The Earth After Rebirth

"Do you know what the sanctum is?" He asked Isla who was still attached to his arm.

"Mm? Never heard of it." She shrugged.

Saanvi shrugged too. It was the first they'd heard about it when Ursa mentioned it just a few minutes ago.

"Well if two rich brats don't know about it, it can't be that important." He jokingly said.

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"Jerk!" Isla punched him lightly on the shoulder while she laughed.

Even Saanvi was laughing. Kiro was seeing a rare sight right in front of him. Which caused him to stare a little, he shook it off before she could notice though.

"Are you alright buddy?" He asked Hiro who seemed out of place ever since the toilet incident.

He lightly chuckled and stroked the back of his head, "yes, yes." He boarded the train first.

Kiro could tell something was amiss with him but he didn't ask any further. He reckoned he didn't want to spill his guts in front of the girl of his dreams.

They arrived at school a little over 5. Winter was almost here so the sun had almost already set at this point.

All they could talk about was how great the park had been and how they should visit it again some time. They decided to skip dinner too, they expected to get in trouble for this, since they skipped breakfast they may as well go all the way.

They said their goodbyes to the girls and walked the rest of the way together. In silence.

"Ready to talk?" Kiro asked him as he stood in front of his room.

"Can I crash here tonight?" Hiro smiled awkwardly as he asked.

Kiro gave him a questioning look, he couldn't read his face at all. He opened his door and gestured for him to come in. He did. They sat on the couch, Kiro put on some TV.

[... It's been reported that over 30 million citizens of Sanctauri are now playing this game. It's certainly taken our world by storm.]

[No doubt about that Nancy. There's even people capitalising on this game, they've apparently gotten really lucky in-game and received a rare class, they call themselves After Dark, apparently they offer a service for guilds...]

"Holy sh*t Kiro, they're talking about us!" Hiro was obviously excited, this seemed to elevate his mood a bit.

"What a strange turn of events!"

They talked about the ingenious idea for over 15 minutes. Praising the individuals behind it, who've kept themselves hidden. The two listened attentively, basking in the many compliments they were showered by not only the reporters but also some Internet people.

"I think, I was fine when I didn't know my way through the Internet. I don't like how they can make me feel this good about myself." Kiro commented absentmindedly watching.

Their segment was finally over, and it was covering regular old, boring news about this and that. It was pure fortune if they ever reported on the lower district, it was always some stupid middle or upper district story or lack thereof.

"The sanctum—" Hiro suddenly said, Kiro turned to look at him, he took a really long pause as if he were contemplating or trying to remember something.

Kiro waited for him, he didn't want to disturb his train of thought. Even though he was apprehensive, he did just mention the mysterious sanctum.

"I don't know what it is, so don't look so hopeful." He chuckled. "Anyway, I don't remember much, but when I heard that girl say it, I remembered my mum and dad arguing one time, this sanctum word was thrown in the mix before my brother disturbed them and they remembered where they were so they stopped."

Kiro searched his friends face for more answers, he couldn't find any. He sighed. "Is this also around the time your father disappeared?"

Hiro simply nodded.

"Clearly this is no coincidence, it can't be." Kiro mumbled, putting his thinking hat on.

Since Isaac wanted to be part of it as per Ursa, then it can only be for the rich people. The fact that he can't join yet, could only mean, it was for rich adults. These thoughts were swirling inside Kiro's mind.

'They have a secret society? Of course they do!'

Kiro didn't share his conclusion with his friend. Scared he would freak Hiro out. Scared it wasn't safe to say it out in the open like this. He was better off believing he could still find his father and maybe he still can, he's been lost for just a year after all.

His grandfather on the other hand, it had been over a decade. He had zero hopes that he was still within the realm of the living. He smiled wryly, touching the necklace he had given him all those years ago.

'Rest in peace grandpa.' He said a little prayer. He didn't know if gods were real, but if he could go back in time, then they must be and maybe heaven was also real.

He patted his friend on the back. "Don't worry, I'll help you get to the bottom of this. I—well—I also had someone disappear without a trace, my grandpa."

Silence filled the room for the longest time.

Hiro smiled, wiping a single tear from his eye. "I'll go get my headgear, it'd be a waste not to play on the weekend."

Coming back as promised they entered the game and Kiro stayed with him to help around the shop. He could use the extra hands to sort out the unending materials Felix kept on sending.

Just like that, weeks turned into months. In a blink of an eye, it'd already been 3 months since entering school. They had already sat for their quarterly exams, they were waiting for results and they'd be off to holidays.

The weather wasn't so kind, snow had already fallen. It was December after all. Kiro was glad he had bought a jacket and dropped his stubbornness back then. This winter seemed to be colder than any he'd ever experience. Maybe it was because they were somewhere else.

Even after months, their business was steady. Though they hadn't gone to a single mercenary job, nobody seemed to trust them enough not to sell their information to other players.

Kiro was sat at his dorm couch with his best friend, when a breaking news signal showed on the TV and it automatically switched to the news channel.

[Breaking news. The game, Asgard Online has introduced real life currency conversion!]