The Ancients World

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~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Safari, Temporary Camp, The Continent Of Alforza)~~~

~~~(Time: 6:15 AM)~~~

My eyes flutter open, and I see the familiar interior of our tent. Yesterday passed quickly, and now it's time for the caravan to move again. The next 4-days of straight travel will prove interesting. I'm excited to see what the place we're heading actually looks like.

The moment I lean up, Sally starts to wake up too. Breakfast will be served in an hour, and people will start getting up in about 15 minutes.

"Isn't it a little early to be getting up? We've finally been sleeping in lately..."

The beautiful elf announces in a roundabout way she's not ready to get up. All I do is crack a smile and make my way out of the tent. She's not making an effort to get up, so she'll probably sleep in. That means I'm on my own for the next hour.

I make my way to the center of the camp and see Giovanni is already up. His head turns in my direction. Getting a look at him, he's doing better since his hangover after the Spice.

"What are you doing up so early?"

I'm a little insulted that he's assuming that I don't get up this early. I'll admit, I've been lax the last few weeks. Not having to stick to a tight schedule and routine will do that for you.

"Sometimes I get up early, and other times I sleep in. But it's rare that I sleep past 9 AM. I could ask you the same thing. Out of all the days we've been traveling together. I haven't seen or heard about you being up this early."

He takes a look out toward the view we have access to. While we're not on a mountain or cliff, we're on a good-sized hill with a great view of the safari plains ahead.

Giovanni is a Player from Earth like I am. I know he spends a lot of time looking out into these beautiful landscapes and places. They rarely existed on Earth anymore. It means a lot to see places like this and know that Earth was once like it.

"I want to watch the rising of the sun. It's something I never get tired of seeing. Most of France back on Earth was lit by artificial light. Only a few hours of the day did we have sunlight..."

Some parts of Earth were more damaged by pollution than others were. France had many issues with it. The main one being the air purity. Some days, people couldn't leave their homes without protective suits.

"Yeah..."

That's all I really need to say to him. The United States had its problems, but the Eastern Hemisphere was rotten. The life expectancy was halved by the time I was born. It's better in America, but not what it once was.

"Do you still think it's there? Our home..."

Earth... He brings up something that pulls at any Players heart. While it was dying, and it was our fault. We still loved it, and we were trying our damnedest to save it. But the problems our forebearers left for us to solve were too great.

We were the cancer that took Earth's life.

If it is there, I hope that it's getting better without us. Now that its cancer is gone, it should start recovering. Life will flourish where destruction doesn't reach.

"I don't know, Gio... I miss it sometimes... It was doomed, yes... But it was home... Maybe one day we'll find a way back, but I think it's best we remain on Gaia. In The Ancients World. Earth doesn't need us. It's better off without us."

It's a hard feeling to describe. Imagine the home you grew up in burning to the ground. But instead, it's slow. Unstoppable and slow. Ever creeping. All you can do is watch helplessly as the destruction of your home is stretched out before your eyes.

Now bring that to a planetary scale. That's the closest description I could come up with. Yeah, calling us cancer for Earth is another good way. But that's... Depressing... No one wants to be called cancer...

"I remember my grandmother telling me stories about how her mother and her would take walks on the beach before they became riddled with radioactive isotopes. I wonder what that was like..."

Giovanni knows how to tell a sob story.

France had it bad. You could still walk on about 60 percent of the beaches in the US. In some parts of the world, the ocean was on fire. Burning oil spread out for thousands of miles. Oil rigs were desperate for anything. Willing to do anything for the precious resource.

"Billions have died... The ones who couldn't become Players... Sometimes, I think about them..."

He's not the only one that thinks about them.

"Did any of your family make it?"

My question is insensitive, but it's not gonna be asked any other way.

"No."

He doesn't need to say anything else. Most people who had characters before The Collision started were males. Since most people who play games are men.

While the governments of the world working together to get pods out helped. I'm sure there is still a disproportionate amount of Players between males and females.

"What about you?"

I was one of the lucky ones. I convinced my family to start playing after I made that obscene amount of money from selling an in-game item. It changed our lives. Then The Collision happened shortly after. But in the end, it doesn't matter.

I'll trade half a billion dollars for my family at any time in my life.

"They made it."

Some may consider the conversation dull or brief. But they haven't been in this situation. We're two people that know the same thing. The same terrible thing.

"You're one of the lucky ones... Divine Class... Family Alive... Everything seems to go your way, huh..."

There is bitterness in his voice. It's understandable. When someone looks at me, they see the best situation for a Player. Everything you could ever want or need. Some Players wouldn't even dream of a life like mine.

He suddenly turns and walks away. I continue looking out at the view, and after a couple of seconds, I take a deep breath. Letting it out a second later.

"Were it so true..."

The consequences of my good life are still rippling through the world. I don't know when they'll all come for me, but I know I'll have to pay the piper eventually.

After a little while, everyone starts getting up and heading to where Breakfast is served. I see Sally making her way to me, and we eat our food together.

It doesn't take long after that to start the caravan. Before you know it, 9 AM is in the rearview mirror, and we're moving in one of the carriages. It's the same one from before. Open aired and easy to relax in. The heat is already starting to rise at this point.

Xilo is across from us, meditating. She's a priestess, and I know that some religions require their leaders to mediate. Looks like the Des'merta requires it too.

"What do you think she's doing?"

The whisper from next to me is filled with curiosity. Sally knows she's meditating. The question is about why she's meditating. Is she speaking with a God? Perhaps something else?

"I don't know. Religious leaders meditate for many reasons, each depending on the religion. I could only guess with the Des'merta."

That's enough to satisfy her for now. I look toward Gio, and he's staring into the sky. His mind is probably on the conversation we had. Players get melancholy when thinking about things from our old lives on Earth.

We can't help it. It's like looking at an old photo album of your family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.237][Tier-4]

[Exp: 72/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 440] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Camping gear] [Fishing poles 2x] [Festival Garbs 2x] [4x EXP Boosts] [Princess Saliandra's Panties (Black Lace)] [Desert Warrior Nomad Set (Rare)]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heaven's light Lvl.74 325/7400] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.74 225/7400] [Slash Lvl.92 4600/21000] [Parry Lvl.68 85/6800] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controlled Fun] [Aspect of Transportation (Legendary)]