ALL NOVEL Chapter 1: Chapter 1 : Raphael Sorus
"I will kill myself" a lean, dark-haired man declared as he stared at his computer.
The man's room was a study in casual chaos. Furniture, though functional, seemed to be placed more out of convenience than any deliberate arrangement.
A well-worn leather chair slouched beside a desk cluttered with an assortment of gadgets and tangled cords, a testament to late-night gaming sessions and hurried attempts at productivity.
Clothing was littered everywhere. Jeans and T-shirts were draped over the back of a chair, while an overflowing laundry basket stood sentinel in the corner. Stray socks dotted the floor, leading a haphazard trail to an unmade bed. The bed itself was a tangle of sheets and blankets, pillows tossed carelessly to one side.
A small coffee table bore the remnants of hastily consumed meals—empty soda cans, a couple of pizza boxes stacked haphazardly, and a mug stained with the dark ring of forgotten coffee. Nearby, a bookshelf struggled under the weight of books, magazines, and an array of knick-knacks, their arrangement more an afterthought than a decision.
A dartboard with several missed shots hung on the wall, and a corkboard pinned with random mementos. Sports memorabilia occupied one shelf, sharing space with dusty trophies from long-past achievements and beside his bed was a human-sized pod.
The widescreen screen of his monitor read "We are deeply sorry to announce that [Arcane Days] will be going offline forever due to the lack of a sufficient number of active players needed to make a profit and in turn maintain our servers.
It was a fun ride being the oldest running immersion game, but all things must come to an end. Farewell and good luck players!!"
Growing up, Raphael Sorus was brought up in a loving and caring household, his parents made decent wages, so he never lacked much. He too was a good child, he got good grades, just saying his grades were good was an understatement, his grades were almost perfect.
But all that came to an end when Raphael was in his Final year of high school, on his graduation day which also happened to be his seventeenth birthday, his parents and his little sister, Penelope were involved in a car crash that claimed all their lives except his.
Since then, he was no longer the same, he had no choice but to go live with his uncle, since he was still a minor and was in no state of mind to live alone.
His uncle and his wife had no child of their own, so they treated him like he was theirs, but even so, he spent most of his days indoors brooding and crying, only coming out to eat with his uncle and his wife, his interest for academics, sports, and any other hobbies died with his family, and then came his saving grace.
Immersion games were like virtual reality but more real and well…immersive, they were played by entering a game pod that would provide full body sensations for in-game feelings, as well as virtual view of the game world and three-sixty vision and give users a deep dive experience.
They gave users a kind of thrill, an escape from their dark world, and an entrance into a world where they could be whatever they wanted, and not surprisingly immersion games quickly became a trend.
Dozens and dozens of them came one after the other, it was to the point that most people grew sick of it after the first few years.
Amongst those games, one of them stood out and caught Raphael's attention; "Arcane Days" made by a company called "Future Fun", it was an immersion game that lets you experience being in a magical world.
It boasted the full experience of being a mage, it had a unique magic system as well as interesting side and main quests that get updated each year. It was a truly perfect game, those who played it could not get enough of it.
But that was fifteen years ago, now due to the new and more advanced immersion games, Arcane Days had lost its charms and also its players, all except for one.
Arcane Days was what got Raphael through his depression, it gave him something to look forward to every single day.
It got him through his university days, helped him get over his first heartbreak(the cause of the break up was Arcane Days)… and the many more that came after and it helped him retain his sanity when his job hunting felt pointless.
And now the only thing that made him feel alive was being taken away from him, and so was his will to live.
Raphael bent over his keyboard, constantly reloading the game's site "This can't be. No. No. No!!" He screamed in horror
"Keep it down you sub-human! I'm trying to make love to my wife here!" A male voice cautioned Raphael, it was Raphael's neighbor.
Raphael jerked up to his feet ignoring his neighbor's remark, stretching to his full length that stood a solid six feet two, which would have been more if he didn't slouch so much.
He placed his hands on his head, and spoke "It really is happening…impossible…what am I supposed to do with my life now?" he said, the pain and sadness evident in his voice.
Five days had passed and Raphael remained in front of his computer, waiting for a miracle to happen, for the developers to say it was a prank or maybe they would give him a special copy of the game.
He checked his email inbox, ignoring the numerous messages he got from work instead what he was expecting was a reply to at least one of the one thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven messages he sent to the Future Fun's official email address.
The messages ranged from him threatening the company to bring their servers back online, to him shamelessly begging them and even trying to bribe them with his savings.
It was now certain that Arcane Days would not be updating anymore, Raphael stood up from his chair without saying a word.
He approached the door, opened it, and was met with the rotund figure of his neighbor standing in front of his door with a raised fist, hinting that he was about to knock on Raphael's door.
The man was a short, bald man with a bulb nose, he was a man who made a living by selling used cars.
The man cleared his throat, "My wife wanted me to check up on you, she said you haven't left your room in five days and she's worried.
I know we aren't on the best of terms, but I– my wife I mean wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you" he said, breaking eye contact occasionally.
Raphael looked at him, "I'm not fine, Arcane Days has shut down for good, how can I be fine!"
"Arcane Days? Is it that nonsensical game you're always playing that makes you disturb my well-deserved sleep? If it is, then thank goodness"
Raphael looked down at the man with the most twisted look of disgust in his eyes, "Nonsensical game? Thank goodness?!" He yelled as he grabbed his neighbor by the collar, "You know nothing at all!"
Raphael's neighbor's eyes were filled with fear and concern, but mostly fear at Raphael's sudden outburst. Raphael let go of him and the man scurried off almost immediately, saying something about Raphael being a hopeless waste as he left.
"What do you know?" Raphael muttered under his breath
He closed his door without bothering to lock the door, there was no need for him to lock a door he had no plans of unlocking later.
He made his way to the rooftop of the six-story tall apartment complex he stayed at, wearing nothing but boxer shorts and a singlet.
He stood at the edge of the rooftop, peering over the bustling city, it was two in the afternoon, on a normal day he should still be at work.
Raphael closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I've cleared my browser history, wiped my hard drive, and uninstalled Arcane Days. There is no going back now"
He opened his eyes and in the corner of his eyes he saw an advertisement sign board that caught his attention, it read "With Trink's universal remote YOU CAN ALWAYS GO BACK and rewind on any channel you find yourself watching"
Raphael raised a brow at the sign board and waved it off, "Mom. Dad. Penny, and Arcane Days, we will be reunited soon" he said as he tipped himself over the edge
He felt blissful and free from all of his worries, but just for a moment, until he realized he was falling and was going to die.
"Ahhhhh" he screamed, flailing his arm and legs around, desperately trying to cling on to anything that would stop his descent, but there was nothing for him to hold on to.
The ground scarily drew nearer and nearer, until Raphael accepted his fate. Just before he collided with the ground, he saw the unmistakable bright light of a truck and then he saw darkness.