"[Half Out]."
I returned to the real world, greeted by my roommate Winna, as she poke my cheeks with a pen saying: "You sure took your time. I have already played with your face and cleaned it since it's so late in the morning."
"Really?" I sat up. "Is being in a game that long wrong? Also why did you play with my face?"
"Your face doesn't matter, your life is. You could forget about your actual life if you stay there too long." She chops me at my forehead. "You don't want that to happen right?"
"It kinda already did happen." I laugh depressingly.
"Yeah, yeah." Winna stood up and went back to her desk. "Just get up and eat some food or something. I got some stuff in the fridge if you want to help yourself to them."
"Nah. Thank you for the consideration though Winna." I stood up, changed out of my pajamas to a one piece morning dress and headed out to the nearest convenience store.
Mornings always seem so bright after a day of drinking. I completely forgot that I drank a lot yesterday too. My intoxication should have already passed, it's been 2 days for me.
Though, I guess not. My body from that game is different to this one after all, and I'm somewhat glad that it is. If my scars got healed by that world, it would be erasing my past. That world can heal physical damage after a while, and I don't want that. These scars Reminds me that Rei is there for me. I'd rather have a different body than lose the scars that I got from the past.
Still, I want to get this hangover over with. I should eat a big healthy breakfast and drink a lot of water to flush it out. At least that is what I heard my seniors say about this.
I arrived at the convenience store and the automatic doors slides open.
"Welcome." The usual employee in the register greeted me. If I remember correctly, her name is Rose.
Just as I walked in. The unexpected happened.
"Miss! Behi-" The employee tried to warn me about something, but it was too late.
I got knocked out.
When I regained consciousness, I was on a bed and I can't feel my body.. I must have been drugged. Damn it, even the lights are off. On top of that, I can't even move. Can I at least tilt my head and look around? No? Welp, I tried.
As long as I can't move and don't know where I am, I can't really do anything. It's safe to assume that I got kidnapped. I'll just hope that Rose contacted the police about this kidnapping.
A door creaks open slowly and a familiar male voice started speaking. "Welcome home Celia."
Welcome home..? I'm back at the dorms? Am I at Rei's House? Wait... No...
"It's been a while since I've talked to you like this Celia."
The familiar voice sat down by my side, I managed to take a glimpse on his face. It's the face of a man that I never want to see again. I don't want to see it so much that I tried to move and escape. But with my body drugged, I can only squirm and brace for the worst.
It's my father, the person who did these scars on this frail body of mine.
"You know what happens next." I heard him drag something metallic off the table beside me. It was a candlestick.
He lights all three candles and let the candle wax drop on my legs. There's nothing I can do but brace myself for the hot and stinging pain. After a while, I slowly regain the feeling of my body. Then I slowly feel the pain in my legs, making it feel irritated.
My father then picked up another thing off a table. This time I didn't hear or see a hint of what it is. It could be another tool that satisfies his guilty pleasures of having his way with me or mom. What happened to mom anyways?
"If you only accepted your fate as my personal play thing, you should've been living a happier and less stressful life right now." He presses something long and cold on my legs, and I can feel that it has a point. "If your mother didn't resist and stay a plaything, I wouldn't have went out of my way to ruin your so called happy life again."
He showed me the thing he was pressing on me playfully, it was a knife. My mind suddenly overflowed with fear, yet I didn't show it. If I did, I would lose to him. I don't want to lose to this disgusting, despicable man. "You just had to bear with all of it till I finished my research about the true power and meaning of En Deluxia."
"Do you what you want, I'm not afraid of you." I acted tough even though I know full well I won't be able to do anything about my situation.
"I'll gladly do what I want then, I even planned to do what I want from the start." He swiftly tore my clothes and underwear open with the knife, showing all my private parts. "Ah, even if you think that kid would save you. He won't."
Lies.
"What was his name again?"
You don't even know the name of the so called kid you're thinking about.
"Ah yes, Rei Skyfinn. He's dead." The sad excuse called father started laughing. "One of the underlings shot him. I can't believe he has grown so weak."
Huh? How do you know him?
"It's a shame to, he was going to be a useful asset for our research due to his relations."
Why are you talking like you know about him?
"I guess there's nothing we can do but look for another true blood related individual of Tryll Skyfinn."
You even know of his sister?
"Enough of the talk though, time to have fun." He takes off his clothes and pushed himself on top of me. "Time to take your virginity. Oh wait, I already did a long time ago~"
The man who is my father started to laugh like crazy while he has his way with me. It didn't matter to me, It doesn't matter one bit. I feel nothing, he can do anything he wants.
All I want to know right now is if Rei is dead...
I know he is not dead...
He was with me...
I want to go back to Rei...
"Take me to Illdyvia." I muttered quietly.
Have fun with an empty shell you sick bastard.
A Couple of Minutes Earlier (Back to Rei's POV)
Five Goblins, One with two axes, the rest only have one. They seem like they know what they're doing and they operate well. That could only mead that they have a leader among them. Once that leader is dead.
The remaining will be in disarray.
Irritated, the goblins began to rush at me for being on the defensive. I would like to keep my distance and dodge while learning their capabilities. They just kept swinging with the intent to kill, but without the brain to do it. It's like a person mashing the attack button hoping that an attack or a chain would land.
It's actually quite easy to read and dodge those who rely on brute force. Any Horizontal or Diagonal attacks must me dodged by stepping back or being lower than their swing. Any Vertical or Straight Lunges can be dodged by stepping to the side, and by doing so you'll be in perfect range to punish them for letting you have an opening. That is, if they let you.
With that in mind, I started taking initiative. I looked for an opening and cut open one of them, and by doing so the one with two axes started going berserk and charged at me. Watching how the other goblins reacted, I found out who the leader of the goblin group was. It was the goblin who have been watching me closely the entire time. For a common enemy in games, they sure left it and kept it in the obvious. The smarter goblin is most likely the leader.
The moment the double axed goblin started to feel wear out, I made the jump on him. He was unable to get away or block my attack, his fatigue made him unable to try or maybe slowed him down too much I didn't notice it trying. The other goblins tried to support their ally by throwing their axe at me, but I was able to get away with only the cost of letting go of one of my daggers. I may be down one dagger, but they're now unarmed. The axes are within my range and behind me, I can zone them out from picking up a weapon and just punish them for aggressiveness.
All I hope that is it would go how I think it would normally go, but reality is always there to hit you with the unexpected. I'm still outnumbered, they can all rush me at the same time while desperately grabbing their weapons. That's what they did, the the leader yelled and three goblins left standing started to make a dash for their weapons. With no other choice to end it, I just focused on putting their leader down. Lunging my arm as forcefully as I can, I stabbed their leader.
It's over... Or it should've been over...
Without anyone to lead the monsters, they should've broken up their ranks and flee. But I just got reminded about one important thing that kept bugging me ever since I have came here.
"This world doesn't feel like a game one bit."
Even with their leader dead, the two other goblins still kept going and grabbed an axe. What they were doing shocked me, my normal has just been shattered. Immediately after snapping out of it, I knew what they were doing was perfectly logical. Just because their leader is dead, doesn't mean that they'll stop attacking.
I tried getting back to get some distance, but I was dazed for too long. Dodging nor getting away was no longer an option. All I could do now was to block the axe that was being swung at me. I attempted to pull the dagger out of their leader, but it was stuck. I was forced to block with my arm. I swung my left arm in front of me in a motion so the axe shouldn't cut through it, yet it did. My arm was cut clean off and it hurt like hell, I grit my teeth to hold in the pain. Thankfully the motion of the swing of my arm was enough to redirect the axe towards the side. That gave me enough time to make space between us for me to rethink and breathe.
I glanced at my surroundings and the only thing that was near one of their axes. Quickly picking it up to brace myself, they immediately rushed me for their next onslaught of attacks.
"You. Son. Of. A. Bitch."
I grunted as I hacked down the goblins filled with anger. It was easy with the adrenaline and the info of what they could do. The last stretch of the battle only lasted half of a minute.
I dropped down to take a breather while I tightly grip my arm to apply pressure around the stump. I sat there for a minute taking deep and shaky breaths as the actual wave of pains that my adrenaline was stopping come. I slowly curl and quietly cry in pain. The wind blowing in my large open wound of my arm stump was unbearable.
"Rei!" I hear Myll and her quick loud rhythmic footsteps approaching me, it didn't take a while before she got to my side.
She quickly popped open one of the small vial of a potion and helped me drink it. The pain faded away and my stump no longer bleed out as much. A few deep breaths later, the pain was no longer there. It calmed me down, but I wasn't able to feel my left arm. I laugh amused at the obvious fact that I wouldn't be able to feel an arm there since it is no longer there.
"Are you okay Rei?" Myll asks as she gives me space.
"Yeah, I think I am. I'm still alive after all." I gave my answer and stretched out.
After hearing my answer, she started sobbing. "Thank god... Thank god... Thank god!" and she quickly held me in an embrace.
"Myll?" I was quite stunned that she lock me in her arms.
"I knew you wouldn't die on me." She laughed and cried.
"It should've been still okay either way right? Respawn and Revives." I chuckled. "But jeez, feeling pain is rea-"
"IT WOULD HAVE NOT BE FINE!" Myll cut me off yelling from the top of her lungs while he embrace tightens. "You would be really dead if you die..."
Myll suddenly began to whimper and cry. Her words shocked me.
"You would be really dead if you die."
Does it mean that there is really no way to come back? This world becomes my literal life now? I would ask, but... It doesn't look like Myll is in any mood to answer these questions.
A long while has passed and the stench of blood starts to linger with the silence of the night. Myll has calmed down but she still haven't let go. Again, it's not really a problem or a hassle in anyway so I just left her be.
"Huh!? What happened!?" A barely audible shriek of confusion came from the carriage.
Being reminded of their existence, I poked Myll. "Hey, we should head back to them."
"Mmm." Myll replied with only a sound, but it seems that she was still on board with the idea. She let go of her embrace around and just wrapped her arms around mine.
While walking back to the carriage, Celia and the coachman approached us. Looking at the coachman's arm, it looks like his wound has been properly wrapped and treated. The bandage was still oozing with blood, but it looked like it was still properly done.
"I'm amazed you actually did it kid." The coachman said. "It would've been better if we both didn't lose an arm though."
"Yeah..." I replied as I tried to feel my non-existent left arm. "We should really stop the bleeding though or we'd both die out here like this."
"Is there really a way?" The coachman asked.
"Yeah, we have to cauterize the wound." I replied.
Both Myll and Celia seem uneasy. It's quite fair though, both of their companions are badly injured.
We all went back to the carriage and made small fire pit on the ground and lit a fire. Myll and Celia helped but they were quiet the entire time and just acted on what I asked them to do or what the coachman asked for. I put one of the unused daggers on top of the fire, letting it heat up until it shines red from the heat. When the blade finally shone red, the horseman braced himself for what comes next.
I asked Myll to hold him still and Celia ready the bucket of water to help ease the pain. It all went smoothly and we cauterized his wound without any problems. But when I started to ready to cauterize mine, Myll stopped me with my left arm on her arms soiling her white sweater.
"You don't have to do that."
"Why?" I asked. "And why do you have my arm with you?"
"It'll come back. Bringing this arm closer will also help make it faster." Myll answered. "Players can recover from any physical injury after minutes as long as it's not cursed. It shouldn't be too long now."
My detached left arm on Myll's arms shone while the empty space on my left grows an arm. The feeling of my left arm starts to return as the light fades. My arm is back, but the one that was cleaved off was still at Myll's arms oozing out blood. When she saw my arm return, she smiled and embraced the arm with her. It was... a bit disturbing.
"I hope you don't keep that arm..." I accidentally said out loud.
"Aww... Why not?" Myll whines.
"It just feels very disturbing to see a body part of mine."
Just knowing that she plans to keep it made me feel very uneasy and think about the body parts she might collect if I allow her to do so. When Celia walked back and saw Myll have the arm, she vomited. When Myll saw Celia's reaction, she asked about what happened.
"Why did Celia puke?"
"The arm." I answered.
"Oh."
When Myll found out that the arm can make people feel negative things, lay it down on the side of the road and said goodbye to it.
After burning the goblin corpses because Myll told us that they might turn to undead goblins, we continued back on our journey to Rybanhald. Myll stayed close to me with her arms wrapped on my left arm. Celia was on the other side on the carriage staring at us the entire time. Every time I notice her she looks away, but when I pay no attention to it she looks back at us.
"Can you promise me that you won't die Rei?" Myll started a conversation.
"Well, if dying is a big problem isn't it. Also if I die, who would look after you?" I pat Myll in the head.
"So you're not gonna die? You're not going to leave me?"
"No, I'm not gonna leave you."
Responding to her was hard because of Celia's presence, yet I did. It may hit Celia a little but I hope she understands, I need to enlighten her with my situation. But before I even did...
"Hey, Rei." Celia got my attention. "Are you... dead?"
Celia was hesitant to ask her question, but I brushed it off and just answered with facts.
"Yes, I am dead. I was killed bleeding out with a gunshot to a somewhat vital spot. I was bleeding out a fountain and just escaped death by coming here."
"I... see... You're not lying or joking right?" Celia attempts to deny it.
"No." I bluntly answered.
"Ah..."
Her responses made me feel that something was off, but I let her be. Knowing someone just died but is still alive in front of their eyes would be confusing. Her body made it look like she is denying it, but her tears made it look like she accepted it. It surprises me that she still knows about my death though, and it makes me concerned on what she might pull off. I try to look for words to say to her, but I can't find any. I could say "Don't cry and just keep being yourself. It's better that way." But I know that I'm a core part of her life that she wouldn't want to hear that from me.
A lot of things happened between us and on our past. A lot of bright times, but it was mostly dark. From what I know and I think I know... I would be her brightest ray of light. With that light slightly extinguished, It would probably hurt. Yet here I am just thinking about what to do without doing anything, exactly when I know I should be doing or saying something. I feel like I'm the worst light she could have.
I look at Myll to see how she is taking the situation right now. From what I see, she is trying her best to look a away. With a pained face, she looks at the sky. That may be the best thing to give respect right now. Nobody wants to be watched while they're crying, so I also stared at the sky.
Myll gasped when a shower of shooting stars appeared. "Rei, what are those?" She hurriedly points at the sky.
"Make a wish, those are shooting stars." I answered.
"Make a wish? Do those stars have that kind of power?" Myll asked.
"It's a tradition from the world I came from. If the star you wished with is strong enough, your wish should come true."
"I know eavesdropping is kind of wrong, but that's a nice tradition." The coachman joined the conversation. "Sorry if I was rude, but there is really nothing I could do but listen in. You should ask for a wish too instead of crying." He directed his thoughts to Celia.
"Maybe... I should..." Celia replies as she wipes her tears and looks at the star shower.
A little bit later while we all watched the star shower, Myll thought of her wish. It was selfish, but it was a very heartwarming one.
"I wish that everything would be okay."
