The lid of the metallic capsule opened, revealing a view of the room’s ceiling. With a rather empty mind, Rey, the one who was lying down inside, lifted his upper body up. He had a dull and static expression, which had become his default.
With not much else, he reflexively sweeped his eyes on the surroundings, it was familiar yet strangely out of the ordinary. The room was clean, and well-maintained which felt uncharacteristic to him.
Then, a faint recollection popped into and out of his head.
This room should’ve been more decorated, and in turn though, the little familiarity was enough to make him realize that this was no longer the world of Avaria, at the very least, it should be the real world.
He looked at the other capsules within the room, and it was as if a tall wave crashed down on him, visions compressed into a short frame of time leaped into the front of his consciousness, making him remember everything in an instant.
His body felt much weaker, and his senses were more sluggish than what he got used to. His mind only had confusion to express as his so-called naïve younger self’s beliefs and values collided with the older.
Merging. His identity was threatened, but his sense of having given up wanted to just let it happen. The more he tried to remember his experiences, the more distorted they became, he was perceiving his memories being taken away right before him.
The unreasonable peace he had to force into his own mentality to endure the pressure and power that was used to reign over everyone in the game.
Rey was disgusted by, disturbed at how bad people can be, especially those at a similar age as him. Despite also being young, the environment raised Rey’s mentality, which made him see how much frustration an unjustly arrogant person can force onto someone.
He was unable to just ignore the oppression and let it go by, but his strength unfortunately could not catch up. Even after going outside the territory their influence spans, and into a more free governance, he was unable to recover himself, just some seconds spent with someone got him to consider it as too much time spent, and as such preferred to avoid anyone he did not need to talk to.
Only NPCs were able to interact with him for the most part.
Rey sighed, thinking, “I guess they’re also out of the game, right?” He felt a bit of happiness from that, that they would be separated from the ridiculous reign of selfish and unsympathetic people.
He had a bitter expression. He was relieved though a bit disappointed with himself that he couldn’t help them out, or end the targets of hatred in the end, that the game just forced them out of that world.
Then, “Rey?” A man called, who had lifted himself out of the capsule’s confines, Rey’s name. The man is Rey’s father, who had his palm covering the top of his head in response to some headache he felt.
Two other capsules had also synchronously opened.
As if having been thrown a flashbang, the relief that pierced through Rey’s perception knocked away his grasp on the memories. He had been alone from the moment they died in the game, and that was the incident that weighed on him the most.
For now, they’ll have to forget and be unable to remember.
