"The what?"
"The Anti. It is a force that has a mind of its own. It feeds on the powers of technology and magic. All that is really known about it is that it is incredibly powerful but incredibly hard to control. You will have a difficult time if you choose this path, but you will be rewarded handsomely if you manage it."
The old man stared deep into my eyes as I was too stunned to look anywhere else.
"Anyways, let me tell you something I do know about." The old man's demeanor suddenly shifted to a fun, playful attitude.
"Long ago, back when I was your age, I used to go to these places called arcades. They were wonderful places filled with life and excitement. For only a quarter I could spend hours being whisked away to a different world where anything could happen…"
The old man looked lost in a world inside of his imagination. His eyes glazed over as he thought back to his time as a youth.
Realizing he had drifted away, he suddenly came back to himself.
"Anyways," the old man quickly coughed, "we don't have much longer together. The reason I bring this up is because I want you to be able to experience the joys of exploring countless dungeons, riding on the back of an ostrich, and many of the other fantastic adventures that I experienced.
"The key was, all I needed was one measly quarter. Those quarters meant the world to me. Each time I got a hold of a quarter, all I saw was credits for playing at the arcade."
The old man reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. It glinted in the sunlight as he held it up.
"This is the quarter you payed to enter this world. With this, you can play. But without it, you'll end up like me, simply watching on the sidelines as my friends had the time of their lives blasting through waves and waves of enemies. And that was all I could do, wait and watch, hoping for the day that I could come in with a quarter of my own."
He quickly, but reverently handed me the quarter.
"Here, take this. This will get you started in the ARCADE. many adventures await you there."
He then pointed to the other side of the pond. Looking up, I saw something that hadn't been there before. There was a new building that had flashing lights all around it. Signs on the windows advertised several classic arcade games that I had learned about when I was learning as much as I could about the ARCADE.
Above the double doors that were obviously the main entrance, there was a sign that read "Welcome to the ARCADE!"
After looking at the new building and getting past the fact that it had just appeared out of nowhere, I turned back to the old man.
"What about…"
I was stopped short.
The old man no longer sat next to me. I was alone, sitting on the park bench where I had witnessed magic that before had only existed in my dreams.
A wisp of wind brushed past my head as I sat there puzzled. I had expected some things to be beyond my imagination, but I continued to be caught off guard every time something happened that was beyond normal limits.
Decidedly, I got up and made my way around the pond towards the new building. Quarter in hand, I was ready to brave this world.
Never before had I had any opportunity to experience something so breathtaking. But for the first time, I stepped towards the doors of the ARCADE. My heart was racing. Was this for real?
As I got closer to the building, I could see inside the windows where several young teens and children were huddled around several classic arcade machines that were scattered around the large room.
Seeing the expressions on their faces, I quickly ran over to the main door throwing it open.
A bright, white light poured out from the open door as nothing that he had seen was inside the open door. Suddenly, there was a force pushing me towards the light. I struggled as I got dragged through the door and into the endless expanse that once held my excitement.