MIND GAMES: Guild Tryouts

Chapter 6

"You don't think you have an Aspect?" Helmet reiterates to Jay.

—Jay doesn't know how to explain himself further to Helmet, and awkwardly looks around at the floor. Helmet, still taken back from what Jay told him, checks his surroundings once again.

The two of them were right inside of Spring Plaza, with the entrance being several meters away. Helmet could spot tourists and other players spot him out, and another group of his fans was approaching. Helmet wanted to further this conversation, as he had an idea.

As Jay silently looks back up to meet Helmet's visor, he's greeted with a hand.

"grab my hand for a sec', will ya?" Helmet says.

Jay looks behind Helmet to see the group of players start to prance over to their location. Jay looks up to Helmet, nods, and grabs hold of him. Helmet then opens up his game menu and selects the >Teleport< option. Jay hears Helmet mutter some words under his breath, but because of his helmet, he couldn't make out where Helmet initiated the teleport to.

After a brief moment, both players were consumed with a bright blue light, with several white rays shining out in every direction. Jay could feel dizziness similar to the feeling of motion when a player logs in or logs out.

The entire time, Helmet looks unphased, as if he was used to the feeling. The players. approaching Helmet gasped at the sight, and then sighed in depression as their role model left their sights completely. Jay and Helmet had disappeared.

Jay's vision—slowly coming back to him—was now starting to lose the bright light that had consumed him and Helmet within his peripherals. Instead of Spring Plaza, the two players were now in a dense forest area.

Trees taller than any building in Jay's real-life neighborhood sprouted everywhere, leaving most of the forest floor scattered with patterns of shadows. Roots laid dormant on the paths Jay could spot around them.

Helmet still looks unphased. He puts both hands in his pockets and looks towards Jay.

"Show me what it looks like when you try to use your Aspect."

Jay didn't know if Helmet took him here in particular to show him something or to simply get away from his fans.

"Hey Helmet, why do you ditch your fans all the time?" Jay asks.

Helmet doesn't respond.

"—Is it because you don't like the attention?"

Helmet doesn't respond.

"Or maybe it's because of—"

"Shut up and show me your Aspect!" Helmet says, being impatient, "I'm on schedule..."

"Alright then." Jay says, "*Aspect on*!"

As soon as he called out to his Aspect, his entire body froze. To Helmet it looked like nothing had initially happened, but Jay's side of the story was a completely different tale. A feeling of dread as he felt his spine twitch crept into his brain. In a flash, all of his muscles started to flex themselves at the same time. Jay grits his teeth at the sudden pressure.

Helmet notices Jay struggling to breathe and associates it with his odd stance. Instead of standing straight and still, Jay had arches forward, with his knees and elbows bent. The strain on Jay's body seemed to fixate him into this position, and Jay couldn't move.

It felt like he was lifting something hefty in every place in his body. Jay tried to speak, but no words left his mouth. He couldn't find time to breathe either, causing him to feel light-headed.