Oh my god. This is finally done. I'm so tired. This is one of the most exhausting things I've ever written. Combine that with personal stuff and I'm just exhausted. Roll that sweet, sweet film.

I skid along the hard packed earth. My blades digging into the ground to kill my momentum. The last blow had sent me flying, and I rose from the ground to rush my opponent. The generic green avatar hunkered down behind their oversized shields in a resort for defense. Laughing at the predictable move, I dragged my blades along the ground to generate sparks and fill my move gauge. I looked pretty awesome in the process, and I gleamed inside as I yelled two familiar words. "Golden Retaliation!" Fire consumed my blades as I knocked aside the green's shields. With a well placed slash, I relieved the poor soul of their head. The duel ended, and I smiled again; but this time, it had a hint of insanity… I found this to be surprisingly therapeutic.

I re-emerged in the real world less than a second from when I left it. Acceleration, the stasis Brain Burst creates, is really weird when you think about it. I spend an hour in the program, fighting, and it only takes less than two seconds in real life. I had to brush those thoughts off my mental desk as I rose from the bench to meander to the park's fountain. I stared at my reflection in the water. Looking happier and healthier than I remembered; but one detail never changed. My left eye's coloring. The dark brown had morphed into a piercing amethyst. The color of my other eye. That detail bugged me a lot. From what I could tell, no one else who had Brain Burst had heterochromia… And once more, my mind flashed back.

A featureless room.

The limitless expanse.

A kneeling figure. Their arms chained behind them.

One half golden armour, scuffed and dented.

The other, an uncovered torso pockmarked with wounds

He was beaten within an inch of his life.

The twisted parody of Golden Edge and Lucius Veren.

"Blade Shift"

I shook my head. Pushing even more thoughts aside, knowing well, that, thinking about it; would only give me more questions than answers. I whispered quietly, "Burst Link."

The world slammed to a halt. I sighed and opened the matchmaking list. I idly scrolled through the names, searching for one that would catch my eye. I sighed. Nothing, not a single goddamn one. No one at my skill level was in the area. There are at least 150,000 linkers in this city. How?! Why?! How in HELL is that possible! I broke the silence of the accelerated world with an angry roar. The sound echoed through the blue tinged atmosphere. I stared at my frozen body. "Don't give me that look."

Those words made me laugh; in the most literal sense, I was talking to myself. My anger now forgotten, I looked at the rusted metal of the menu. My gaze drawn to the status tab. With a gentle poke I opened the sub menu.

Name: Golden Edge

Color: Metal

Level: 2

Stats:

HP: 160

Attack: 80

Ranged Attack: N/A

Defense: 65

Speed: 90

Basic Attacks:

Slash

Stab.

Special Move:

Golden Retaliation: a move that ignores defensive buffs and heals the attacker by 50% of damage dealt.

Blade Shift: -ERROR-

Output:

01000001 01010110 01000001 01001100 01001111 01001110 00111010 00100000 01110101 01101110 01101100 01101111 01100011 01101011 01100101 01100100

I stopped dead in my tracks. Blade Shift… Was that supposed to be an ability? Error? What does that even mean? What's with all the ones and zeros? I resisted the urge to scream… Right when I thought I had a handful of answers I just got even more questions. "Burst Out!"

The world grinded into normal speed. Or is it me decelerating back to real time? Oh well… I slowly left the park, ignoring the eyes drilling into my back. At this point I didn't care what anyone else thought of me. I no longer cared, I had grown beyond that. My life was my own and no one else could tell me how to live…

I walked into the world with a smile on my face. I looked behind me and laughed, even outside of the otherworld. I wouldn't abandon my dream. My shadow stretches out at my heels. Shadowy blades seem to shine in the afternoon sun. I would not abandon my dream. It is my life.

I will take aim. I will shoot for the stars. And I will not miss.

EXCALIBUR: Unlocked

This chapter may be a bit short, but honestly this is kind of an expositional or filler type of chapter. So if like the three or four people who actually read this don't enjoy it. I don't really care. Like I've said, I've moved on.