Chapter 20: Thank you

A chuckle escaped Rylan's lips as he took a step back from Maerik.

“What kind of joke is that?”

There wasn't a trace of humor on Maerik's face as he stared into Rylan's eyes with all seriousness and repeated.

“You've been offline for a month.” Dread dragged his words as he spoke, Rylan's left eye unintentionally twitched.

“You're joking.” His voice was hallow, the lightness fading without a promise of return.

“I'm not, Are you?” Maerik took a step toward him, held him and looked deep into his brown eyes. “What happened Rylan, what happened when I left.” But Rylan couldn't hear a word that was being said, his mind wavered, wandered away from the space he currently was back to the Reverie of unending dreams with Daragura in front of him, the recollection of the deity's words sent spine shaking shivers through his soul.

Not until everyone in the game has a resonance stat.

A month had passed, a month of Maerik no doubt trying to make his people as strong as physically possible because of His meeting with Vrey. A month of rise of a stat that should have still been unknown had they not gone, had they left a question as a question.

The world was about to end and it would be their fault. A month, Time moved differently, Daragura had said. But he didn't think it to be to this extent, He'd thought at least a few hours would have passed him by, Not an entire month.

Maerik shook him once he noticed the far gone look of dread that ruled his sombre eyes.

“Are you ok?” He asked, worry coating his tone. Rylan stared and stared and kept staring till the words unknowingly left his mouth.

“How many left?”

“What?” Maerik shifted, justifiably confused by the sudden question. Rylan stood, eyes fixed on the floor like a world was hidden underneath.

“How many left without the stat?” He asked.

“Ohhh.” Maerik turned. “Follow me.” They walked out of his office and into the lobby once again, then he gestured to an active notification that hovered over the hall.

A number was left on it, 670,987,243.

“The number of Axiom players who currently have the stat.” Maerik said with a boastful smile. Rylan focused on that enormous figure, When he had left it was still a relatively unknown stat and now it was a norm.

On the day of its launch the creators of axiom online had released a memo saying they had an estimate of 600million active players, but the number Maerik had just presented him dwarfed that so much that that data was no longer even useful. Assuming the number Maerik showed was below the producers estimated figure they could have worked toward preventing it from crossing, but as it stand, they had no idea what the actual figure was, They could be missing ten, a hundred, a thousand or even a million players, It was completely out of their hands. They were doomed to watch a number climb to an uncertain end, whether far or near they couldn't determine but Rylan prayed it was The former.

“Are you ok?” Maerik asked for what felt like the tenth time today, He turned away from the notification and straight at him.

“We need to find the developers.” His words were simple.

“The developers?”

“Yes, they most definitely would have the actual figures, then we can know how long we have till it reachs the last person.” Rylan said, his voice turning to a panicked shuffled of breathy words.

“Why are you so agitated, we don't even know what happens when everyone has it.” Maerik's response reminded Rylan that he was the only one who had come across Daragura, they knew nothing about this game that was about to be their forced reality. He tunned Maerik out and sank into his own thoughts but a few words pulled him out.

“—we couldn't find the developers.” Maerik ended.

“What?” Again, a new record, even Daragura didn't upend his ideas this many times. “What’s that supposed to mean”

“We couldn't find anyone Involved with this game, no programmers, production company, distributors…Nothing.” His adjusted his volume, as if the words he was about to say clogged his throat. “—Like the game just appeared out of nothing.”

“But what about all the guidelines, the beta test, the data, the news_where did they all come from?” He knew the answer before he was even given an answer.

Maerik features held a beaten look as he answered. “The accounts that posted all that information were anonymous, no matter how hard I tried to trace it, it revealed nothing. The beta testers said one day the game just showed up at their doorsteps and money was wired into their accounts.”

“The transfer—”

“Offshore accounts, untraceable.” Maerik answered calmly as if he had anticipated that question.

“It's all part of the bridge.” Rylan said quietly to himself but not quite enough that Maerik didn't hear him.

“What bridge?” He asked, Rylan took in a deep calming breath then let it out, He was about to answer when the number on the notification was added by one.

Rylan held his breath, he wasn't religious but right then and there he prayed that nothing would happen, that the number was still far from the end and when a few seconds past with nothing happening he let himself breath then turned to reply Maerik.

“When you left I got transported to—”

\[Bridge complete\]

Rylan felt sick as he read the text but he looked up a confused expression on Maerik's face.

“Bridge?” the loud and cohesive murmur of the players filled the lobby.

His head swung to get a look at the other players that surrounded them and all their expressions matched Maerik's as they stared at the message that had simultaneously appeared on everyone's screens, It's starting.

\[Merger beginning in : 3—2—1\]

\[Logging out\]

\[Thank you for your service\]

Immediately Rylan turned to Maerik stretched out his hand and shouted. “I'll come find you.” Just as his vision went black.