Story by: Rhenhwa.
Virtual God's Online
Chapter 5: Invitation
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, organizations, and settings depicted are entirely fictional and created for storytelling purposes.
***
[Blackstar Community Thread]
[Sub threading]
RealityGlitch: [Guys, wait, I just came to the realization that that game that was played, the one that Blackstar interrupted. Wasn't that an official game between the top four hundreds?]
25 min(s) ago [Likes: 21] [Replies: 25]
↳ SkyHighs replying to @RealityGlitch: [Ahh, there was that too isn't there?]
↳ Starmour replying to @RealityGlitch: [Wait, Doesn't that mean Blackie will be targeted from now on. I mean with the rumors and all.]
↳ NeverSayNever replying to @Starmour: [ahem @ I don't think you need to say that here.]
↳ Starmour replying to @NeverSayNever: [Ah… whoopsies]
↳ Starmour replying to @RealityGlitch: [Wait, Doesn't that mean Blackie will be targeted from now on. I mean with the rumors and all] [Comment deleted]
↳ LordofReason replying to @Starmour: [What you said did make sense, only that you were a little bit slow on the uptake.] [~deinet.siepdh#34os.vgm]
↳ AncestralFather replying to @LordofReason: [A challenge invite?] [Abemeilooksback.vif]
↳ TheSpaceThatDoesntTouchTheFloor replying to @AncestralFather: [Oh ho~]
↳ Celeste replying to @RealityGlitch: [Haah. I get it with their whole power struggle and all, but kinda disheartening targeting a newly formed deity.]
↳ SharpToken replying to @Celeste: [Newly formed. Who's gonna tell you… same newly formed who wiped an entire squad of Deities in the top hundreds. Yeah, I'd say the jump is fair.]
↳ CloudPathOS replying to @RealityGlitch: [I'm just getting news, but looks like other deities are kinda getting interested. You know, the upper ones.]
↳ QuietSector]replying to @CloudPathOS: [That can't be good then.]
↳ CloudPathOS replying to @QuietSector: [Why not?]
↳ QuietSector replying to @CloudPathOS: [The more deities show interest, the more it'll be hard for Blackie to back down. If he chickens out—or so they'll call it—he might get targeted by other deities who want to see this happen.]
↳ [HaloZenith] replying to @QuietSector: [Okay, cornering a new deity like this is disgusting.]
↳ Wyrmtrace replying to @HaloZenith: [Hey, chill, honestly, they might not even mean it that way. Since he can cause a ruckus like this, I'd say it's fair. It's not every newly formed that is like Blackstar.]
↳ MirrorHex replying to @RealityGlitch: [Does anyone know which order Blackstar is? I'm probably thinking of Infernal… but hehehe who knows.]
↳ [TriCouncilWatchdog] replying to @MirrorHex: [Mods! Members of the Tribunal found! Quick ban!!!]
↳ [BlackstarFollower1 (mod)] replying to @TriCouncilWatchdog: [On it.]
AzureClaw: [Yall have completely become Fans of Blackstar, huh?]
↳ Flickburst replying to @AzureClaw: [Nah, new deity getting ahead of himself, gatz teach him a few.]
↳ HollowKyn replying to @Flickburst: [So says the entitled one who got support from upper level deities to even enter the top 200.]
↳ Flickburst replying to @HollowKyn: [Bastard!!!]
↳ SentinelGhost replying to @Flickburst: [Unfortunately sir, the rule of this community is for us to foster peace, not… Violence.]
↳ DripCrater replying to @SentinelGhost: [Bro got cooked, lmao.]
↳ WhenWeStumble replying to @AzureClaw: [I'd say it's only fair to be interested, but I'd say it's only a few… amongst them, pretty much light. Lillion is a chilled Deity.]
↳ CrypticCall replying to @WhenWeStumble: [Sometimes I forget Lord Illion's name can be entirely changed depending on how you call him.]
↳ WhenWeStumble replying to @CrypticCall: [Yeah, it's kind of a thing where instead of Lord Illion, you say Lillion. And if you want to, Illinois, but not everyone really uses Illionis.]
[Thread end]
[THREAD CLOSED]
Collapsing Star Va'el
Like it had been said, so it was.
He woke up to a notification and a letter of invitation.
Naturally, he suspected it was a challenge, given his performance in the last game he played.
But honestly, he hadn't expected one so soon.
He wasn't old enough to be deeply invested in politics; however, he knew one thing…
That he'd messed with some people.
"No helping it…"
Muttering under his breath, Alcor summoned his virtual interface, fingers dancing as he initiated a call.
To someone he'd met not long ago.
Eventually, he knew he would accept it. But he needed someone else's input.
Lute struck him as a neutral sort of deity. And by extension, so too should the Order of Light be.
"Oh, hey, Al. Didn't think you'd call this soon. What's going on?"
Lute's voice came through as his holographic form flickered to life, displaying a rather lazy, casual image of him.
For someone who was supposed to be a guide, the deity looked like he'd been spending a bit too much time idling around.
Still, Alcor didn't mind the image. Instead…
"I got this earlier."
Alcor said, lifting his hand.
With a snap of his fingers, a virtual panel appeared in front of Lute, floating gently in the air between them.
Lute leaned forward slightly, scanning the contents with mild interest.
At first, his expression remained composed and all.
But then… The deity's facial expression changed.
"Pfttt— YOU'RE BLACKSTAR!?"
Apparently, of everything in the interface, he only seemed to read the Blackstar part.
However, the blonde deity was actually in shock.
"I've heard of you! But I never bothered to check the V-Net."
He said, half-laughing, half-rambling.
"From the rumors, I always imagined you'd be... colder. Distant. Not someone who'd just call me like this—Ahhh, I guess I've been too hands-off."
He ran a hand through his hair, visibly flustered.
"What do I even say now~?"
Much to Lute's shock, or perhaps panic, Alcor, watching the minor meltdown, considered ending the call.
Maybe it was better not to involve Lute.
Not out of concern, but because Lute was being the person he'd imagined him to be.
But in the end, Alcor stayed his hand.
With a quiet sigh, he leaned back against his throne and spoke calmly.
"Yeah… I probably should've told you earlier. But that aside... What do you think? I'm planning to accept."
Alcor's voice trailed off, immediately met by an unamused gaze from the blonde deity.
"...Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into?"
Lute asked, his tone losing its usual lightness.
Alcor did. At least, partially.
If he fought—and even if he won—it wouldn't end there. Others would follow.
One challenge would spiral into the next.
And, even if he becomes number one…
Even if he reached the top, earned the qualifications to ascend to the upper class, more would await him at that tier.
Unless he became transcendent.
But then, the requirements for that are largely unknown.
Those who became transcendent did so because their existence acts as an additional pillar for this virtual plane of reality.
While the Akashic ruled this plane, the transcendent sustained it.
From that,
Vaguely, they deemed that one had to be a necessary support for this plane before qualifying for such a rank.
Still, in the end, all of these are merely speculations. And the speculations themselves could be wrong.
"If you step into this, then… there's no going back."
Lute said, as though to warn him.
"Thank you, Lute. But I want to accept it. May I?"
"Don't ask me; the challenge is for you. Regardless of your choices, as a guide, there's only so much I can do."
The male obviously looked downcast for a moment before looking back at Alcor.
"But I'll support you to the best of my ability."
Alcor, hearing that, smiled.
"Thank you."
From those words, Lute could tell he was beginning to develop his own personality.
Following that, which was most to be expected.
Just as on the community thread that had spread around, and like Alcor having received the invite.
Word had already begun to spread among the deities, though only a select few truly cared.
Most didn't concern themselves with lower-rank challenges.
Figures like Ageha, for example, would typically pay no mind to something so minor.
But this time was different.
Because the one being challenged wasn't just any deity.
He was significant, perhaps in more ways than one.
"He's being challenged? That's not fair!"
The Primal Star, Ageha, threw a full-blown tantrum.
She was one breath away from unleashing chaos on the surrounding plane.
It likely would've happened, too, if not for the presence of two others in the room: the Tyrant Deity and the Shinto God of Creation.
The three sat in a traditional eastern chamber.
Tatami mats underfoot, sliding doors lining the walls, and painted panels depicting their supreme deity gazing down.
Susanoo sat in silence, arms crossed, with a calm gaze, though internally he was intrigued about "Blackstar" in question.
Given his archetype as Ageha's Reversi, it wasn't impossible that he shared her nature.
A Primal Star, perhaps?
If that were truly the case then…
'That would explain his absurd strength despite being newly born... but why now?'
Eventually, he sighed and dismissed the thought.
Things like this happened.
Deities manifested all the time. Some late, some early.
Still, he understood why Ageha was reacting this way.
If they truly were counterparts, their connection would go deeper than appearances.
Not that Ageha would have cared if he had never been born, but now that he had, she couldn't ignore him….
'Speaking of which... can't that fool just track him using—'
Just as Susanoo thought along those lines, Amaterasu turned her gaze slowly to him, as though she knew what he had been thinking.
Their eyes met.
Her lips curled into a smile, not her usual radiant one, but the kind that sent a clear message: Say it, and suffer.
The giant god took a half-step back. He knew better. Yes. It was all coming back too.
Even among Transcendents, there were layers.
Those who had earned titles like True Destruction, Oldest Light, and Dark—
beings who had surpassed the need for authority to bend logic, because their existence already broke it.
Others, more than most, needed authority to bend these things. These ones did it simply by existing.
Then, with an almost casual tone, Amaterasu asked, "Aren't you curious whether or not he'll accept?"
Her gaze shifted to Ageha.
Though the Star Goddess seemed calm, the other two could see it. The internal war.
As a battle maniac, she wanted him to accept.
But as the one who was a counterpart to him, she hoped he wouldn't.
Because she understood what would follow.
"Simple," she finally said, grinning. "I'll just wipe them out!"
"Oh?"
Amaterasu's tone darkened slightly, amused.
"Since when did you grow wings, Ageha? Talking about wiping people out in my presence?"
"Ah, that—no, I… Yes! I was joking. Hahaha…"
"Seriously, What an expensive joke that was…" Susanoo muttered wearily.