章 2: New World
A young boy in his early teens lay on the ground under a tree, shielded from the midday sun. To anyone passing by, he looked like he was just taking a nap. Suddenly, his eyes flew open, and he let out a scream from a sudden, excruciating headache. The noise startled nearby birds into flight and drew concerned glances from people around.
"Arghhh!"
I clutched my head.
Some people with concern tried to rush to me.
"Hey kid, are you okay?" a lady asked, worried.
She then cast a calming ability, making me relaxed.
"What was that? Did that old lady use magic?" I shook my head.
Impossible.
"Are you okay now?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you."
"Are you really okay... okay?" she asked one last time before leaving.
I nodded.
As I was confused by everything, a sudden flood of memories started flowing into my head.
In a short time, an insane amount of memories came to me.
I witnessed the early childhood of someone, all the way to adulthood.
After a lot of memories came to me, it finally finished.
"What are these memories?"
I finally came to the realization.
I was in the game that I loved.
I stood there, taking deep breaths, trying to make sense of the chaotic jumble of thoughts and images in my mind. The memories weren't mine, yet they felt intensely familiar. Faces, places—they were all there, vividly etched into my consciousness.
"Am I... inside the game?" I whispered to myself, the realization sending a shiver down my spine.
I sighed.
That was the most painful headache I've ever had.
I shook my head, trying to ease the pain. After a minute of lying down, I sat up and leaned against the tree.
"Brother!! You're finally awake!! You told me you were going to play with me! Hmph," a small child with fair skin, around five years old, with lustrous black hair in a bun and amethyst eyes, shouted while pouting.
Who is she? I pondered.
Oh...
This old body's little sister.
He promised Hanabi he'd play with her, but fell asleep instead.
What date is it?
I checked the watch on my wrist.
The game officially starts on June 3, 2024, which is in 3 days.
Hehehe...
I'm excited as fuck.
As the small child got closer.
I said, "I'm sorry, Hanabi, your brother is just tired."
"Hmph!"
She's not listening.
What the hell are these emotions I feel towards her?
BROTHERLY love?
Protectiveness?
Sadness?
Damn. This old owner's body is more dominant in emotion.
Well, I still have the brain and am in control.
I'll buy her ice cream to stop her pouting. Not that I can blame her; I brought her out to play and fell asleep.
I stood up and patted her small head.
"Do you want ice cream?" I asked.
Hanabi, who was pouting, stopped when she heard "ice cream."
I then carried her in my arms, like the old brother used to.
"You told me you were going to play with me, but you slept. Hmph! I will forgive you because you will buy me ice cream." Her declaration made me laugh.
I forgot to say, we have the same name too.
Coincidence?
Kai Ember, 13, and his little sister, Hanabi Ember, 5, were orphans. Their parents abandoned them shortly after Hanabi was born. Like many deadbeat parents, they claimed they couldn't afford to raise them. Their father was the first to leave, disappearing three days before Hanabi's birth under the pretense of going to buy milk and never returning. Their mother tried to care for them for three months before giving up. By the age of 8, Kai started working any job he could find to ensure they had food to eat and a place to sleep.
I looked around at the towering buildings.
It is like my previous world.
Of course, the game was basically designed as the evolved version of Earth.
Oh, that's the ice cream truck at the park's exit.
It was a huge van with a big ice cream logo, and the line was long.
"The line is pretty long. Is that okay?" I asked my 'little sister,' who was pretending to be asleep.
"Oh, so my dear sister is already sleeping. No ice cream then," I teased.
Hanabi's ear twitched, and she immediately looked at me.
"Who's sleeping?" she said.
After a few minutes of waiting in line, it was finally our turn.
"I'll have a small strawberry cream with a cherry on top," I said. "And one slushy, please."
I glanced at a nearby building where a huge TV screen was displaying the news.
"After a long and hard guild war battle, Blaze Guild defeated Sword Guild, taking their spot and becoming the number one guild in the human domain."
"I'm really in the game for real," I was still in disbelief.
I should be feeling fear.
In this world, a flick of a finger from a ranker could kill me in a second.
But I felt excitement.
What is this feeling?
I felt welcome?
"Brother, are you okay?" Hanabi asked with concern seeing her brother smirking.
Hearing my sister brought me back to reality. "I was just thinking about something,"
"Hey, are you going to pay or not? The line is long, so hurry up," the ice cream seller said, irritated.
"Here," I paid and then left to go home.
Fifteen minutes later, we reached our house.
Our house was a storage room I was renting. It was the size of a truck container, just enough for us to live in. The rent was $2,000 a month, so I had to work day and night to earn $120 a day. Though it was illegal, we had never been caught for four years.
We are really poor.
Living in a container for real?
In an advanced world?
Don't worry old body owner. I will make your... our little sister's life easy.
I promised.
And a sorry for taking over your body.
Did I really take over?
Nah. During those memories of the old Kai coming to me, it felt like we were merging. Our soul. Our memories. And our lives.
After picking a pair of pajamas for Hanabi, we went to a nearby public restroom. I dropped Hanabi in front of the restroom. It was already 5 p.m.
"Go shower first, Hanabi, while I fix our dinner and come back in 5 minutes," I said.
This had been our life forever.
Hanabi nodded and followed her brother's instructions.
I then went into the storage room, pondering how I will live in this new world.
Seriously, I really should feel fear, but I'm excited instead.
"I'll think about it later after my little sister sleeps,"
More than five minutes later.
"What are we having for dinner, brother?" she asked while sitting on the ground.
"I told you, I'm going to pick you up right?" I said, protective of her.
"Brother, I'm already a big girl," she said.
I felt a pang of sadness hearing my little sister say this.
Even if I'm just a stranger, I would also feel bad if I saw some kid say that.
She was just 5 years old and already maturing too quickly.
Kids should stay kids. Not mature early.
I shook my head.
"We're having egg and rice," I said, bringing the food to the ground and serving Hanabi's plate.
"Wow, it smells good, brother," she said excitedly.
Even though the food was only egg and rice, Hanabi was happy.
She smelled the food first before starting to eat quickly.
She took a bite, dropped her spoon in shock, then picked it up and resumed eating at a rapid pace.
"Slow down a bit, will you?" I said, but she ignored me and continued eating fast.
Half an hour later, we finished eating, and I carried my sleepy, full little sister to bed.
Damn, won't she get bloated by sleeping immediately after eating so much?
Suddenly I couldn't move my body. Like someone was controlling it.
My face contorted, "But why am I never shown in the future knowledge that I got, even my sister?" I questioned.
Huh? I never said these.
"Did we die because of something?" I was angry. If I died, I die, but the problem is that even my sister was never shown.
"Or were we just a minor character? I wish it was the latter." Even the latter made me angry. It means I never brought my sister out of poverty.
What the hell.
Why am I speaking?
Did I lose my control in this body?
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