Party of Five
by @Spice
The Discord lobby comes alive the moment the call connects.
Cory is already on camera, waving the strange black prism device at everyone. “Look at this thing! It’s humming. It’s literally humming. That’s not normal, right?”
Jordan leans back in his chair, laughing. “Bro, nothing you buy is normal.”
Tom’s window shows him adjusting his headset, calm as ever. “It’s a biological sync device. It takes a DNA sample and calibrates the game to your traits. Probably safe.”
You’re already in the call with them, your own prism set on the desk beside you.
But one person is still missing.
Jordan: “Where the hell is Lucus? He said he was logging on at eight.” Cory: “If he ditched us, I swear—”
Lucus crashes into the voice chat like a natural disaster. “I’M HERE! I’M FINE! I MAY HAVE TRIPPED BUT I’M FINE! Nobody start without me!”
Cory: “We weren’t going to!” Jordan: “We were absolutely going to.” Tom: “You’re late.” Lucus, dramatic gasp: “Fashionably.” He holds up his prism to his camera. “You all ready?
You all lift your cubes in frame.
Four idiots and you, united by questionable choices.
Lucus grins wide. “Okay, countdown time! Everybody poke on one.”
Jordan sighs. “This is a bad idea.” Cory: “Best idea.” Tom: “If anything happens, delete my browser history.” Lucus: “THREE!” Cory: “Let’s go!” “TWO!” Jordan: “Does he have to be yelling?” “ONE!”
All five of you press your fingers to the prisms.
A soft puncture. A drop of blood. A hum that deepens into a bone-shaking vibration.
Your devices glow. The light spreads across screens, across hands, across the air itself.
Cory’s camera distorts, exploding into streaks of orange.
Jordan jumps up, reacting instinctively.
Tom’s voice is steady even as everything fractures. “Stay calm.”
Lucus whoops like he’s skydiving.
The sound collapses. The world tears open.
And then—
Grass. Wind. Magic.
You stand in a vast clearing beneath a sky painted in impossible colors. Your body is your own, yet wrapped in gear shaped perfectly to you.
Cory skids to a stop beside you, red robes flaring. His hands glow with emberlight.
Lucus stumbles forward, radiant sword materializing in his grip.
Tom’s silhouette resolves from smoke and shadow next to you.
Jordan appears at your back, runes pulsing across his arms.
They take in themselves. Then each other. Then you.
Lucus is the first to find his voice, awe-struck and breathless. “…I’ve got a fucking sword.”
Cory laughs, fire cracking at his fingertips. “No fucking way.”
Jordan looks around the clearing, grounding himself. “This is real.”
Tom steps closer to you, calm even now. “The device… our DNA… we’re in the game.”
Welcome to Eidolon Realms.