Kai looked at the flickering screen enthusiastically, his eyes lit up as soon as he read the latest news!
For the first time in almost 7 years, the creator of such a marvelous game that defied the laws of physics and time—was about to come in front of his billions of fans!
The news quickly spread throughout the whole world like a crazy wildfire. Hundreds of thousands of different online threads were being created every second.
News channels, Entertainment Websites, Government websites, and even the not-so-children-friendly websites had stopped broadcasting everything that wasn't related to the upcoming press conference.
Kai couldn't hold onto his excitement to meet his savior.
Savior?
***
Well, The game 'Seven Calamities' was more than just a simple game to Kai.
His parents passed away in a car accident when he was merely 2 years old, while the property his parents had left behind was secretly devoured by his relatives.
Orphan and now homeless, he spent the next 8 years of his life in an orphanage. But fate seemed to have taken a liking to him, as even the orphanage was shut down as soon as he turned 10 years of age.
Devastated by loneliness and sadness, he wandered on the roads like a beggar for several days.
The sparks of childhood had long since left his eyes...
That was until, one evening, as he was mindlessly walking down the streets in worn and torn clothes, something colorful caught his attention.
It was the display screens of an electronic shop, in which all the screens showed the same thing.
"Tha... Sheven... Cala...mitis..." His muscles had become numb with the continuous snowfall, yet he felt an otherworldly warmth as he read those words.
His eyes lit up with the same joyous sparks of childhood as he finally attained a dream.
That one single dream of his, helped him mature much faster than anyone else.
With time, he got himself a new room that he could call his 'home' and a new job through which he could earn enough to eat 3 meals every day.
As far-fetched as it may sound, this could only become possible because the people who came to know about the hardships he was facing, wholeheartedly cooperated with him.
***
Just as Kai was wandering when the press conference would start, the clock placed right beside the computer hit 12:00 a.m. and beeped softly.
He paid no attention to it. But as soon as the clock beeped, his computer screen went black.
Panic took over his face as he blankly stared at the dead computer.
"A blackout at this time!? You can't be fucking SERIOUS!!!" Kai thundered, clearly upset from what had just happened, he stomped his fist onto the computer desk.
Surprisingly, the computer turned on. He looked at his fist with his widened eyes as if he were looking at some kind of divine weapon.
"A-Ahem."
Another voice appeared, although this time it wasn't the voice of Kai—rather, it came from the computer.
Kai's eyes darted toward the source of the unknown sound, only to see an old man—seemingly in his late 80s—sitting behind a giant clothed table with hundreds of mics facing him.
"Now that all the Screens, Calamity capsules, and the Game screen have been redirected to this conference, I would like to satisfy your curiosity."
The old man said in a commanding voice, yet, weirdly, his words felt heartwarming and soothing.
Kai, on the other hand, felt an eerily familiar feeling as soon as he saw the old man's wrinkled face.
It wasn't something like 'danger' or 'threat'; rather, it was a feeling of regret and sadness.
"I would like to do some announcements here and right now. Please do not take what I am about to say right now lightly."
"The Humanity is in a grave danger as of now."
This single statement made a whole swarm of reporters awaken as they bombarded the old man with all kinds of questions.
A deep sigh escaped the old man's lips, as he raised his hand and extended it towards the reporters.
"Shut." With a single word, a golden glow shone across the whole vicinity originating from his palm.
To everyone's surprise, not a single soul could speak any longer; even if they tried to scream at the top of their lungs, not even a hum came out.
"I do not have much time left, so please consider these as the last words of my life," The old man continued, his voice—calm and decisive.
"The Seven Calamities is not a mere fantasy. But a distant past whose traces had been completely erased."
"My name is Lukas. Lukas Walker. I am the so-called 'Hero', created by the almighty himself."
"I have survived through 6 purges and 2 Great purges. Although it may not sound credible enough, probably this will serve as the almighty truth. I want you all to look out of your windows."
He raised his hand, and a ray of beam shot out of his hand, breaking through the ceiling; it reached the sky and kept going ahead.
Then, it split around in all directions, covering the whole earth in an otherworldly glow.
The mere sight of something like this happening was something well beyond the capabilities of humans.
Even if someone had doubts about this at first, none existed now.
Kai though, seemed to be interested in something completely else.
From the time, the old man had revealed his name, he had been continuously muttering the same name to himself as if trying to remember something.
Unconsciously, he dozed off in his thoughts.
"Till now, the world has only faced 6 calamities. The seventh calamity is about to begin, and it will be the end of all."
"The purpose of creating this game was to not only let humanity gain experience over the past events but also to find someone who was stronger than anyone else throughout all 6 calamities."
The mention of someone like this pulled Kai out of his thoughts, subconsciously intrigued by his words, his eyes fixated on the man's face.
"My eternal rival and my only true friend. Thankfully, I've confirmed his reincarnation."
The old man's voice started to waver; his complexion seemed to be worsening with every passing moment.
"I know you are watching this, my friend. You are the last hope of this world. I've... Prepared everything for your return."
His body began to glow in a bright golden energy.
"It's a pity I couldn't meet you again, but I hope... You'll live the life you've ever wanted to live. My dear, dear friend, A—" The old man stopped right before blurting out the name; his body started to wither away in the influence of the golden energy.
Without waiting for the old man to speak any further, a word escaped from Kai's mouth.
"Ash" He raised his eyebrows as he realized what he had been doing since the very start.
Confused by his own actions, he stood there like a statue while glaring at the screen.
A chuckle escaped from the old man's lips, as he spoke his last words.
"Glad to see you back my friend... The Seventh Calamity begins!"
The old man withered away, leaving behind a dead silence that carried the weight of eternity.