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 games 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 games 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 came through, energetic as ever. "Angel told me 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? Gimme the juicy details."
Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose and ignored it. "I’ll tell you next time we meet. Maybe."
"Bro, come on. You can’t just—wait, what you up to now?"
"Thinking of trying out a VR game," Xavier said. "Finally got time. 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 game you tryna play?"
"That’s the thing. I wanna play the same 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 games. 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 mechanical voice whispered in his ears: Welcome to Celestia Rift.
[Welcome to CELESTIA RIFT v3.9.12
Interstellar Fair‑Play regulations detected.
Real‑Appearance Protocol: ACTIVE
Auto‑Sync: AVAILABLE]
A glowing message 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, same sharp eyes, same lean frame. Thanks to the Real-Appearance Protocols, most visual tweaks were locked, but some 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 shimmer: Choose Race.
⇒Race selection
A short menu popped up:
[Human (baseline)
Starborn (luminous eyes, night‑vision)
Drakonid (scales, heat‑resistance)
Sylph (glide, light‑step)
Mechari (cyber implants, +tech affinity)]
Each race had small buffs and traits, but none of them mattered to him.
He stuck with Human.
Then came the class menu.
⇒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 mess with Lucas and Ethan if the opportunity came. No reason to put effort into a class. Let the game figure it out later.
The game flashed a few more options—guild settings, world emotes, backstory fields. He ignored them and slammed 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, formed 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 Mechari 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, some run by players, others by hawking NPCs shouting about potion discounts, airship tickets, and rare gear. One area looked like a guild recruitment 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, metallic blue. A giant notice board floated above them all, cycling event updates and raid alerts in real time.
[Welcome 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 smell of roasted meat from a nearby vendor, the sound of clinking glass, distant laughter, and a soft melody playing from somewhere far off.
It felt...real.
He scanned the crowd lazily. "Alright, Oliver. Where the hell are you?"