The Nexus Interface Terminal or NIT for short, was a gaming system like no other before. It was a direct link between mind and game.
Roughly the size of a small desk tower, but levitated slightly above its base due to embedded Aether crystals. The shape was a floating black obelisk design with smooth, reflective surface. Thin, glowing lines ran across the surface, shifting in color depending on game state (blue for idle, purple for connection, red for system warnings). A built-in holographic projection system allowed users to navigate menus and system settings with gestures.
The neural integration helmet (the Nexus Crown, for short), was a sleek, silver-and-black headset designed for neural immersion. It didn't need direct contact with the skin—it read neural patterns through electromagnetic fields. The front of the helmet featured a circular Aether crystal, which pulsed with light as it synchronize with the user's brainwaves.
The Aether Recliner was optional for players and wasn't needed to play the game. The ergonomically designed reclining chair was built to support full-body immersion during gameplay. It came with built-in life support systems for extended sessions, including hydration ports, nutrient intake, and basic physical stimulation to prevent muscle atrophy.
But gamers like Cora didn't really care about stuff like that, all they needed to know was how to enter Elysium Nexus Online. Luckily Marcus Blake supplied instructions included with the NIT.
Cora settled into the Aether Recliner, allowing it to automatically adjust to her body. Since it provided maximum comfort and support.
After that was done, she placed the Nexus Crown on her head, marveling how it hovered slightly above her scalp. The Aether crystal at the crown's centerpiece synced with the console and maped her brainwave patterns. As the crown powered on, soft pulses of light ran along its surface, indicating a successful neural link.
Once the physical setup was completed, the system initiated neural calibration. The system scanned Cora's brain in real-time, mapping neural patterns and adjusting the immersion settings to create a personalized gameplay experience.
A calming androgynous voice guided Cora through mental relaxation exercises—designed to help ease into the experience and synchronize brain activity for a seamless transition.
Cora was immersed in a series of subtle sensory tests:
Visual: A glowing sphere expanded and contracted, guiding Cora's focus.
Auditory: A soft chime echoed through the mind, syncing with Cora's natural rhythm.
Tactile: Gentle vibrations pulsed through the recliner, connecting physical sensations with neural responses.
Nexus read Cora's emotional state, offering calming affirmations if stress levels spiked.
The AI can adjust game difficulty, sensory intensity, and comfort levels based on the player's current mood.
The glowing Aether crystal in the Nexus Crown shifted from blue to a radiant violet, signaling a successful neural sync.
"Calibration complete. Your mind is ready for transcendence.
"Now… Let go of the physical. Drift forward. I'll handle the rest."
The most revolutionary part of the setup process was the Consciousness Transfer. Here, Cora's mind disconnected from the physical body, fully immersing into the digital fabric of Elysium Nexus Online.
Weight, temperature, sound began to fade as the neural connection deepened.
Visuals dissolved into a soft, swirling void of light and color, as though falling into an endless galaxy. Aether currents—shimmering streams of light—flowed around Cora's consciousness, drawing her deeper into the digital plane.
Time began to feel distorted. A process that took only a few seconds in the real world felt like several minutes within the immersion sequence, allowing the mind to adjust to the new environment.
The body's senses were replaced with virtual stimuli—Cora began to feel her in-game surroundings as though she was real:
The warmth of light.
The subtle chill of digital winds.
The sound of distant echoes, hinting at the vastness of the Nexus universe.
"You're almost there. Just a little further… Welcome to Elysium Nexus Online."
Cora's consciousness solidified within the game world, awakening in the starting zone: The Nexus Chamber.
A vast, ethereal hall suspended in an endless void of stars and cosmic energy. The floor was a smooth, obsidian surface laced with glowing, silver runes that pulse with Aether energy. Massive floating pillars of light drift through the air, each representing different aspects of character creation—Essence, Form, Skill, and Fate.
The sensation of standing on solid ground returned—but enhanced. The air felt crisp, the gravity balanced, and every movement felt natural and fluid.
Cora was dressed in a shimmering robe of stardust—a neutral appearance awaiting her customization choices.
A soft voice echoed within the chamber:
"Welcome, Aetherborn. Here, you will define your form, your essence, and your destiny. The world awaits you." Will you forge yourself as a mortal, an elemental force, or something beyond comprehension? The choice is yours"
Cora's eyes widen in amazement as she looked all round her. The space was an ethereal expanse of floating galaxies, shifting nebula, and cascading streams of pure energy. The ground beneath her feet, were a reflective morror of stardust, pulsating gently with each step she took. Large, crystalline monolith levitated in the distance, each representing different aspects of character customization.
In ENO, unlike all the other games, players did not start as predefined races or classes; instead, they shaped their form freely within the six Pillars of Creation, which acted as interactive stations for customization.
She was startled when a shimmering, ethereal figure made of stardust and flowing energy, appeared infront of her. Its form was fluid and adaptive—becoming feminine for cora's comfort. It's eyes glowed softly with pulses of Aether light and watched Cora with no judgment.
Hovering just inches above the obsidian floor, the Assistant spoke in a calm, comforting, yet comsic depth voice:
> "Welcome, Traveler. You have left behind the weight of the physical. Here, you shall forge a new truth. I am your guide—your voice in this void of possibility. Shall we begin?"
Cora blinked. 'Well, this is starting off even better than I thought.'
"Sure. I appreciate the help. Mind telling me where I am?"
"You are quite welcome. And this is the Nexus Chamber—the space between all things. Here, identity is not chosen, but revealed."
The Assistant turned and gestured toward the floating monoliths, each pulsing with elemental energy. As they appeared, the voice guided Cora:
"There are five pillars. Each one holds a part of you yet to be revealed. You may begin where you wish."
It then went into further detail on each pillar, starting with the one closest to Cora:
Suspended above a polished, obsidian platform was a massive, levitating pool of shifting liquid essence—its color constantly flowed between iridescent silver, glowing crimson, and deep void black. The surface rippled as if alive, reflecting not light, but potential.
Around it, ethereal skeletal shapes formed and dissolved—some human, others beastly, angelic, or alien. Occasionally, a fully sculpted figure rose from the liquid and collapsed back into the pool, as if waiting for a soul to choose it.
"This is the Pillar of Flesh—no mere menu, but a mirror of potential. Step into the pool of essence and you shall feel your form become fluid. Stretch taller, shrink smaller, grow wings, or bear scales. Add claws or craft elegance in symmetry. Do you carry the weight of muscle or the grace of a spirit? Here, you decide not what you look like—but what you are."
"You may forge yourself in your own image or become something entirely new. Let instinct guide your touch, or allow your thoughts to shape the clay of self. This is your skin. Wear it as legend."
Moving onto the next pillar.
"This is the Codex of Essence, where names like 'Elf' or 'Demon' mean nothing—only truth does. You will not select a race… you will reveal it."
"The Codex will ask you questions—not of statistics, but of soul. Do you chase freedom or command? Embrace fire or shadow? Are you mortal… or are you something more?"
"Each answer ripples outward, aligning your path with essences ancient and vast. Will you emerge Fae-touched? A Celestial Ascendant? An Abyssal Spawn born of forgotten sins? Or perhaps… something that has not yet been named?"
A massive, ancient floating tome hovered vertically in a circle of floating runes. It spun slowly, its covers formed of celestial marble and its pages made of light and memory. Each page was etched with glowing symbols and animated calligraphy that rearranged itself based on the player's answers.
Above the Codex, threads of faint soul-energy stretched into the void—some flickered bright, others tangled, others yet to be formed.
The Codex was surrounded by six stone pedestals, each representing a primordial force: Light, Shadow, Flame, Tide, Storm, and Earth. As players answered its questions, the pedestals eould glow in response, guiding their transformation.
The third pillar appeared as an enormous loom of golden thread, suspended in mid-air between two monumental statues—one of a warrior cloaked in fire, the other of a mage wrapped in starlight. Between them, shimmering strands of skill threads pulsed and twisted across a glowing framework.
As the player approaches, the threads respond, rearranging to reveal disciplines—blades, bows, spells, sigils, shadows, beasts, and more.
Each combination of threads changed the loom's glow, sometimes sparking with energy, sometimes hissing with shadow, sometimes singing with harmonious light.
"This is the Weave of Fate—your path through power, not dictated by a title, but woven by your choices."
"There are no fixed classes here. No forced destinies. Instead, you will select disciplines, threads of knowledge and instinct, and combine them into something unique. You may wield a sword, command flame, call beasts, or bind the minds of others with whispers."
"Perhaps you shall become a Blightweaver, combining poison and illusion… or a Starborn Tempest, fusing celestial magic with elemental force. Every choice adds depth to your weave. And no thread need be permanent. Even in battle, the world rewards those who adapt."
Cora smiled. She liked the sound of that. A system without fixed classes or locked-in skills? That was unheard of in other games. 'This game will be top their just with this, but add the realism and the uniqueness, yeah, this is going to be the game of the year, for sure.'
Assistant pointed at the next pillar.
"This is the Forge of Origin—where your first tool is born, not given. You will not select from lists. Instead, you will step into the sacred forge, touch metal, wood, essence, and will it into shape."
"Mold your blade in fire, weave your staff from wind, or breathe music into an instrument that alters minds. Those who shun violence may craft artifacts of peace, tomes of forbidden knowledge, or relics that shape fate itself."
"The materials you choose will shape your item's personality. A weapon forged in shadow will remember the darkness. A trinket infused with light may glow in the presence of evil. These objects are more than gear… they are your legacy's first echo."
Infront of her was a colossal, floating anvil and forge, suspended over a chasm of molten Aether energy. Massive gears turned slowly in the background, powered by an unseen force. Platforms of enchanted stone drifted around the forge, each holding materials—molten metal, crystalline dust, arcane wood, threads of shadow or flame.
A living hammer—crafted from fire and silver—hovered in the air, responding to the player's gestures, waiting to strike.
The player could walk between floating forges, each tuned to different affinities: metal, soul, song, light, void, etc.
The final pillar was a majestic gateway of swirling starlight and silver stone, arched high above a cosmic cliff that overlooked the infinite starscape of the Nexus Realm. The gate was half-constructed from stone etched with ancient runes, half from liquid light suspended mid-flow.
The steps leading to the gate were made of stardust, solidifying underfoot only when the player steps forward.
Above the gate, a ring of shifting constellations would spin slowly, aligning to form the player's chosen essence as they approached.
"This is the Celestial Gate. It is not an end. It is a beginning."
"Once you pass through, your form is sealed. Your essence remembered. Your story begins not in cutscenes or exposition—but in action, in choices, in the legacy you will leave behind."
"You will awaken in the realm of Eldrinis—a world that breathes, fights, loves, and dreams. Every creature you meet will know your essence. Every choice will ripple. Every step will echo."
"There is no going back from this point. But forward? Forward, the possibilities are infinite."
The Assistant floated to the center of the chamber, arms spread, voice deepening slightly with an almost reverent resonance. The ambient energy in the chamber pulsed, responding to Cora's presence.
"You now stand at the edge of becoming."
The light from each pillar flared briefly, their energies converging in the air above as if waiting for her decision.
"Each of these pillars does not merely give you options—they give you meaning. Flesh is your form. Essence is your truth. The weave defines your power. The forge reflects your will. And the gate… is your beginning."
The Assistant turned to Cora now, fully, their form stable and unmistakably aware—as if they've knew her long before this moment.
"There is no fixed path. No true or false form. Only choices. And every choice you make will echo across the world of Eldrinis. From the smallest scar to the subtlest thought—you are the author of your own myth."
Then, softly—more intimately:
"You are not here to play. You are here to become."
A moment of stillness followed. Then the Assistant gestured outward, toward the five pillars now waiting with gentle pulses of light and magic.
"Choose your order. Begin where your soul stirs most. Whether you craft your flesh, define your essence, shape your power, or forge your first artifact—it matters not. All pillars lead to truth."
A final pause. Their form began to slowly fade into a constellation of floating lights.
"When you are ready… I will meet you at the gate. However, if you are in need of me, I will be there. All you have to do is merely call on me."
And with that, the Assistant vanished, leaving Cora alone in the chamber of infinite potential.
'Well that was a little dramatic.'