The Battle of Two Worlds — Descriptive self portrait essay

     I am alone. I feel my heart race with each step I take as I cautiously proceed through the forest. I hear the snap of twigs as they crunch underneath the weight of my trepidation. A sharp wind penetrates and cuts my skin as it slices through the air, ruffling the dead branches around me. It is cold and damp as my muscles become rigid, my bones chill, and my fingers and toes sting with pain. Sweat rolls down my brow as anxiety engulfs me from whatever could be lurking in the darkness. I mentally prepare for what is to come.

      Scanning the murky horizon I spot my prey, vulnerable, and unaware. With one wrong move, I instead become the hunted. This is our third confrontation and I have grown weak. It beckons me with temptation. I am slow, and weighted down with my protection as I charge into battle. I have trained hard, and I can’t doubt myself now. I attack, striking down with fire, scorching the monstrous creature alive inside its blistering flesh. There is a piercing cry that breaks the silence of the night and the spitting sound like hot oil on cinder echoes through the forest. I feel no remorse, empowered by the rush, the adrenaline and the accomplishment.

      My goal is within reach, but as I approach, I halt in my tracks, and wait. Once the forest is silent, I know it is safe to retrieve my prize. The leathery carcass lies on the ground and its impression is burned like hot iron into my mind. I tell myself not to hesitate. I take a breath, and I move in to behead the beast with my steel ax, sharpened by stone. I retrieve the head and pack it in a leather bag that I throw limp over my shoulder. I have achieved vengeance and I leave the battle behind and head back into town to prove my worth, valor, and honor.

      “Tonight I dine,” I say, as I quench my parched throat with the finest ale in the lands, and I sooth my barbaric hunger with skillfully cooked and prepared meat. It was a meal fit for a champion.

      The task was demanding but I successfully conquered the beast, and one of my many voyages came to an end. I inhale a deep breath, and exhale slowly.

      I turn off my computer. My surroundings metamorphose as I adjust. I am immediately striped of my powers and the sharp sounds of steel on steel vanish, replaced by a diminishing electrical hum.  The luminescent glow before me fades to oblivion, and I am left with nothing.

      My senses are numb, and my eyes throb with a pulsating sensation as I stare blankly forward. My bones are stiff and my muscles are tense after being still for so long. I glance undesirably at my watch, forgotten by the lapse of time. I curse and explode with frustration. I had been deceived by Kronos himself, spending the entire night in a trance glued to the computer screen like a moth stuck in a pheromone trap. I had neglected the faint insistent calls of my mother for dinner and her threats to unplug the vital Internet connection. Everything was dulled out by the loud heroic mantra playing inside my head. My accomplishments in one world were extraordinary, but in the other I was conquered by reality and neglected my true obligations. I had squandered by not developing my intellect, but instead training my in-game levels and advancing quest points. Clearly time was out of balance and I didn’t keep it in perspective. Even though gaming is exhilarating and entertaining, it won’t bring me to a higher level in life. One voyage ends, and another begins.