A/N: After over one long treacherous month, I bring to you a long awaited chapter of Illusion! I toiled and struggled throughout this chapter, mainly over a new name for Prince. I didn't want to be cheesy and I didn't want it to be out of character, so I did probably too much research that was actually needed for a simple name. Either way, here's a short chapter which I promise a new one will not take as long to bring out!
As always, reviews are a must for me to continue! And there is still a poll up as to which story people want to see have the most focus from me (I posted a similar announcement in Imbroglio, which if you haven't read then you should (Read Second Generation first, though.)!
The rest of the evening went quite quick, with Gui and I heading to the night market to buy the headsets before he dropped me off at my house. As he began to walk away, I hesitated for a moment before I ran up behind and grappled him into an awkward hug. "Uh... Thanks for today..." I said, letting go quickly.
Gui turned around, his face tinged in pink. He pulled me back to him, bringing him close to his chest. S-So close! I thought to myself, even though he was always all over me while I was Prince, this felt much different. "No, thank you. I'll see you in the game, okay?" He said softly, suddenly kissing the top of my head.
"Yes!" I blurted out loudly, quickly breaking away from him. "See you then!" In one motion I opened my door and slipped through it, truly believing that if I was with Gui any longer I would go into cardiac arrest by how fast my heart was beating. When I closed the door, I slid down the back of it while holding the headsets that I bought for my brother and I.
"What happened, Sis?" My brother suddenly appeared from around the corner, looking amused by how flustered I must have looked. "Am I going to have to be calling Gui my brother-in-law soon?" He teased ruthlessly.
"Shut up and play, Yang Ming!" I yelled as I threw his headset straight at his head. I was so caught up in my embarrassment I didn't realize he would have no idea what I was talking about; so I was left explaining the news cast as well as the meeting with Lolidragon to him as I tended to the massive bump on his head that formed from the collision with the headset. When he finally stopped whimpering like a baby, we both went to our bedrooms to begin our new adventure in the game Reveries.
I wouldn't be surprised if Lolidragon was right about those guys copying Second Life. I thought to myself as I looked over the headset, with its clear plastic visor and sensors that lined the parts of the headset that would make contact with temples and back of the head, the only difference I could honestly see was the color being blue instead of the standard red that Second Life had. Slipping underneath my blankets, I placed the headset on my face and turned it on. A sense of nostalgia fell over me as the induced sleep slowly weighed on my eyelids, soon leaving me in pitch darkness.
"Welcome to Reveries!" I heard from within the darkness, before a sudden light appeared leaving me momentarily blind. When my eyes adjusted, I noticed I was in a room that looked similar to the character creation room in Second Life. Geez, is there anything they actually made original? I thought to myself, disappointed with game makers of the day. Before I could lament any further a woman suddenly appeared in front of me, levitating about five feet from the ground. She was of course ridiculously gorgeous, with a tiny waist and barely covered curves that could make any straight man drool over her. At first I assumed she was a GM like Lolidragon was, but when I locked eyes with her I noticed how emotionless they were. Ah, she's an NPC! Making Prince without garnering suspicion just got easier! She smiled and continued, "Please give us a moment to analyze your physical attributes, and then you may begin customizing your avatar!"
A scanner ran up and down my body a couple of times, to which a variety of different 'races' of me appeared. "Please select the race you wish to play." The NPC said.
"I want to be an elf, a male elf." I replied sternly, focusing on the female elf version of me that was currently being displayed.
"I'm sorry, currently we are unable to change individuals to the opposite sex! Please select another option for customization." She replied in a robotic tone.
Shit, that's right. Originally I was a special exception because I was the first player to login to Second Life... I hadn't planned on this, jumping to the conclusion that I would be able to become male again in game. And I didn't want to reveal my identity either, so staying how I was would be out of the question as well. Not to mention not looking like Prince would probably not be very convincing either... Then the idea hit me, that's it! Just because I'm biologically female doesn't mean I can't look male!
"Is it possible to make myself more masculine?" I asked as I crossed my fingers.
"Yes, character customization is limitless with the exception of biological sex." Elf-me started to grow taller than me, her face more angular, hips smaller and body more muscular.
"I want my hair jaw length and white, with red eyes as well!" I demanded, to which the NPC obliged. The avatar closed and reopened her eyes, revealing them to be the blood red eyes I was so accustomed to. Her hair slowly became shorter, as if the hair was residing back into her scalp as the color white began to run down her hair from the roots. At this point, the female avatar could pass for Prince better than the individual who was currently using my alias. With a few tweaks, she was indistinguishable from how Prince looked in Second Life.
The NPC looked at my avatar curiously, "How interesting that this set of characteristics is so common among players, though this is the first time a female has wanted it." Her eyes darted back to me, as if remembering her job. "What would you like your name to be?"
And here is the biggest decision. I thought to myself, biting at my lip. I obviously can't call myself Prince anymore because of that damn copycat. So what name should I go by? I thought long and hard, wanting something that spoke true to myself as Prince but was also ambiguous enough to reveal my true identity. Something that people could identify me as the real Prince, but nothing that would look like a lame ripoff of my beloved character's former name. After mumbling a variety of words out loud to myself, I realized that they all shared something similar in common. "Wei*. My name will be Wei!" I announced, having finally decided. Short and simple, just like Prince.
"So it shall be done. Wei, I formally welcome you into Reveries! Enjoy your time in-game!" The NPC said as she merged my conscious into my character, causing me to black out.
Wei: Wei can mean a lot of things, depending on the 'e' that is used (I don't have the special character to define which e, and I kind of wanted to leave it that way for the readers interpretation of it.) Wei can mean power, might and prestige; as well as high, lofty and majestic. All characteristics that Prince has or is referred to (His Majesty, anyone?). There were other contenders, but this one I felt was the best fitting for Prince.