'There's still some time until the start of the event, so let's pass some time by looking for something interesting in the internet'

I thought as I connected to the internet using the games interface just by swiping in the air and cliquing some buttons as they appeared. 'It is so easy that a child could do it, except only company employees are allowed…'

'Nothing really interesting… is it because it is the New Year? No what am I thinking, the internet is always alive… Oh, a new meme… Nope, still cannot understand what's so funny about memes. Am I an old man? Is that why I do not understand them? Damn, I must be very bored if I am having this type of thought… Oh an article about the new "expansion" of the game (although it is not really an expansion, more like an end game quest). I guess I will have a look since I am only killing time.'

The new expansion of the VRMMORPG Obsidian, "End" 'really generic name but the meaning beyond it makes it perfect', has been met with a lot of criticism from the players. Rather than an expansion, it is more akin to a fetching quest 'because it is' where the vanguards, as they called them, have to bring multiple materials to crafters so they can create some "questionable" items of which the purpose has not yet been divulged. 'Oh, come on, it is really simple, rather how can you not know this late into the quest!? When was this written?... last month… that explains it… moving on' As Creo , the company who created of Obsidian, did not explain the reasoning beyond such "waste of time", as some players say 'that's harsh, can't blame them since more and more games are using this type of quests with no purpose to make players stay longer in their games, but thy could give us the benefit of doubt' even after numerous demands thus a lot of skepticism has been met with this decade old game…

'…It has been a decade already… damn, now I really feel old. I am not in the mood to keep reading, rather it is almost time for the event…' is what I thought while closing the browser and watched the scenery from the veranda of the building while sitting on a chair nearby a small table.

In middle of the night, there are multiple long tables filled with food and drinks 'even though we cannot really eat it, we still can taste it'. Vanguards, Crafters and Locals are walking from table to table talking with each other eating, drinking and remembering old stories. There are also some people showcasing their abilities to make some amazing shows, the beautiful kind and the stupid kind. All illuminated by a variety of candlelight spells of different colors. In other words, it was a big festival celebrating the end of the game 'not really the end but we will no longer add new content to the game'.

'I would go there if I enjoyed being in the middle of a crowd, which I don't, furthermore' *CRASH* '…the hell, someone just crashed against my table, moreover the table had food on it, now it is on me…'

"It is cool that you are having fun and all, but did you have to do that?" I asked the perturbator.

"Crap, I know that voice… Oh, hey there Craven. You see I was having a blast then there was this guy who said he could punch me to oblivion and I was like "If you can do it then try" and there we go" said Fraymoon as he got up from the floor and '… ah, my food…'.

"Are you drunk?"

"Me, noooo. I'm fine" 'Yep he's definitely drunk or high' "I did not drink a thing before getting here… I think. Maybe I drank a little too much in the festival that it affected me. But man does it taste good, Mike does make some good stuff"

"It seems rather than the alcohol, you seem drunk because of the mood the festival" 'now that I notice, he does not seem to be the only one…I did not see anything, yeah let's go with that'

"Welp, maybe. Does not matter, I am having a blast. Care to join me?" Fray-'nope, let's just call him idiot' asked with some uncertainty in his vision 'I think he's about to topple'.

"No, thank you" I replied curtly 'Thank god the food is no longer clinging to me. Thankfully this is a game. I shiver at the thought if this happened to me in real life (IRL)'

"Oh, come on. Give the pleasure of partying with a beautiful woman"

"First of all, even though my appearance is that of a woman I am a man IRL and I like girls. Second, I am technically on duty, so move along."

"Killjoy."

"Try your luck with others, maybe lady luck will look at you for once" I tried to raise his spirits with positive energy looking forward to the future, while hiding a cynical smile, of course.

"Yeah, yeah. I know what you are thinking but I'll show you 'crap, he knows me too well'. See ya then" As he jumped from the veranda and there he goes.

Just as the conversation ended a sharp noise filled the night 'ah, the event has begun' and then- *BOOM*

Multicolor lights filled the sky as fireworks filled the sky signaling the "End" of an era for Obsidian. Scheduled to be at the same time as the New Year IRL, this festival will mark the beginning of the decline of the game as new content will not be delivered and players will then leave for their other interests.

As the spectacle fills the sky, I cannot help but remember. I am a game master, although what I do is more akin to an enforcer: I have found and corrected bugs 'once I had to help a vanguard who somehow ended up inside of a rock, her head was still out and she could not use death to escape, still no idea how the she ended up like that'; advised players 'sometimes people are stupid'; took care of obnoxious players 'I remember that one guy that no matter how many times I asked him to stop he did not comply, then I snapped and I' Uhuhu 'never saw the guy since then'; creating quests to players who seek them 'more like I was bored so I found some ways to pass time'; and then some other odd jobs here and there. Does not seem a lot when said like that, but when you are in charge of a continent, things get crazy, especially at the beginning 'I almost quitted, almost…'. Although Riarkme is not as big as continents can be but it is still a continent none the less.

At the moment, I was drowned in the lights and sounds from the fireworks and my own melancholy, but I was not alone as many others seemed to share the same feelings. Everyone was remembering old times: the friendships broken and made; the people we met along the way 'that was meme done right, I think this one I understand'; the enemies we fought; the views we have seen; etc.

This event was not something the company did alone. The company may have made the quest but it was the vanguards who went looking for the materials, the crafters who them made then into all there is in this festival and the locals who organized it. This was the hard work of everyone and it was worth it.

I was broken from my thoughts by the sound of what seemed to be a phone call 'I was having a moment here, you know'

"Hello, better tell this is worth it to bother me when I was having a moment."

"This is urgent! No time for jokes" so declared my colleague in a rarely cold voice.

"What's up?" I replied seriously this time.

"Can you log out?"

"What?"

"I asked you if you can log out from the game?"

I started the process to log out "I do not know what's the problem, just before I could…" I stopped for a moment "No. I cannot see the log out option, can you still log me out manually" cold sweat started appear on my back.

"We have been trying for over an hour since we received the reports."

"What reports?"

"Reports saying after New Year, in countries to the east, people did not log out from their game…"

"Hang on a moment, I will try to see if they are in the players list… I do not see people that I know logged in that should have been. This is bad…"

"It is worse than you think…"

"Of course, you had to say that… Go on." 'Really panicking now'

"We have received recent reports that… they are brain dead"

"…They, who exactly?"

"You know what I am trying to say…"

"…………. Shit……. Has this been made public?" I crocked, filled with hopelessness of the situation.

"No… But we contacted the governments, but we haven't found a solution."

"Couldn't you have contacted me earlier, that way I could-"

"Do what, exactly?" he interrupted me

"…" I had no answer to that

"…"

"…You said you were trying to log me out for a while now. What about the others, is there nothing you can do? 'please don't tell me it is completely hopeless'"

"No" 'shit' "We tried to manually log outs the players. We tried to close the serves. We even tried to pull the power from the serves for gods' sake!! BUT SOMEHOW IT STILL PERSISTS!!!!"

I wait for a moment, while listening to my colleague rough breaths.

"This is horrible……" is what ended up exiting my mouth "…Can you…"

"…What?"

"I don't know… Pray to some god to help us?"

"Pft. Are you serious?"

"After everything you told me… It seems to the work of something… supernatural. I know it is crazy but-"

"It is CRAZY. We don't know what the hell is happening, Obsidian has millions of players… We'll have the blood of millions on our hands……… Maybe you should tell the players there the truth."

"No, I won't…" I replied right away "They are having fun right now. Let them be. Let them rejoice in what seems to be our last moments…"

"…1 minute until New Year… This may be the last time we see each other but you have been a great colleague and an awful friend."

"Pft. Oh, come on. I just forgot your birthday and overslept once."

"Are you seriously just counting that one time? Mm, do you not remember? Or, do you need to be told again?"

"Maybe I was a little too forgetful, maybe."

"Right…"

"Ok, ok, you are right, I am wrong. Does that make feel better?"

"Indeed, it does"

"Screw you" I said while rolling my eyes.

"Love you too" 'Oops, I almost rolled my eyes out the head'

"It is time…"

"Indeed…"

Everyone down at the festival grabbed bottles and started chanting the countdown, unknowingly of what the future brought.

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2" 'The ground is shaking'

"1" 'The ground and sky are breaking'

"Happy New Year" 'Happy New Year'