บท 1: Do you want to play a game?
At the corner of the lonely street, Seth limped around.
A sudden sensation gushed over him. Blood spilled out of his mouth as he went to his knees.
He took in a large gulp of air and said. "I'm tired."
His words didn't complement the scene around him however. His fifteen meter radius was littered with human bodies.
The men had blood on their clothes and some of them had their eyes wide open but it was clear that they were unconscious.
Looking at Seth's bloodied fist, one would be able to know what occurred here.
It was a fight and Seth came out on top.
"Ha, I'm tired," ranted Seth.
His drunken self has fallen to the ground. He quickly picked himself up and headed home, but there was no stopping the many falls he had on his way home.
Minutes went by and he finally reached his home, a huge condo at the top of the apartment building in front of him.
Seth walked in and greeted the receptionist, "Hey there, you working again today?"
"Yes, Mr. Seth. Don't tell me you are drunk again?" complained the receptionist.
She had to clean up his vomit the last time. She wasn't looking forward to doing that again.
"Hey, that's my superpower. I'm always drunk!"
Seth left the front counter and entered the elevator.
After arriving on the 100th floor, the elevator stopped but didn't open. Seth punched a few buttons on the elevator's keypad. It finally opened, revealing a beautiful interior.
Seth was already used to it since it was his condo. He walked inside.
Just as he sat on his bed, the home system rang.
[You have a call from Mrs.B*tch. Do you want to accept?]
"Oh, here we go again." bellowed Seth.
He couldn't ignore the call so he asked that Bingo, his home system, pick it up.
The sound of a connection being established rang for a while until a female voice could be heard.
"Hello, Seth."
Seth laid on his bed and spoke out, "Hello, Carmine."
The voice sighed as soon as it discovered the irregularities in Seth's speech tone, "Oh god, Seth. Didn't we agree not to get drunk again?"
"It was a mistake. I–F*ck!"
Before he could finish his words, he accidentally touched his injuries, making him moan in pain.
"Did you get into a fight?"
"It wasn't my fault this time. These guys, I tell you, they have foul mouths. Despite my polite demeanor, they wouldn't leave me alone. I failed to notice when my hands moved. I reckon if you were there you would have supported me."
The voice asked with hints of scorn, "Who talked first, them or you?"
"Hey, I just complimented their looks. Whose side are you on anyway?"
The voice sighed, "Seth, you aren't going anywhere with this behavior. It's been five years now and you haven't done anything productive with your life."
She didn't let him speak up, "It's time you become responsible. You can't just let one tragedy affect your life forever?"
Seth retorted, "Who are you again?"
"I'm your psychiatrist."
Seth sneered, "Yeah, you are doing good, by the way, The last ones I had left under one year. How much will it take you to leave me alone?"
"I'm not in this for money."
"Spoken like a true psychiatrist. Honestly, why does the Board keep assigning people to me?"
"They are worried about you."
That statement ticked Seth off. He shouted, "They want my damn money! Don't you want a share of that too?"
"I'm not in this for the money."
"Yeah. Yeah. Anyways, relay this to the board. I won't interfere with the company so they can do whatever they want. In return, they have to leave me alone."
"Seth…."
"At least, act professionally. It's 'Mr. Seth' for you!"
"I–"
"Bingo, cut the call!"
The connection was instantly terminated, leaving Seth free from hearing Carmine's voice.
In truth, she had done nothing. But Seth didn't need therapy. He was perfect the way he was; a husk of flesh that had no purpose in life. That was his punishment for his past actions.
Moreover, it wasn't as if he could trust Carmine. The last psychiatrist tried to rob him of his money when he finally opened up to her.
"Ahh, I need a drink."
Seth walked to his fridge. He went through his collection of alcohol and finally found something that could numb his frustration. It was a fruit wine.
After grabbing the drink, he walked away. Sitting beside his balcony, influenced by the alcohol, his mind wandered.
It was the year 2023.
To Seth, this world was no different from how it was five years ago.
"It is a starless night," discovered Seth.
It reminded him of that particular night. It was just as starless as this one. That night, his whole life changed.
The moon–
'F*ck, this drink is sh*t. Century-old wine, my ass!'
How was it that he always acquired useless stuff? He was probably cursed by the heavens or something like that.
Seth went back to his fridge and looked for something to get.
He was lucky he wasn't craving food as there were not many food items there, only an endless number of bottles preoccupied the fridge.
Thirty minutes later, he got knocked out and slept on his chair with half of his body leaning on the floor.
*Ring!* *Ring!* *Ring!*
The ringtone of his home system was accursed. It didn't take less than a second for Seth to jump out of his chair with bloodshot eyes.
"Bingo, what is it?" Seth screamed.
[You have a guest.]
"Ahh, at this time! Who is it?"
[Guest's identity confirmed to be George Ravenswood.]
"....."
Seth sighed as he walked up to the door. He was tempted to go back to bed and pretend he wasn't aware of his guest, but that was not possible anymore.
Upon opening the door, a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit pompously walked in. His nose twitched as he took in the alcohol-powered air of the room, which led to a frown on his face.
"Uncle, I didn't expect your visit. Welcome to my humble abode." Seth jumped into his view with a polite smile, but his foul breath made George's frown deepen.
"I received a call from Carmine. She tells me she made no progress with you. She also relayed your message."
"... what is your reply, Uncle?" Seth quietly asked.
"Absolutely no. The Board can't ignore the largest shareholder in our company. It is good enough we keep the company's operation going without you. I have a proposition. If you agree to relinquish half of your shares to us then–"
Seth interjected, "That is all it is to you, isn't it? You want my shares. They have been in my family for decades. I am not giving them out."
"Then do something with them! You think we can't overthrow your family's power in the company? What do you even know about the company? Well, let me be clear, the company cannot operate without workers. If the Board decides to leave, you alone will shoulder the burden of running a company."
Seth scowled. "Is that a threat?"
"You can view it anyhow you want. I'm done tolerating your antics. You have one month to think about my offer."
Without waiting for a reply, George left the condo. His diminishing footsteps taunted Seth as he closed the door.
"F*ck. F*ck. F*ck!"
Seth clenched his fist in anger. He grabbed an almost empty bottle and drank the content in one gulp.
Feeling tipsy, Seth felt the anger leave him. Once more, peace and solitude came back to him. He lay on his favorite chair and closed his eyes.
✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤✤
'Hmmm… Another day,' sighed Seth.
His eyes opened slightly and the sharp daylight penetrated them.
He was about to sleep again when he noticed a two-dimensional object floating in front of him.
『Do you want to play a game?』
He waved his hand through it, trying to see if he was still under the influence of alcohol.
'What a nice hallucination? I wonder if this is my mind hinting that I need to play games more often.'
An almost robotic voice echoed in his mind as the panel of the window vibrated.
『Do you want to play a game?』
Seth jumped back instantly.
His eyes were fully alert now. There were no signs of drunkenness on him as he cursed, "What the f*ck is happening?"
『Do you want to play a game?』
Clearing his throat, Seth played along.
He voiced out slowly, "No…"
『Rejection denied. Seth Ravenswood, do you want to play a game?』
"....."
Seth thought to himself, 'I clearly already answered. What the f*ck is wrong with this thing?'
"No."
『Rejection denied. Seth Ravenswood, do you want to play a game?』
Not knowing what to do, Seth tried the other option.
In his mind, he must be hallucinating, but he was eager to find out where the endgame of the hallucination was.
"Yes."
『Affirmation recognized… processing introduction.』
『Seth Ravenswood, welcome to Falling Stars Online. At the peak shall be your reward… a mighty wish of no consequence.』
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