"It's been a week."
A week of nothing.
Staying and pretending to be Adan , still easy. No one had suspected him ever yet. Adan had a simple life dorm. The smartest student in his class , the quiet and lone wolf type. That is pretty much what he can conclude considering that guy had no close friend here.
"Ahh… I'm bored." He lay sprawled across the bed, one leg dangling over the edge. For the past seven days, he had done absolutely nothing that should've drained his energy. All he did was stare.
And be lazy.
Motivation….? He never held any of that spark.
Classes?
Yeah, he skipped them.The teacher did stop by once, asking why he never showed up. But saying, "I'm still in pain over my twin's state," was a pretty valid excuse.
It wasn't really a lie.
It's not surprising when he sees the shocked expression on the teachers and the other students' faces when declaring about having twins. Nobody knows of it besides their parents and certain close people . They really didn't disclose each other's existence in the first place.
Now , staring back at the ceiling in the Adan room. His twin book collections and stuff . Certificate of Exemplary Grades and Best Student Award.
That guy is really studious
Then—thud.
Something tapped his foot.
He blinked, glancing down. A small object had rolled against his toes. Curious, he sat up slightly and reached for it. "A marble…?" he murmured. But no—it was too large for that. He picked it up, inspecting the texture.
Squishy. Wet. Still warm.
An … eyeball?
Before he could process it, a voice cut through the air.
"I-I'm sorry!" a quiet, hasty voice stammered. Female. One he didn't recognize. That alone was strange enough, but what made it worse was the fact that no one was supposed to be in Adan's room. And a woman at that? This dormitory was specific for male students only.
He looked up slowly. A silhouette stood beside the bed—a young woman, pale, trembling, and clearly not alive.
"This… is yours, I guess?" Eden held out the bloody eyeball toward the ghost, who immediately ducked her head and hid behind a curtain of hair. For Eden to be appalled by it? No, the phase he's in is already odd enough.
"Y-Yes… it's… mine," she mumbled.
Shy ghost, Eden concluded.
"Well… uh, can I … have it back?" she said, reaching for it timidly before placing it back into her eyes socket.
"Sure. It's yours." An awkward silence hung between them until she cleared her throat.
"Ehem… the Manager said you can help me."
"The… Manager?" Eden echoed .
"Yes! Yes. I hope I'm not wrong—the Manager told me to come find you!"
"I need to know who—" Ring-ring.
The phone buzzed, interrupting him. Finally, the call he'd been waiting for. He answered, already guessing who it was."I assume you're the manager?"
A distorted laugh crackled through the other end of the line. "My~ have I forgotten to introduce myself? Yep! "
"Why?" Eden blurted out. All the names it can have but the other chooses to pick the most lame and basic one.
"What do you mean 'why'? I think it's cool… !!"
"Yeah, sure. So, you sent her? What do you want me to do, exactly? I'm not a shaman."
"Justice! tice..tice…tice.." The voice rings on the other side. Eden let out a quiet laugh. Justice—from a corrupt lawyer like me. That's amusing."You do know my history , don't you?" he asked.
"I know enough. You've delivered justice—even if, let's say… in a twisted manner."
He didn't reply.
Then, suddenly, a glowing blue screen hovered into his vision.
"Ah! AH—TEST, TEST—do you see it? The blue panel??" The Manager's voice was excited now.
Eden narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I see it." His hand reaches and swaps the hovering panel but it passes through.
What in a fiction world bullshit is this.
"Then… good luck! " With that the call ended again. Leaving Eden again with the shy ghost in the room. The manager indeed had the tendency to cut the line first.
"Yeah… "
—
[ System administration complete...]
[ Welcome , Players !
Karma point : - 1000
Task succeeding : n/a ]
[ First task :
Justice for the Shy Ghost! ]
A translucent blue panel floated midair, blinking gently. Eden stared at it in disbelief. Player , huh?He sighed. "You know I can see you behind that curtain, right?"
There was a pause. A muffled gasp.
"Huh—sorry!! I… uh… I'm…not good at talking," came the nervous voice from behind the sheer hospital curtain.
"I can see that," Eden replied, his back slouching forward while he examined the newest addition of the oddness in his life. The girl peeked out, hair still covering most of her pale, flickering form.
"Name?" he asked, arms folded.
"Au—Aurelia!" she squeaked, eyes darting around like a cornered animal.
"I'm Ad—" he caught himself . After a while of thinking "…Eden." She nodded like a nervous rabbit. Then glanced at the floating blue panel beside him."You're… really going to help me?" Eden stared at her, then the panel.
Justice, huh?
"…Yeah. Let's start with who killed you." Avoiding the task won't solve either , considering the bold warned state on the panel.
[Failure to initiate the task :
Karma point +100
Punishment : Hidden ]
—
" Did you hurt your head?" Aurelia mused in curiosity and a little of concern watching Eden reach the band aid on his forehead. It was there the moment he returned , but he doesn't recall how, when or where he received it.
His memories of the past were not that vivid anyway. Knowing the future is easy. He had walked through the tape but for the past it's become a bedtime story that he slowly forgot growing up.
"I think so.." Eden nodded, slow and hesitantly.
Aurelia's case was a homicide , searching the perpetrator was not hard but aint be easy either. In any way, he had no power and lead.
Then…i'll just find my way