章 2: I am coming for you!
"What is happening? What is happening?" Kaden looked like a ghoul as he sat back in the bed, scared shitless. How was he back again, that too on this fateful day? How could something like this be possible?
Did he just dream about everything? Or maybe he was currently in a dream?
Kaden immediately knew that something like that was impossible. How could he have dreamt about such a torturous nightmare?
Day after day, month after month, year after year, he had lingered in that limbo without anyone else besides him. Even if he wanted to forget, that helpless lonely desperation was buried deep within his brain, his soul.
How could all of that simply be a dream?
But at the same time, his present condition was also very real. Perhaps he had finally lost it and entered some sort of hallucination?
Kaden found himself going crazy as a million bizarre scenarios appeared in his mind to explain this miraculous situation.
Thankfully, before he could fully lose it, his phone once again rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. He picked up the call absent-mindedly, and his mom's voice blared through.
"Kaden, did you get the money yet? I sent the living expenses for the month, son. Check your bank account and tell me if you want more."
"By the way, I know your father scolded you yesterday, but if you really want to play that game, go ahead and do it. Mom has full trust in you. I know you will never let your grades fall."
"Don't think too much about your father's words. You know he is always hard on you, but it is only because he is worried about you. He doesn't want you to end up like him."
"Hello? Hello? Kaden, are you there?"
Tears streamed down Kaden's eyes. That was right. Whether this was a reality or a dream, he did not care. He was once again alive, and he once again had the chance to speak to his family again. Nothing else mattered.
"Yes, mom. I am here." He replied. He continued talking to her, and slowly he calmed down more and more.
Even when he ran out of topics to talk to her, he still chit-chatted about the weather, the garden back home, and completely random things. Finally, even his mom noticed that something was amiss.
"Are you okay, Kaden?" She asked.
Kaden wore a rueful smile on his face as he wiped his tears. "I am okay, mom. I am more than okay. I just miss you. I am thinking of coming back home soon."
"Oh! Of course. You should. When is the next long weekend coming? I will see if we can get some cheap flight tickets."
"Thanks, mom."
Kaden didn't want to freak her out more, so he quickly bid her farewell and ended the conversation. He then placed the phone on the old wooden table and looked outside the window.
This time there were no flying cars and superhumans. Instead, there was just the dull, dusty downtown road and a bunch of people standing around and smoking in the dirty alleyway.
Heh. Kaden laughed. Now that he had considerably calmed down, he was able to think more clearly.
Perhaps everything in the past was a nightmare, or perhaps what he was experiencing now was a hallucination, but there was one other, more obvious explanation that he had overlooked.
Kiera!
Everything that had happened only happened after he met her. His torturous life was ripped apart, and he was given this new lease on life after that woman was stowed away in his room.
Surely, there must be some sort of connection! Some sort of reason behind it! Did that woman also return back to the past just like him? Was it because of some forbidden magic that she unleashed?
Once again, there were several possibilities. He did not know, and he had no way of knowing what the actual reason was, but he did know a lot of other things.
For example, how the world was going to change and how the game that would be the root cause of everything was going to be launched tomorrow!
When such bizarre and crazy shit was about to unfold and shake the whole world, something like him time traveling and returning to the past in his same body somehow did not seem that unrealistic.
Kaden let out a loud burst of laughter that contained all of his regrets and frustrations and punched the table in front of him.
Instead of dwelling on the why or how, his brain made the judgment to think about today or, rather, tomorrow.
He was somehow back the day before the godforsaken game was released.
This couldn't be a coincidence. In fact, this single detail was more important than anything else because he now had the chance to change his fate!
He can enter the game from day one, right from the launch, with the knowledge of the past!
The game was widely popular, with several big streamers broadcasting everything and multiple websites dedicated to the game's details.
As someone who had scoured through a lot of these websites, Kaden knew the location of countless treasures, achievements, pets, weapons, legendary items, secret spots, and whatnot. He might not remember everything but he remembered enough.
Armed with this knowledge, he could rip this game wide open! His future was about to be completely overhauled!
Ho! Ho! Ho! Kaden grinned like a maniac.
He licked his lips, grabbed his wallet that was on the table, and rushed out of his room. The first thing that he needed to do was buy the damn game helmet!
"Apocalypse Online! Motherfucker, I am coming for you!"
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