EPISODE 4: OKUJAMA
" I'M DOING ALL THIS... I HOPE ONE DAY YOU'LL SEE IT."
I wake up to the sound of running water in the bathroom, a sign that Light is showering. On the desk, I find a small breakfast of fruits and nuts, with a glass of milk beside it. There's also a note with my name on it.
I enjoy everything Light made. The food is good, but I still can’t stop thinking about a tasty lasagna. Miah!
"Lasagna... Sbav"
Just thinking about it makes me hungry.
"Hurry up, get dressed, we have a lot to do!!"
I hear Light call from another room.
I quickly get dressed, but I can't help asking her the question that has been burning in my mind since last night:
"But why the mask?"
"Shh, curious cat. Quiet, get dressed and let's go, the Mask Maker isn't just around the corner!"
Light replies another time.
I move quickly, filled with curiosity.
Light leads me out of the building and gives me a gentle push. I realize we're not exiting from the same entrance as yesterday...
"Wait for me here while I close up and we'll go, okay?"
I can hear her voice behind the door, calling me in.
I open it and find myself facing a slightly dirty, damp little path.
Then I see Light sitting on a crate, staring at me as if she wants to show me something.
Beside her there’s an old computer monitor that looks really outdated.
She rises from the crate, and as she walks toward me she says:
"I know it’s your first time, but never let me go, okay?"
"Ok.."
Then I see her leaning down toward the monitor, typing a couple of things on the screen, and suddenly… everything starts to feel heavy.
I feel myself being pulled in, sucked toward the end of the path by an uncontrollable force.
What is that glow?
I close my eyes, and when I open them again, I see Light.
I’m confused, I can only hear her voice as she tries to keep me awake.
I feel like I’m about to faint.
'Neko, listen to my voice, now.'"**
"Ok... ok... im trying"
"I know you're not used to it, but follow my voice and stay awake."
"Yes.. what.. is happening?"
"We are inside a Data Transfer; soon we’ll reach our destination."
"If it’s too much for you, just hug me… I’m right here."
I feel cold, so I move closer to her and embrace her. I think I must have fainted.
"Nekooooooo, WAKE UP"
I hear a voice calling me from afar, and I know whose it is.
I open my eyes and see a girl. But she doesn’t seem to be who she’s supposed to be.
Her clothes are different, and her face looks almost… from another world… as if the quality of her skin and the rest of her features had been redrawn.
This darkness around me, with these glitches moving through it, makes me feel as though I can’t do anything. I have no strength.
I can’t even speak, and I feel like fainting again. I close my eyes once more and feel my life energy leaving my body.
To keep from losing consciousness, I cling to that last faint sense of warmth, as if something is wrapping around me and trying to hold me here.
This is my only anchor to reality.
Now my legs have given out. I'm on the ground.
The warmth leaves me. It almost feels like the end.
I can't die like this.
MIAH T.T
"Neko, we’ve reached our destination."
Out of nowhere, after that deep darkness, I open my eyes wide.
I’m on the ground, and in front of me I see the same girl as before, reaching out her hand to help me up.
I feel steadier now, my senses slowly returning. As I begin to recover and take a better look at the girl, I slowly open my mouth to speak.
"LIGHT?"
"Your first Data-Transfer!!!!! Yeeeeeeeahhhhhhh!"
"MY.... WHAT?"
"Hold on — I'll pull you up first, you fell like a sack of potatoes"
She helps me back on my feet. I brush off my clothes a little, then look at her, carefully studying every detail of the figure before me.
"You’re… different? And where are we?"
"Ah, right. We’re in another Server.
This universe, called NET, has countless places that host Players and every form of life.
When they come together, they create a ‘Server,’ founding a society, designing their own graphics, and setting their own rules.
Okujama is an open server, and it’s very large—many species and lifeforms live here."
"But your clothes? And your hair? Everything looks so different."
"This is my Skin in Okujama Server."
We move to the side of the road, and she sits down on a bench.
"You’ll be able to change your Skin too, once you receive the mask. And if I look different to you, it’s just that I have more details. The graphic rendering of this server, and of its inhabitants, is very rich—the quality of the visuals reflects that."
"So in Shinjuku there will be one kind of graphics, and here… another?"
"Exactly. Everything will be different in each place you visit within NET."
Soon I realize we must have been teleported here. I ask her more clearly what this so-called ‘Data Transfer’ means.
"Come on, wake up! We're in a video game!! If you have Credits, you can teleport. Didn't you think of that?"
It's true. I still haven't gotten used to the reality I'm living in now... it's all new, fascinating, and, well, a bit scary.
"SO YOU BLASTED ME WITH A LASER-THING-TRANSFERER WITHOUT TELLING ME, HUH?!!"
Laika looks at me innocently and replies, "Yes" with those eyes that are impossible to ignore.
"Alright... but let me know next time." T.T
"Oh come on, you wouldn't have done it"
I smile, acknowledging the truth in what she says.
"Oh, right, I haven’t told you anything about our mission yet. We came here to find the mask maker’s shop. The data transfer was tough, since we’re 280 network nodes away from Shinjuku."
"And how far is that?"
"Quite a bit. You could say, in terrestrial terms, it's like the distance between your planet and the star that warms it"
Light replied, taking my hand and dragging me through the city.
"W-what? And we covered that in so little time?"
"Yes! Always remember where we are, even in the most difficult situations. It's just a video game!
Let's go"
She urges, and I follow her as we walk along a crowded street full of people. In the distance, I catch sight of an airship with a very peculiar figure.
"Light, what's that?"
I ask, indicating the airship with curiosity.
Guess who? That's the person we're looking for... quite famous, you know... does a lot of advertising, hehe.
"Is that Majira?"
"Yes, just like I told you. Only a few have the prestige I mentioned yesterday. He's from a very unique race, the Holos. They're super rare humanoid beings, made of their own light and have a variable structure,"
"Wow... and what can you tell me about this server?"
As we stroll through the bustling streets of Okuyama, she tells me all about it. She's quite the chatterbox and seems to know a lot of details.
I understand that here you can find services of all kinds...
"Alright, we’re here. Behind this corner is his shop… it’s a bit hidden, but that’s because only we Formers know where it is. Otherwise, it would be swamped with too many requests — Mask Makers are in high demand. As you can see, they like to hide while still advertising themselves. What a bizarre race the Holos are."
Turning the corner, we now find ourselves in front of a black door, with a golden knocker shaped like a lion’s head.
The building looks worn down, the stone walls weathered by time.
Light stands in front of me, but instead of reaching for the lion-head knocker, she strikes it directly with her hand.
Then she takes two steps back, and the doors begin to open, making a sound like a mix of wood creaking and chains rattling.
Beyond them, I see only a black void, with a white light spilling out.
Where are we going?
Don’t tell me it’s another one of those Data Transfers…
No, Miah, please, T.T
The first one was awful.
Then I see Light step boldly through the doorway, confident and determined.
As she opens the passage, a powerful, mysterious voice echoes out, as if announcing itself to anyone who dares to enter.
"Hello, customers, appointment number 134-AB-123-XY"
