Prologue

Fear. Fear is the engine that drives humanity forward. Fear of the unknown. Fear of being too weak. Fear of going dying. The fear of death is especially terrifying for humans. This being the scariest one isn't a surprise, since most people don't want to leave things unfinished. They want their life to be like great stories. One with a beginning, middle, and end. Like a good story, should. Dying would only mean stopping that story early, leaving matters unresolved and mysteries that cannot and will not be solved. Ever. It's due to this that people fear dying full of regrets, regret being one of the worst feelings one could ever feel. Always thinking "What if I had done something differently?" and never understanding that it won't change the past no matter what. They're foolish if you ask me. They're scared of death because they can't understand it. They won't. They refuse to accept that they can only go forward no matter what. That's how life works. You take the hits, and maybe fall from time to time, but you must always get back up and charge forward once again. That's what I learned the hard way.

There is, however, an exception to the fear of death. That being a sacrifice. Dying to protect someone close to them gives them a certain amount of self-satisfaction with themselves. Almost as if they think it was all worth it if someone else continues the journey from where they left off. Like a child playing an old save file from one of their parents' games. That's what they all think before their consciousness disappears forever. This can be a noble deed indeed, but it's called a sacrifice for a reason. It's a coin with 2 sides. That other side is a death wish and it can be just as horrifying as a sacrifice is noble, maybe even more. It's the same line of thinking of a sacrifice, but this time being done out of pure selfishness and greed. Anyone and everyone who has died this way will think they just sacrificed themselves to protect their friends and family, only to find out moments later that he could've also survived had they been more cautious. Leaving them on the floor, slowly dying full of regrets. Dying is a horrifyingly painful death.

You may ask, "Why would anyone bother with thinking of such things? After all, my life isn't in mortal danger at all times". That would be true for most people, but I'm not like most people. I was desperate enough for a chance at getting a better life that I didn't care what happened along the way, so long as I was the winner. So long as I was in first place and I got my reward I would be happy and satisfied. Yet all that seems to be about to come to an abrupt end pretty soon. After all, fighting a giant boss all of your own when you barely have any experience in the game itself makes it pretty easy for anyone to die on their first try. Unlike other games, however, Afterlife only gives you a single try. Not because you'd have to make a new avatar and start from square one, but because you only have 1 life. If you die in the game, you die in real life, and to add insult to injury, my greed and stupidity made it so that a war hammer the size of a bus was about to send me flying across the boss room, killing me instantly.

"Henry!" shouted Michael, but I didn't look in his direction. I couldn't and I wouldn't let him see my face full of regret before dying in this stupid game. All I could see was the towering monster swinging away and a flash of memories bursting forward. Just how exactly did I get myself into this situation?