A Game of a World

The Divine Dragon

(Tiki's POV)

 I scanned my new surroundings. One moment I'm talking to Nowi about her neglecting Nah for the fiftieth time, and now I'm in a stranger's house with a bunch of people looking at me.

 "I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" I asked. 

 The only boy in the room came up to me. "I'm Caleb," he said. "The girls are Yuri, Sayori, Monika, Robyn, and Natsuki." He introduced them in order. 

 I glanced around the room. It was filled with items I did not recognise. 

 "What is this place?" I asked.

 "That's a little harder to explain. How about you hop off the table and we'll try our best to tell you?" Caleb said. 

 I looked down. "Oh, sorry," I smiled sheepishly. I jumped to the floor. 

 "Take a seat," Robyn offered. I sat next to the pink-haired girl, Natsuki.

 "So this might be a little hard to understand, but you are from a video game," Monika began. 

 I was immediately confused. "A video game?" I queried.

 "Think of it this way," Yuri said. "You've read books before?" 

 "Yes," I replied. I wondered where she was going with this. 

 "Well, a video game is essentially like a book, but you can see the story as it happens. And not just that, but you can control the characters too," Yuri explained. That somehow made sense. 

 "So it's like a book, but you can see and control the story?" I mused. "I think I get it. And I'm a character in one of these video games?" 

 "Yeah, you're getting it," Caleb nodded. 

 "Are you characters too?" I inquired.

 Robyn pulled Caleb to the couch and threw an arm around his shoulders. "We aren't. Caleb and I are siblings and this is our world." 

 "The rest of us are game characters," Monika added. 

 I took this chance to ask about something that was intriguing to me.

 "Are those outfits the ones you wear in your game?" 

 "No. These are our work uniforms. We haven't changed yet. We normally wear student uniforms as our game revolves around a school," Yuri explained. 

 I noticed a mangled heap of trash laying on the floor. Caleb's eyes followed mine.

 "If you're wondering what this is, this is the contraption we used to bring you out of your game," he said. "I don't think it works anymore." 

 He tossed it on the table and I caught a glimpse of his hand. It was burning red.

 "Did it hurt you? Your hand is all red." I stood up, ready to help. 

 "No, I'm fine. It only burns a little." He faked a smile. 

 "You should run it under cold water." Monika seemed concerned. 

 "If it makes you happy." Caleb rolled his eyes. He got up and walked away. I trailed after him.

 He stopped at what looked to be a kitchen. He turned a handle and water fell out of a metal tube. 

 "Can I help?" I asked.

 "You don't need to do anything. I'm fine," he assured me. 

 "I want to help. I feel responsible for injuring you, even if not directly," I said.