Chapter 1

  Daniel, being a Warlock, standing at 5' 11", black hair, kind of slicked back, has black eyes, his black warlock outfit swaying in the strong wind created by the harsh flames. adjusting his black frame glasses. Instead of being in the back lines using magic, he likes being on the front line. He stands next to his friend Ronan, Athletic build, who is a Paladin, standing tall at 6' 2" has brown hair and hazel eyes. His Shield up and standing in front of the rest of the party. His Paladin armor damaged from combat, white and gold color combination. Wearing no helmet. His clothes under his armor we was wearing was white, and covered in dirt, and ripped in some parts. Charice, being a Ronin class, standing behind the two, injured and panting, her short red hair, styled in a short, somewhat messy bob with sharp angles, her blue eyes, tearing up from the ashes and hot winds. Her slender frame, leaned forward. She wore, black pants, knee high leather boots, a long sleeve white shirt, that had blue waves for design. Her black gloves that had red lining was ripping apart. She wielded a katana that was chipped and almost broke. Standing right next to her, was Naya, her long black hair, waving behind her as her eyes, black, also tearing up from the fierce winds blowing at them. Her body a bit more thick and curvy then Charice's body. She adjusted her red glasses, her white and robes with gold lining around the shoulders and waist, she wore white stockings and knee high boots that were white and had bright blue laces. as she was the healer in the party, tried casting some protective spell from the powerful winds blowing at them. She raised her white staff that had a blue glowing orb on the top and focused on creating a barrier around the party. Then there was Soren, Another mage class, a summoner, that was more for support, except he was the brains of the party. He was was dressed in green robes, with black pants, and leather boots. He was bald and had brown eyes. His summon he had out looked like a fairy that was wearing yellow sleeveless top, with a matching yellow skirt, another matching piece of clothing was her yellow stockings, that had gold lining. Her name was Sera, she was a back up healer and kept the party continuously healed. The party was surrounded by flames and harsh winds as the monster they were facing was a large black dragon, with red glowing eyes, that blood was dripping from. The dragon had large horns that glowed a bright yellow and red as heat emanated from it. The large dragons teeth bright red as it was roaring at the party, standing on all fours as tall as a three story building, but incredibly wide like a football field. The dragon swiped at the party with its left arm, destroying the barrier around the party as they were blown back and all hit the ground. They looked up at the dragon approaching as it raised it's head right over the party and unleashed a powerful blast of magma out of it's large mouth, right over the party as they all got up quickly so they could to dodge the magma. Only Daniel managed to get up fast enough and run out of the danger zone as he used magic, pressed under his boots to propel himself out of the way from the magma, Ronan, Naya, Charice, and Soren were all hit as their bodies began melting and their skin melted off their bones as their bones begin disintegrating from the magma. Ronan's face completely melting, along with the others in the party except Daniel.

  A giant hand came crashing down right over the party, as it was just a hologram creating a scene from the friends Dungeon and Dragons campaign. "What the heck!" As Charice began complaining how that was unfair to have been killed by a Magma dragon, her voice light yet mature, being 34. She quickly removed her hand off the table, as to confirm her characters death. she wore a black, oversized shirt, with casual black short shorts. Naya laughing next to her wearing a pink buttoned sleep wear with matching sleep pants, her long black hair tied up messily as she adjusted her red glasses, taking a drink from her cup, "Well, that sucks" Naya says, as she admits defeat, her voice a bit deeper than Charice, being 34. Soren upset as his character dies knowing full well that's the end of the campaign for him. He gets up and starts complaining as well as he feels it was unfair fight with a Magma dragon he was wearing his green Dungeons and Dragons shirt that had a dice on it that said life roll and was showing a one "Dude really?! Soren complained. His voice deep, as he is 39. Ronan, sat there staring at the hologram created by the smart house AI system creating the hologram of the campaign. He knows full well he lost, but didn't want to admit defeat after a long campaign. Keith, sat at the end of the table laughing as the DM. His voice deep yet energetic, as he is 37 his long black hair tied in a pony tail, his black eyes looking evil as he laughed at the party losing. He adjusted his black glasses as he stared at Daniel, the only survivor of the party. He knew Daniel was smart, and knew he could have made some moves that could possible save the party, but chose to save himself instead. He chose to keep that information to himself, as he knew Daniel was smart. Keith's frame, was slim. As he sat in his chair hunched over the table casting the hologram as the party's characters were all melted and nothing was left. He stared at Daniels character, standing there as the hologram was paused. He thought to himself, at times he chose to keep his friend safe at times, other times he tried to get rid of him. Testing Daniel, He then turned his attention back to Daniel across the table from him staring back as Daniel knew him well as they have been friends for many years. They both knew they were testing and pushing one another in this campaign that is almost over as the party was wiped except his character.

  A red light from the ceiling turned on as it was the AI program for the smart house Ronan and his family had lived in. It was a small dome decorative light fixture, as if there was a red glow like an eye. It was the AI watching the group of friends, making sure they were alright. As Ronan, and the others heart rate were elevated, but not in a bad way, they were riled up from the loss of their campaign. Charice, Naya and Ronan got up to get more drinks from the kitchen, as Soren and Keith got up to smoke outside on the balcony. Two doors that opened up to a balcony outside, as the two friends invited Daniel as he refused to head outside. Daniel who is 36, leaned back on the floor, as he checked his smart watch as he was AI built into it as well. It was a gift from his mother who only wanted to watch out for him as the smart watch with the AI could keep track of him. Daniel doesn't hate AI, just didn't like to rely on it. He saw a mini character of his mother who was on his watch smiling letting him know the time. Daniels mother had short black hair, a bit of greying in her hair, she was almost 70 years of age, black eyes, and wrinkling around her face. Daniel only had his mother left, as his father left when he was born. The only thing he knows of his father is he worked for the company Parallax Innovations. The company responsible for all the AI in the world now, the ones bringing the world into the new era of technology, with AI being their major project. Daniel laid there staring up at the ceiling when he realized the red light was still on of the the dome light. He focused his eyes, knowing that light should of shut off after checking on the group of friends earlier. He raised his left arm waving at the light that was focused on him. "Hello?" Daniel said in a deep and gentle voice as he stared at the red light. The light glowed even brighter and a high pitched sound immediately went off, as if it was in his ears.

  "Damn!" Daniel said in a raised voice as he covered his ears and got up. He looked back at the dome light on the ceiling as it was now glowing a gentle blue light. As he did, he heard Keith and Soren walk back in making sure he was alright as they heard him from outside. "Are you alright Daniel?" Soren asking as Daniel looked back at the dome light as it no longer had a gentle blue light. The red light was off as well. Daniel stared and wonder if that was a feature from the AI smart house or not. "Hey, you good bro?" Keith asked Daniel, as he looked back at Keith and Soren. "Yeah, I'm good, just tired." Daniel replied, as he was wondering what just happened. It was getting late as, Charice and Naya had their own room to sleep in, as did Ronan as it was his family's house his friends were sleeping in. The house was two stories and was on a large plot of land as Ronan's famliy were rich. they were all getting ready for bed, as Ronan tried flirting with Charice and Naya. "Hey keep it PG-13 peeps!" Keith Jokingly yelled as he entered the room they all played dungeons and Dragons in, it was a large living room on the second floor. A large 86 inch T.V. Was hung on the wall, two large couches against the opposite side of the room where Soren and Keith were going to be sleeping on, both dark blue in color. The wall was colored white with posters of Dungeons and Dragons, and other nerdy posters. Daniel, sleeping on the floor as he didn't mind, he stared back at the ceiling wondering what happened earlier. An hour passed as he couldn't sleep. He got up and walked out onto the balcony. He walked over to the metal railing as he leaned on it just staring up at the night sky. admiring the stars, that night, as he did, he realized Charice was doing the same thing, from the other balcony from their room was attached too. she turned to him and gave him a gentle smile. She walked closer to the edge of the balcony's metal rail, closer to Daniel. "Can't sleep either?" Charice said with such a gentle and soft voice. "Nope" Daniel replied, as his heart nearly stopped as he was a shy person. Charice wasn't his friend, but the others. He barely even talked with her as he only knew her for about two months. "We need to get to know each other better if were going to be DnD buddies" she said with a smile. "Right" Daniel could only respond with as he didn't know how to respond to others he didn't know well. Charice reached out her hand towards Daniel as to shake his hand as the balconies were close to each other. Daniel reached out as well to shake her hand. "That's a start" Charice said with a smile as she shook Daniels hand. They held their hand there for a moment, Daniel feeling her warm hand. he locked eyes with Charice for a moment before they both let go, turning away from each other. Daniel's heart racing. "Well time for bed" Charice said as she gave him a gentle smile one last time before turning and returning to her room. Daniel, took a deep breath of relief as he looked back to the night sky. Daniel heard a whisper from his smart watch as it startled him so much, It startled him because his smart watch didn't have any features that allowed it to talk. It had a speaker, for playing music or media, but to hear a whisper from his smart watch, scared him. He lifted his left arm and placed his smart watch near his left ear listening closely. "You have to hurry.... Go. Go get the Astralink Band" A voice that was soft and light coming from his Neonpulse one smart watch. The Astralink Band was a new smart watch directly linked to the new AI the Parallax Innovations company was going to be introducing the next day. It was a powerful smart watch that made cell phones obsolete. As the smart watch powered by AI could do everything a smartphone could do and then some. It could create holograms of people you were talking to, connect to smart houses that could lock and unlock doors, windows, run water, control lights. "What the hell?" Daniel whispered to himself as he looked at his watch. Unnerved, Daniel, decided to head back inside the house and go to sleep.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Daniel, woke up, and was on a beach, where time seemed to have stopped. Not sure why he thought time stopped there as it felt that way to him. He then saw a woman, in the distance. "Hey Danny... It's me, Lyra." She says with such a soft voice. Lyra appears as a young woman shaped from the boundary between worlds, her form carrying both digital precision and cosmic softness. Her hair is a radiant blue that shifts between turquoise and deep celestial hues, cut into a sleek bob that moves as if suspended in gentle, weightless currents. Subtle glimmers of light ripple through each strand, giving the impression that her hair is illuminated from within.

  Her eyes are striking — deep violet irises swirling with tiny constellations, as though someone captured a fragment of the night sky and set it behind her gaze. When she focuses, the stars inside her eyes brighten and rearrange into fleeting patterns, hinting at thoughts she never fully speaks aloud.

  Her skin is pale with a faint, ethereal glow. Delicate geometric markings trace along her arms, collarbone, and legs, pulsing softly like living circuitry whenever she interacts with the world around her. These markings are subtle at rest but brighten when she becomes alert, emotional, or attuned to disturbances in the Veil.

  Lyra moves with a fluid, almost weightless grace, as if gravity treats her differently. Her steps leave faint after?images that dissolve into drifting particles of light, and the air around her bends in tiny ripples, suggesting she is never entirely anchored to one layer of reality.

  Her expression is gentle and observant, carrying a warmth that contrasts with her otherworldly nature. She watches people — especially Daniel — with a familiarity that feels impossible, as though she has known him far longer than he has known her. When she speaks, her voice carries a soft, layered resonance, like two tones harmonizing in perfect sync. Lyra is not human, not machine, and not spirit. She is something born in the quiet spaces between signals — a presence both comforting and uncanny, luminous and mysterious, fragile and impossibly powerful. "You must get the new Astralink band, you must...survive. SURVIVE!" Lyra screamed as Daniel woke up like he just woke up from a nightmare. He looked at his watch, the battery must have died. He knew he had charged his watch the night before. He looked up at the dome lighting. and asked what time it was. The red light glowed and told him it was 8:47 AM.

  Daniel and his friends were getting ready to leave for the mall, as everybody except Daniel was planning on getting a new smartwatch model for the new AI system being revealed. Daniel thought about the dream he had as he was at the table eating his breakfast. The dome lighting above the kitchen projected a hologram of a green haired woman with Hazel eyes, and asked the group of friends how the breakfast was. They all agreed it was good as AI was being used to cook the food to perfection. They had bacon and eggs with breakfast sausages. As Daniel was eating, Charice stared at him, a worried look on her face. "You okay Danny?" Charice said with a soft voice. "Yeah, sorry I was just spaced out" He replied, staring at his smart watch. His Smart watch he thought was out of batteries, words appeared on the black screen, "Hurry... make sure you get the Astralink band." Daniel watched with a worried look on his face. He stood up quickly "We gotta go and hurry before we're late" His friends all looked at him as some laughed. "Relax, my dad works at Parallax Innovations, we're all getting new models, have you decided you want one too Danny?" Ronan said with a smile, knowing his friend finally decided he wanted to catch up with the times by getting a new smartwatch.

  "Lets just go and get it" Daniel said with a hurried voice. Ronan and the others laughed except Charice. They all headed out and made their way to the mall. The mall also owned by Parallax Innovations as they are a major company. Holograms were everywhere lighting up around the malls and stores. Cars all coming in for new smart watches. The cars being driven by AI as people just sat in their cars, not even driving. Daniel tried desperately calling his mother, but his Neonpulse one smart watch, a much older model, his mother got him as a gift was not working. Frustrated, he tried rushing Ronan for the new Astralink band smartwatch. Ronan, was a bit worried about Daniel as he knew him for so many years and never knew Daniel to worry about anything. If Daniel did worry about something, Ronan knew something was wrong. Ronan walked faster, as the group was making their way into the mall through the back way of the mall as he had connections. As the group made their way inside the store to the main Store where they were getting their new smartwatch models.