Altering My Destiny

[ Abyss Adevnture ]

A game I've been playing for years now. In my life, things never go the way I want them to. For example, every time I've had the courage to ask a person to be my girlfriend. In the end, they walked away with an uncomfortable face. What did I do to deserve this?

It's been 6 years since I've seen my classmates. That was my senior year in high school. I've long given up on such things called friendship or happiness whatever.

During that time, I spent most of my time playing this game. At first I was very uninterested in the subject and the game as a whole. Later I found out that it's actually quite interesting. It has a very unique plot, and I was surprised by the low player count.

This game is insanely good! I feel like a waste not to have played this game sooner. With a theme of an old fantasy era. You can lead your characters to their own fantasy stories! This is the first time I've seen a game like this. To be honest, I spent too much time playing this game.

Years have passed since I celebrated New Year with the game's new year events. At that time, I did not know how the game would end, but now it has been five years. As I reflect back, I wonder why it had to end this way.

**

In an old apartment, the sound of a controller tapping loudly can be heard. A young man in his mid-twenties holds a controller and seems to be playing a game on his TV connected to a game console. He looks at the message sent by the developers, stating that the game [ Abyss Adventure ] will soon come to an end.

???: " Huh ?, it's ending already ? " he says to himself.

???: " Ah, it's fun while it lasted. "

???: " I wonder what the ending is like, I've been leveling up on the last area for the past 2 years," he continues, expressing his curiosity.

???: " This game is finally going to wrap up after five years, huh? " he says with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

The young man speaks of his true feelings about the game.

???: " I'm sure going to miss this game! " he exclaims.

After that, he gets up and stretches his arms. He looks at his messy room filled with garbage that he hasn't cleaned up yet.

His phone rang, but he didn't pick it up, probably thinking it was the landlord again. He went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and realized he was out of water.

???: " Ah.. I'm out of water. "

He sighed before heading towards the door. At first, he was hesitant, but then he opened it anyway.

[ How long has it been since I breathed the air outside? ] he murmured to himself.

After a long journey to the store, he finally reached the water section and proceeded to the cashier. Seeing another person, he became very shy and struggled to speak properly. His speech was hesitant when talking to the cashier.

Finally, after restocking his water supplies, he returned to his small apartment only to find that the landlord had evicted him. All his belongings were outside the apartment. He was shocked. Trying to regain his composure, he sat on a nearby bench and talked to himself.

???: " What now ? " he asked himself in a shallow tone.

???: " No place to go, no connections, no money, no job, no.. "

He trailed off, letting out a deep sigh. He tilted his head upwards to look at the sky.

???: " It shines so brightly, like the stars, so far away from me, " he said, still looking up.

???: "While I am like the moon in the night, I don't want to remain that way," he said to himself.

[ I wanted to become one of the stars that shine on everything that comes their way.. ]

He thought, closing his eyes. He slept in the cold night, feeling lost and helpless.

**

[ What time is it ? ]

He murmured, looking at his smartphone. It was the only thing he had left, as his beloved TV had been sold by his evil landlord.

The time read 8:30 AM on his smartphone screen. After doing a few stretches, he walked along the side of the road, with no place to go.

As he walked, he noticed a park nearby and decided to head there. The morning sun was shining brightly, and there were few people around. He found a bench and sat down, taking a deep breath of fresh air. It had been a while since he had been able to enjoy the outdoors like this.

As he sat there, he thought about what he could do next. He needed to find a job and a place to live, but without any money or connections, he wasn't sure how to make it happen. He took out his smartphone and started scrolling through job listings, but none of them seemed to fit his skills or qualifications. He felt a sense of despair wash over him.

[ Is this it for me? ] he thought to himself.

[ Am I really going to be homeless and jobless forever? ]

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He needed to stay positive and keep trying. He didn't want to give up hope just yet.

As he watched the children playing in the park that morning, memories of his high school days flooded his mind. Despite not being popular, he cherished the memories of his senior year the most. A sense of regret washed over him, but he quickly pushed it aside.

Then, he received a message from his mother, the only family member he had left. He had lost his father when he was only four years old, and he could barely remember his face. He was surprised by the message, but he ignored it, thinking to himself that he had run away from home seven years ago and there was no way he was going back now.

He got up and thought to himself,

[ Maybe the landlord would give me a chance... I mean, our relationship isn't that bad. ]

With a glimmer of hope, he began heading towards his old apartment, hoping that he could get back what he once owned.

**

As he was on his way to the apartment, he spotted a little puppy in the middle of the street. The puppy looked rough and in poor shape. He saw a resemblance of himself in the puppy, as he kept staring at it. Suddenly, he heard the sound of car tires. A car was driving down the street, and the puppy was stranded in its path.

He thought to himself, [ Is the puppy going to kill himself? ]

With all his bruises and in poor condition, he just looks like me, someone who doesn't even have anything. But I haven't lost hope to die yet. Not until I talk to the landlord. The puppy, however, looked like it had lost all hope.

Without any hesitation, with a slight hope, he wanted to rescue the puppy and lead it to a better life than his own.

[ Please, let the puppy live! ] he shouted in his mind while rushing towards the puppy.

He was able to reach the puppy and push it aside, but he could not move himself in time. He heard the sound of a beep behind him, and it was a car heading towards him. The driver was anxious, pressing the horn multiple times.

But in his mind, it was already blank. He had anticipated that this would happen, but he was still scared. The fear of death consumed him.

He closed his eyes, and the sound of the car crashing could be heard throughout the neighborhood as people quickly surrounded the scene.

He remembered his past high school life again, but this time, he held his hands full of regrets. He thought about his life, how he had lived it, and he regretted it all.

[ In the end, I wasn't able to find my happiness, ] he thought to himself on his deathbed.

As his vision grew blurry, he felt himself slipping away. He expected to see darkness, but to his surprise, he was able to open his eyes again.

[ Is this the afterlife? ] he wondered to himself as he looked around.

The surroundings were pure white, and it was so bright that he had to squint his eyes. Then, he caught a glimpse of a person's face, and it was his mother. He hadn't seen her in a long time, and he began to cry. Tears flowed down his face.

He regretted running away from home. He missed his mother's cooking and her loving personality. He regretted it all and thought about it, his life was full of regrets.

Then, suddenly, the bright surroundings blinded him, and he had a difficult time trying to open his eyes. He was forced to close them again.

**

But suddenly, he heard a soft voice say,

???: "Why is it crying so loudly!"

He opened his eyes only to be surprised by his surroundings.

???: "Of course, Miya, it's a newborn baby, after all," said an elderly man sitting in front of him.

He looked around, and to his astonishment, a beautiful woman was holding him like a baby.

???: "This is your younger brother, Miya," the woman spoke.

Then she continued, "His name's Shinji."

[ ... ]

[ Is she pointing at me? Shinji...?? ]

[ What is going on?! ] he thought to himself, his face reflecting his confusion.

Shinji was bewildered by the realization that seemed impossible.

[ Wait...this can't be real. Have I been reincarnated? ] he pondered to himself.

As he tried to speak, all he could do was let out a baby's cry. Looking down at his hands, he noticed they were small and chubby. He was now a newborn baby. It was an overwhelming feeling, and he didn't know how to respond.

The woman who was holding him began to sing a lullaby, and Shinji felt a sense of comfort wash over him.

[ I don't know what's going on, but I can put that aside for now,] he thought to himself.

[ I don't know why, but I feel so relaxed now. It's like all my problems have been washed away by this woman's lullaby. ]

With that, he drifted off to sleep, listening to their conversation.

???: "Father, does that mean I'm an older sister now?" the girl beside the elderly man asked.

???: "It turns out that way!" the elderly man responded excitedly.

???: "Yay!!" the girl exclaimed, expressing her happiness.

Those were the last words he heard before falling back asleep. He could see the woman's beautiful smile, which comforted him.

[ END CHAPTER 1 ]