Seraphimiel - as he called himself online - was a gamer. Since time immemorial he had played games of all kinds: D&D, platformers, RPGs, FPS shooters, MMOs, horror, you name it. Games were his passion. Their ability to take a player away from their world and into a completely different one enthralled him completely. So when trailers for Allworld Chronicles were leaked onto the Internet almost a full year before it was even to be announced he got more than excited – he was ecstatic.

Allworld Chronicles was a next generation virtual reality MMORPG. The graphics were absolutely unreal. The world was massive. Its customization was unparalleled. Its gameplay was amazing. The developers claimed that their world contained "as many worlds as you could dream." Most people would shy away from such a challenge but apparently not these people. Seraph admired that a developer would take on such a massive undertaking. It was most certainly a tall order to fill. Not to mention that the market has been long saturated with similar games… but never of this scope.

Like any gamer with a group would do, he began to entice his group to play this game with him when it was released. His group called themselves two names (depending on the mood and type of game). They were either the Brojo when they were playing casual and silly or the Aevum when serious or roleplaying. And just as a rose by any other name smells the same, so to were they by any name still hardcore gamers. They had played scores of games together. Seraph believed this to be their next great adventure. They too thought this game was unreal but in the end they needed very little convincing.

"Too many games!" Alpha called out via GuildTalk. Seraph’s ears rang a little.

"Guys, I only just started playing ArchEon again," Zodd piped up, sounding a little whiney.

"And we only just started playing SpaceCivilian," said Alpha, sounding put out that there was the possibility of yet another game to play.

"Not to sound like a girl, but there is only so many games I can play," Sapphire chimed in. Her voice sounded a little staticy.

Seraph sighed. He could not blame them. There were a lot of games out there. Too many games. It seemed that almost every month there was a new sensational virtual world to take part of. And you too could join in for the low cost of $XX.XX. And if you paid now before the game’s official release you be a "founder," play the game early, and get lots of cool virtual junk. Everyone bought into that. Seraph and his group sure did every now and again. But with so many games it was hard to choose just one. And this game was not doing that. And this was the developer’s first game.

This is where Seraph felt different. Allworld Chronicles felt different. It felt special. It felt like the experience he has been waiting for his whole life. He just has to convince his group the same.

"Guys, this game is different." Seraph began, trying to emphasize the importance of this statement.

"You’ve said that before," Alpha said with an extra dose of sarcasm.

"He has said that before," Zodd agreed.

"Have I ever led you guys wrong?" Seraph said through is teeth, starting to get a little annoyed. He was thankful they did not hear it.

"Well, you did lead us into ArchEon," said Sapphire, sounding matter-of-factly.

"A world from which Zodd has yet to return from," Alpha added, the mock-mockery laid on thick.

"YOU HAVEN’T RETURNED!" Zodd retorted.

“Damn it, Zodd. That game is riddled with hackers! Give up on it,” Alpha continued indignantly.

“Never! Don’t judge me!” Zodd continued in his classic goof-ball attitude.

“Oh, you’re being judged,” Alpha laughed.

“Oi…” Sapphire said in exasperation. Clearly her patience was wearing thin.

Seraph sighed again. Zodd was Seraph’s brother so, so he was used to his antics. However, they were starting to be side-tracked. "Guys..." Seraph finagled his computer for a moment. A link popped up in chat. "Just click it. And I dare you to tell me you don’t want to."

"Fine," Alpha said, as though it took all the effort in the world to watch a short video.

"Play all the games!" Zodd said idiotically.

There was no reply from Sapphire but he heard them all click it. The distinct trailer music could be heard from each of their sides of the call. The music started slow, the announcer sounding both ominous and glorious. Then the music slammed into high gear - the audio equivalent of suddenly being rammed by a freight train carrying four million pounds of adrenaline.

"No fucking way," Zodd’s awe was palpable.

"Dude, is this for real?" Alpha asked in disbelief.

Sapphire was quiet.

"Yea, this is for real," Seraph responded. "In fact, I think that this might be as real as it gets."

The trailer ended with a few soft musical chime notes leaving the view to slowly and calmly come down from the intense adrenaline rush.

"Dude, the trailer alone was impressive. Do you really believe that is the in game graphics?" Alpha asked.

"I can’t believe they but their own system for this one game. And it plugs into your brain!" Zodd said.

"I know, right," Seraph said, thankful that they understood, and that it only took the trailer to convince them. Them... "Sapphire, you still there?"

There was silence for a moment from everyone.

"Yea, I’m here," her voice sounding slightly musical.

"Good, I thought we lost you for a moment," Seraph added. "Well... What do you think?"

More silence. Seraph heard Alpha want to say something but he refrained. Zodd’s breath was comically heavy.

"Wow..." Sapphire said with finality that contained pretty much everything she thought.

"The verdict is in!" Seraph called out in laughter.

"Oh yea, that definitely settles it." Alpha said, not sounding sarcastic for once.

"Woo! Let’s do this!" Zodd cried out in a mock-impression of a jacked up marine.

"You think Scidd or Splarg would want to play?" Seraph asked, knowing full well what the answer would most likely be.

"Dude, everyone is going to want to play." Alpha said with all the weight of all the worlds Allworld Chronicles claimed to be offering.