Creation began on 06-23-16
Creation ended on 10-02-16
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Eva Art Online: Rules
Shinji had never seen so many people terrified to discover their main menu windows in this virtual realm to lack a crucial element that was supposed to be present. Not a single player's window had the option for logging out of Survival Times available. As they all pondered and questioned one another on how they were going to get out, Shinji tried to remain calm. He just suspected that it was probably a small glitch that would resolve itself soon.
"Who makes a game without the Log Out option?!" He heard a woman yell out.
"I was one of the beta testers, and this wasn't like this at all!" A man shouted.
"May I have everyone's attention, please?" A woman's voice called out through what sounded like a series of megaphones, and Shinji looked up and saw an ethereal woman dressed in flowing, white robes. "Thank you. Now, in case some of you didn't get the memo, the rules of the game have changed drastically to ensure total performance from each and every last one of you. To give you an incentive to pay attention, your ability to log out of the game has been removed from your menus."
Some of the people present demanded to know, but Shinji remained silent.
"I'm sure some of you are familiar with the concept of a new world order, right?" The woman questioned. "This is survival of the most desperate to escape the game. The only way to get back to the external realm…is to win the game, and those of you that have played the game in its initial stages know how to do that. The beta testers shall serve as your information holders, explaining what they know and so on."
Of course, Shinji himself had been a beta tester, as well, but not by choice. It was only because his aunt wanted him out of the house for longer hours than there were in a day. Even if he had developed some measure of experience playing Survival Times, it was hardly a reason to play the game. Mostly, it was just to do one of the tag lines of the game, "Escape your old realm, step into another realm."
"For those of you that still don't understand how to win the game, here are the basics of the layout," the woman explained further. "The world of the game is broken into twelve realms that circle a thirteenth realm. Each realm represents a different gathering of individuals based on their chosen portrayals. You're either a gunslinger, a pirate, a zombie, a fairy or some other type of creature designed to fit in the game. Each realm has one-hundred layers or levels, each filled with enemies or obstacles for you to face in order to increase your skill set and accessibility to greater items to improve your survival rates. Each realm can be visited by any number of you, either solo or as parties, and will record your achievements for the duration of your time there. If your achievements include defeating a monster boss or a guardian of a treasure trove, the rewards can include additional weapons, healing remedies, or, like the video games of old, extra lives to prevent you from losing the game."
"What should happen if you lose the game?" A man from the gathering asked.
"The same thing if you were to experience it in real life," she answered cryptically. "Except when you log out, you log out of more than the game. No save or reset. You just…die."
Shinji heard people gasping and whimpering at this discovery. If they died in the game, they would die in the real world.
"Why would you do this?!" Another woman demanded.
"Because I can," the ethereal woman claimed. "If you want out, either beat the game or end your own life. Either way works for me. I shall be off now to let each of you process this information. A bonus tidbit, though. If you ever want to change the realm you visit to one of the other realms, your level accessibility will be transferred to the new realm, allowing you to continue on the level of the new realm where you stopped at in the previous realm. To all of you, I hope you do your very best to survive the game in any way that you can. Adios!"
Then, just like that, she was gone. Disappeared without a trace, and leaving everyone either fuming, scared beyond their darkest nightmares, or just wanting to do what Shinji wanted to do at the moment, which was to survive.
If you die in the game, he thought, repeating the information so that he couldn't forget it, you die for real. If you die in the game…you die for real.
He summoned his holographic menu again and selected his folder that read, "Accessories", selecting a shawl to cover himself with because his current attire lacked a weather-hardened garment. Ever since he started to play Survival Times, before he even knew about the expanse of character options for any player to choose from in order to customize their avatars, he chose the designation of the samurai because he wanted to be a ronin, a samurai without a master…because he hated the way others treated him because of who he was related to. While others chose to be cowboys or archers or futuristic soldiers, he just wanted to be as far removed from the rest of society as possible.
"What are we going to do?" A girl questioned.
"What can we do?" Another girl expressed.
"Try to survive," went a man to them, just as Shinji walked away. "It's all we can do."
-x-
"These rules to the game aren't all that difficult to understand once you've read them," Hyuga expressed, reading up on the Survival Times game in Central Dogma, towards Ibuki and Shigeru. "Each realm that makes up the entirety the game world is one-hundred levels long, and if a player wishes to change the realm they're currently in to a new one, they can and begin again on the same level they stopped at in the previous realm."
"And the Second and Third Child were playing this game when they got stuck in it along with thousands of others?" Ibuki questioned.
"That's right," answered Shigeru. "Both pilots are being transferred here, though."
"But if they're stuck in a game, how can they be expected to pilot?"
"As long as they're incapacitated, they can't pilot at all. But they're unprotected in the hospitals they're currently in. If they're transferred here, they're at least kept safe from harm."
As they were still talking about the situation, Gendo was in one of the damaged testing chambers where the still-incapacitated Unit-00 resided, its left fist wedged into the side of the wall, bathed in orange light, surrounded by a small pool of a liquid substance.
"How was Rei today?" Ritsuko, who found him there, asked him. "You did see her at the hospital today, didn't you?"
"She'll be able to work again in two months," he revealed. "We'll need additional pilots and Evas to resolve the matter with the Angels."
"To think that we could get hindered…by an online video game."
"If they can't be set freed from the game, then those inside the game must try to beat it themselves."
"Based upon what the MAGI confirmed, external interference is not without fatal consequences."
To be continued…
A/N: So now we know some of the rules of the game. But how will things press on?