1 The Third Story Window

From the beginning he had wished his life was a singular one, one set of parents and only himself as their child. At a young age of three he had made this decision. He told his parents that he wanted to be the only child. He wanted all the spoils, all the glory. Sadly that didn't go well for him.

On the verge of turning twenty-two years of age, he went out for a drive in his father's favorite sports car. He had four other siblings, all of them snobby and undeserving. They destroyed his life the moment they were able to talk. At first he thought he would enjoy these new siblings, sadly all they did was make everything worse.

The first one was unnecessarily violent at a young age, but became a complete social butterfly. While her boyish personality was appealing, everything else was just rotten. She destroyed his relationships with other people, socially turned him into an outcast. Between the four other siblings they all did the same.

They were all deviants. Little devils in sheep's skin.

While he still had a few friends which stuck around, it was as if he only would be left with the crumbs of civility. His parents generally blamed him for everything, as he was the oldest. They wanted him to be the role model for the others. In their eyes, he failed them. Yet they would always come to him to fix everything.

His siblings were only civil when they wanted something. He hated this. Whenever he asked them for something, they'd just try to tell him off unless there was something for them to gain.

He was too selfless for his own good. He'd help people, give his last dollar to a kid staring at a vending machine.

"I didn't need it anyway," would be his response to his own generosity, yet he had been craving the chips in the next machine over.

Driving about twenty kilometers per hour over the speed limit down a dark, unlit, road. He didn't really all that much care if he hit the rear end of a parked car, or smashed a deer. This road would be going in a straight line for miles.

Turning on the radio and tilting the volume dial, his ears would take in the roar of the engine and the increasing sound of the music.

His few escapes was music and games. Other than his low-end jobs that he picked up now and then, he was just letting reality pass him by. Fantasies were all that he wanted. Yet he was never granted them.

The family he belonged to were Christian. They would always pray to their god, though it was only for good fortune and long life. While it seemed they got what they asked for, he had gone too long without getting what his prayers demanded.

Then just as he was pushing the gas even harder, the volume increased with the roar of the engine. Then suddenly something could be seen sitting in the passenger side seat.

"Who…?" Glancing to the side, taking his eyes off the road for a moment, his eyes narrowed on what looked like a young teen in a white night gown. Narrowing his eyes, his foot released the gas petal.

The girl had short black shaven hair, bruises lined her childish structure. Blinking a few times, he stared at the lifelessly blank eyes which were staring at him. This girl looked like a percaline doll with large pupils and thin green-blue irises. She had thin lips which were faintly pink, matching her light pale tone.

A stern expression formed over his face, making him seem serious on the outside, but dreadfully curious and creeped out on the inside.

Where'd this kid come from?

The gown seemed somewhat see through, she wasn't wearing anything underneath except for a necklace.

His stern expression softened lightly as he stared at her. Barely paying attention to the road, though he was able to autocorrect his path with the help of the on board computer and his peripheral vision.

[ You're going to die. ]

A small ping of pain moved throughout his body, like pins and needles. Followed by another ping of pain centering in his chest, in his heart. He winced, grimaced, at this pain.

Taking his hand off the gear shift, he went to grab at her clothes, yet his hand went entirely through the girl. That's when he froze completely. "What?" He'd examine with a shaky tone, moving his hand around inside her chest area. That's when heard the car's computer beeping at him. "Collision imminent! Return to the road!"

Glancing over towards the windshield, he blinked a few times as he noticed he was riding through a field now. A rather flat field, no vegetation. He didn't say anything, his body began to shake a bit as if he felt cold.

Glancing down the kid was leaning against him smiling up at him, hugging onto his arm.

[ There's no stopping it. ]

It seemed the kid's voice was coming into his head. "Fucking Ghost…" He muttered quietly as his face became indifferent to the fact that he was about to die according to the Ghostly figure in the car with him.

So as the car was beginning to slow down, since he let go of the gas petal a while ago, he watched as the vehicle creeped towards what looked like a large sink hole. It finally stopped as the front wheels went off the edge, allowing the back end of the car to put its butt in the air.

Smirking lightly to himself, he looked over at the girl which was holding onto him. "I guess this isn't so bad…" He said as he fought the instincts to retreat, to try and survive. He could see that if he were to step out of the car now, he'd still fall.

Strapping himself into the seat with the belt, he simply grasped onto the arms of his seat. Even though he was going to fall to his death, he wanted to at least give himself some false hopes to surviving.

As the car continued to tilt downward, he would definitely see the bottom, or at least what he thought was the bottom. The sink hole was huge, there was even a light fog covering the bottom several meters down.

Then just as the car was about to fall over the edge completely, a pain shot through him and everything went black. Everything went numb. Did he die before he even fell off the edge?

"What's going on here?" His voice was overlapping itself.

[ You died. Heart attack followed by Instant Death Syndrome, quite unlucky. ]

It was the girl's voice yet again. What was going on? Was she his guide or something? Pursing his lips, he didn't feel anything. His sight looked downward, yet he didn't feel his eyes moving either. Come to think of it, when he spoke earlier he didn't feel the vibration of his throat or the feeling of his mouth moving.

[ What is going on is that you died, silly. ]

She was reading his mind, though he acted in the same indifference as before.

[ Hiding your emotions isn't going to work. Your consciousness is like an open book once you lost your corporeal form. So technically all that is left is your 'mind,' so its not really worth all the worry for losing all your senses. ]

"So this is Death… It's quiet…" If he had lips he'd be smiling right about now. To him isolation from the sounds of reality was bliss.

[ Don't worry, you won't be here for long. ]

As he was assured this feeling would end soon, he frowned. He wanted to be locked away, kept away from people who had betrayed his expectations, betrayed him in all ways. Betrayed him and forced him into the life of a cynic.

[ If you stay here too long, you might just go insane. ]

"There is no such thing as sanity." The young man would state with a huff of annoyance.

[ Ah, so you're one of those people… I love abnormals. ]

"Normies are stupefied, prejudice, beings which make up ninety percent of the Earth's population... I'm not Surprised you came across so few." He responded in kind, using a sarcastic tone which sounded awkward as it overlapped itself.

[ So you're prejudice against normies, huh? ]

"…" He just stared for a few moments, if that was even possible without eyes.

[ Oh come on, you know you like it when your words are twisted. ]

"No. No I don't. You sarcastic little child."

[ WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE?! ]

"Sorry. Sorry. I meant fun-sized teenage soulmate." In his thoughts he was crossing his arms, awaiting her reaction to his retort. However, all he felt was a little warmth. "Are you blushing?"

[ No, it's your imagination, you little shit! ]

"That's not very nice to be cursing at your toward your senior." He huffed with a chuckle, but felt as if what he was saying, didn't quite fit. While she may be a ghost, why was she still communicating with him? How come he was in a world of pitch darkness? What's going on here?

[ I'm not a ghost. I'm your guide and partner to your next life. I'm also twice your age. ]

"Will there be wi-fi in this next life of ours?" He asked with a defeated tone, as if glancing off in a direction, any direction, to avoid metaphorical eye contact.

[ No, probably not. ]

"Okay, you got me pumped. When are we going to the next world? Huh?" The man's tone had quickly changed. It sounded like one of those guys who was teasing their friend, jabbing them in the side with their arm.

[ Oi… Lemme go through the files one more time. I'll get back to you once I find something suitable. In the mean time, get used to this system. ]

Suddenly before what could be called his sight, a hub appeared. It had a simple layout that appeared to look similar to a linux operating system. The tool bar was found along the bottom of his sight. There was a blank mini-map, a blank digital clock beneath it and a drop down quest menu. On the floating tool box there were several menu options: Status, Inventory, Skills, Abilities, Party and a series of quick slots for quick skill and ability deployment. Horizontally across from the mini-map however was the level 0 and an EXP bar along with empty HP, MP and ST bars.

There were additional buttons on the toolbar however that he failed to notice right away. These buttons seemed to lead to different toolbars with different options. The one with the word Kingdom was greyed out, along with faction and guild. In the third page of the toolbar it seemed that there was a button for customization.

"Quite the layout…" He stated as he opened the Customization and had a transparent menu show up. Looking through it he found he could customize clothing, reshape inanimate objects and add effects to weapons. There was even an option to customize the layout and colors of the menus and the hub. "Good… Good." He liked the looks of this, the layout reminded him of a manga about an individual who could customize things through the use of his "divine arts" which was just elemental magic in general.

Opening the status menu, it was just a bunch of question marks. Minimizing that, he'd open the skills menu, again there was nothing here except for question marks, though it seemed that there were skill points. That was a good thing to see, it seemed life would be like a game. Though the last thing he wanted was a griefer.

Opening the party tab though, he saw question marks where his name should be. "Name…" He repeated to himself, wondering what his name was. Wait, he forgot what his name was? He remembered everything else about himself though, it was weird. All his memories, he could clearly see all of them, as if it was a library of books. Even the things he couldn't remember were there. All except for his name. All the times he written his name, it was a blur on paper, on a screen. Everything he heard his name it was like listening to Charlie Brown's teacher speak to him.

Letting out what sounded like an agitated sigh, he waited for this specter to make its presence known again to him. Why must he be left alone like this?

Why did he have this thought? Didn't he already enjoy the isolation? Was it because he was left alone with his own memories? It seemed it wouldn't make him insane, it'd just make him angry. The last thing he wanted to be was an angry grump! He was finally free!

[ I see you're enjoying yourself. I found something somewhat suitable. ]

"Why do you torment me so?"

[ My, my, what do you mean? ]

"…"

Silence ensued for a long time before being engulfed in what seemed to be a dream. Memories that weren't his were flooding into his thoughts. Warmth, arms and legs. The beat of a heart and the soft feeling of breath brushing against one's lips. The feeling of being alive was making its way into his senses. Though there was something missing.

Slowly opening their eyes, the 'man' without a name stared up at the warm white painted ceiling. Reaching up slowly, they stared at the dainty hand with fragile fingers. The arm looked like it could be broken in two like a twig. Was this a young girls arm?

Blinking a few times in disbelief, they turned over on their side and looked at the first thing they saw in a vanity mirror in their direct line of sight. Was a new face, well, not entirely new. Chubby cheeked girl with green-blue doll-like eyes with dainty porcelain features were in the reflection. Though there were bruises everywhere on their face and strangulation marks on their neck.

The next thing they noticed was they weren't breathing… Suddenly sitting up and catching their breath, they placed a hand on their neck as the marks and bruises began to fade. The status bars began to fill up completely.

"You're kidding me right?" The man, now a girl, would speak in a low hushed tone as they pushed blanket aside. The white night gown had been pushed up to reveal her lower body. The area on her abdomen and pelvis seemed to have been bruised, but the bruises were still fading.

"…" Staring at her pale skin she would slowly get up off of the bed and turn around to see a middle-aged man asleep on the other side of the bed. He had a whisky bottle in one hand and what looked like blood on the other.

Memories flooded into her head, followed by a name: Bria. This was a body which belonged to someone named Bria and just happened to look just like the ghost which had accompanied them in the car.

Taking a few steps, her legs seemed to wobble a bit. Heading over towards the window, she stared out onto the cobble stone road which was laid out below. It seemed they were in a house which was three stories in height and the second story acted as a bridge to connect to the other side of the street.

"Hmph. Not bad…" Bria kept a hush tone as she glanced over her shoulder towards the man which rolled over in his sleep. She could smell the whisky on his breath from the window which she lightly nudged open before sitting on the ledge.

Her feet barely touched the floor. From approximates she seemed to be around five feet in height. Her build was dainty, very smell in structure. She wasn't meant for fighting, that is for sure.

Opening the customization menu, she looked through the options which were available. There was now an ability to customize the body. "So, I'm customizable, haah."

Licking her lips slightly, she looked around the room as she tapped on the body configuration button within the customization menu. It seems that there were body customization points. Apparently these points could be earned by completing quests, or simply aging. There were some basic stats and affinities that could be modified. There were around twenty two points, a modest amount considering each stat called for two points to increase.

[ Like my body? ]

The girl's voice sounded in the now Bria's head.

Blinking a few times, the girl glanced up towards the ceiling. "It's better than having random boners during serious situations… Though," Bria glanced over towards the man sprawling himself out on the bed as he was unconscious. Though as he felt that there was no body beside him, he slowly opened his eyes.

[ Oh right, this guy raped and murdered me. Might want to go out the window… Now. ]

[ Quest Added: Escape the Murderer's House. 500 EXP. 2 Cosmetic & Skill Points. ]

Shrugging lightly without hesitation, just as the man was about to spring off the bed, Bria straightened out her legs and let herself fall out the window like a derelict brick. Landing in a bale of hay, she watched as the man's head peered out the window just as they were about the pass beneath the house and onward down the cobble stone road.

That was fun, almost exhilarating. The fastened heartbeat of the girl nearly made the organ jump out of her chest. A wide smile forming over Bria's mouth.

"Hm… What was that?" A voice could be heard from the front of the cart which was carrying bay of hay.

Lifting her head forward to look at the front of the cart, she blinked seeing a man with a straw woven hat glancing back towards her with dull eyes. He had a peace of wheat sticking out of his mouth and looked like a stereotypical farmer. Though he was wearing burlap and low quality cloth. Clearly, this was not modern times as everything around her looked to have a medieval Europe type of architecture which was nearing the gothic period.

The man gave her a subtle glance, before his eyes locked onto the house she had fallen out of. "Ah…" He made a sound as if he knew what was going on. So as he looked forward, he snapped the reigns and caused the horses to rush just as the east door of the house was kicked open. Yet as the shouting started, it could barely be heard as thy were quickly making a distance.

Crawling prone over the bays of hay, she would bring herself to the front of the hay bales and grasp onto the seat the man was in.

[ Quest Completed: Escape the Murderer's House. Rewarded. 1 Level Up ]