“Wow………”
The people in the Coliseum couldn’t take their eyes off the screen showing the city of Midgar.
The dark yet advanced appearance of the mechanical city, which they had never seen before, felt like something out of a dream and captivated everyone.
What does fantasy mean to the people living in this other world?
It was exactly this.
A modern city made up of guns, cars, and electrical devices,
This is what the otherworlders living in fantasy dreamed of.
Unable to look away from the first sight, they were still watching the video that hadn’t ended yet.
“Boom!!!!”
“Mommy!!!”
Suddenly, with a loud explosion, one side of the city erupted,
and the camera began to zoom in on that area.
There, a massive black train came into view.
Stunned for a moment by the sight of the train moving differently from the magical trains they knew,
armed men leaped out from the train that had just arrived at the station.
To show the otherworlders, who didn’t know what guns were, they opened fire on soldiers that appeared to be enemies, indicating that this was a weapon. Among them, a burly black man with an arm made of a gun demonstrated his strength by overpowering numerous soldiers.
And finally, someone stepped off the train.
With spiky yellow hair and a gigantic sword known as the Buster Sword, the protagonist, ‘Sky,’ made his grand entrance.
Then, the screen began to speed through scenes quickly.
The protagonist and his armed comrades in fight,
Battles against monsters and mechanical weapons,
The sneaky laughter of a plump villain scheming,
It seemed that stopping that villain’s scheme was the protagonist’s goal.
Fairy tales also exist in this other world.
Stories of the sneaky Demon Lord being defeated by heroes were familiar to people.
As the familiar story began to unfold, people’s interest slightly waned when the screen suddenly went dark.
Thud!
“Has it turned off again!?”
“What’s the matter this time?”
Once more, in the darkness of the blackout,
as people panicked at the continuous darkness,
intense music filled the Coliseum.
“Dahn↑ dahn↓ dahn↑ dahn↓ dahn↑ dahn↓ Dahn!Dahn!Dahn!Dahn!Dahn! Estuans interius vehementi Sephiruth!”
The rough and tension-inducing orchestral music contrasted drastically with the gentle song they had first heard.
Though the lyrics were incomprehensible, the fear it evoked in the crowd only grew stronger as the angel of benefits materialized in the Coliseum space.
“Look at that!!”
“Wow…”
“What is that?”
The man was indeed a spectacle.
Dressed in unknown attire, with silver long hair and black clothing, he wielded a sword taller than himself,
and behind him, only one black wing unfurled, as he glared at the crowd.
His gaze was icy and merciless, suggesting a deep disappointment in everything in this world; just watching him made people feel as though their hearts were freezing.
Then…
“Shwoooosh!!!”
“Aaaaah!!!”
The man charged at the crowd with his sword.
Even knowing it was an illusion magic, the suddenness of his action made everyone scream.
Then…
“Clang!!!!!”
“The blonde man blocked the sword!”
The blonde man, seemingly the protagonist, who had appeared out of nowhere, defended against the silver-haired man’s sword with his own, protecting the people.
With a look of disdain directed at the protagonist, the silver-haired man took a step back, readying himself again,
while the protagonist grasped his giant Buster Sword with determination.
In front of the crowd, an incredible sword dance commenced.
“Clash!!!! Clang!!! Clash!!!! Thrust!!!!”
“Wow…”
“Unbelievable…”
The protagonist wielded a gigantic sword that looked as heavy as a person,
and the silver-haired man swung a long sword that was as tall as the average person.
People gazed in awe at the battle between two warriors transcending humanity.
It felt like a fight between the Demon Lord and the Hero from a fairy tale,
or rather, a battle between two heroes.
After exchanging dozens of strikes, the two warriors distanced themselves.
Glaring at each other, they focused their magical power into their swords, as if this were the final blow.
Golden light, like the sun, began gathering on the protagonist’s sword.
A blue light, like the moon, started to gather on the long sword.
Both swords shone with a blinding radiance,
as the two warriors charged toward the center of the Coliseum, swinging their weapons with all their might.
In that moment, as the swords clashed at the Coliseum’s center…
“Boom!!!!”
With an explosion of golden and silver light, the two warriors vanished, and the illusion concluded.
“Wow……………”
“What on earth…………”
Though the illusion had ended, everyone stood there, speechless, staring into the air.
Illusion magic wasn’t commonly seen, but it had been employed during grand events like Super Thomas and Speed Rabbit.
Yet, no one had seen an illusion magic like this one.
The dark yet dreamy city of fantasy,
Adventures and battles occurring in that world,
And not just simple monsters or villains, but a new antagonist that truly embodied absolute evil,
and the protagonist fighting to protect themselves from it.
Having witnessed all this in just ten minutes left the people in tremendous shock, unsure of what to do.
For such people, letters appeared in the air, kindly informing them of what to do next.
“The dark times have now ended.”
The purpose of this tournament and the reason for the grand release of Eternal Fantasy,
was to let people and gamers know.
That the dark times of the gaming industry are over.
Why has it ended?
“Discover the future of gaming in Eternal Fantasy.”
The “real game” awaited by the gamers had finally arrived.
“The release date is… from this moment on!”
Swoosh!!!!
With that message, the Coliseum illuminated.
Then, the great screen displayed a materializing emerald crystal ball with the Eternal Fantasy logo.
“……………”
“…………”
“………”
An eerie silence spread across the Coliseum,
before erupting into the loudest cheers of the day.
“Waaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Those wanting to buy Eternal Fantasy began surging out of the Coliseum like a tide.
“Move aside!!!!!!”
“I’ll go first!!!!!!”
While it looked extremely dangerous with so many people rushing out at once,
thanks to the experience from the previous Super Thomas event, they had managed to position enough personnel, allowing everyone to escape the Coliseum safely.
Inside the empty Coliseum, there was no one left.
Because JYJ, Johan, and Bean had gone together to buy Eternal Fantasy.
“Eternal Fantasy,” which would go on to be recorded as the game with the most significant impact in this other world, was released like this.
*
The event to dispel the gamers’ distrust in games concluded successfully.
Furthermore, I had intentionally adjusted the release of the game to coincide with the day of ‘Zers Gamer.’
To ensure that gamers who still had doubts could at least gain some info about the game before purchasing it.
In Zers Gamer, the information and screenshots provided about Eternal Fantasy included a pre-prepared letter formatted as “Developer’s Letter”—even though we, the developers, were unable to include an interview due to our shock.
The letter contained the following message.
————————————————————
I dream of an exciting dream.
In my dream, I explored a world that is different from here.
That world was beautiful, yet lonely at times.
Sometimes it brought fights, sometimes trials, laughter, and despair, but,
upon waking up from that dream, I felt it became a joyful and unforgettable memory.
Dreams may be a futile illusion, but I think they are necessary for everyone.
Through such unknown illusions, we gain the joy of experiencing and attaining new things,
thus gaining the strength to live on.
So, I want to gift this ‘endless illusion,’ ‘Eternal Fantasy,’ to all gamers existing in this land, whom I love.
May your journey be a joyful one…
————————————————————
I chose to describe the driving force behind creating this game as a dream.
Discussing my past life would be difficult to explain and could lead to political headaches if done incorrectly.
The journalists who got an early playtest of the game left reviews stating:
“I embarked on a joyful adventure. It was a journey filled with enjoyment and tears, anger and twists, sadness and despair, and yet hope and realization. I offer a prayer of gratitude to the goddess of fate who brought me together with this game.”
“Though my journey has ended, I am still in that world. When will the sequel come out? I wish to live in eternal illusion.”
“Oh God, I resent my fingers. They alone cannot express all this emotion.”
………What is going on?
While Final Fantasy 7 is indeed a fun and phenomenal game,
the journalists’ responses were more overwhelming than expected.
What on earth is happening?
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