13. K: a Brother’s worry

Falling.

Into nowhere, I was falling...

From where? To where? How? Why?

Truly a lot of questions, but the thing is...

I did not know. Not a single answer was known to me, instead, the only thing I knew was that I...

I was Falling.

From nowhere, and to nowhere, I was powerlessly falling.

How pathetic. Truly. Not being able to even think, let alone move. How...

Pathetic.

Such was all I could think of, when...

Slowly, my thoughts started blurring...

And then with a final glance at the white endless world around me, my consciousness...

Started to drift.

And feeling that, all I could do was curse...

My weakness... my failure.... and my fate...

Ha, my fate...

Smiling at the thoughts, I held a self-deprecating laugh and did my best at resisting the growing numbness I felt...

But...

Stretching hand.

“I failed.... again...”

Barely saying so, I lose consciousness, with my last memories been the illusion of me hearing a familiar voice...

‘F....nd ...ou..’

And with it as the sign...

I melt into this endless white world...

And as a series of light streams, I then...

Disappear.

.....

.....

“.... Ugh...”

“my.... head....”

Waking up, I groan from the pain. A head-splitting pain. Probably the worst headache I ever felt, this pain.

But even then, with all the pain, I still try thinking, and so I do my best in mustering my power and focusing when...

“but... ugh.... wher-”

“haa.... haaa...”

Shortness of breath.

When suddenly, I find myself unable to breathe.....

No, let alone breath, even movement for me was impossible at this moment...

Honestly, it feels like my body is going to be crush-.... ha?

“Cough, Cough, Cough...”

Sudden Violent coughing.

“Cough,... Haaa, haaa.... what....”

“was that?”

Saying so as I restore my freedom, I finally notice something...

“And, where am I?”

“No, wait...”

“Himari...., Himari, HIMARIII....”

Finally having my head cleared, I quickly noticed...

The fact that I was currently sleeping on a hard cold floor, when suddenly...

I remembered.....

Right, I was with Himari.

And so, I quickly stood from my place, as I start calling for my sister...

But...

“what’s going on?”

Thinking so, I stop my yelling, and while restoring my breath, I first look down at the hard cold floor that I was sleeping on...

Then at the rooftop door not far from me...

And then at the endless and unnatural landscape of green behind me, when...

“Lost Solace Online?”

Finally, my confused head start understanding its surrounding...

And with it, some of my confused memories start returning back...

“right, I was with Himari... we....”

“We were in that new sweetshop she spokes of before... when”

“suddenly that.... right, the drive... The SR Drive....”

“that suddenly appeared on my wrist, and without even a chance to understand what’s going on, I...”

“I don’t remember....”

“No, wait... there was light, I think....”

“right, there was that white light, and then...”

“then there was nothing....”

“I don’t remember anything after that sudden light...”

No, wait... if there was that much light, then maybe...

“HIMARIIII... ARE YOU THERE....”

“HIMARIII....”

If there was that much light, then maybe Himari is somewhere close? Or maybe far?....

No, I can’t leave her alone... No...

“HIMARIII.... DO YOU HEAR MEEE....”

Fearing for my little sister’s safety, I start looking for her around me, but...

“HIMARIIII... ARE YOU THERE....”

But no matter how much I yelled, there was no response...

“weird.... why is there no response?”

“at least those rabbits should...”

“Right, the rabbits, I completely forgot...”

Thinking so, and finally noticing, I take a deep breath, and with it, I do my best in clearing my confused head, but honestly...

It’s hard. Really hard, especially with my splitting headache, my sister’s unknown whereabouts, and my impossible situation...

I mean, yeah...

“I should calm myself down first....”

“Otherwise... I won’t be able to find Himari...”

Thinking so, I stop in my place, and...

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Take a breath of fresh air.

“haaa, just what am I doing...”

Thinking so, I calm myself down and let my tired lungs rest before finally paying attention to myself for the first time since I woke up...

and well, as expected...

“I am wearing the same clothes from LSO, or more like this is the game’s avatar....”

Thinking so, I finally remember what my first reaction should have been, and as such, I do it...

I swipe my hand trying to summon the menu, but...

“it does not appear.... the Menu...”

Well... I kinda expected it to, honestly...

I mean, after mysteriously waking up in a game world? Yeah, as if I don’t recognize how this genre would usually go...

Sigh.

No, it’s because I do know how this genre usually ends that I know...

“I know that I actually don’t know shit.”

Thinking so, I glance down from the roof to the ground, and then I jump.

Hup.

Then reaching the ground effortlessly, I glance at the building I just got down from...

And as expected, it’s the same buried building from before...

The one where my safe-room’s door was, and where I killed the rabbit, nevertheless, it’s weird...

“Not the building, of course, what’s weird is the absence of monsters, and also....”

“The fact that no matter how much I tried, it seems that the safe-room’s door is not appearing....”

It’s seriously nerving...

And for some reason...

”it’s giving me a bad feeling...”

Saying so, I glance again at the building, and then with eyes filled with caution, I turn my back to it, as once again, I start calling for my sister...

“HIMARIII.... HIMARIII.... ARE YOU THERE....”

And though there is indeed a high possibility she is actually not here, but...

“I can’t... I really can’t risk it...”

No, I can’t, and because of that, I am not planning on just making a baseless assumption...

Because, even if the possibility of Himari being in here is low, it’s nevertheless not nonexistent, and so...

“I can’t gamble... nor can I bet....”

“for she is my sister....”

“and as a brother, it’s my duty to find her....”

“no matter what, I have to find her...”