Jack is rather stunned that there’s a difference in this room, this person looks almost exactly like the NPC from the Hall of Trials place. The only difference would be that its irises are different, instead of the brown colour previously it’s a rainbow split into several segments with clear division.

“Welcome user” The person bows towards Jack from the centre of the room.

As Jack is just about to ask what’s going on, he can hear woman say “Goodbye” as Jack’s vision quickly shifts back to his bedroom. He is laying on his familiar bed, it has been several days since he has been back and so much has happened within the game world that it’s a lot to take in.

Peering around the room, Jack can see nothing really different apart from the door being unlocked. He quickly gets up off the bed storing the crystal somewhere safe, taking a look at the time. It’s late afternoon and as he jumps onto the computer to check his roster for work, he notices that it has been updated and scheduled a shift today in 2 hours.

Jack curses his manager inwardly and shuts off his computer, leaving his room not taking any notice of anything else in his room. The house has the familiar pungent smell of weed but it’s much stronger than usual indicating something probably happened with John.

As he enters the living room, John is surrounded by hundreds of papers, he has two laptops open while the TV is blaring the news. John in incredibly focused but looks rather comical with a joint hanging from his lips.

Jack picks up one of the pieces of paper from the edge, perusing it quickly he is unable to find anything he’s able to understand as it’s titled ‘Macro-economic impact of allowing general public asset conversion to ‘in-game currency’’ going on about how if people are allowed to massively convert their physical assets, it will create a run on money and if this is to happen it needs to be controlled by the government.

It all sounds like gibberish to Jack and as he’s reading this paper, John notices Jack standing there.

“BRO, WHERE WERE YOU FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS?” John shouts at Jack while he stands up and starts to shake him.

“I’ve been in the game, what’s going on here?” Jack asks while gesturing at the spread of mess within the living room that John has created.

“JUST WATCH TV!” John forces Jack to turn towards the TV, it’s a news segment.

“We’re here with experts that are describing the other day’s event where a star suddenly appeared within the sky giving off an indescribable feeling, almost as if it was a religious experience, in your opinion was that something to do with religion or something else that can be explained with science?” the reports asks while pointing a microphone at a scientist wearing a stereotypical white lab coat.

“That’s ridiculous, there’s a perfectly acceptable answer to the events of the other day. Radio telescope operators actively measured the event and found that it was simply a transitory star that appeared larger in size due to gravitational lens effect. We often use the same method to peer at far away stars but this is simply the reverse.” The scientist explains while a graphic is displayed on the screen showing how a gravitational lens works.

“Is science able to explain the pressure that many people felt?” the reporter then asks after waiting for the video segment to finish.

“That can be explained by psychology, people share their experiences with their social network who then reinforces their incorrect opinion. The might was simply the human mind attaching an explanation to something it thinks should be ‘magical’ but is nothing.” The scientist finishes explaining. This news segment quickly ends and a new one starts up.

“We now turn to the responses from various religious organisations around the world, first is the Vatican where the Pope has congregated within St Peters Square to address his flock.”

“The pope has spoken at length over the past couple of days in private interviews and one on one meetings with various leaders of the Church, he is finally today addressing the general public over the Church’s official response to the events people are often referring to ‘Star Descent’” a reporter can be seen standing to the side of a massive crowd of people.

“The pope will start his official address now; we will be providing active translations as the speech is happening”

“Distinte Autorità, illustri Signori e Signore, cari fratelli e sorelle! Vi saluto cordialmente in occasione dell’Assemblea generale……”

“Distinguished Authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Brothers and Sisters, I offer you a cordial greeting on the occasion of the General Assembly…..”

“We have consulted scripture and spoken at length in private and have come to the conclusion that this was no the sign of the rapture nor was it a sign of the second coming….”

“We believe that this is an act within God’s plans and that this is sign of a trial as God is testing the faith of his followers….. speak to your local pastor for guidance……” the speech ends.

“There you have it, the Vatican’s opinion is that it’s nothing to worry about, We now take you to the Imam Reza Shrine where Ayatollah has delivered a sermon”

“We are unable to provide audio footage of the sermon but we believe that it was spoken that Man is not able to questions the heavens in place of the prophet….”

“Followers are asked to attend their appropriate gathering where answers will be provided if people seek further guidance”

“What sort of response has there been from our local Hillsong church?” an anchor asks.

“They’ve released a statement saying that god has his plans and if you have provided 10% tithing you will be saved….” The reporter reads the whole statement.

“Now for the wacky side of this news, we’re told a doomsday cult based in California has massively picked up members following a rumours spreading online about the end of the world, they believe that the star descent is the sign that the saviour of the human race has appeared and the star shone upon him to signify that he’s the favoured son of heaven.” the anchor says with a stock graphic cult.

“Those are some crazy people but these are crazy times that we live in” the anchor finished as they turn to other news stories.

Jack really has no idea what any of this means nor does he know what John wants him to take away from this, he wasn’t in the world while the Emperor Star descended and it didn’t affect the game world.

Jack turns to John in confusion, John doesn’t pay any attention to him and picks up a piece of paper.

“This paper here explains that within 6 months, governments will start to implement a plan to push people onto the game that otherwise would not. It goes on to explain that within 2 years, the Earth will be inhospitable to 99% of conscious life” John says waving the paper and picks up another one.

“This paper here explains that the crystals are really a way to separate our consciousness from our bodies, allowing our minds to withstand something that they don’t elaborate but clearly it’s something to do with how the planet wont have life in 2 years…” John then starts to prattle on about too many things and Jack starts to ignore him thinking that he’s found some new video game or movie to get into.

Jack just stands there and listens to John but not really paying any attention, his concerns are what’s happening within the game world. Jack needs to decide on some form of governance, he needs to train his fighting skills and he needs to study his cultivation technique further.

John spends several minutes talking nearly non-stop, finally Jack can’t take it anymore and interrupts John.

“Look, I know this stuff is interesting but I’m starving so I’m going to get something to eat and I have also been scheduled for a shift tonight so have some stuff to take care of before then” Jack says while placing down all the papers that have been pushed into his hands.

John stops talking and takes a drag from his joint, “OK bro, I’ve been feeling a tad jittery over the last couple of days so you stay safe out there” John says while exhaling, Jack gets a face full of this and starts to cough as he walks to the kitchen.

Sitting on the kitchen table are a few letters for Jack, mostly just bills but finally he has a replacement bank card so he makes a plan to purchase a new phone before going to work.

There’s no food within the kitchen, all the cereal is gone and none of the other roommates would bother to stock anything. He leaves the kitchen and takes a shower to prepare for work, quickly taking care of things and walking to the bus stop to catch public transport to the shopping centre.

Jack has a feeling that he’s being watched at several points a long the journey but peering around he’s unable to see anything suspicious and promptly ignores this feeling, settling in to relax for the first time in several days.

The rest of the trip is uneventful, he purchases a cheap phone and luckily is able to get a replacement sim card for his phone. It isn’t activated but the new phone he got isn’t charged. He eats a meal, goes to the book store and skims several books on governments, farming and medieval weaponry.

He takes several mental notes such as, cavalry is incredibly strong if combined with a powerful horse to create a nearly unstoppable primitive tank. Siege weaponry is also important to ensure they can capture towns efficiently. The easiest weapon to mass train peasants is the spear….

Unfortunately, he is unable to actually afford to buy any of these books but feels that the information should be better online. Jack is unable to shake the feeling that he’s still being watched but again, there’s no one that is really suspicious to him in the surroundings.

He finishes up at the book shop and heads to the super market where he works, his department had many people call in sick so he’s having to do 3 people’s work. Moving boxes, stacking shelves, assist the registers and cleaning up.

His shift is almost entirely uneventful with it quickly becoming night and time to leave. Jack clocks out and is leaving via the front door where a man in a suit blocks his path not far from it. Jack has had a couple experiences of people blocking his path within the game world recently so he can feel the subtle hostility from the person in front of him.

He puts a smile on his face but readies his body to run if the situation warrants it, this person could just be someone asking a question regarding the super market as there are some people who think it’s appropriate to block people in to ask questions.

“Can I help you?” Jack asks.

“Are you Jack Hunt?” the man asks with a scowl on his face but puzzlement in his tone.

“Uh, who’s asking?” Jack responds with a question.

The man steps forward nearer to Jack, Jack takes a step back but as he’s not far from the doorway he doesn’t have much room. The man reaches out to grab Jack’s shoulder, “I think it’s best if you come with me” he says as he’s nearing Jack’s shoulder.

Jack sees this and makes a split-second decision; he makes a fist and slams it into the mans stomach causing him to curl over. Jack doesn’t have time to notice that his strike was much stronger than it should be as he’s running away.

The man starts to cough on the ground and attempt to stand up but he staggers and is unable to stand properly. He’s unable to spot Jack anymore and stands there bringing out his phone, “He got away” he says into the headset through clenched teeth hanging up without saying anything else.

 Jack rushes back home, he’s able to arrive back home in about 10 minutes of constant running when it’d take at least 20 minutes with the bus. John is the only one home who greets Jack but notices that Jack has a panicked look on his face.

“What’s going on?” John asks him. Jack explains the situation where he felt like he has been followed all day and then got stopped by someone who didn’t explain anything and tried to grab him. John adds that he has also felt like that for several days, quickly they make a decision to grab some supplies and check into a random motel.

They grab their stuff; Jack grabs his game crystal and several sets of clothes. John grabs a laptop and his smoking supplies, including enough weed to last him a month. They both leave the house taking John’s barely working car covered in rubbish.

They drive down the highway for 30 minutes or so and check in to a motel far off the highway, a good 70km away from their shared abode. John quickly settles into the motel room while Jack takes a shower and changes out of his work clothes.

*BANG BANG BANG*

Jack finishes up in his shower and there’s a banging at the door, John has disabled the smoke alarms and the room is covered in a fine layer of smoke. Jack sighs at this and opens the door but the door is kicked in as soon as the handle is turned.

Jack can see the man in the suit from earlier but before he can react to this, he is tasered and passes out. The same happens to John as they are both carried away from the premise, the man taking all their supplies and driving away into the night.