The World and its characters belong to Cyber Connect 2.
This is perhaps the strangest thing I've ever written. The symbolism won my heart over. That means you'll likely be a happier person if you don't think of this as relating to canon.
. . .
.:The Overtaker:.
Anonymity had never occurred to him in his teenaged years. His best friend's insistence was the only reason he hadn't roamed through the original World with his real name.
Now he wondered. A little desire to not be known had grown in him. It could be fun pretending to be someone else. He wasn't up for the attention. Aside from that, he'd never even had a chance to enjoy The World before things got a bit too real.
His younger sister leaped at the idea. The girl encouraged him to pull the act up another notch and truly play as someone he wasn't, even going so far as to help him craft a full personality for his new character.
He figured she got an extra kick out of the game since it meant that she was the only person who really knew that her brother and his player character barely had anything at all in common. Of course, he was still her light hearted big brother in their whispered conversations.
Being the personality game it'd become, they picked something as different as possible from his real self. Tall, mysterious, and solemn. Speaking in a careful manner was awkward, but worth the private laughs they traded. At the end of the day, he couldn't keep his voice level to save his life. Inspired, a bit of tweaking with the voice modifying settings yielded a calm, even tone that neatly covered the way his voice tended to crack with amusement.
And so, Ovan was born and shaped.
His younger sister chose to be herself. Much to his amusement, she really did use her real name. Spelled differently, but still her name nonetheless. Ina became Aina.
He teased her relentlessly about that. It was silly. Cute too. In a way, the name made him proud.
As many siblings tend to do, they made no efforts to hide their relationship. Their interaction was the only honest thing there was about Ovan. He was a lie.
Most days it'd felt wrong keeping the facade. Guilt laced his thoughts and actions. It seemed like he was hiding himself or trying to trick Aura. Except that he was fairly certain she knew. But could she see that those weren't his intentions at all? He couldn't say. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to stop.
Now he wondered. Did The World respect honesty? Although his sister remained true, she was rendered just as guilty for Ovan's living deception.
His arm throbbed sharply. A reminder. As long as he carried this burden, he was Ovan. Even outside, in the real world, he struggled to be himself. He was swallowed by his mask. No, he wasn't just consumed. He was replaced.
It was a desperate, frustrating state of being.
If anything could save at least his sister from this shadow he'd become, then it was the Bracelet. He pursued the Key with unhealthy zeal. He needed it back. Just as much as before, he needed it.
Then Aura denied him. The character that was Ovan knew symbolism well. Chased like a kite chased the clouds, he knew he was forsaken.