The Game Arena - A Sci- Fi Fanfiction

II - Devil In Saint Laurent: The Manipulator- II

The man behind it all. Just who exactly is he this entire time? The villain that orchestrated the whole massacre of both Luxiem and Noctyx. 

Well, he isn't exactly the game master, no. Well, let's just start with his side of the introductions now, shall we? 

IT WAS SHOTO ALL ALONG

Yes, you read it. Your eyes did not deceive you. It was Shoto this whole time, being that cold-blooded killer he is. But then, why was it him? Why Shoto? He seems far too innocent to be a villain, much less have the audacity to kill off all of his friends. But no, in this story, Shoto actually does not know who Vox and the others are. In his eyes as The Manipulator, Shoto only sees them as useless pawns on his chessboard. 

The Manipulator was someone that had created the A.I game master, which was also a pawn that he uses according to the blueprint of his grand masterplan - The Game Arena. He wanted to build an arena that's entirely made out of human minds. Where did the humans come from you ask? Well, that's a story for another day. But the creation of the game master was flawless and it turned out successful. He was overjoyed the existence of the Arena was also brought to life before his very eyes. 

Early Days 

Before Shoto became The Manipulator, he was just an innocent human that wanted to become a streamer in the future. Despite growing up in a poor traumatic lifestyle with no big and wealthy background or family title to his name, having an illness eat him away on the inside, he somehow doubted that being a streamer would actually come true to him. But that was when he found a poster about a certain gaming competition that was being held in the popular area of town in the country of where he lived in. The competition was going to feature many of his favorite streamers so of course Shoto wanted to attend it and maybe participate in one of the games. Through an old friend that Shoto has, he was able to be one of the players in the competition and he was going to go up against some of the other guys he wasn't familiar with. 

On the day of the competition, Shoto's friends drove him to the huge arena where the competition was held. There were thousands of people there and he was being led to a group of the other players. Shoto was super excited and began introducing himself to some of the participants there but some of them only ignored him, seeing as to how awkward he looked. 

Soon enough, the crowd began to fill all the seats in the audience. There were five rounds each to the game Shoto was playing. It was brutal and highly intense, one that Shoto was only partially familiar with. He wasn't all that hyped about the rewards but rather, Shoto only wanted to use this chance to make new connections and meet all types of players in the arena, wondering if they'll end up becoming future streamers or Vtubers. 

But things only went downhill from there. Shoto's opponents were far more skilled and experienced than him. They defeated Shoto so easily, it almost made him look like a total fool. Shoto lost the competition just as easily as he entered it and the whole crowd jeered at him. The competition was even being broadcasted on the big screen, which exposed Shoto to the whole world as a complete loser in the gaming world. Feeling like the worst person to have ever existed, Shoto quickly left the arena and he didn't want to meet anyone's eyes, dared not look at them directly. 

It shattered him to the core, broke his ego and destroyed his confidence. Torn dreams thrown aside like rejected confessions, Shoto ran away from the arena and into the city outside. He was too blinded by embarrassment and disgust, overwhelmed with emotions. Tears stung his eyes and they spilled out non-stop. But as Shoto walked, he was completely unaware of the huge bus that honked at him. Shoto looked up to see the vehicle coming straight at him and everything turned dark. 

He was brought to a hospital and the doctors had to induce him a coma, since Shoto had accidentally cracked his skull during the impact with the bus. Sadly, Shoto did not manage to survive and he died during the night. But his consciousness was strangely brought to a strange world that's deep inside his own mind, but at the same time, beyond the realm of space. There he was met with so many possibilities, being capable of things he could only dream of. He was given a second chance, that he knew. Starting from scratch, Shoto decided to use his newly granted powers to carve the greatest plan of all time. Sweet revenge on the horrors he had faced in the world. 

In the Realm Of Conscience, Shoto then brought his very first creation to life - N.E.O.N