[Elsword] - Formulated Hearts

Act 01 - Social Media

...

Present day. Eve was preparing for her first term of eleventh grade. At this point, students were about sixteen years of age, including the Queen.

To the humans, sixteen was a magical number. Females often hosted special birthday parties, referred to as 'Sweet Sixteens'. Eve, however, was unable to understand what was so extravagant about the celebrations. They weren't necessary, were they?

"Scan complete. All the materials have been successfully packed." the Nasod exhaled a sigh of relief, wiping off the imaginary sweat off her delicate forehead.

Setting away her paraphernalia to the side, she decided to spend some moments on social media, just to pass the time before she had to depart for class. Seating herself on a comfy, pink, spinning chair, the laptop screen was brightly lit up, the illumination reflecting to create a light against her face.

Eve moved the cursor around from her mouse, fumbling only to realize that she had an incoming friend request. It was a female named Rena, though she wasn't familiar with the girl. She seemed noticeably older than the Nasod Queen, most likely graduated from high school already, judging by her profile picture.

'To accept or decline?'

Mentally sorting out the pros and cons of each option, the pros of accepting the request outweighed the cons. Even if Rena was a creepy stalker, there was nothing she could've obtained from Eve's profile. It was nearly blank, anyway. Click. Friend request accepted.

Immediately, as if it were at the speed of light, a notification for a new message popped up. It was from none other than Rena.

'That was... abnormally fast.'

Eventually, they had a conversation going. An odd one, at that.

...

RENA: Hello there, Eve! ^^ My name is Rena, and I'm here to explain the process of how your new formulated heart and key will work! I'm sure you're excited, lots of people your age are!

EVE: Formulated heart and key? I'm sure you have the wrong person here. Eve has never ordered such useless objects...

RENA: Ordered? No, silly! Wait, do you seriously not know about this system yet?

EVE: Explanation, please? I still don't know exactly who you are...

RENA: Hmm, I guess you can say that I'm the holy being that organizes everything that has to do with love. You know, the hearts and keys and stuff, all relating to the topic of love?

EVE: Pardon me..? Eve is a Nasod. Eve is incapable of feeling these human 'emotions'. Please refrain from wasting my time. Is there anything else you must say?

RENA: Well, you did ask for an explanation, so I'll give you one. ^^;; The following information is only for those who are over sixteen years of age, make sure not to disclose it to anyone younger, or else there shall be punishments awaiting for you! But, I know that you're a good girl, so you won't spill this valuable info.

RENA: In this game, also known as real life, each player is given a key and a stimulated heart. The heart represents your physical one, and the key is used to open up the heart of someone else. Let's say we were meant to be a pair, for example. My heart could only be opened by your key, and vice-versa. The boy or girl whom you're a pair with, is basically the love of your life, or the person who you're destined to be with! The chosen one will make you happy, and you'll make them happy. It's a win-win situation, all you need to do is to find your soulmate, or they'll find you instead. :D

EVE: That sounds absurd. I will not participate in this game of yours.

RENA: But, you must. It has already been fatefully decided for you from the very beginning. You'll be consumed into this sooner or later; it isn't as bad as it sounds. Don't worry, it'll be fine. In the end, you'll find someone who cherishes you more than anything else, and wishes to stay by your side forever!

EVE: But...

RENA: Goodbye! I must pass on this information to the next participant. Take care, I wish you the best of luck in this life-changing activity! :)

...

Eve promptly smashed the power button on her device, the screen pitch-black. She refused to believe any of the nonsense she read through the past few minutes.

However, that seemingly fake prank became a reality.

A neatly wrapped package suddenly materialized on the mahogany tabletop, right beside the Queen. Only one word could describe the transition; magic.

...