going to be your life, as real life is. You can even choose to be more active in virtual life or real life as you see fit, but no more judgment."

The young man broke into a sobbing mess.

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"T-thank you! Thank you, Mr. Devin Wentworth!"

Devin flashed him a bright smile. "You are welcome!"

A round of applause went through the crowd.

"Second question??" the representative shouted to beat the sound of applause.

A bubbly girl jumped up and down in the crowd. She was picked to pop the second question.

"Um, Mr. Devin hi. What I want to ask is, does this mean that we will not die? I mean we will die in the real life but we won't die in virtual life, right? And does this apply to everyone who starts playing Afterlife Dream???"

Devin Wentworth nodded along with the girl's question.

"Correct. Your body will decay under the ground or be burned to ashes, but your virtual life will go on. If anything, death will only mean that you fully cross over to the virtual life and live there."

The girl shrieked in hysteria.

"FOREVER???"

"Yes, forever," came the answer from the young man in white tuxedo.

"It is an outrageous plan," ZhaoYun whispered to all of us. "I wonder how he is going to make it happen? How do you transfer your consciousness from a living human being to a virtual world?"

"Pretty much what already happened to us, I think," I mused. "The game dubbed it as a 'reincarnation', but Devin Wentworth reworded it as 'another life'. I don't see any difference, to be honest."

"So what about the second reincarnation on earth? It does not sound that this so-called virtual life will end, right?" Livina joined in our discussion.

"Okayyyy third question!!!"

Lazarus' hand shot into the air. We all gaped at him.

"Theo, what are you doing?" HellWitch hissed. "Take your hand down!"

"Why?" Lazarus innocently asked. "Our question is worth asking."

Umm...

Lazarus jumped up and down as well, mimicking the bubbly girl who got picked.

"ME! PICK ME! PICK ME!!!"

"Oh, alright," the representative was mollified by Lazarus' persistence. "For the third question, we will pick this young man here."

Lazarus took the microphone from the representative and spoke into it. His voice trembled when he asked his question out loud, "Um, what I want to ask is, what if we no longer want to stay in the virtual life? Can we go out?"

Devin Wentworth clearly did not expect this question. The smile drained from his face and he stared at Lazarus for a good minute before he gained his composure and flashed Lazarus a smile.

"Before I answer your question, why would you want to go out? You can get anything that you want inside the virtual life. You can design your life inside the MMORPG. There will be no better life for you, no matter how many times you are reborn."

Lazarus stubbornly maintained his argument.

"But what if I don't like it and I want to get out? Maybe I prefer real life more than virtual life. Maybe I would rather be reborn in another real life than serve as a character in virtual life forever."

An angry murmur went through the crowd.

"Dude," a guy with spiky hair called out to Lazarus. "If you don't like playing MMORPGs, why are you even here?"

"I do like playing MMORPG!" Lazarus answered. "I love MMORPGs!"

"Then you should be grateful that Mr. Devin Wentworth is giving you the possibility to stay inside an MMORPG world forever," another person spoke up.

"Why are you speaking about going out of the game instead?"

"Well, why not? We never know what will happen! I just want to know if the option is there or not."

"We don't need the options," another person said.

"We do!" ZhaoYun put a hand on Lazarus' shoulder. "We need the freedom to choose!"

"If that is the case, you are not really a fan of MMORPGs!"

"You are the enemies!"

"Yeah, you are the enemies!!!"

ZhaoYun and Lazarus gaped at the angry crowd in disbelief. "Hey, hey, we are just asking questions. How are we suddenly the enemies here?"

"So..." Devin Wentworth spoke again, and this time the smile was completely gone from his face. "You do not want to live in the MMORPG forever, do I understand that right?"

"Maybe yes, maybe not. I just want to know if there is an option to go out."

"What if there isn't?" Devin challenged him.

"Then I don't want to play that MMORPG at all and I do not wish to resume my virtual life there once I die."

The crowd sucked in their breath after hearing this outrageous statement. They had all been bewitched by Devin's vision. Any argument that went against the idealistic picture that Devin just painted was no less than impudence.

"Okay," Devin nodded. "Which one of you shares the same opinion as this young man here?"

As if trying to prove to Devin Wentworth that they did not belong to the same group as Lazarus, the crowd quickly scattered away from us, leaving only the six of us standing together, the minority group with a bold notion.

"Very well," Devin slowly spoke, a strange light flashed across his eyes. "Your wish shall be granted."

And then suddenly, the mechanical voice from Afterlife Dream spoke up.

"Dear Adventurers, congratulations on your success in locating the Dimensional Master. You have two hours to defeat him, after which you will be able to exit the raid."

At the end of the mechanical voice's announcement, Devin Wentworth stepped forward and stomped hard on the ground. A huge crack spread from his foot to the entire hall, sending a wave of fear and terror in our direction. The young man himself slowly started to transform. The white tuxedo and boots transformed into a set of armor made of black, shining, metallic material. A spiky helmet wrapped itself around Devin's head, and a creepy mask slid down the helmet and covered his face. Only his lips and chin were visible beneath the mask.

Devin Wentworth was not the only one who transformed. We too, experienced the same kind of transformation.

Magical circles appeared beneath our feet. Colorful light engulfed us. Inside the column of light, my clothes were replaced by my Dark Moon armor. My Dark Moon Staff appeared in my hand. When the column of light disappeared, left and right of me, my friends had all been transformed into their avatars inside Afterlife Dream.

We were no longer Daniel, Lara, Theo, Allen, Alice, and Sheila. We were now Antares, HellWitch, Lazarus, ZhaoYun, Livina, and Cecilia.

I could hear Cecilia murmur behind me, "Oh oh. I don't like this at all."

We had no time to talk about this situation because the digital clock already appeared in the sky and the two-hour countdown started without the slightest delay. The Dimensional Master smirked and launched at us. In his hand, he was holding a Longinus Holy Spear.