Xavier stared at the sleek new VR rig set up in the corner of his master suite. It was already linked, calibrated, everything good to go. But there was a small problem.
There were hundreds of VR gas in the market. He had gotten a few titles bundled in with the rig, along with a 3-month gaming pass that unlocked a bunch more. But he had no damn idea what gas Ethan or Lucas played.
And there was no real way to find out either.
He couldn’t ask them directly, obviously. And he was sure Reva wouldn’t know. Even if she did, she probably wouldn’t tell him anymore—not after the way their last conversation ended.
So Xavier did what he always did when he needed a shortcut.
He called Oliver.
The call connected instantly. "Yo!" Oliver’s voice ca through, energetic as ever. "Angel told you were on a date with Reva at the club. Midnight Club, huh? A closed room? No food eaten? Damn, Xavier, what happened in there? Gim the juicy details."
Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose and ignored it. "I’ll tell you next ti we et. Maybe."
"Bro, co on. You can’t just—wait, what you up to now?"
"Thinking of trying out a VR ga," Xavier said. "Finally got ti. Figured I’d log in."
"You serious? Let’s gooo!" Oliver perked up. "I got an old VR rig as spare, I’ll hop on with you."
"I got my own." Xavier smirked.
"You what?" Oliver gasped. "My man! You’re finally joining the real world! Which ga you tryna play?"
"That’s the thing. I wanna play the sa ones Lucas and Ethan do. Do you know which one they play?"
There was silence for a second.
"You think I know everything about Lucas and Ethan?"
"Don’t you?"
Another pause.
"...Yeah, I do."
Xavier didn’t say anything, just waited.
Oliver exhaled. "There are only a few titles that dominate the VR market. Top of the charts. Expensive as hell, but everyone at the academy who plays VR is into it. I’m pretty damn sure Lucas and Ethan are on it too."
"What’s it called?" Xavier asked, walking over to the corner and powering up the terminal.
"Celestia Rift."
Xavier nodded and scrolled through the list of titles he’d received with the rig. A few random action gas. A racing sim. One fantasy quest thing. But Celestia Rift wasn’t on it.
He pulled up his rebate balance—5k credits left.
But before he even considered spending it, he checked the gaming pass bundle.
There it was.
[Celestia Rift — Access granted]
Xavier grinned. "I’ve got it. Gonna set it up now."
"Good. I’ll wait for you at the Fountain Square, that’s the spawn hub," Oliver said. "It’s where new players first arrive. Don’t worry, I’ll help you out. Gonna get you up to speed."
Xavier adjusted the rig’s straps, slipped the gear over his head, and laid back on the bed with the interface syncing.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let’s see what this world has to offer."
He pressed connect.
A flash of white swallowed Xavier’s vision. Lines of code flickered across like falling rain, and a soft chanical voice whispered in his ears: Welco to Celestia Rift.
[Welco to CELESTIA RIFT v3.9.12
Interstellar Fair‑Play regulations detected.
Real‑Appearance Protocol: ACTIVE
Auto‑Sync: AVAILABLE]
A glowing ssage hovered in front of him, suspended in space.
"Begin character creation?"
A full-body hologram of himself flickered to life. He stared at the figure rotating slowly—his own height, sa sharp eyes, sa lean fra. Thanks to the Real-Appearance Protocols, most visual tweaks were locked, but so sliders blinked—hair color, eye color, skin tone. He could’ve gone wild with purple eyes or silver hair, but he sighed and just hit auto. The model snapped to match exactly how he looked in real life. Black hair, red eyes, normal build of an 18 year old.
The next screen rolled in with a shimr: Choose Race.
⇒Race selection
A short nu popped up:
[Human (baseline)
Starborn (luminous eyes, night‑vision)
Drakonid (scales, heat‑resistance)
Sylph (glide, light‑step)
chari (cyber implants, tech affinity)]
Each race had small buffs and traits, but none of them mattered to him.
He stuck with Human.
Then ca the class nu.
⇒Class list
Another window slid in:
[ Swordsman
Mage
Archer
Assassin
Paladin
Warlock
Summoner
Monk
No Class (System will assign later)]
Xavier tapped No Class.
He wasn’t here to grind quests or build gear sets. He just needed to get in, complete the damn system task, maybe ss with Lucas and Ethan if the opportunity ca. No reason to put effort into a class. Let the ga figure it out later.
The ga flashed a few more options—guild settings, world emotes, backstory fields. He ignored them and slamd save.
The screen fractured like glass, and his feet hit smooth, white stone. He blinked.
A massive circular plaza stretched around him, glowing faintly under twin suns. In the center stood a towering silver fountain. Water spiraled into the air like tendrils of liquid light, ford constellations mid-air, and collapsed back with a soft hum. Above, the sky was painted in shades of deep lavender and burnt gold, broken by floating islands that moved like whales drifting through clouds.
The square was packed. Players filled the area, laughing, trading, running in all directions.
A Drakonid with crimson scales and a battleaxe walked past him. A Sylph with neon wings jumped from a balcony and glided over the crowd, landing near an armor stall. Two chari twins sat cross-legged, projecting tiny combat drones in a mock battle on the stone floor. Even a couple of newbies were sitting near the fountain’s edge, snapping pictures and waving at nothing like idiots.
Stalls lined the sides of the plaza, so run by players, others by hawking NPCs shouting about potion discounts, airship tickets, and rare gear. One area looked like a guild recruitnt zone. Another led into a building with glowing sigils labeled: Quest Hall. Several arched gates led to different districts, each pulsing with color—forest green, void purple, tallic blue. A giant notice board floated above them all, cycling event updates and raid alerts in real ti.
[Welco to Celestia Rift.]
[You are registered as: VISITOR]
Xavier stepped forward and felt the world respond. The warmth of the twin suns on his skin, the sll of roasted at from a nearby vendor, the sound of clinking glass, distant laughter, and a soft lody playing from sowhere far off.
It felt...real.
He scanned the crowd lazily. "Alright, Oliver. Where the hell are you?"
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