Free Fall

The night was as lively as Leon's thoughts in Virenbrook city. The thoughts that kept him wide awake on a lonely night. The smell of the hospital made him nauseous, he slowly sat up removing the needles that were pierced in his cob-web-like hand. There was nothing coming out of the wound.

"Ugh."

His stomach twisted in pain once again, causing him to clench his abdomen in hopes of finding relief. With careful movements, he eased himself off the bed and slipped on his slippers, all while remaining crouched.

He shuffled sideways, crouching down like a ghost from a horror movie. Though he attempted to stretch his limbs and stand upright, he found that remaining in this hunched position made him a million times more comfortable.

"hippity bippity bop," he mocked himself as he moved like a crab across the room.

He reached the door and turned the handle, opening it slowly. The alleyway beyond was engulfed in silence, and he caught a glimpse of a nurse strolling away, disappearing into the elevator.

"Right," he whispered to himself, feeling a sense of determination settling within.

His head was barely covered with hair, and his nightgown, combined with the way he crawled towards the elevator, would have been a nightmare for any passing nurse.

"hehehe," he felt triumphant as he clicked the button for the rooftop and hoped no one would mess with his mission to have fresh air.

Luck was finally on his side this time, a rare occurrence. He reached the rooftop without any interruptions. Standing there, he felt a sense of comfort as the cool night breeze enveloped his body, infusing him with newfound strength.

At that moment, everything seemed to be better.

The moon was illuminating his presence as he stumbled toward the edge, seeking a better view of the city spread out before him.

From this elevated vantage point, he could behold the breathtaking sight of half of West Virenbrook twinkling in the darkness below. It resembled a sky of its own, adorned with countless blinking lights in the distance.

While the city pulsed with life and purpose, Leon couldn't shake the feeling that he was stuck in a standstill. The days seemed to speed by, carrying everyone and everything towards their respective destinations, while he remained stagnant, disconnected from the flow of time.

Maybe Time goes by fast before slowing down in the last moments.

"Should've just slept," he regretted.

He had climbed up here using all of his strength only to feel miserable all over again.

As he let out a deep sigh, a gust of wind swept over him again, causing him to shiver. He hugged himself tightly, trying to ward off the biting cold that penetrated his nightgown.

his gown billowed and fluttered, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe's iconic moment, but there was nothing glamorous about his current situation.

The sharp cold air triggered an immediate cough, causing Leon to instinctively cover his mouth as he tasted iron. As he withdrew his hands, he found them stained with his own blood.

"Ah shit."

He clenched his bloody fist. It all began a month ago when Leon received the devastating diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer. The physicians grimly predicted that he had, at most, a month left to live.

It didn't come as a surprise to Leon; he had never harbored the expectation of a long life. But he had a tiny hope that things would work out his way when he received a full-fledged scholarship from Virenbrook University - A top national university.

But yeah life had to kick him in the ass.

He couldn't help but wonder if his adoptive parents were aware of his illness. However, even if they were, he knew deep down that they wouldn't care any less about him.

He had made the difficult decision to run away from home when he was just fifteen, enduring the hardships of living on the streets throughout his teenage years.

He blamed them for his current condition. Growing up under their care, he had suffered from food insecurity, barely receiving anything nutritious to support his growth as a young boy.

The resentment towards his adoptive parents weighed heavily on his heart, intertwining with the burden of his illness.

"Pathetic," he shook his head.

Just then, another violent cough seized him, causing his entire body to convulse with pain.

In his agony, he stumbled backward, teetering perilously on the edge of the rooftop, caught between the solid ground and the gaping abyss below.

"No way," he gasped, his voice choked with fear, as he felt his grip slip away, surrendering to the irresistible pull of gravity.

If only he had possessed the patience of a five-year-old asking for pizza, he could have embraced the luxury of a fluffy, cloud-like hospital bed, cruising toward his destined demise at a leisurely pace over the course of a mere week.

But alas, impatience proved to be his mischievous sidekick, propelling him headfirst into a wild freefall from the twenty-story building, effectively expediting his journey to the end with an unplanned adrenaline-fueled descent.

"AHHHHHHHH SHOULD'VE JUST SLEPT LOSER! " he screamed desperately.

Just then, a piercing light emanated from his heart, and a lone hand burst out of his chest, clutching his beating heart, he closed his eyes.

He couldn't hear his own words as the wind deafened him with its roar, before he knew it he had hit the ground and was slipping into unconsciousness.

His vision grew dimmer as he caught the haunting echo of distant screams and wails. The warmth of his own blood enveloped his body, creating a macabre pool that embraced him in its crimson embrace.

It was like a long afternoon summer nap, but then his head throbbed in pain and he couldn't feel the bliss of sleeping anymore.

He attempted to pry open his eyes, a task more challenging than the national entrance exam he had taken the previous year.

Through the haze of blurred vision, he could discern the sterile white ceilings and the piercing glow of LED lights, he wondered if he was in the hospital.

With agonizing slowness, he gingerly shifted his hands, feeling the sharp pangs of pain course through his body.

"Uhh, I didn't die?" he muttered as he tried to lift his legs only to fail.

He sat up groaning, his vision still blurry.

He came to the realization that he wasn't lying in a bed but sprawled on the blood-stained marble floor.

And his nightgown had transformed into a tuxedo suit, soaked and tainted with the scarlet evidence of his ordeal.

"The hell, Did I die?"

*ding*

No matter how many times Leon blinked, his blurry vision persisted, but his moment of craziness was heightened by the sudden appearance of a red gradient screen before him. Ironically, the screen appeared crystal clear, cutting through the haze of his blurred sight.

[YOU ARE DYING, ASSHOLE!]

His mind came to a screeching halt, but with an effort, he managed to regain his composure.

[You're Qi level is dropping]

"What?"

[Your Qi level is dropping]

The screen buzzed over and over.

As he attempted to move, his vision gradually tinted red, enveloping his surroundings.

[Follow the light for safety]

As he moved his head around, his vision gradually cleared when he turned toward a specific direction. Crawling in that direction, he noticed an eerie fog filling the area, with all the corners and nooks appearing identical. There were no discernible directions to follow anymore.

"Ugh, what is this place?" he felt his living soul being sucked out by each second.

Taking one wrong turn, his vision turned a fiery red again, persisting stubbornly even as he frantically spun his head in a full rotation.

[Your Qi level is critical]

[WARNING: You sense sinister luck ]

[WARNING: You're approached by the spirit of limbo]