Proclaiming the Word (1)
[Deus ex Machina] — a cross-platform character-collection game for mobile and PC.
My all-time favorite game, the one I'd poured my entire life into.
The game's plot was your standard cliché: players as the "chosen one," a hero of the forgotten god, battling evil forces bent on world destruction.
Yet despite that, the world-building in Deus ex Machina was meticulously crafted, packed with captivating characters that propelled it to explosive popularity right from launch.
I got swept up in the hype too, devoting years of my life — and every penny — to it.
Deus ex Machina let you collect characters and add them to your protagonist's party, so I dumped all my cash into gacha pulls for the ones I loved, building my dream team.
The problem? The pity ceiling for a single character often exceeded 300,000 won. But I believed this game would last forever, and my love for it justified the spending. Sure, 300,000 won might sound low, but duplicates powered up characters, and exclusive weapons meant my total spend hit eight figures.
And I never regretted it.
Until virtual reality games came along.
___
A major U.S. Big Tech firm unveiled a VR game, and soon others followed with their own VR tech.
I'd dismissed the metaverse hype as fake, convinced true VR was decades away. Boy, was I wrong.
VR that required just a cheap pair of glasses — simple, affordable, and leagues beyond traditional games in performance and price. Mobile and PC titles got obliterated overnight.
My eternal Deus ex Machina was no exception.
Once boasting peak concurrent users on a global scale, it became a ghost town with zero new players. My guildmates all jumped ship.
VR just wasn't for me, so I stuck around. Even if it had been, I doubt I'd have left Deus ex Machina.
___
And then the executioner's axe fell.
Not a full service shutdown — it wasn't that irrelevant yet.
The devs announced an end to updates.
No more content. Thanks for loving Deus ex Machina all these years.
...The story wasn't even finished.
My protagonist and characters' adventure — cut short like this? After everything we'd been through?
The devs claimed the game would stay online, just no updates. But shutdown was inevitable.
No one plays a frozen world without an ending.
And then my money, my passion... my memories... all for nothing.
My adventures with the characters I cherished...
No. That can't happen.
Not like this.
I can't lose my life like this.
Crushed, I grabbed my phone and logged into the Deus ex Machina community.
This game had swept the world once. Surely others loved it like I did.
Maybe they'd demand the devs resume updates too.
But the community screen that loaded...
A barren wasteland. No activity.
The latest post? Ten days old. And it was off-topic nonsense.
Even the forums were dead.
I hadn't checked in ages, but to think it'd died like this...
It used to be more buzzing than any other game's community.
With my last hope shattered, I collapsed onto my bed.
The game I'd given everything to...
Drained, I drifted off dreaming of a brighter future — one where Deus ex Machina lived on.
___
I awoke to a completely unfamiliar, opulent ceiling.
___
"Young master. The family head summons you."
"Father? Got it. Give me a moment."
___
Fifteen years ago.
I opened my eyes inside the world of Deus ex Machina.
The world I'd loved so dearly.
At first, I didn't even realize. But meeting "my" family confirmed it.
This was Deus ex Machina. My treasure trove of memories.
Possessed into one of its characters — a background extra, no less, frozen in a stalled world.
It felt like a divine gift. Whoever arranged this... this couldn't be a dream, right?
Adventuring with my beloved characters in this world!
Nothing could make me happier.
The catch? I was a four-year-old kid. Useless.
Still, I vowed patience.
An extra, but same age as the protagonist. Over a decade until the game "starts."
Plenty of time to grow and meet them.
Adapting to this world and body, fifteen years flew by. Adulthood loomed.
Once of age, I'd enter the academy.
And there, meet the main characters — my cherished ones — in the flesh!
Knock knock.
"Father. It's Luke. I heard you called for me."
"Enter."
I eased the door open. A white-haired, muscular middle-aged man — radiating masculine charm — sat at his desk, handling documents.
"Sit, Luke."
The father of the extra I'd possessed: Luke Perseino's dad.
Duke Leopard Perseino, guardian of the empire's north.
The empire's sword against the chaos hordes beyond the northern mountains.
Even at the story's cutoff, he ranked among the world's strongest.
"Luke. The reason I called you today is—"
Father set aside his glasses mid-document.
"The coming-of-age ceremony...?"
"Yes, that too. But it's about the academy."
The academy.
The empire's premier institution for nobles.
Some talented commoners got in, but it was mainly a social hub for aristocracy.
And the stage for Deus ex Machina's key events and character arcs.
"As you know... that book you wrote is shaking the continent."
"Ah... y-yeah?"
The book I wrote.
That one.
I'd penned it to stir things up, but not this much.
To think a casual scribble birthed a new religion swallowing the continent.
"Fortunately, no one knows you wrote it yet. But the whole continent's hunting for you. Luke, if you go to the academy and slip up, it could be dangerous. Religion's that perilous."
True enough.
This continent wasn't medieval Europe with inquisitions, but leaders everywhere were scouring for the book's author.
"So, Luke... how about skipping the academy and staying home?"
"...Pardon? But all imperial nobles must attend..."
"True, there's that obligation. But who am I? Duke of the North, Leopard Perseino. The emp— er, His Majesty and I are close. I'll put in a word. Then you can skip it. What do you say?"
Father and the emperor had been friends since childhood, still bantering casually in private.
His request could probably waive my attendance.
"I'm sorry, Father."
But I'd go anyway.
"...Huh?"
Fifteen years of waiting.
For these people I adored.
Finally, the chance to meet them.
Miss it over some vague risk? No way.
___
"...Fine. Think it over — you can change your mind anytime."
"Understood, Father. I'll take my leave."
Creeeak.
Thud.
___
"Phew."
I closed Father's study door and headed to my room.
En route, I ran into her.
"......Get lost, trash. Don't dirty my eyes first thing in the morning."
My sister.
The family member who despised me.
Enthralled by the religion born from my book.