When the weather was particularly calm, usually, Chao Chian would take a walk outside. Splendid weather always called for an activity that didn't contain too much power, and for Chian at least, he found walking the easiest possible action.
But that day, it had rained after a few steps. And he didn't want to seem like a person who gave up easily after one misfortune, so he went on with his walk, though he made sure he grabbed an umbrella along with him. He didn't want to be soaked throughout.
Whilst the weather went on, Chian tried to find as much shelter out of his thin umbrella as he could. But the rain poured heavily against the fabric, and he feared that perhaps it may tear and he would soon be drenched. And for that, he couldn't allow it.
Where he lived, the streets grew quiet, and it was for that reason mainly that Chian enjoyed his walks so much. There was no one around to bother him, or to distract him, so it felt as if this world was lonesome and only had him inside. Whilst that felt slightly claustrophobic, it did make Chian feel comforted.
As he walked down, he could spot the central park off in the distance, as well as an unfamiliar shop on his far right side. Chian stared at it for a moment with observing eyes.
Here in Okasake Town, where he lived, most shop owners were well known around the areas they distributed across, and so Chian was quite fond himself of the shopkeepers who ran the store before it was suddenly refurbished into a new shop altogether.
At first glance, it seemed normal. Apart of a long row of other shops that lead down the street, and on its left side was a thin alleyway. There was no sign to indicate the name of the shop, and the windows were tinted far too dark for him to see anything inside. It seemed desolate, other than the fact that there was an 'OPEN' sign wedged in the corner of the door.
Hm, how peculiar... not even a name and yet it's open? Chian frowned and then blinked up at the shop.
It was likely that this was to not be trusted, perhaps it was some sort of scam, and while so, Chian found him glaring at the storefront. He disliked that sort of behaviour unless it was him being the perpetrator, then again, he was always like that.
Suddenly, as Chian stood before it with a grave expression, the front door opened making a clack! sound, and someone appeared at the entrance. It was odd enough that someone was there, nevermind the person staring straight at him with an unusual face. That was the moment the rain suddenly paused, and Chian frowned.
The people in Okasake, Chian recalled, were quite strange anyway. So maybe this person was a native, but also, maybe they weren't. Chian had never seen this person before, and this town was too small for everyone not to know one another. So he was sure this stranger was new. At this, Chian blinked and bit his lip in order to suppress any snarky comments that could potentially slip out his mouth, he was always like that, apparently.
It seemed to be an old woman there, with wrinkles and drooping skin, a cane in her hand. For a long, outstretched moment of silence, neither of them spoke. They just stared at one another.
Yeah, Chian thought to himself, She's new, I don't know who she is at all.
"Hello, dear," The old woman called out, stumbling on her feet as she lifted her cane upwards in the air like a wave. It was a motion that suggested for Chian to approach her, so he obliged.
He nodded, humming. "Hi, ma'am,"
The woman stared at him with clear grey eyes that matched her hair, and for a moment, her pupils gleaming as if someone had poured glitter straight inside her eyes.
"You seem like a lovely young man, you know," She said, "My husband and I just moved here to retire with my grandson, and this here is my grandson's new shop,"
Ah, Chian nodded hastily, his hair whipping from corner to corner of his head. That explains his previous train of thought, which now seemed a lot less necessary that he had thought of it. Why was he so curious about someone else's existence?
But the old woman still smiled.
Chian finally examined the shop, and noticed that this shop was a gaming store. At once, his eyes widened and he sucked in a breath without much of thought as to what he was doing. But he liked his games quite a lot, and more then often times that if he wasn't out on a walk, he was simply just playing video games.
"...Ah! Thank you," Chian finally registered her compliment, and he bowed slightly with his cheeks flaring up in embarrassment, "Um—games?"
"Mm, I don't understand the amusement, of course. But he owned a gaming shop in the previous town we lived in, and that was beyond popular,"
He reckoned so. But there weren't many people around his age in Okasake, and usually people his age liked video games the most. Other than middle aged unemployed men who sit on their ass all day long. But Chian found that comparable to himself, slightly.
"Oh,"
"Are you interested then? I'll be glad to show you, since my grand son isn't here yet,"
He was about to refuse, was going to promptly tell her that he was busy but maybe another time. But her face, her sad and old face, well, he couldn't just refuse an elderly woman now.
"That would be nice," Chian smiled back at her, though his smile was more of a grit of teeth than anything sincere. He really was trying to not say anything unhinged, he didn't want to insult someone again on a first encounter like he apparently always did.
The old woman took him inside. There, Chian found himself standing inside in awe, as he stared at what there was to offer in the store. It definitely seemed that this person she said was her grandson, had a lot of good stuff, no wonder his shop was popular.
"Feel free to look around, dear,"
Chian didn't even think to answer her before his legs drifted away.
As a child, he frequently used video games as a way of forgetting things. So by now, his memory was foggy and he had some difficulty recalling certain events when he was a lot younger. Even so, just the thought of picking up a device thrilled Chian to his core. He couldn't help the little smile on his face as he observed the rows and rows of items.
The old woman smiled at him, "What's your name then?"
Startled, Chian flinched at her voice. Once he replaced, he shrugged his shoulders. "Chao Chian,"
He heard a faint hum.
"What a lovely name then,"
"And you? What about your name, ma'am?"
His eyes were still preoccupied as she answered him, "Oh, my name isn't worth mentioning."
Whilst that did make Chian frown, he didn't bother questioning what she meant by that. Instead, he kept his gaze ahead as he decided between which console looked better, the black or the black print one.
"Ah! I forgot, I have a new release," The old woman suddenly rushed out into the storage room before Chian could blink, and she was back in a blitz, which was quite astonishing for such an old and frail looking woman, "My grandson has this old and retro video game... no one's ever played it and I don't know anything of it. Want to try it?"
She handed it to him as he approached her. The video game console in his hand was small and built like a box, no doubt untouched with how the front was peeling off and it was covered in dust. Chian tried to find anything on the front and back that would indicate a company or any details of the game, but to his surprise, the console was left unlabelled.
Chian slowly glanced up at the woman with a special raise of a brow. But she didn't look at him, already to preoccupied with looking out the tinted windows.
Huh... it isn't a scam, is it? Then his eyes widened and his own thoughts and he internally slapped himself. When that was no use, he placed the console down and slapped his arm quietly, Damn it! How on earth could an old woman scam me? ...
He took the console back in his hands. It really was retro and vintage, with buttons looking too pixelated for it to be a modern creation.
"..." He thought for a moment before he sighed, "I'll take this one,"
Instantly, the old woman perked up and she almost looked relieved. Chian wondered how long her family had this for her to want to chuck it out so badly.
He stared at it blankly for a moment. All that it had was just a black box. With the woman staring at him, Chian sighed and opened the game so that the screen was now facing at him. He thought that it looked like any other tacky console he would occasionally play, so there wasn't much interesting from the details of its exterior. Therefore, he switched the on button.
Really, he wasn't actually expecting it to work. This old woman had described it as old, so he thought that maybe it was broken or so unused that it broke itself.
When the screen loaded, it burst into colours.
[ PLAYER (?) WELCOME TO: SELF-PAYING DEMONIC DEFENSE. ]
Chian's eyes were blown wide with the sudden surprise of vibrant colours that painted the once black screen. There, before him, was all neon green, and the writing was a neon yellow.
Even the old woman raised a thin brow, drawn in confusion as she watched from the corner of his shoulder. So, it was decided. This woman hadn't known of this game then.
"...demonic defense?"
The screen changed and it turned off. Chian turned to the old woman who was staring back at him with intent wide eyes, she seemed to be sweating profusely.
"Um... let's pay,"
That surely seemed like a good idea. Chian closed the console and placed it gently on to the front cashier desk where the woman was now standing behind. She stared at it wearily, picking it up and scanning it before asking for the right amount of money. Chian gladly took out his pocket money, and handed it to her frail hands. But he knew for sure that he wouldn't forget the look on her face any time soon—she looked terrified.
"Well, thank you then," Chian bowed as he left.
"Ah...! And you, take care,"
The rain had stopped long ago, but there really wasn't any point in continuing his walk any further. Although the grass of the park did seem rather alluring, Chian decided against his thoughts and walked towards where he came from, with the console stuffed in the pocket of his trousers.
He tried not thinking about that strange old woman. Sure, she seemed nice, but there was definitely something behind it.
Although he weather was now clear, the pavements were still wet and everything was as a damp as the aftermath of a shower. The smell of rain flew through the air and his nostrils, and despite disliking the smell, Chian didn't make any pained facial expressions with his mind elsewhere.
Then, on his walk, the console that was stuffed in his trouser pocket suddenly slipped out and fell hard on the pavement. Chian had hardly any time to catch it as it fell, although thankfully it wasn't harmed or damaged in any way. Still, he picket it up and stared at it as he opened it.
Well... there was also something strange about this, wasn't there?
This strange video game console from nowhere, only a name. No record of who made it or anything about it. Chian had only bought it because of the old woman's kind heart... if not that, he would never have thought to purchase it.
Flipping it open, the screen burst back into colour again. The colours stayed the same, with waves of green and yellow and slightly bright pink. Now, there was a pixelated character there too, staring at him with a winking face and bright smile. It wasn't really a person, but rather a little black dragon with three pink pixels as eyes.
[ SELF-PAYING DEMONIC DEFENSE: PRESS (X) TO START THE GAME! ]
Chian, suddenly dumbfounded with the characters presence, felt his index finger press the keyboard letter (X).
The screen changed, the character was now gone. All there was now was a white screen and three loading dots. Flash! The loading screen altered once more to the point that it started to hurt Chian's sensitive eyes, and now other than the white screen and the pixelated dragon character, there was also a typing box.
[ INSERT PLAYER NAME: ]
Now, he would have to think hard on that.
If he was going to play this game consecutively, he would have to think of a good enough game. It didn't specify whether you were able to change your player name later on, so this was a big deal to Chian.
After a moment of thought, he decided.
[ PLAYER NAME: Chian ]
He felt proud, the smug smile on his face was surely demonstrating it. It was basic, obviously, but he had a hatred for corny usernames or fake names. Even if he used them in the past, that was specific to the past anyway.
[ PLAYER Chian IS NOW STARTING THE GAME... PLEASE WAIT ]
He waited. He waited, staring at the loading screen again until there was another flash that burst across the screen and ignited a warm feeling that twisted his guts. The screen was like a thin white paper, it pieced his eyes with how clear and flashy it was.
Chian closed his eyes, squinting them with gritting teeth at how the brightness hurt his eyes. Then when he opened them, he blinked.
Well, this was definitely not the street.
[ WELCOME PLAYER Chian TO SELF-PAYING DEMONIC DEFENSE! ]