Chapter Text
A wide white stage of the Celtic arena reflected the shifting pigments of the sky of which it floated in. The tiles that make up the floor are so reflective, it could be mistaken for a chunk of the sky as anyone could clearly see the space like clouds passing above off the surface.
At the center is a humanoid figure lying on their back in a starfish position.
They're far from human though.
They have arms and legs like such with five digits and nails on each extension but, otherwise, there isn't much more of their form similar to the humanoid races the game holds...or will soon have held.
Their body is bare and blank of all identifying aspects most other races hold while the rest of their form remains on the fine line between masculine and feminine. Not only is their torso bare but their head as well, void of all features a face normally holds. Eyes, nose, mouth, and ears all absent; their scalp is no exception as it remains bald.
Their skin may be composed of ones with warm blood but the colors and shapes shifting across it are similar to the mannerisms of a chameleon.
This is mainly due to the fact your avatar was programmed to express emotions clearer than most with a cosmetic add-on.
It's simpler this way since facial recognition was impossible with the time, programming, materials, and cash it'd burn. The bugs it would cause due to the diverse customization of not only the NPCs but players as well? Forget it. While Yggdrasil was a game made ahead of its time...some aspects were still years behind the technology needed to make them work. It was simpler to just have emotes in the game with static masks.
The cosmetic added to your avatar's features is also a complement to some of your race levels as well as the mannerisms you'd expect from a faceless grotesque; so from the time on since your teams came up with the idea, you have always seen it as an act of brilliance. A step to further collaborate liveliness into a virtual world....
Though, now, it doesn't seem to matter as much.
You've been there, in the middle of what had been the downfall of many hardcore players and guilds, for what seemed like hours when in reality it had only been thirty minutes since you had logged on...
...to the most successful and heartfelt game you've ever produced, Yggdrasil.
How thirty-eight years fly by, especially since it was nearly solely focused on your creation.
To be honest, it was like living in a dream. What was it?... Oh, yeah, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life? ...Eh, that's a stretch...but it's true to a degree.
Ever since you first released the demo, the beta version, out on engine, your life has changed forever. You had never expected Yggdrasil to blow up the way it did.
In fact, you had only got the idea from a drunken online D&D session in your early adulthood.
A friend of yours was not only a sparky and annoying cleric throughout the entire campaign but is a hardcore gamer and gave you rundowns of their favorite games since they knew you were an inspiring programmer and developer.
One night, when your entire group was online together nursing on various alcoholic beverages and about to get laid out by a spider witch, your friend had mentioned how cool it would be if you created a game with as much freedom and diversity as D&D; with great graphics to accompany the quests, stories, battles, and much more. Even better, something more than a game. Something lifelike, where you feel you're in the world you're introduced to.
With the drunken support from all the other players and the liquid courage running through your system, you'd readily sworn to create a game even better than what they'd asked and then charged straight into the witch's din only for it to end up as a TPK.
Thankfully, your luck was more so with your game development than witch slaying.
Your avatar's skin shifts to a series of light pinks and yellows as you giggle at the thought, mindlessly selecting a cheerful emote out of habit when interacting with players which activates the cosmetic.
You lived up to your word and created the game, Yggdrasil, after nearly two decades of backbreaking work.
Since then, you've been swamped with attending conventions, assisting other games in development, promoting tech innovations, giving pep talks in front of thousands publicly and millions digitally, and much more. Every day was a vacation for you compared to many other's experiences.
Gaming, neuroware, and neuroscience became a part of your entire lifestyle.
But you also wanted to be a part of the game. You could have implemented an easter egg and played the game like every other player; However, you'd chosen to be an obstacle yourself for players to overcome.
Games only have so many missions they can dish out, so many items to be collected, and so many bosses to beat. Even with a game as unlimited as Yggdrasil, you wanted to keep your players attention.
And what better way than to create an unpredictable secret final boss personally controlled by the creator of the game?
So, seven years ago, there was a released avatar you'd personally play as. This world enemy was dubed Sōsaku-sha. A simple name and a little on the nose, but it was straight forward enough for a majority of players to understand.
This gave Yggdrasil a whole new dynamic in popularity for your avatar became known for its difficulty.
The steps taken to get to your realm itself is laboring, not to mention the challenge of facing you or the realm you guard. If Players were able to defeat you, there were two possible endings depending on if you are spared or killed, each with their own perks; not mentioning if they're also able to concur the citadel you occupy.
These endings prompted players to challenge you time and time again to receive one or both of the two endings...only to fail.
Out of the seven years you played as Sōsaku-sha, you alone had been beaten a mere Four times.
You giggle again in your lone arena because only one out of those four defeats were you actually spared. Players would get so riled up when they'd fight you, when you're finally beaten, they wouldn't spare the ear to listen to your final plea script.
You hardly think they considered the plea a trick; they just wanted to make sure you were dead. Kinda like someone screeching and stomping repeatedly on a bug because they saw it twitch.
Ha! Hilarious...
Murky blue flowed over the flowery colors of your cheer as your mind travels back to the end of it all. You take notice of the ticking clock at the top right of your screen.
23:50:32, 33, 34...
Less than ten minutes until midnight when your game will shut down for good.
You didn't want the game to be shut down but over the years, players started to dwindle.
Those who got burned out sought other games to indulge in and such a complex DMMO-RPG costs a lot of money to keep up for so little players it contains now. The hand of the developing corp you had partnered with, to gain the assistance needed in production, won't support your game anymore after today, quoting "While Yggdrasil was a monument to games and neurotechnology of the time, it's now a staple to history where the new wave of gaming and innovations can flourish from."
That's putting what they really said kindly.... Sales talk. Without the fancy words, what they're really saying is, "Yggdrasil isn't filling our pockets as it used to, so were going to invest in new games using your technology."
They're all just a bunch of users.... Corporate assholes....
....
When did your dream turn out like this...?
....
....
You don't plan on letting Yggdrasil fade into the dark of history, though.
You've already made plans for a very similar and updated version of the closing game to be produced. In fact, it may just be a Yggdrasil 2.
Sure, it'll probably take another decade to produce...and if you live long enough to get it done the goal will be to avoid being held tight by contract and the money grab system. You're influential enough to break off from the corporation after you finish your current work. Even though they'll have rights to your nanotech, such as the neuro-nano interface, your works from now on after will be made to keep the default core pure...to have a fun adventure. A true game.
Still, you can't help but feel...lost? No, well, maybe, but...troubled, yes.
It feels like throwing away a prized childhood toy because it has grown mold. You have sentimental attachments to the game and the grand diversity it was able to produce but you...understand why you can't hold onto it forever.
23:51:42, 43, 44...
A little over eight minutes left...
The mods put most enemy NPCs on peaceful mode for this last week. They'd certainly attack if provoked but you wanted to give players a chance to absorb the remaining sights of Yggdrasil-
-an idea pops into your head.
Normally you'd stay in the Citadel and wait for players to come and challenge you but you know for a fact none of the present players have your realm unlocked and with so little time left no player is going to be able to reach the sky arena in time.
You have a chance to leave and really watch the Yggdrasil end with a sunset. You know the best spot to watch it too.
Yet another idea pops in your head.
You can remain in character and act as Sōsaku-sha in this chaotic realm of yours, taking the time to admire the items and architecture all other players were never able to with the little time you have left.
You have a choice to make, not able to be at two places at once.
How will you use your remaining time?
I want to enjoy the sights of Yggdrasil one last time. LOST 1:1
I want to act as a true ruler and remain at the Citadel until the very end. REALM 1:1