Chapter 9: He is Callum Vrey

Grown out grey hair that threatened to cover his bright Violet eyes, oval face and a strong jaw line. Slim athletic build, covered by a body hog black tee and baggy tan cargo pants, The very definition of a beautiful man even with the blank expression on his face but the most alluring thing about him were the daggers that dripped blue blood. He stepped unto the deceased corpse of the beast and with one violent thrust, shoved his hand into its body and began digging through it's inside, The sounds of flesh being ripped through made Maerik flinch uncomfortably, it was disturbing and persistent but the man didn't seem to be bothered as he kept up his search till he found whatever it was he had been searching for, he stood to his feet, A glowing sphere in his hand. He turned to them and Rylan's heart thumped with fear.

“You didn't answer my question.” The man spoke with a soft melodic voice and a tone that would make a conman blush, with his eye still fixed on the dripping sphere in the palm of his hand.

Fear had taken Rylan's capacity to process information. “What?”

“Are you looking for me?”

“No—”

“Vrey.” Maerik Cut in, his eyes wide as he stared at Callum Vrey, The lost player.

Rylan heard the words but his body had refused the information, his legs were glued to the ground, This man, every fiber of his being was telling him to run for his life, to pick up Maerik now and sprint as fast as he could.

Callum turned his eyes from Rylan's frightened features and looked at Maerik.

“Guild leader.” He said as he jumped off the disintegrating carcass and began walking towards them. Disintegrating and turning to dust, Nothing like that had ever happened with any beast he killed, which could only mean this phenomenon was caused by the sphere he had harvested from it, The sphere that was no longer in his hands, one second it was and the next it had vanished along with the daggers.

The increase in his resonance stat had made him aware of the energy circulating through his surrounding, But—the amount of power he could feel coming from Vrey was on a whole other level.

“You're alive.”

“And well.” He added with a charming grin that only added fuel to the unease Rylan was feeling, Something was off.

“Thank God you two survived that fall.” He chuckled. “Come on let's go, that one wasn't the only one of his kind around here.” He said pointing at the last fragments of the beast that wafted into the air.

Rylan was hesitant but he really doubted his chances of survival if another one of that thing popped up so he pushed away the eerie feeling that gripped him and followed being  Maerik who was still limping cause of the impact of the fall.

Vrey noticed the limp and faced him. “Do you need help?”

“Yeah.” Maerik replied with a crooked smile that did nothing to hide the discomfort he was feeling.

“Alright let me take a look.” He went down on one knee and held unto his ankle. “You landed with your feet and didn't channel in time.”

“Yeah.” Maerik answered shyly. Vrey chuckled.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, “At least you didn't die.” He said, then let out the breath as he let his power flow out his palm and into Maerik's heel

“What are you—” He didn't need to complete that question, He could feel the effect, Whatever was wrong was being fixed and by the time Vrey stood back to his feet, He was healed.

“How does that feel?”

“Perfect.” Maerik replied, A notification popped into his view.

\[+23 HP\]

\[HP : 48/100\]

Vrey gave a warm smile then turned around and led them out of the area.

The environment didn't change much, the trees got wider and the walk slowly began to feel like a hike as the terrain inclined upward leading to what looked to be a cluester of mountains that created a wall that stretched as far as their eyes could see. Through out the walk Rylan could sense something incredibly unusual and settling, Beast were avoiding them, Hiding behind trees as they passed, skittering away like rats when the lights were turned on, The only possible reason he could think of for why that was happening was the presence of Vrey but that beckoned the question; how powerful was Callum Vrey?

Looking around Rylan was a little underwhelmed by the terrain that surrounded them, He had expected this place to be a spectacle but it was just a little above ordinary, and something else had been bothering him, He had not received a welcome notification from the system to indicate entry. “What is this place?” He asked.

Vrey didn't stop or turn but Rylan could tell he was thinking of the best way to answer “The border.” He finally replied like the answer was common knowledge.

Maerik raised a brow at the vague answer. “The border of what?”

“The border between Axiom online and Reality.” Vrey gave an answer that only caused more confusion.

“What do you mean reality?”

Vrey let out a sigh. “I'm sure you two have realized it.” He said then paused and turn to face them with a look absent of emotion. “_This isn't a Game.”

A wave of nausea swept over them “What do you mean by that?” Rylan pressed, Hoping the conclusion he had come to was wrong, praying that Vrey would chuckle and disprove every theory he has had.

“Astronuts use an anti gravity simulator to prepare themselves for the unpredictability of space, Axiom online is a simulation, a training to prepare players for what is to come and this is the border between said simulation and What is to come.”

Rylan's vision began to tunnel as the words sank in and it was confirmed, His intuition was Right.