New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Khalor watched as Astaroth’s body dissipated.

“What a waste of time.” He said.

He then raised his head to the sky, waiting for something.

A moment after he raised his head, a figure appeared.

“So you were waiting for me. How did you know I would come?” The person asked.

“I think we have already established that I know of many things, Ms. Levesque. Let us skip this useless small talk, shall we?” Khalor said, his gaze cold as the ice of the north pole.

“Very well, Mr. Magnus. Shall we get straight to business, then?” The chairwoman asked.

“I am not interested in fighting you, if that is what you meant. What I truly want is an explanation,” Khalor flatly replied.

Constantine seemed almost disappointed for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. Even if she wanted to fight Khalor oh so badly, she was not here for that right now.

“What explanation, pray tell, do you think I owe you?” she asked Khalor.

“Why are you keeping the information? This could save lives. Why are you so adamant about keeping it from the public?” Khalor asked.

Constantine raised a brow at the question.

‘Again something he shouldn’t know,’ she thought.

“I do not know what information you speak of, young man,” Constantine said, feigning ignorance.

“Constantine. Don’t lie to me.” Khalor said, showing slight signs of anger.

“Oh? Are we on a first-name basis now? Very well, David. I’m holding information because mass panic would only make things worse. Do you not agree?” She answered, emphasizing his name.

She was trying to show him she could also learn things about him. But Khalor was unaffected by her taunts.

He already guessed she had discovered many things about him from his past. But he cared little about his past.

Only the future mattered.

“You overestimate the effectiveness of your plan, Constantine. Many people will die at this pace. Is that what you wish?” Khalor asked her.

“Even if you think you know everything, young man, you are wrong. My plan will work as I intended it to. They promised me.” Constantine replied, trying to brush off his comment.

“They are lying. Millions will die. That blood will be on your hands. Do not wait until it is too late to reveal the truth. This time, make the right choice.” Khalor said.

“Now, be kind, and send the money for the prize to this account number,” he added, sending her a private message.

He then vanished.

“Tch. He disconnected.” Constantine spat out discontent.

She had been running tracking software on him while they were talking. But this was not enough time for the software to pinpoint his location.

It only gave her a country and state, which she could have already guessed by his accent. It was far from enough to help find him.

At best, it would speed up the search, but not enough for it to help much. With the information David Magnus seemed to possess, he was a threat to her plans.

Constantine disconnected too, since staying in the game no longer had value. Her time would be better spent in the real world.

After disconnecting, she called her employees so they could launch the live stream back up, and the players reconnected. It was time to wrap up this tournament.

The first thing to happen was the players from the final phase reconnecting. They started reappearing one by one, and half a minute later, all of them were back.

They were no longer all floating in the air though, as they were back in the previous arena, where all had started. Most players present were grumbling at the interruption.

No one knew who had won, since the graph had not been updated. Only one of the two finalists re-appeared too.

Astaroth didn’t bother looking around, since he had still been connected during the conversation between Khalor and Constantine. Which was why he was currently eyeing her with suspicion.

The next thing to happen was the live stream going back online. Once Constantine had the green light, she appeared on a screen in the sky again.

She delivered a grand closing speech, congratulating all the players that made it this far, and those who hadn’t. She then plugged in the fact that pods were still available for purchase, but being built as fast as they could.

She mainly addressed this to the masses, as most of the players in the tournament already owned a pod. And those that didn’t would promptly buy one after disconnecting.

Constantine then apologized for the live stream going down during the final, saying this was a technical error, and that they would have it fixed for the next event.

She kept out the part where the players present had also been disconnected, lest people become suspicious of foul play.

Then she called up the semi-finalist, each in turn, giving them their reward, in the form of a bank transfer of half a million dollars. Smiles could be seen on their faces, while jealousy spread among the other contestants.

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Astaroth was called up next, heading toward the sky, as the game made him float automatically. This was Constantine’s way of flaunting her stars to the public.

Her showmanship skills might have paled, compared to music stars or actors, but she had nothing to envy of other presenters.

Astaroth received his bank transfer, his being of a million dollars, without too much emotional outburst. His mind was too busy processing his conversation with Khalor and what had transpired after his defeat.

He was still looking at Constantine wearily, but tried to hide it as best he could. It seemed to be sufficient, as no one asked questions.

And finally, Constantine congratulated Khalor, the grand winner. She excused him to the other players and the public, stating that he had somewhere urgent to be and couldn’t be present for the closing.

After that, she held another speech about the importance of these competitions for the players, and for the spectators. She also assured them there would be another one a year from now.

She set the anticipation for the future of the game high and ended the ceremony with fireworks. It was a beautiful display for the people present and the online watchers.

But one person wasn’t enjoying it much, and disconnected when the fireworks started.

Alexander’s eyes opened up in his pod and he looked troubled.

‘What will happen now?’ He thought, his mind still a mess.