Overwhelming Firepower

Once he was done drinking his coffee, Lucen placed the empty cup in the sink and returned to his room.

The monitor remained off. For some reason, he did not feel like playing Aerok anymore. The thought itself was strange.

He had spent countless hours on the game. There had been times when he skipped meals, ignored messages, and stayed awake until sunrise because he wanted to clear one more quest or defeat one more boss.

Yet now, merely thinking about opening the game made his head ache. Lucen sat down on his bed and picked up his phone.

Several notifications awaited him: messages, reminders, advertisements, and updates from applications he barely remembered installing.

They were ordinary things he saw every day, yet for some reason, the sight of them made his eyes sting.

Lucen stared at the screen. ”What’s wrong with me?” He laughed quietly and wiped the corner of his eye.

He stopped thinking about the game for a second and read the messages on his phone instead.

One message was reminding him to pay a bill. Another was from someone asking if he wanted to eat outside later.

There were advertisements for games he had no intention of buying and notifications from applications he barely remembered installing.

It was something ordinary, but for some reason, he thought it was rather nostalgic.

He opened one of the messages.

[You alive?]

Lucen smiled.

[Unfortunately.]

The reply came almost immediately.

[Wow. He lives.]

[Want to go out later?]

Lucen looked at the name of the person sending him the message. This person was an old friend. They had been friends since high school.

For some reason, seeing the name made him feel relieved.

[Sure. Where?]

A location was sent almost immediately.

It was a restaurant they used to visit whenever they had enough money to eat somewhere slightly better than a convenience store.

Lucen smiled.

[Give me an hour.]

[You better actually come.]

Lucen placed the phone beside him. For several seconds, he simply sat there, and the room was quiet.

Of course, it was quiet; he was the only one who lived here. His parents loved to travel around. So he had the entire house to himself, which made him feel like those eroge protagonists.

Unfortunately, unlike those protagonists, no beautiful childhood friend lived next door, no mysterious transfer student had suddenly appeared in his class, and no unrelated girl had somehow started calling him Big Brother.

”... Big Brother?...” The words had left his mouth without him realizing it. ”Seriously, what kind of dream did I have?”

He shook his head and decided to have a shower to clear his mind. Once he was done, he was about to leave the house to meet with his friend when he saw a photo of him and his parents.

He was standing between the two. When he looked at their faces, he felt that their faces looked wrong. The longer he stared at the photograph, the more unfamiliar their faces seemed.

His father’s smile looked wrong. His mother’s eyes looked wrong. Even the way they stood beside him felt strange.

Lucen picked up the frame. ”What the f*ck?”

He knew where the picture had been taken. He remembered the trip. He remembered complaining about the heat.

He remembered his mother forcing the three of them to take several pictures because she disliked how she looked in the first few. The memories were there.

They were so clear, with so much detail. Yet when Lucen looked at his parents, another image appeared in his mind.

A large man with a stern face and broad shoulders. An iron presence that made everyone around him feel safe. A beautiful, elegant woman who was warm like the sun. A woman whose smile somehow made his chest hurt.

Lucen nearly dropped the photograph. The images vanished as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving only the familiar faces of his parents.

His parents were normal. Exactly as he remembered them. Lucen pressed a hand against his forehead.

”Seriously, what the f*ck is happening?... Did I play too much last night?”

Lucen placed the photograph back where he had found it. He stared at it for another few seconds.

Nothing had changed; his father was still his father, and his mother was still his mother. The unfamiliar faces that had appeared in his mind were gone.

Lucen shook his head. ”I really need to touch grass.”

He grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys before leaving the house. The moment he stepped outside, the strange feeling returned.

Cars passed along the road. People walked while staring at their phones. A delivery rider stopped in front of a nearby house. Somewhere in the distance, someone was arguing loudly about parking.

Lucen stood near the gate and simply watched. Everything felt familiar. Yet at the same time, it felt as though he had not seen any of it in years.

He looked at the sky and saw a passing airplane. He felt weird, as for a second he thought about airships. ’I guess I really was playing games too much.’

Lucen scratched his head as he began walking. The restaurant was not far from his house, and he decided against taking a ride. Perhaps some fresh air would help clear his head.

As he walked, his eyes kept drifting toward things he normally ignored.

The streetlights, the electrical wires, the passing cars, and even the billboards. When he saw a convenience store, he felt an urge to enter. He checked the time and saw that it was still early, so he entered the convenience store.

The cold air from the air conditioner immediately hit him. Rows of drinks filled the refrigerators. Instant noodles occupied one aisle. Snacks, toiletries, canned food, and countless other ordinary things surrounded him.

The familiar sight inexplicably made Lucen feel as though he were about to tear up, which confused him again. He stopped himself from shedding tears in a convenience store.

’Sh*t! Should I get my head examined?’

Lucen rubbed his eyes and continued walking through the convenience store. Since he had already entered, he might as well buy something.

He walked toward the refrigerators and stared at the rows of drinks behind the glass doors. Bottled water, coffee, soda, juice, and his favorite energy drinks. There were so many choices that Lucen found himself standing there longer than necessary.

Lucen eventually grabbed one of his favorite energy drinks, along with a few snacks he had not eaten in a while.

He paid for everything and left the convenience store. The moment he opened the can and took a sip, Lucen let out a satisfied breath.

”Damn. I needed that.”

Whatever strange mood had followed him since waking finally seemed to ease.

Lucen continued toward the restaurant while drinking, deciding that he had probably just spent too much time playing games the previous night.

By the time he arrived, his old friend was already waiting outside. ”You’re late.”

”Who cares? I came, didn’t I?” The two looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

”Heh, it’s been a long time, man.”

”Long time? We just played an MMO a few days ago.”

”Nah, I meant it’s been a long time since we saw each other face to face.”

”Really? Didn’t we meet a few days ago?”

”Try a few months ago.”

Lucen paused. ”A few months?”

His friend raised an eyebrow. ”Yes. It’s been a few months. You really have been living like a shut-in.”

Lucen laughed awkwardly. ”I guess time passed faster than I thought.”

His friend shrugged his shoulders. ”Well, that’s to be expected from a gamer like you. So, still streaming?”

”Yeah, seeing as that’s my main source of income.”

His friend nodded. ”Makes sense. You always did manage to turn staying indoors into something profitable.”

”Jealous?”

”Deeply.”

The two laughed and entered the restaurant. They ordered the same meals they always did whenever they came there, then spent the next hour catching up.

They talked about games, old classmates, streamers they both watched, and the MMO they had played a few days earlier.

For the first time since waking up, Lucen stopped thinking about the strange dream. Everything felt normal again.

”So, what are you streaming tonight?”

Lucen shrugged. ”Maybe Aerok.”

”Again?”

”Well, it is my favorite game. Also, did you hear it’s getting a new route? I’m f*cking excited to play that.”

”It’s just going to be like a DLC at most.”

”I don’t think so. This new route seems like it’s going to be longer than the original.”

”If you say so.”

”Anyway, wanna come to a place to play a few games like old times? We can even call a few of the others and play some DnD.”

His friend smiled. ”Heh, that sounds like fun. Alright then, let’s get the old gang together again.”

”Let’s do this!” Lucen replied with excitement.

They spent another few minutes discussing when they should play DnD, after which they discussed the old days and what the old gang was doing nowadays.

By the time they left the restaurant, Lucen’s earlier unease had almost completely disappeared.

The two parted ways at the corner, promising to message the others later. Lucen watched his friend leave before turning toward home.

Watching his friend disappear in the crowd, Lucen smiled to himself. ’Maybe I really did just need to touch grass.’

His phone suddenly vibrated. A news alert appeared on the screen.

[Unusual atmospheric disturbance detected over several regions.]

Lucen stared at it for a moment before shrugging. He found the news alert a little weird but dismissed it as he put his phone back in his pocket. Today was a good day after all.