Chapter Eighteen: Message
Sadness, confusion, anger, heartbreak, grief, all of these, swirling inside the melting pot of the young girl's heart. It feels as if all of these are combining within her heart as uneasiness, and guilt plagued her mind.
"Why…" she asks herself quietly, "... Why was I even born into this world? I was born into nothing but misfortune after misfortune. My family hated me, the people at school bullied me, and now, the one person that I considered family. The one person that gave me a light of hope in this world… is gone. Why was I born into this world? If there really is a higher being at work, then why do they just sit back and watch as I suffer. Am I hated by even god himself? Is that why? Did god hate my soul so much that he'd thought it'd be fun to put it into the body of a bug and watch it get slowly crushed? Why me? Why am I hated by the people who are supposed to love and care for me?"
The thoughts in her head only simmer as the night passes. Eventually her dinner is brought to her, but she doesn't eat any of it. After two hours, Erica goes back to Alexia's room and finds her food trays sitting on the nightstand next to her bed, completely untouched. The young girl is still in the same position and has the same lifeless expression on her face as when Erica last saw her.
Erica sits down next to her seemingly lifeless body, "Alexia, please. You need to eat something."
"Have you heard anything about my parents?" Alexia asks, ignoring her nurse's words.
"They received the news about Arthur. And they didn't take it well."
"Did either of them commit suicide?"
"Why would you ask something like that?!" Erica asks angrily.
"Because I wouldn't put it past them not to do that. You might want to call the hotline and have their guys monitor my parents for the next few days."
"You're… worried about them?"
"It doesn't matter if they abandoned me as a child or that they're greedy bastards who care about nothing but their wallets. They're the only family that I have left. And I don't want them to die pointlessly like me or Arthur."
"I'm your family too, Alexia. And I saw Arthur just as I see you. How do you think I feel right now. I feel like I lost my son all over again. And soon… you're going to…" Tears start dripping down Erica's cheeks, "... I loved Arthur, and I love you too Alexia. Your life has been unfair to you in so many ways, and yet you've managed to persevere through it all. Please don't lose that strength. Your strength gives me hope, and if you lose yourself now, then I'll lose hope too!"
"Why? Why do you hold me in such high regards? I'm not important. I've never contributed to society in a big way, I'm not a star, I'm not some rich idiot, I'm just a dying girl who's done nothing but play games for her entire life. I'm nothing but a burden to everyone I meet. I should never have been born into this world."
"Alexia…"
"You know I'm right!!" says the young girl, cutting off the nurse in an angered tone, "Just leave me alone."
Alexia turns away from Erica, and then pulls the covers over her head. The nurse breathes a heavy sigh, stands up, and walks out of the room, leaving Alexia alone. The young woman was already worried about her upcoming death, but now the thought that her brother, the only one in her family that actually cared for her, won't be there for her, weighs heavily on her mind. For the entire night, Alexia's anxious thoughts keep her awake.
The next morning, the light shines through the shades on her window. Alexia's still in the same position as she was before Erica left. Then she turns over. Her eyes have dark spots under them, and one can see the marks running down her cheeks and face where she had been crying. As she turns over, her eyes lock onto the headset, with her favorite game still inside of it. She slowly sits up, takes the headset, and attaches it, falling asleep as her mind enters the game.
Alexai opens her eyes, expecting to see the normal, blue landscape she normally sees before entering Legend Conquerors Online. However, this time, all she sees when she opens her eyes is a dark void. There's nothing around her. No light, no panels, nothing.
"Did… I die already?" she asks herself. She looks down, and by looking at the outfit she's wearing, her height, as well as the color of her hair, she realizes that she's now in the body of her avatar, Eris, "Huh? The game should ask me if I want to go to Legend Conquerors Online and then send me. I shouldn't be in my avatar yet. Not to mention, there's nothing here. Did the game break?"
Suddenly, a bright blue panel appears with white writing that reads, "Do you wish that you weren't born? Do you wish you were someone else? Someone powerful? If so, please press the yes button." Eris is incredibly confused, and at the same time curious. She has never seen a panel ask this question. The young girl reaches for the yes button but stops inches away from it. She clenches her fists and retracts her hand. Then the panel disappears and a new one shows up. This panel says, "I must apologize for your current circumstances. You were never meant to be born in such a frail and lowly existence, and I would like to make it up to you. In exactly 24 hours, your life in this world will come to an end. And once it has ended, you will be asked this question once more. Should you choose yes, you will be given a new life with your memories and your personality still intact. Of course, if you want, I could also erase your memories, but still allow you to keep your basic knowledge. I suggest that you take the next 24 hours to think about your decision."
The panel disappears, and the dark void surrounding her also shatters, and leaves behind a room. After taking a look around, Eris realizes that she's back in the throne room of her castle in the city of Bloodfallen. The young vampire quickly looks around, for any sign of that strange panel or the darkness that surrounded her. The light returns to her eyes as she relishes the idea of the proposal that the panel gave her.