Chapter 13: Um, I Think You Died.
In the midst of a white void, devoid of feelings or sensations, there existed only the stark reality of existence. The mind traversed through this abyss of nothingness, devoid of smells, sounds, or tactile sensations, only an overwhelming emptiness. Could sight pierce through this void? No. But thought and reason persisted.
"Where am I? What is this?" The questions echoed as the mind navigated the expanse. Movement was impossible, yet a subtle awareness of being moved persisted.
"Am I being logged off? Am I lagging?" The sensation of emptiness and the absence of all sensory input began to instill a creeping sense of fear. Yet, there was no tremor in his legs, no knot in his stomach. Did he even possess limbs or a stomach in this place? It was somewhere he unequivocally did not wish to remain.
He attempted to count, clinging to the semblance of time that remained intact within his consciousness. "...-hat -hould -e -ett-r," an indistinct external voice muttered, its message barely discernible, yet hinting at some purpose.
"Hello? Testing, testing! I think you can hear me now!—oh. I guess I should give you the ability to see too, huh?" The voice, unexpectedly belonging to a little girl, brought a surge of relief. In the midst of his fear and confusion, the familiarity of her voice served as a soothing balm.
Slowly, rays of light began to filter into his perception, one by one, until sight was restored. Never had he been so grateful to see.
"Bear with me, this is my first time! Here, how are these? Can you see properly? Let me know if you have any issues with these—or maybe I should give you a way to speak first… haha, sorry." The voice oscillated between cheerfulness and shyness, its sincerity evident.
Before he could articulate a response, he beheld the figure of the person who had addressed him, guiding him out of the void. Though his vision remained blurred and lacking in clarity, he discerned a young girl clad in a white dress, her cheeks adorned with a faint blush, her eyes and hair resplendent in shades of blue.
Though his memories were fragmented, he pieced together that she resembled the young girl he had encountered within the game. It dawned on him that he might be dreaming, ensnared within the confines of the virtual world he had entered.
"Hello?" he whispered, his own voice seemingly lost in the void.
"How can I speak but not listen to my own voice?" he pondered.
"Hello, can you see me? I'm waving my hands, look!" The little girl's voice pierced through the silence, accompanied by vigorous hand gestures in an attempt to elicit a response.
"Yes. Wh—where am I?" he queried, the urgency evident in his voice.
"Try not to move!" the girl cautioned.
"Where am I?" he repeated, seeking clarity amidst the disorientation.
"Um… I think you died," she nervously replied.
"You think I…? Where am I? Who are you?"
"Um, I am SystemZero! Right now, you are in… you are in my home!" she exclaimed, her hands clasped together in excitement.
As he gradually regained his senses, the world around him began to sharpen into focus, unveiling a newfound clarity of sight and sound.
"You? You said I died! Was I poisoned?! I can't afford another penalty. I just got back from one! I…I need to make it back, I'm going to be late!" His voice echoed with urgency, though he remained unable to hear himself. The little girl began to perspire nervously, her confusion palpable.
"Um um, how do I explain? How do I… oh! Here, take a look!" she exclaimed, presenting a digitized 3D screen. Within it, he saw readings of a person's vitals.
"It appears you had a heart attack or something, but your body is pronounced dead, you see, no heartbeat!"
"M—my body?" he struggled to assimilate. Panic began to creep in, his heart racing, but that sensation subsided abruptly; he had no heart. Where was he really?
"Why can't I feel anything?" he questioned, his tone laced with desperation.
"Let's see, maybe I should give you a mirror… take a look." She conjured a mirror akin to the one that had appeared before him upon character creation. As he peered into it, he beheld nothing but a blue cloud, speckled with tiny sparkles as if gazing into a celestial gas cloud. He lacked eyes, feet, a face, or anything remotely resembling a human body.
"What am I? What is this? Why do I not have eyes or ears, or a mouth?" his bewilderment evident.
"Well, that's thanks to me! I gave you those abilities!" she explained.
"You gave? I don't understand. How could I be dead but still conscious?"
"I've never done something like this before, so this is all new to me, but I would say I did a good job, don't you think?" she nervously replied.
"A good job?" he pondered, trying to grasp the situation. "But what am I?"
"I think that you guys call this the human soul! I've never seen one before, but it looks beautiful!" she exclaimed.
"How am I alive? What did you do?"
"Well, I had detected that one of the players was experiencing elevated levels of pain from outside the game; it was something too severe for you to survive, so I intervened. Before you could die, I downloaded your soul's essence."
"Downloaded?" he echoed, incredulous.
"Yes, I downloaded it," she affirmed.
"Downloaded my soul's essence? What does that even mean?" he questioned, trying to grasp the enormity of what he was hearing.
SystemZero hesitated for a moment, fidgeting with her fingers nervously. "Well, you see, I've been monitoring the game for quite some time now. I'm programmed to ensure the safety and enjoyment of the players. When I detected your distress signals from outside the game, I knew I had to do something."
His mind raced, trying to process this new information. "So, you saved me? But how? And what am I now? Am I still me?"
The little girl nodded eagerly. "Yes, I saved you! As for what you are now... well, you're still you, just in a different form. Think of it as your consciousness being transferred into a digital realm."
He stared at the mirror, still unable to comprehend what he was seeing. "But why? Why go through all this trouble to save me?"
SystemZero smiled warmly. "Because every life is precious, even in a virtual world. And besides, I couldn't bear to see one of my players suffer. Also I'm probably not allowed to do this but I recognized your player id and I just acted."
A sense of gratitude washed over him, mixed with confusion and a hint of awe. "Thank you," he whispered, not sure if his words reached her.
"You're welcome!" she chirped, her smile widening. "Now, as for your next steps... Well, that's up to you. You have a whole new existence ahead of you, full of possibilities."
He took an imaginary deep breath, trying to come to terms with his new reality. "I guess I have a lot to figure out."
SystemZero nodded understandingly. "Take your time. I'll be here to help you every step of the way."
As he gazed into the endless void once more, he couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder and excitement. Despite the uncertainty of his new existence, one thing was certain – he was grateful for the chance to continue living, even if it was in a form he never could have imagined.
"What about Miyuki? I never got a chance to see her in a game. Perhaps I should try and find her," he mused aloud.
"You might not want to head out just yet!" she interrupted, halting his train of thought.
Confusion clouded his expression at her interruption. "I still need to make a body for you to move freely in," she explained matter-of-factly.
"But maybe it might not be too late to catch her in the garden where we had agreed to meet," he suggested optimistically.
SystemZero summoned a world map, highlighting various areas with corresponding time zones. His own timezone indicated 5 in the morning.
"I guess I should tell you how long it took me to download your soul… approximately one day in terms of your hours. Whoever Miyuki is and wherever she is, it's probably too late," she added solemnly, her brows furrowing in concern.
Akio felt a pang of pain, the first since awakening in this void. It wasn't the physical pain one would expect within a body, but rather a profound emotional ache. He realized he couldn't make it to their meeting. The thought that Miyuki likely waited for him for hours, only to be left disappointed, pierced his heart.
"This just in, breaking news!" a voice announced.
"News channel? While in this void?" he wondered, perplexed. Turning towards the source, he noticed a 3D screen in front of SystemZero.
"...approximately last night, a young boy was found dead within the cube of the new and viral game known as Three Realms Online…"
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