A Trip to the Past

Louise and Francis soon arrived at the airport. They went to the lobby and got some drinks. Francis originally wanted to get some beer, but he was stopped by Louise since the former still had to drive. As such, they just settled on one of the coffee shops. Louise got a mocha frappe, while Francis got a vanilla frappe.

Francis took a picture and sent it to the group chat, as an homage to the guy they were waiting for—Fred, or better known by them as Frappe.

By now, Fred had notified them that his plane had already landed and he was just waiting to pick up his luggage. He asked them to wait for him and get him some drinks, too. He also told them to just stay put and relax for a while.

Louise stood up and bought another vanilla frappe. Then, he talked to Francis, "Why do I feel like Fred doesn't want to leave the airport right away?"

Francis looked at him and thought for a moment. He didn't answer and just decided to sip on his frappe. After all, the answer to this question would be given once Fred arrived.

After a while, Fred, along with his luggage, had finally shown himself. He took a seat on the duo's table and said, "Zup."

Louise and Francis fist-bumped Fred in a greeting before they all settled down. After a few moments, Louise couldn't help it anymore and opted to ask, "Is there something about to happen?"

Fred's expression turned serious. Francis still had an uncaring expression, but his eyes moved, signaling that he also wanted to know why Fred asked them to stay there.

Fred said, "There's a new event about to begin in the game we're playing. Anytime within the next hour."

Louise's countenance changed. "Are you serious?"

Fred nodded. Francis finally spoke, "You've got some sort of schedule or something?"

Fred answered, "Let's talk about it after the event. Anyway, the clue is 'battle.' Not really sure what battle exactly it is, but it should already be given. We should just be prepared."

The trio stared at each other and decided to just focus on drinking their frappes. Silence ensued as questions popped up. There was one thing that was bugging Louise's mind, though. But he knew it wasn't the right time to ask it. The answer, they would learn as soon as the event began.

All of a sudden, a name entered Louise's mind. He opened his phone and hurriedly messaged Anna.

—Moxie: Another event will happen in the next hour. Are you okay? Try to find a safe place. There might be some sort of battle. Take care!

Based on what Louise recalled, the events or instance-dungeons that were occurring would alter the current place where he was. Thinking about Anna and her plan to go to the mall, he felt a little worried. He didn't know what sort of event she would find herself in, so he had to tell her to be careful.

Anna didn't reply even after a few minutes. It seemed that she was quite busy. Louise was a little alarmed. In his worry, he had completely drunk the frappe in front of him.

"Chris, the heck. You seem too nervous. Haha." It was Francis who noticed that Louise was a little bit anxious.

Louise said, "It's not me. I'm worried about a friend."

"Your friend also entered the red…" It took a tap from Francis before Fred was reminded to not mention it here.

Louise simply nodded. A sense of urgency welled up inside of him, and he felt the need to pee. Fortunately, there was a toilet nearby, so he hurriedly went off.

Louise was still holding his phone up until he entered the toilet. As soon as he released what had to be released, Anna finally replied.

—Kyporith: Oh no!

Just as Louise was about to reply, his surroundings suddenly changed. Once again, the world collapsed like pixels. Next thing he knew, the world reformed, and the stage was…

"I'm still in the toilet?" Louise was a little confused. However, he didn't let his guard down. The clue Fred had given them was battle. As such, the first thing that entered his mind was that there had to be something they would battle.

He looked around but saw no one around him. He searched for anything that could be used as a weapon, but there was honestly nothing else but tissue paper inside the toilet. Then, his gaze turned toward the mirror.

"What the f*ck!" He took a few steps back, horrified. The toilet was completely empty aside from him. However, the mirror said otherwise. There were 3 human-like figures floating around him, and they looked exactly like ghosts. Not human ghosts, but just like those floating ghosts in movies with a white blanket over their bodies.

However, these ghosts didn't seem to notice him as they just floated around, not making any other movements.

Louise's heartbeat sped up very quickly. Wasn't there supposed to be a battle? So did he need to fight the ghosts? He forcefully calmed himself down and observed the mirror. The ghosts were just there, but they weren't doing anything to him. That was a good sign.

Now then, what was he supposed to do? While thinking, one of the ghosts suddenly floated near his body and bumped into him. As soon as they touched, the ghost suddenly disappeared. Louise was still staring at the mirror, so he had seen everything clearly. Rather than disappear, it felt more like the ghost entered his body.

"Hehe, don't you have regrets?"

An eerie voice of an old man entered his mind, causing all his hair to stand on end. He looked left and right and saw nothing around him. In the reflection in the mirror, the two other ghosts were still floating aimlessly.

"Did the ghost enter me?" This thought caused a chill to run down his spine. All of a sudden, the two other ghosts seemed to have been given life as they rushed over to Louise. They both disappeared into his body, causing Louise unprecedented shock. And then…

Black.

Everything simply went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in front of Michelle. They were in the park outside of the coffee shop they loved to visit, sitting on the bench.

They both held each other's hands, as if everything would go well as long as they were together.

However, Michelle's expression was a little bit rigid. There was hesitation on her face, and it seemed something was bugging her.

Louise looked at her and remembered a familiar yet distant memory. That day, Michelle asked him to meet. Everything was still fine on the surface, but the underlying problems in their relationship had already sprung up.

They were fighting almost every few days, and their wants were just too different from each other. What one wanted wasn't something the other wanted, and so they ended up having to compromise, leading to a bigger rift in their relationship. The sacrifices each of them made for one another became the axe that continuously hacked at their relationship, forming cracks.

Finally, Louise remembered this moment, and this scene. It was exactly just that day, and the next words Michelle was about to speak…

"Don't you think it's time for us to go to the next level?" As soon as these words left Michelle's mouth, her expression changed to one full of anxiety and expectations. She clasped both of his hands tightly, intending to show the gravity of her words.

Louise was shocked. This wasn't right at all. He clearly remembered that she was just about to break-up with him back then. Even the words she said were too distinct to even forget.

"Don't you think it's time to go our separate ways?" These words continuously reverberated inside his head, so it was impossible for him to forget them. However, the words being said right now were just too different.

Louise was, in truth, alarmed. He looked around and everything just seemed real. And all the memories of the past few months seemed so distant, as if they were just dreams. He was a little confused. Was the Baltac Fortress just a dream? Were the zombies he had incinerated created from his imagination?

For a moment, the realness of everything around him made his mind muddled. It felt like all the pain he had been through were just nightmares, and that this moment should be the real one instead.

A feeling of emptiness arose in his heart, but it was quickly overwhelmed by another emotion as he looked at Michelle. At the moment, he didn't notice that he was beginning to forget a lot of things that had recently happened.

Louise looked at Michelle endearingly. His heart ached, but the love he had for her was very real. He raised his hand and caressed her cheeks. He had a hunch that if he did well this time, then he could forget everything else for her sake. No, the feeling was, this was how it should have been in the first place. And the words of breaking up were just simulations inside his head because they had fought a lot.

Buzz—

It was at this time that this phone buzzed. It was placed on his lap, so the sudden vibration disrupted his thoughts. He felt a little angry. Who would disturb him at this almost perfect moment? He had the sudden urge to throw his phone away, however, the moment he looked at it, a familiar yet unfamiliar name appeared on the call notification.

"Kyporith?"

This name felt so familiar, but he couldn't recall why. There was a nagging feeling that he should answer this call, however, he didn't have any reason to do so—he couldn't even recall whose name this was. Should he really open his phone before answering Michelle? That wasn't appropriate, right?

He moved his phone behind him and continued to stare at Michelle. He smiled the brightest smile in his life, and as if it was all natural, he suddenly reached for his pocket and took out a jewelry box. It was supposed to be something he had bought a few weeks back in preparation for this moment.

He was about to go down on his knees and propose when he heard a voice inside his head...

"When you die, you become nothing. Everything else—your memories, your identity, your emotions, and your soul—they will all cease to exist."

As if awakened by a dream, his eyes widened. A surge of memories he seemed to have forgotten appeared in his mind, causing his brain to ache. He finally realized something very important.

This event was a battle!