[AVALOR]
Arthos woke up feeling very similar to his first time in Avalor…like waking up from anesthesia after major surgery.
His first impression was a soft humming sound, steady and occasionally pulsing like a heartbeat. His vision stabilized enough to catch sight of shimmering blue lights. The lights stretched in long straight lines in every direction. Arthos sat up and looked around, the noticed that the walls were metallic and covered in wires that stretched like a network of veins and arteries.
'This place looks like a giant computer…or a large network building.' Arthos thought as he looked around.
SKRITCH
He tensed hearing a familiar metallic scrapping sound. Numerous metal robots slowly entered the chamber where the portal used to stand. The robots looked similar to the ones Arthos and the trainees fought during the first days at the academy except these were slimmer and less combat oriented.
'These must be worker robots,' he concluded based on their lighter design, slower movement, and clunkier motion.
Arthos followed the worker robots into a large staircase that ascended thousands of steps upward. As he climbed the stairs, he noticed hundreds of "floors" or chambers evenly spaced out. Each floor or chamber was filled with thousands perhaps even millions of pods. Arthos approached the pods, they each appeared to be connected through an intricate web of wiring and cables.
'Oh my god! These are…these are avatars!'
Thousands of robots moved through the many chambers. The robots appeared to be fixing, maintaining, and caring for the pods and the interconnected network of cables.
'I wonder if I can find my avatar?'
Luckily for Arthos, each pod had a serial number.
'I think these numbers are the same or at least similar to our class orientation number…what was mine again…501T3? I think.'
Arthos found a computer terminal nearby and was able to locate his pod in the registry. It took about an hour to climb up the stairs to the correct chamber and locate his pod in the ocean of pods. Inside he saw his avatar, dormant and offline.
Looking around, he noticed hundreds of robots opening empty pods and placing avatars inside them. He observed intently how the pods opened and closed and proceeded to do the same. His pod opened with a slight hiss sound, followed by vapor exiting the pod as it slowly opened.
His avatar appeared to be asleep. Its chest expanded and contracted like a person in deep slumber. A faint whisper of air could be heard escaping its nose with each breath. Arthos put his hand against his avatar's cheek. The moment their skin touched, the unexpected happened.
A bright blue light emanated from the avatar…like a light bulb turning on. The light moved outwards like jelly…so thick that it could be felt. It wrapped around Arthos' hand penetrating deep into his skin, tissue, bones, blood, every cell and fiber.
The transference process did not hurt or cause discomfort. Although this was definitely a unique experience, Arthos did not panic nor feel fear. In fact, the experience felt natural…like two halves joining to form a whole…like two heart beats synchronizing…and like blurry vision becoming clearer, sharper, and focused.
As the light dissipated, the avatar looked lifeless…even the features that had slowly developed over time such as hair color, eye color, skin, face, and muscle seemed to revert back to "factory setting."
Arthos felt alive…as if his real body was experiencing what Arthos' soul felt while controlling the avatar. He felt his muscles denser and stronger as well as an indescribable energy deep in his soul. He jumped toward the staircase and to his surprise his real body responded the same way his avatar would have. In one leap he covered an enormous distance. He quickly raced up the staircase climbing thousands of steps with ease.
He reached the top of stairs and entered a large room that appeared extremely different from the staircase and chambers below. The staircase and chambers resembled a giant submarine made entirely of metal and wires. This room appeared to be an ancient castle made of stone and wood. Even the air felt different here…it smelled of stone, earth, and moss. With his curiosity peaked, Arthos punched a stone shattering it to pieces revealing a secrete. Behind the stone was a metal frame.
'These stones are a veneer…it's like the building itself has metal bones covered by stone skin.'
He wandered through the empty castle without encountering a single person…it remained empty except for the worker robots that swarmed like ants. Arthos followed the line of robots which led to a castle gate then to the outside world.
Avalor.
Arthos immediately recognized the familiar white-blue light emanating from the sky high above…it was a unique signature in Avalor…a blue sun. Arthos walked away from the castle, creating enough space between them in order to get a better look. After a good distance, he turned and immediately recognized the castle from which he exited.
Castle Avalor.
This was the closest he had ever been to Castle Avalor. Trainees and new initiates tended to gaze at the castle in awe and reverence…but experienced heroes and players mostly ignored it as an old fixture. The castle was impressive up close, towering high into the sky like an obelisk made of steel covered with stone.
'From here, the castle actually looks like a tower…wait…it looks more like a giant antenna!' Arthos mused somewhat shocked he had never noticed it before.
He exited the castle grounds and walked through the south side of the city. Windows, houses, and buildings appeared empty. As he walked, each step echoed faintly between the buildings highlighting the eerie silence. Arthos turned a corner and headed toward a familiar busy street near the Kettle Inn…the once hustling street was now littered with avatars lying on the ground. Hundreds of avatars in numerous poses were resting motionless on the ground as if suddenly abandoned. Some appeared to be walking immediately before "disconnecting"…others appeared to be talking in groups, conducting trade, eating a meal, etc.
Viewing thousands of "unplugged" avatars littered on the street was an amazing sight, but what happened next was perhaps even more amazing. Thousands of worker robots swarmed the streets of Avalor. Each robot methodically picked up a dormant avatar and proceeded to return to Castle Avalor with the avatar resting gently in their arms.
Arthos quickened his pace, making his way through the busy streets littered with dormant avatars. He reached the center of the city and stood in front of the Golden Parlor. From the outside he noticed two figures moving inside the building. He opened the front door and walked into the familiar shop.
Once inside the shop, he saw two familiar figures sitting at a table calmy sipping tea.