His reflection on the broken black glass was slightly out of place, Noth looked like if when it was about to reach for a door it opened itself, a mix of confusion and weariness, that don’t belong to the cracked phone in his hand.

“this... can’t be”

As usual, the phone looked dead, it wasn’t strictly necessary the hologram wouldn’t show so unless he took the call h couldn’t know who was calling.

“right?”

When he looked up after an undetermined amount of time he was alone, Maycon was gone just as suddenly as he arrived.

The phone wasn’t vibrating anymore, he looked around, with sudden movements looking for something that wasn’t there. The room was empty, the door closed and the light of the projected educational film still playing. Now talking something about how the partnership that employees must have just like how AR and DD fused their stock share to create the actual Iridium Horizon.

Noth took a hand to his head and murmured.

“Was I sleeping the whole time?”

After shaking his head in denial, he checked the phone after taking a long breath. The 3d light was being projected and the familiar desktop was there to see, was 00:01 am, the date 5 of November, nothing out of the status quo.

“Right happy birthday to me I guess”

However, his newfound calmness would go away when a number 1 started to materialize like a bookmark out of the cracked panel. With the symbol of dd under it.

But with a clear disappointment, was just a message that someone had pinged him on the chat, while on a random conversation went on.

...

Gray: I’m telling you that I’m not going to partake such thing,

Red: C'mon Gray-chan we need to show the newbie that we are all cool guys.

Blue: You should start by killing yourself, so the level of “coolness” of the chat could rise meteorically.

Gray: That has nothing to do with me, I bare have time to log-in even more to partake such waste of time.

Red: Blue, I will deal with you later. Now help me convince gray that we need everyone on this.

Blue: sure but you will convince white, as you said @Everyone.

Red: haha, let’s not bring white-chan to this…

Red: You know that is bullshit, I didn’t hit on her that is bullshit

White: WHO IS ON WHAT!

Red: oh hey mark…

White: Red, look like is I leave for a half an hour and you are already asking for another death sentence. *take out banhammer*

Red: White, my love, I’m new men I turned the leaf there is no need for you to…

*Red have been banned temporarily for 10 min*

Blue: *whistle* there goes a flattened Red...

White: I will not be so lenient the next time. That is for you too Blue!

Blue: Hey, hey. I was just warning you as a good friend that I’m

Grey: hello

White: Grey, how long, have been ages since we last meet.

…

Haha, was all just a regular tag, I must have become paranoid. They wouldn’t sudden comeback now.

Looking at the white smoke coming out from the vents, outside Noth gaze was lost inside the revolving steam gas. When once again the phone vibrated, but this time there wasn’t his previous hesitation.

Was message of Red.

We the four heavenly kings, to celebrate the discovery of the curse powers of White, will hold a game for all our illustrious members. Where each of us will leave a quest and a prize for one of the other 4 and you, Black, to find it.

Blue was against it, but after I showed your + 10years account I got them to shut up and let you in the fun.

Anyway, as you are still new to the chat you don’t need to make a game, however, you can play to your heart's content. As there was 4 of us would have been 4 days of the festival, however, White is too shy and not because she threatened to tore my head off. While Yellow is traveling, so only I and Blue will make today's event. They will be 14 of November and 15 of November. The clue will be left when we find it fit, now warrior battle for the wonderful praises and glory.

Soon a message of White followed.

Just ignore him, he is a sad man that can’t even stay put for 5 minutes and start trash talking. Sorry, new guy to have to deal with that nutjob.

And without delay another message of Red.

Don’t fall for White trickery, she will say all kind of deceiving things but she is after my wonderful treasures!

This exchange would go for another 3 to 5 other short private message, even if look like they are talking, is not with Noth but with each other. What brought a sad smile to his face as he typed on the phone.

Blue: No let him forever there, don’t let the crazy run amok

*Red ban is lifted*

Red: I Live!

Blue: tsp.

Red: Hey!

Black: Back, guys

Red: Black you are also alive

Black: or so it seems

White: wb black

Blue: *thumbs up*

Red: I told you, @Gray, that he is real and not something created from my imagination, right @Blue…

Blue: I just stated the most likely scenario, based on all evidence that you had provided us.

Gray: Hi little guy, kinda edgy.

Black: I know, I thought you guys had already run out of colors

Blue: At least isn’t as bad as Orange, forever to never find a rhyme mate.

Red: Blue go make your jokes somewhere you are making the air here stale.

Blue: You just can’t comprehend the art of making puns.

Gray: you know… that wasn’t a pun…

Blue: gray you allied yourself with that dirty red?

Gray: he pays me with cookies and milk.

Blue: your sell out

Gray: a color had to do what a color had to do.

Black: talking about things we had to do

Black: I need to play a… VR game…

White: What kind of VR

Gray: Go away White, you are already drunk

Red: Go away White, you are already drunk

Blue: Go away White, you are already drunk

White: go drink a bucket of Moonstone and leave me alone.

Black: Well is just that I played and feel a lot more real than I imagined, is that normal?

Red: What? black-chan had never got into a VR game? where you live the Colony of Titan?

Blue: You can’t say anything, your connection is so stable as living in the in the gas gigantic itself

Blue: correction you are the gas gigantic

Grey: I think you are sleepy Blue, you aren’t at your full potential today.

Blue: …

Red: haha that right *high five grey*

Grey: You also is kind of a jerk telling all that stuff for our xxXDark_Lord666Xxx

Red: ahhh *sad lower hand*

White: Is normal @Black, many people got overwhelmed on the first experience on VR.

Black: yhee, is just…I feel kind bad and...

Blue: go sleep @Red you are drunk

Red: Let’s see who laugh last on the great Festival in the day in a few days. When I beat you there you will be the one drunk.

Grey: you still on that guys? grow up.

Blue: said the guy who got the last two Festivals prizes in a row…

Grey: haha, w-what are you talking about *whistle*

Red: *Stare*

Blue: *Stare*

Grey: ok, ok stop working together this gives me shiver on the spine.

White: wait, you guys still going on this thing? Haven’t just promised me @Red?

Red: Wait I change the Title as I promised, is not more “The great Curse of the White God” but “The awakening of the opposite of black curse powers”, see I took out your name.

Blue: You really suck at naming thing don’t you?

Grey: I have to agree

Red: guys…

White: This doesn't change anything!

Blue: *whisper banhammer red, that is the only way*

Red: Cut out of that Blue!

Grey: *whisper give money to grey, that is the only way, also banhammer red*

Red: You Too Grey!

White: Arrgg….

Blue: Critical mass point reach abort operation

Red: I remember my company just have a meeting now...haha, what bad time…

…

Their conversation went on for some time, completely forgetting the existence of black.

“What the hell I want? I bare meet this person. Well, today is finally over.”

Noth took out while the Good Directory so. part 1 finished with the example of the destruction that evil hologram and cyborg people break the unity of a work environment just like violent behavior.

----------

The dim light of the neon sign illuminated between the steam of the forgotten corner that was Westerner Vents. The hooded figured surrounded in shadows and the constantly high humidity changed completely when he set the foot back to the proper New Iridium City or just Iridium City as the old part of the city is not just known as the black city, the burnt city, and the old iridium city. Almost no one aside from the official documents still considers this two places to be part of the same city.

And the New Iridium City just like the name overflow with all the liveness and energy of the young. It was not one person less movement than the time Noth arrived, in fact, could be said that the late in the night it was the more chaotic the streets looked.

From time to time flying cars would fly alongside the police, while at the ground it wasn’t weird to find the area of glass ground where you could see many meters below, where the trains moved like snakes bringing data, people and objects to all corners of the city.

He had walked as usual with his head slightly down and the mind far from reality, however when he got in front of the silver Iridium North Station he stopped. There he stood gazing at the silhouettes moving between the station architecture. The white boxy shape of the Harvesters, loading the canisters inside the train, was unmistakable and the bright lit yellow and orange from it gave away any chance of concealment.

The sound of laughter and conversation could be heard everywhere, some with their partner at their side, other gazing the nothingness in front of them and talking while making small gestures with their hands. However, all of them moving at a breakneck speed.

Some in their uniform that mirrored the colors of the skyscrapers around, with the white as a base and one bright of the four bright colors, blue, red, yellow and green. With the Police the only allowed to use three colors, Red, Blue, and white.

At rare moments, you could spot someone flying alongside the flying cars or just hovering above even from the most of the air highways. However aside from a few “fans” most of the people keep going on their own business, however, they would spare a glance either filled with jealousy or even awe, sometimes disgust and anger.

Or at least that what should happen.

When Noth saw in corner of his vision 3 men in red moving to his collision he quickly sidestepped them, but something inside of him tell that he should take even more distance.

And good that he had done, because not far from where he was, the trio stopped in the middle of the square and like a magician, moved their hand a metallic staff and quick the world around them started to change.

The ground turned into a molten lava, the white plaster of the skyscrapers turned into an ancient tree bark, the high-tech cars of the police department turned into chimeras, as a mix of a bat, snakes, and frog. The baseball shaped police robots turned into floating eyeballs and soon the whole world turned into an ancient battlefield, like if someone had teleported them into a different dimension.

Without any suspense, people got scared and confusion insured, people moving left and right, the traffic of any flying person, car or train had to be stopped. Even if you could see that aside from the block where the “magic” was “conjured”, the world was the same highly advanced and colored city.

The four red magicians, turned into magical paladins with the light wings and flaming swords, raising like a phoenix to the sky, screaming the name of their cause.

“FOR THE FATHER HORUS! FOR MOTHER EARTH! YOUR SONS WILL CLEAN THE THIS CURSED PLACE! AND BRING GLORY ONCE AGAIN TO HUMANITY!”

The now winged warriors, moved around attacking the monsters and repeating, again and again, their cause. Every time a police basketball-shaped robot flow into the perimeter of the “magic” that they had archived they turned into that flying eyes and the warriors used their “sacred oath” to bound them to attack the chimeras control by the police officers.

However even before the police could react, that same person that was flying alongside the cars also moved their hands and soon transformed into warrior, mages, robots, orcs, and elves. Each armed with their weapon of choice, lightning sabers, automatic machine guns, bow and arrow, RPG’s, and attacked the “Sons of Horus”. Some attacked with stern seriousness, other laughed the name of their guild or the “hero name” they just invented for themselves.

While it was clear that the “Sons of Horus” could bend the reality more than the newly transformed defenders, as used not only their own flaming swords and control “flying eyes” they could interfere with the movements of their enemies and each time their sword hit’s true flying men turned into flames.

The whole situation had been going for 5 minutes already, and as more and more “chimeras” police cars arrived tighter become the situation of the 4 winged warriors. However, they had become true worried was when someone just teletransported in. Unlike the others that are flying like some sort of superhero or astronaut, this one just surged in the air many meters above the confusion.

Was that moment that the warrior decided to work together and ignore the “small fries” to deal with this new arrival. The one that had arrived was too far away to get a good look, so aside from confirming its existence wasn’t even sure of its gender.

The flying eyeballs keep the others busy while this one attacked each from a side the men hovering far in the sky. When suddenly the whole world started to fail. Like a holographic glitch, the image of the arch trees and the boiling lava was falling back into its original state.

The winged warrior was taken aback by the situation and hesitated to continue their attack when in a blink of an eye the men teletransported behind them and hit him with looked to be a normal classic one-handed sword. The winged warrior facade broke in small particles back to that red hooded holding a metal staff, falling from the sky.

The other two tried to slash the newcomer but he was too fast and just tell transported away from the problem. The chimeras turned back into police cars and the dozen flying eyes turned back into the special riot control flying balls.

Noticing that the situation turned for the worse, they exchanged one last gaze while the two they divided into 3, one fly straight to save the falling college. One charged to the blob of hovering police formation and the last stab in the direction of the teleporting “hero”.

The result was already in place, the police got hold of the one one that charged straight at them in a matter of half of a minute and not much after was followed by the charging winged warrior that didn’t have any chance in attacking the winged warrior.

The last one manages to catch his fallen friend not far from where Noth stood. WHere they both exchanged a glance and could see the face of him clearly. It was a boy younger than Noth, but he looked at least 10 times more battle-hardened than Noth, if both are put side by side, just the serious gaze and cut a scar in his cheek could make people have trouble tell who was really the oldest.

On another hand, while Noth couldn’t gain in seriousness or hardness of the boy, he looked all this around him with a complacent face was incredibly void of emotions. Like a straggler returning from war would often be like, Noth looked as if he had long ago burned off all the fuel that was in the thing called emotions.

Everything around looked extremely banal and trivial, their great entrance, the world-changing hacker, the attack of the police and “noble players” force and even their doomed last stand, nothing even changed his eyes.

In the end, he used the last bit of his hacker skills and turned the floating train into a flying snake, that he latched onto it and flow away. However, neither of them would forget the face of the one that watched today.

..

There are many benches around but could be counted on one hand the one using it.

And between them, Noth. The mask informed that the next train for the north side of Iridium City would leave in 10 minutes, however, he decided to take off the mask and take a deep breath of the air here.

“How was like my grandfather used to tell? Newly-made car?

Noth himself feel funny how he used an expression that himself never experienced, for him at most would be the scent of newly opened electronic, was the closest to such “new smell”.

“I wonder how is to live a place where you still can drive a car.”

He said he gazed at the colorful lit streets, with a strategically positioned ad so doesn't break the law of Retina Augmented Reality and Immersion Avatar Visual Pollution Act. While the street doesn't have one car running on the ground. Only people moving all around.

For a couple of minutes, he just absorbed the ambient sound and feeling, while his mind started to wander in his memories. However, he couldn’t see but on the screen of his gas mask, a series of information started to pass.

Sudden in front of him a beautiful woman, appeared, Noth was taken back but before he could talk anything the woman started.

“Hello, are you tired?”

“oh, hi”

Noth said as a reflex condition, without having even the chance to recognize to whom he was talking to.

“No, I’m fine...”

“Is good to hear that, I’m Kimishi you can call me Kim”

She said with a bright white smile and leaning slightly forward, in a mix of happiness and relieve

“I notice you sitting there, I don’t see you often for this region”

“No, I just take…”

Noth turned to the station, but finally going back to his sense he stopped sentence and looked at the girl.

“I see, that is good, don’t you want to do something better than just stay seated here

“No, there is no need.”

Noth couldn’t find words fast enough when he noticed that she was a blond woman with a ponytail and wide smile. For some reason it makes his mood turn a to worse and he feels that make any noise an extreme troublesome task.

“You don’t have nothing to do now right? why don't you go with me to a hot place? I promise that you warm your heart and it will melt on your tongue”

“I’m sorry but you are annoying me could you leave”

Noth started to connect the dots and as the seconds pass, his bad mood turned back into ice as he looked down to the mask in his hand that still written the last part of the message.

“Oh, don’t say that big guy, don’t be angry with Kim please, you want to have a hot time? I can get you the best discount on our Fire-type DD Longues. What did you say? don’t want to hit on me?”

“I - SAID - ENOUGH!”

Noth sudden jumped to his feet and the woman disappeared out of his view, however even with him having sudden raised his voice no one really noticed anything. Aside from some police silver robots that got slightly closer to where he was.

After scratching his head in frustration Noth moved to the closest Hotel and after he refused the third time a DD Longue and a DD Avatar special service he passed one of his cards.

Because he was still using the gas-mask he could see projected in his eyes the numbers going down rapidly, 15760,55 credits quick changed to 12760,55 credits. He gave an inquisitive glance at the attendant, but this one explained that a regular non-DD-Avatar, was at least this much nowadays.

He shacked his head and just took his key to his room.

“Well, have more space than I imagined. I should check to see if I’m not in a penthouse by mistake - snorted - let see for the good side, At least today I will not have to worry about getting there late.”

The room was small as possible, the one person bed already occupied ⅓ of the space where the other ⅓ was the small shower.

He checked the broken phone one last time, the battery was about to end. And here there wasn’t any place that connected his outdated phone. So he decided to not touch it and pray that tomorrow would have enough battery for the day.

Noth turned around, not just one or two but many times on his bed would be another hour until he manages to sleep of pure tiredness.

However, his sleep wasn’t a tranquil one.