JVTM

Hello! I do recommend reading the PSA in the synopsis, but essentially, if you don't like a slow start (10 chapters before MC gains any power, everything else before is character introspection/worldbuilding/setup) or somewhat dark/psychological stuff then I advise you to stay away! The chapters here are "beta," and will be considered as my first draft of this fanfiction. (Most things will stay the same even after I edit the work for clarity and the like.) And, for the non-gamers, you don't need to have played Terraria at all to read this! Actually, it's probably preferred (the game is essentially a massive spoiler). Anyway, I'll stop here before I go too long on a tangent. 

Enjoy! I also advise you to read in dark/night mode!

It was May.

Flowers were blossoming and the naked trees had once again begun to cloak themselves in sprawling leaves full of youth. The songbirds were singing melodies of spring and joy, ready to greet their children, who were no doubt starving for their next nourishing meal.

But I felt neither youthful nor joyful, despite being at the prime of my life, good-old eighteen. And I was not going to greet my children—for I had none—this morning.

In fact, today, I wouldn't be greeting anyone’s children at all.

My eyes moved from the glass window onto the black screen on the table, squinting at the laptop set just far enough so that the audio would be in bare earshot. With a short glance, I recognized all too well the small windows on the right side of the screen, half of them a spitting image of mine, confirming the fact that there were others who held a similar opinion to my own.

This was a complete waste of time.

And so, I laid back on my chair, my back propped on two of my favorite periwinkle pillows. A corduroy wool blanket, courtesy of my aunt’s frantic shopping spree last summer, covered me from the neck down. It had grown to be my sibling, having been the only gift I’d received from anyone in years. 

Now, this would be heaven—that is, if the voice droning on about their relations with some popular actress and making my ears bleed didn’t exist—but other than that, I had to admit that my current setup was pretty damn comfy.

Before his grating voice faded away into Zoomland, my film teacher had moved onto a discussion on our latest essay, something I'd no doubt end up cramming in two hours right before it was due. And I would still get an A on it. American education, am I right? 

Ding.

My attention shifted from the screen to the black iPhone snug in the palm of my hand, my eyes making out an all too familiar blue bell sign. The slight rush in my chest dropped to a dull throb when I saw the message.

“Students, we hope you are doing well during these tough times. Please make sure to attend all online classes. Attendance is mandatory. If you do not attend your classes, we are afraid that the school will have to—“

It wasn’t her. 

I stopped reading and returned the phone to my pocket. My gaze moved to the window, staring at the birds flying around, unfettered, and free, as if living in a different world from mine. No, they were living in a different world. I sighed.

Again, Yohan, you were too hopeful.

After all, I hadn’t received a text from her in how long? It was already the middle of May, or somewhere around that, at least.

I grabbed my phone and glanced at the date. Yep, May 16th.

If it was May 16th, then . . . it had been almost what? Two months since everything had changed? Since the early two-week spring vacation that made us all pinch ourselves to make sure that we weren’t dreaming spiraled all too quickly into a never-ending absence of friends, useless online classes, and endless anxiety over the future?

And it didn’t seem like any semblance of normalcy would return anytime soon. Still, it didn’t make sense for her not to have replied to me for so long... 

I shook my head, sighing again. 

Honestly, who could blame her? I'd had my fair share of crying in the bathroom and wishing that everything was just some long fever dream. After all, I’d been looking forward to finally moving out of this miserable house for years. Took two part-time jobs to save up for the plane ticket to the school I’d accepted ED. But now? All my plans had gone down the drain, just like everyone else’s in the world. So maybe she was just going through something herself. Or probably playing some more Undertale. How I wish I could delve into another world just as she did so easily—

A grumbling sound straight from the depths of hell put a pause to my ruminations.

Hmm … It appears that it wasn’t just the baby birds that were starving this morning.

I shelved my gloomy thoughts away for another time, and with a groan, forced my practically disabled body to separate itself from the chair. After putting my blanket off to the side, I made my way towards the kitchen, stumbling across random things in the hallway and cursing under my breath like your average food-deprived eighteen-year-old. 

A wide yawn left my mouth as I grabbed the nearest cereal box and took out a milk jug from the refrigerator. In a few seconds, I'd made a quick bowl of Lucky Charms and milk, staring at the little rainbow food-colored nuggets of sugar that were certain to make my bowel movements later today the same color.

But no matter. This was pandemic life and after being up all night surfing the web for god knows how long, my blood sugar levels were not having it any other way. My digestive tract could beg for mercy later.

I grabbed the bowl and returned to my chair, pulling the laptop towards me. Just as I minimized the Zoom window, a small notification appeared to the bottom right of the screen.

Ding!

“You have received a game invite from ⏃⊑⏃⎎⋏⍀.”

A conspicuously green lucky charm fell from my open mouth.

"⏃⊑⏃-"

. . . I don’t remember exactly what happened after.

All I can recall is clicking the notification, and then, a few seconds before everything faded to black, I'd glanced again at the window, staring at the birds flying high in the sky, in a world of their own, one filled with freedom and danger, but one that I envied so deeply.

Then, perhaps it was just a hallucination, but I could've sworn that someone had whispered into my ear, requesting my presence. My permission.

Yohan, come, I—

And I accepted. 

【Entering World】

When I came to, the scent of earth filled my nostrils and the slight chill of wet grass on my bare skin made me unconsciously shiver. Both things announced that I was no longer at home.

Of course, the idea of being no longer on Earth didn't even cross my mind once.

But I would find that out soon. Very soon.

JVTM

Any comments on how you felt about the chapter, any mistakes, etc. would be amazing to have! Also, I'll just give the update schedule here, but after writing for a good bit, I think it's safe for me to say that chapters will come out at a minimum of 2 chapters one chapter a week. The latest chapters I have written are 3.5-4k words, so they are pretty long. Thanks for reading!