"Several news reports have amassed over the last eight months regarding the virtual headset. It has broken all barriers humanity had believed could never be broken, but has some extremely grave consequences. A total of 52 patients have developed psychotic symptoms after extensive use of the headset, and even catalysing brain malfuction and death in one young patient named Park Erin. Park Erin passed away upon turning 20, and post-mortems show extreme levels of plasticity in his brain, as his parts of his somatosensory cortex severely decreased in volume."
"Thank you, Ms Byun. For what reason were the reports delayed?"
"In all actuality, speculation was always made regarding the headset as more and more cases of psychosis, and even neurosis, emerged. Officials deemed it too early to take this case to court and further examine the reports. However, as of two days ago, data regarding the origins and maintenance of the
Uriel was blue, too. As blue as the poem Erin wrote months and months ago. As blue as Gihyun's quivering lips when he read it to him aloud. He wished he could reach beyond the glass barrier and warm his small hands up.-Blue, blue like the moonlight,Bluer than every blue,I'm speaking of your eyes,those blue mendacities,Oceans of restlessness.Blue is my heart,The sea that is held captive,This is destiny's visage,That takes its colour from you.When I stare at the depth of the tiled pond,I feel like I'm staring into you,Even though you are absent.I see your eyes in the color of the universe,I genuflect to you.Blue, blue like the moonlight,Bluer than every blue,I'm speaking of your eyes;those blue mendacities,Oceans of restle
A week before Erin's birthday."At least I could say that I tried," he played with Rae's paws. "I really did, you know? It's not like I wanted this."He gnawed at his lip, a twisted red. "I...I mean I did want it. Of course I did, but I tried not to, Mr Blue. I really did." he wistfully looked out the window. "I didn't want to love him, because now I'm stuck up here," he jabbed a finger at his skull."God damnit, I'm stuck here. God damnit!"Fingers knotted deeply into his hair, pulling at his roots. "I don't want him alone, please, please," he silently pleaded to no one in particular.His cacophanous whispers were carried by the breeze and crumbled into ashes.Because, from the very beginning, Erin knew he shouldn't. Shouldn't get involved and create something only to leave it unfinished, forever. He knew, and yet
There's something.Something that may be real, or nothing more than a fleeting fantasy made up in the figments of the human imagination. What's more powerful? That 'something' being real? Or the sheer power of the limitless, innovative necromancy that is our brain?That 'something'..It twists, tangles, stretches; but, it never breaks. For all the universe, the web of interconnected galaxies it's worth, two evergreen souls will endlessly interlace with each other's destiny.A pretty string adorning the colour of blood.A string immeasurably stronger than the fibres of steel, purer than the purest gold. Is it someone's pinnacle, or their downfall? To be oh so intertwined with the one you're destined to love, or to be doomed to the same person, no matter which era you enter. To never be apart, or to never escape? No one knows. Do you know? Is it beautiful, or is it hideous? Does th
"What the fuck? Who did that?""What the hell, dude!""Are you a noob, you bloody idiot? Attack the other team!""Shit for brains, drop your fucking weapon.""What do we do? He's not listening!""we've lost over half our XP, you fag, stop it!"The black haired boy grinned ominously, leaving as fast as it came. Such comments only fuelled him even more; he wanted more bloodshed, more death, more money. More, more, more. It was just too easy, too simple. With a few hours of 'working', killing, and playing, he made money. Hard, cold cash. That being said, he unsheathed his blade, stabbing his 'teammates' to death, watching the blood gush out from their once in-tact stomachs. It oozed, stretching outwards touching his armoured feet, and he just lightly kicked it. A splash here, a slpash there. As if playing in a puddle of rain. Another one tried to attack, and tha
"Don't slouch, Uriel. Have some manners," A tall lady scolded, red lips moulding a venomous tone as she eyed her son across the vast plain of the table."Yes, Mother.""Do not slurp, Uriel, the mere sound makes my head ache," a pale faced man scowled opposite Uriel, rebuking even before said male even inched a finger."But I didn't even-""Do not talk back to your father," he temperamentally grimaced, massaging the bridge of his nose. Barely two minutes fluttered away, the impregnable silence broken by the belittled boy."Can I- um, can I be excused? I have lots of homework to do," Uriel timidly enquired, pushing his seat back marginally. His mother eyed each and every detail the tall boy had to offer, before scowling."You've left your steak untouched; we went through great lengths to acquire such meat. You dare leave it?" the woman probed, challenging his s
A shrill shriek of a bull echoed from the tree trunks of the dense forest, as Erin's ears perked lightly in interest. Raising his head from the bush he hid in, he heard the bellows of a boy - a rather loud one, at that. So loud, his own prey scurried away in fear. Mentally sighing, Erin got up from his bush, irely hopping towards the source of the sound sagaciously."Fucking stay still, you mutated excuse for an orgasm!" a boy fought verbally, as the exceptionally large bull tried to charge into his body."I think you mean, organism," Erin bluntly corrected, as he mentally typed in the chat. Emerging from the tree behind the boy, he activated his mask to hide his face, lean figure lightly stepping towards him. The virtual message swiped into the boy's vision, indicating he's opened and read it.Do I help, or do I kill? Erin considered in his cognisance."Am I in a spelling class, yo
The deafening sound of nothingness loomed its way past every floating particle of air, an elegant breeze fondling Erin's sunken skin, and right there and then, he could've sworn he was the most at peace right now than he's ever been in years. "It's already been so long." A sigh he didn't know he released reverberated in his ears. "Hm." It's been a while since his hospitalisation. Since his own flesh and blood betrayed him, exhaling him like smoke in the air. It was that easy for them, and it hurt Erin a little less, day by day. No matter how little it shrunk to hurt, it would never reduce his hatred for even leaving Gihyun behind. The Sun meets the Moon at all hours of the day, never missing the chance to beam at each other - we are all under the same stars, Moon, Sun; yet, we are all so vastly beyond the word different, so very unalike. The inky moonlight commenced its grand return, cradling
"What were you doing talkin' to the hacker?" a random player asked, sharpening his sword simultaneously."It's none of your fucking business," V glared at the seemingly slightly elder player."Woah, no need to get defensive," the player murmured, eyes wavering here and there, everywhere apart from his face. "But, he's really good; like, insanely good, you know? I wouldn't go after him, especially since you're solo," he warily suggested."Piss right off, why don't you? You're a waste of my time," V pierced a hole into the player's now wide eyes, not even bothering to stutter a sentence before he messily jogged away to his teammates.A familiar head of bowl-cut blue hair flicked into the midnight sky, as the AI leaped and soared across the terrain. As she fluttered across the terrain, her flamboyant voice boomed out a speech. "Welcome, players! This is the Parvaneh Battle Royale; a place to sprea
A week before Erin's birthday."At least I could say that I tried," he played with Rae's paws. "I really did, you know? It's not like I wanted this."He gnawed at his lip, a twisted red. "I...I mean I did want it. Of course I did, but I tried not to, Mr Blue. I really did." he wistfully looked out the window. "I didn't want to love him, because now I'm stuck up here," he jabbed a finger at his skull."God damnit, I'm stuck here. God damnit!"Fingers knotted deeply into his hair, pulling at his roots. "I don't want him alone, please, please," he silently pleaded to no one in particular.His cacophanous whispers were carried by the breeze and crumbled into ashes.Because, from the very beginning, Erin knew he shouldn't. Shouldn't get involved and create something only to leave it unfinished, forever. He knew, and yet
Uriel was blue, too. As blue as the poem Erin wrote months and months ago. As blue as Gihyun's quivering lips when he read it to him aloud. He wished he could reach beyond the glass barrier and warm his small hands up.-Blue, blue like the moonlight,Bluer than every blue,I'm speaking of your eyes,those blue mendacities,Oceans of restlessness.Blue is my heart,The sea that is held captive,This is destiny's visage,That takes its colour from you.When I stare at the depth of the tiled pond,I feel like I'm staring into you,Even though you are absent.I see your eyes in the color of the universe,I genuflect to you.Blue, blue like the moonlight,Bluer than every blue,I'm speaking of your eyes;those blue mendacities,Oceans of restle
"Several news reports have amassed over the last eight months regarding the virtual headset. It has broken all barriers humanity had believed could never be broken, but has some extremely grave consequences. A total of 52 patients have developed psychotic symptoms after extensive use of the headset, and even catalysing brain malfuction and death in one young patient named Park Erin. Park Erin passed away upon turning 20, and post-mortems show extreme levels of plasticity in his brain, as his parts of his somatosensory cortex severely decreased in volume." "Thank you, Ms Byun. For what reason were the reports delayed?" "In all actuality, speculation was always made regarding the headset as more and more cases of psychosis, and even neurosis, emerged. Officials deemed it too early to take this case to court and further examine the reports. However, as of two days ago, data regarding the origins and maintenance of the
He couldn't. He couldn't help himself, couldn't resist the urge, couldn't silence the lust-coated pleas dripping from his mouth, couldn't deny his body from curving and rolling up inches higher just to meet Erin. He couldn't resist, and no deity would be able to either.He has never been so glad to be so useless at something. He was so glad his pitiful efforts poured into resisting was all but futile.He chanted and chanted his name, shuddering breaths lacing and weavings its way into every tenebroussyllable, begging for his beautiful name to be etched into the air and ceaselessly lingering. He wants to always feel Erin."I want you to love me. But I don't just want to know it. I want to feel it. I want to feel your love filling me up and splitting me wide open at the seam, I want to feel it drag across my walls and paint me crystalline white. Let me feel it, Uri, I'm begging you. ple
The red almost drowned Uriel in its drunken tang of delusion, and Dionysus could only slur scraps of a sentence Uriel longed to hear.His limbs ached so terribly. And oddly enough, all he can begin to remember is being slumped against a tree with the redness of raw meat thrown at him. Could almostfeelthe glimmer of something that shouldn't have a physical sensation, the greenish glimmer, tingling and healing.It took the scrape of something against the balcony floor to snap him back to the present. He scoffed, shook his head, and walked up.His steps were quiet, feathery, almost as if he wasn't there: walked as if he entered a room full of nails with no shoes. He didn't know why he was being so mute, but figured it had something to do with the fact that this person could be armed. He couldn't help the nth scoff he released at his own stupidity."Hey, the fuck do you think you're doing in my pent
"Uriel, please just straighten your tie. You shan't ruin this business meeting with such a haggard countenance," his father bellowed, his mother nodding in agreement behind him, lips stained red. Uriel's suit was ill-fitting, just barely sitting at his hips. All this money and they still didn't know how to mould it upon Uriel; if it wasn't something that made his heart rip, it would almost be comical. No one cared as much as he did. He even measured him to make sure the clothes fit well.They had reached a ridiculously lavish, costly five-star restaurant, owned by some of the most well-known Persian chefs to reside in Japan. Of course, the restaurant had to be Persian. Fate was so damn cruel.At first, Uriel used to love that Erin shared so much of himself with him. Now, it only picked at scars.After the twinge in his heart settled, Uriel's steps increased once more. Heading in, he was faced with a grand hallway, carpet
Uriel's father's voice resonated loud and clear through his ears, but he felt as if he couldn't hear, ending the call with an empty mind. They were spewed like a foreign language, which he's never been more elated he didn't understand. He turned his phone off and faced the TV."...urge utmost caution. Reports of another casualty with similar symptoms has appeared within the central hospital-"Uriel turned the TV off.Mind wandering back to his other half, he began to wonder if he was doing okay. Was he eating well? Sleeping well? Making new friends? Looking down on him? It shattered his very being knowing that the first touch was his last. He wanted to eat mochi with him, tell him he started liking it a lot. Wanted to visit Angel Falls, and chuck him in the same way he chucked Uriel into a lake, he wanted to go to university together, visit the Japanese caves and witness the dazzling quartz caves in person. Abov
Its vivacious rhythms and beats and off-key notes keep the spring in your steps alive. It's finite, but feels endlessly long at the same time.It's a beautiful song that plays from the moment you bloom, to the day you die. The song that puts one at ease, that reminds you of your existence, that proves you're alive. It's a song stained red, pulsing through your veins at a million miles per hour. It's a song that works hard to keep you uplifted, and moving. The song of life, the song that would play until the universe itself ceases to exist.It was Uriel's favourite song. The song he grew to love with a bit of time, and a bit of patience. Or, as Erin put it, he always loved it. He just didn't know it yet.The more you hear it, the more you can't be without it.To be is being, and he is not so sure he can continue being anymore.The song he loved with every fibre of his being, with
The dangerous combination of his voice, the beautifully gentle lilt to it,his countenance, and enchanting words ascended Uriel's heart into an unreachable altitude, thumping away on a cloud of longing.Eyes clouded by this unfamiliar emotion, Uriel complied to Erin's request. Yearned for it. He captured Erin's lips between his. It was safe to say that the younger was moonstruck. Totally, utterly drowning in the deep blue sea that was Erin, yet soaring in the sky that was his mere touch. He was everything with Erin, and nothing without him. Nostrils flaring, Uriel breathed in Erin's sweet rosy aroma, wanting nothing more than to get drenched in his scent.He can see it in Erin's eyes. They're full of wonder, they razzle and dazzle under the blanket of twilight, they smile without prompt. He could see the haze that used to coat his irises when he was smiling or crying or both, he could see the light in them when the two of them got into