Rewind With A Superstar System

<🎧 Song Recommendation: Paralyzed by NF>

...

"I’m sorry," Von quickly said, letting go of Emily and standing up from the bed.

He walked briskly out of the room, following Max into the study to his "secret" room.

The gaming PC Von had there was a monster. It was the strongest computer in the entire house, making it more than enough to handle all of Max’s heavy video editing software without lagging.

They quickly set up the room. Emily dragged the comfortable couch very close to the desk and sat down with her tablet. Von pulled up a secondary gaming chair, sitting right next to Max to oversee the monitors as the computer booted up.

As Max began transferring the massive 4K video files from the camera to the computer, he glanced over at his friend.

"Bro, I bet you’ll be scared shitless when you actually watch this footage back," Max said while shaking his head. "Your acting felt so real. It’s unbelievable. I even got shivers just holding the camera."

"Mmm," Von simply hummed.

Max clicked play on the raw file. The video booted up on the large monitor, showing the dark room and the glowing TVs.

As Von watched himself on the screen, heavy, dark flashbacks began plaguing his mind in rapid flashes.

He remembered the isolation. He remembered the desperate, burning need for Aura’s presence. His breathing grew shallow, and by the time the four-minute clip was done playing, his face was already covered in a thick layer of cold sweat.

Emily noticed immediately. She put her tablet down, walked closer to his chair, and placed her soft hand directly on his sweaty cheek.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

The room was air-conditioned yet Von was sweating like someone who had just run a marathon. It was something worth worrying about.

But the moment Von felt her physical touch, his racing heart instantly calmed down. He reached up, holding her hand against his face as a reassurance.

"Yeah, I’m fine..." Von breathed out, his eyes fluttering shut for a second. "Just some sweat."

Emily looked at him sympathetically. "I’ll go get a towel from the bathroom."

"Okay," Von whispered, reluctantly removing his hand.

He watched her leave the room, his eyes glued to her back until she disappeared down the hallway.

The moment she was out of sight, his leg began to bounce nervously. Max looked over at Von, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"There’s something wrong with you, Von," Max stated flatly.

Von blinked, his heart rate ticking up again. "What is it?"

Max thought for a long while, staring at Von’s chest and legs before snapping his fingers. "It’s your chain. You never wear your silver chain inside your clothes."

Max leaned over, reached his hand inside Von’s white collar, and pulled the thin silver chain out so it rested on top of the fabric.

"Aha! I knew something was off somewhere," Max said proudly, seeing Von’s aesthetic looking normal again.

But Von’s mind was somewhere else entirely. He didn’t care about the necklace. He kept glancing back at the empty doorway.

"Where’s Em?" Von asked, his leg bouncing faster.

"Emily? Didn’t she just go to get a towel?" Max replied, his hands resting on his chin as he returned his eyes to the computer monitors.

"It’s been so long already," Von said, a strange panic leaking into his voice. "Are you sure she’s alright?"

Von’s frantic question made Max turn back and fix a weird, judgmental gaze on him. "Bro, it’s been literally two minutes. Stop simping and focus if you actually want us to finish this in twenty-eight hours."

"Sorry," Von muttered, forcing himself to look at the screen.

Max’s harsh words made Von turn back to the computer, and they finally got to work. Max opened up the editing timeline, organizing the raw audio files and matching them to the video clips.

Target Skill: Director’s Eye (A)

Activation Cost: 10 EXP

’Activate,’ Von commanded internally.

A sudden flash of absolute clarity hit his vision. He looked at the editing timeline and instantly saw the perfect pacing. He smiled sadly as he calculated the math in his head; keeping the skill active by constantly triggering it over the next day was going to drain most, if not all, of his remaining EXP. But if they were going to make something truly perfect, it was the only way.

"Cut it exactly at the 3.5 second mark," Von instructed, pointing at a specific audio wave on the monitor. "Then drop the saturation by fifteen percent in the shadows."

Max did as he was told, his eyes widening as the clip instantly looked ten times more cinematic. "Damn. Okay, Spielberg."

Despite his newfound directing prowess, Von tried to focus, but his eyes kept darting back to the door, waiting desperately for Emily to return. His chest felt tight again.

Thankfully, she finally did. And she wasn’t just holding a towel. She was holding a large silver tray.

"Figured we’ll need some snacks and energy drinks if we’re doing this all night," Emily smiled, setting the tray down on the small table next to the couch.

Max grinned widely, reaching for a can of Red Bull. "Emily, you are an absolute lifesaver. That’s exactly why I love you."

Von’s jaw clenched in irritation hearing those words that he reached out and grabbed Emily’s wrist.

"Come closer," Von interrupted, pulling her away from Max and toward his chair. "We’ve begun already. You need to see this."

They worked for another grueling hour. The editing bay was filled with the sounds of mouse clicks and looping audio clips. Emily sat quietly on the couch, watching them work with incredible speed. But eventually, she let out a small yawn and stood up, stretching her arms above her head.

"I’m not really doing anything here," Emily said tiredly, looking at the two boys. "Von, you’re acting like a seasoned expert, and Max’s fingers are practically flying. I can’t contribute anything. Don’t you think I should just leave and get some sleep?"

Max nodded, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Sure, Em. You’ve tried enough al—"

"No!" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Von violently interrupted Max’s words. He spun his chair around, fixing the cameraman with a stare so dark and intensely angry that it gave Max genuine shivers. Max immediately shut his mouth and swallowed hard.

Von then turned his gaze back to Emily. The dark anger vanished in an instant, replaced by a pleading vulnerability that looked completely unnatural on his face.

"Please," Von whispered softly, looking up at her with desperate eyes. "Please stay with us."

Emily didn’t understand why he was begging like his life depended on it, but looking at his eyes and the genuine fear on his face, she couldn’t bring herself to reject him. She didn’t have much to do, after all.

"Okay," Emily sighed softly, walking back and taking her seat on the couch right next to him. "Let’s continue."

***

Many hours passed as they worked. Outside, the sun rose and slowly made its way across the sky, but time meant nothing to them right now.

As if things couldn’t get worse. By the morning, Von’s condition became a lot worse.