Avilien

Revelations

In the brief time he had gotten to speak and sit with Anna, there were more questions than answers springing up out of nowhere. Then again, Anna wanted answers from Luke too, although she had yet to ask a single question as she let the idea of the entire world vanishing into Avilien sink into Luke's head. Luke wanted to know many things besides that world-shattering shocker. For instance, he wanted to know why one of the most popular girls in school now told him all of this information willingly. It felt off and didn't seem right, like there was a deep ulterior motive behind every word that came out of her pink lips. If Luke continued to stare into her warm hazel eyes, he was sure he would forget all that he was told and melt in the summer sun. The end of the world didn't seem that bad for a young teen sitting across from his crush.

Before so much as a word escaped his lips, however, Anna vanished back into her house, most likely to grab a dustpan and brush to pick up the shards of broken glass. She left her phone on the table with her character screen still wide open, so Luke took the opportunity to further snoop.

"Did Anna really just say the whole world will be transported to Avilien? What does that even mean?" Luke asked as he opened up the skills and abilities tabs on Anna's phone, all the while under the watchful gaze of Amilia.

"Everyone who has worn a pair of GTs has been undergoing a transformation. It has taken years, and now people are beginning to realise that they are no longer flesh and blood. You're data now too, thanks to that shock you received in the bedroom," explained Nebs as he, too, inspected Anna's character sheet for the first time.

"This is a little unpredictable for my liking," said Amilia as she stared at both Nebs and Luke. "Six years ago, you were cast out of Grenchitty Hollows for being a lying no-good kitten. Granted, it was I who stole Mr. Bullin's potatoes and then pinned the blame on you, but after a few hours of exile and a rumbling tummy, you returned, speaking all kinds of nonsense. Stuff about Islington and knights. And here we are," said Amilia to her brother.

"I still hate you for that you no-good smoot," hissed Nebs. "I told you that I met with our creator and he reprogrammed me and asked me to find a knight in Islington. Told me that a knight would be like nothing from my wildest dreams. Then, when I slapped you around the head for not sharing any of the stolen potatoes, we found ourselves in the back alleys with Anna and her friends and several other game guides.

"Our creator was right. I imagined a nine-foot giant with laser-beam eyes able to destroy corrupters...and I got this thing," said Nebs as he motioned towards Luke.

"Regardless of what happened six days ago, I would like it if the pair of you would stop snooping in my master's profile," said Amilia. She seemed to be annoyed and ready to pounce at Luke, as she made a point to stick her claws out.

Luke ignored Amilia's warning about snooping and continued to browse through the hundreds of talent trees and abilities within Anna's phone. Over fifty abilities and over two hundred skills were on offer. There was a number of choices, and no two people would ever go the same route. The system seemed to be tailored to the individual using it. Putting two and two together, Luke figured that the fall from his house and the data conversion were linked. He wasn't sure if he had become data like Nebs said, but he had to see for himself. Leaving Anna's phone on the table, Luke moved to the broken glass on the patio paving and picked up a single shard. Running it across the back of his hand, it hurt—but nowhere near to how the pain should have felt. Inside the deep gash that Luke created were green strands of numbers that swam around inside his body. It startled Luke, but after a few seconds, the gash closed and all remnants of pain vanished.

"Realising you're no longer human?" Anna commented as she stepped out of her house with a grey brush and dustpan. "My parents haven't even figured it out yet...guess that's the governments input, though. My friends and I found out a couple of weeks before Amilia came, and then learned the government is covering up everything regarding Avilien and this update. They either realise nothing can be done and don't want to create mass panic, or they have stumbled upon something else." Anna picked up the shards by sweeping them into a bag and then took the one from Luke to add it to her trash collection.