Chapter 46- Meanwhile || Aftermath

Some hours ago, in the real world.

A white-haired woman and a 10-year-old girl who had dark purple hair were watching television. Suddenly, the content on the screen changed, and a voice followed.

[This emergency meeting has been broadcasted live in the entire world,] the reporter on the television uttered.

Several faces appeared on the screen, and they all looked worried.

[What are your thoughts on the recent tragedy in the VR market? And what do you think caused it?] the reporter asked.

[We don't know,] one president replied.

[We have little to no information regarding this,] the second president replied.

[I… I think it's done by the foreign technology,] the third president replied. [By that, I am referring to the aliens. After all, VR technology was created based on their technology.]

[But weren't we on good terms with the aliens? We have made mutual benefit deals, so why are they doing it?] the reporter asked.

[I don't mean them. There are many alien species out in our universe. We don't know them all yet. We have asked them, even the ones who we don't get along with, but none of them have any idea about this,] another president replied.

[So, you are saying that whoever did this, their technology is more advanced than the aliens?]

[No. It's not about who did it. We should be wondering why they did it? What will they gain after this?]

[I think I know who did this,] a man wearing a face mask uttered. He was speaking from the other planet.

[Who?!] everyone present there asked at the same time.

[First, let us talk about the earth's condition. How many years have left until it gets destroyed?]

[We still have 50 years left. We are evacuating humans and animals each week to the nearby planets,] the governor of the galactic force replied.

[How many are still left on the earth?] the man asked.

[All the celebrities and rich people have left the earth. But those who can't afford it have to wait until they get their access pass. However, worry not. We will make sure to evacuate every single human and animal within 49 years.]

[I asked you how many are still left on the earth. Give me an approximate number.]

[30% are still left.]

[Increase the capacities of the spaceship. We will send our spaceships for aid. Remember, it is not given that the earth will be destroyed in 50 years. It can explode in 30 years, it can explode tomorrow, it can even explode right now. You have to put your citizens before anything else!] the man shouted.

The man was the first interspecies between humans and aliens, and he was the chief executive of the intergalactic navy.

[Yes, sir!]

To keep the citizens at ease, all the presidents and ministers were ordered to stay on the earth.

[So, you were saying you know who is behind the VR tragedy?] the reporter asked in a calm voice.

[Do you remember how you all nuked a planet of the species who were inferior to humans?]

One of the presidents slammed his hands on the table and said, "We have already talked about this. That was needed! The planet entered our orbit, and it was going to collide with the earth. We did that to save the earth.]

[The planet was six months away, and the scientists were still calculating the trajectory. They weren't sure if it was going to hit the earth or not. Yet, you all nuked the entire planet, which was more prominent than the earth in value.]

[Just get to the point, chief. We are here to talk about the VR tragedy. If you know something, then please provide us with the necessary information. If you don't, then I don't think we have time to waste.]

[I just received a message from my subordinates. The species I was expecting to be behind this is apparently not involved with this. I will contact you when I get some reliable information.]

After that, the connection of the man was cut off.

The reporter didn't waste any time and asked the ones present there: [So far, nearly 100000 players have died. Even the ones who were monitored closely suddenly died.]

[What can we do about this? Is there any hope to bring back the players who are still unconscious?]

[I do not have knowledge of VR games, so we have the developers with us to answer those questions.]

[I am extremely sad and disappointed to be here. The first thing I want to make clear to the families of the victims is that the VR games are not responsible for this. Please stop blaming us.]

[But only the players who had and have played the games are getting unconscious. Why is that?] the reporter asked.

[If VR games were truly the cause of this, then they would have woken up when they were removed from the VR headsets. But that's not the case. However, the governments of all the countries have banned VR headsets and games, so at least we won't have any more casualties.]

[I will ask the same thing I asked before; What can we do about this? Is there any hope to bring back the players who are still unconscious?]

[Well… all I can say is… hope for the worst.]

After that, the broadcast ended, and a song started playing on the television.

The purple-haired girl turned to the woman beside her with a concerned look on her face.

"Mama. What will happen to brother Zach? Will he wake up?" she asked.

The white-haired woman patted the girl's head and said, "Don't worry, Zoe. Your brother is strong. Nothing will happen to him."

Zoe started crying and said, "You said the same thing about father, but he never came back. I don't want to lose brother Zach!"

The woman bit her lips and softly stroked Zoe's hair. She wiped Zoe's tears and said, "I will make sure nothing happens to your brother."

The woman then gave Zoe her favorite crepe and said, "Eat this. I will go check up on your brother."

After that, the woman went upstairs and entered the first room by the stairs.

Zach was sleeping on the bed with his lower body covered with a blanket.

"It's been two days since his body was delivered. When I first looked at him, I assumed he was in a deep sleep until I watched the news."

The woman sighed and walked to the bed. She placed her hands on Zach's chest and uttered, "I can force his soul back to this world, but…" She moved her hand to Zach's face and opened his eyes using her thumb and finger.

"He still hasn't awakened his soul powers…" she muttered. "Even if he had, it is precarious to force his soul back to his body."

"..." The woman clenched her fists and uttered, "Foolish gods and their petty games. They are going to regret messing with 'him' and his son."

The woman pressed her thumb on the ring on her right hand and muttered something.

A bright light shined in front of her, and a magic circle appeared on the floor. Soon, a woman with white hair and red eyes was summoned into the magic circle. She was carrying a smoking pipe with her, and she was wearing black gloves in her hands.

"Xie Lua…" Zach's mother uttered.

Xie Lua opened her eyes and looked at Zach's mother in surprise.

"I thought you lost your powers 20 years ago," Xie Lua uttered in a respectful manner.

"I did. And I just used up the powers remaining in the ring."

"So, why did you summon me?" Xie Lua glanced around and asked, "Has my master finally returned?"

"No." Zach's mother pointed her finger on the bed behind Xie Lua and said, "This is his son."

Xie Lua looked back and saw Zach. She was surprised at first but shook her head and uttered, "He looks a lot like my master. Is he Zach? He has grown so much since I last saw him."

"I am leaving him to you," Zach's mother uttered with a solemn look on her face. "Since you the only merchant of the realms, you would be in the game too."

"What do you… wait! Is this a marriage proposal?! I need time to think about it," Xie Lua uttered with a flushed face.

"It is not. I want you to—! What's happening?!"

Xie Lua's body suddenly started fading.

"I think you ran out of your powers," Xie Lua replied as she disappeared, leaving Zach's mother with an open mouth.

"Wait!"

—

-

.

In Gods' Impact, magic shop dimension.

"I can't believe I am finally getting married!" Xie Lua said cheerfully with her voice full of excitement.

She began to dream about her marriage with Zach and imagined what their honeymoon would be like. She even went as far as naming their kids.

She was lost in her thoughts that she started humming a tune and didn't realize she had a customer.

The customer tapped his finger on the stall to make his presence known.

When Xie Lua came back to her senses and turned to look at the customer, she choked on her breath after seeing Zach.

"What are you so surprised about?" Zach scoffed. "Are customers that rare here?"

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Author's Note- I know, many things happened in this chapter that are not making sense. This chapter will serve as an important base of the future plot and the God's impact franchise.

Also, how many of you remember when Zach's father was mentioned in the prologue. It was already foreshadowed that he went missing in a natural disaster. This was it. He is somehow related to the earth getting destroyed. Oops, I said too much.

This chapter was a bit long, but it sums up the first volume nicely. Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the support! I hope you keep reading and supporting the novel, so I can write and deliver you more chapters daily!