I kept walking with no direction in mind. My legs moved, but I couldn't feel them. My heart should've been racing, but it just… wasn't. Everything inside me was hollow. Like a room stripped of furniture, stripped of light, stripped of warmth.
Maisie was gone.
Uncle Mark was gone.
Aunt Samantha didn't want to see me again.
Mom—she told me to leave.
There was no one left.
And yet I kept going. The streets were mostly quiet, but the silence was loud. It pressed on my ears like the hum of a scream I couldn't block out.
"You should rest," Chris's voice came gently through the comm, but I didn't respond.
"Harper… please say something."
I stopped walking and looked up.
I had ended up back at the place.
The place where Maisie died.
The concrete still bore faint dark stains. I dropped to my knees and touched it, half-expecting it to still be warm, half-hoping it was all a dream.
"I should go through with it," I whispered.
"What?" Chris sounded alarmed.
"The thousand lashes. The deal. That's the only way I'll get Sophie back. Maybe then, maybe… then it'll all end."
Chris's voice rose, "Harper, don't do this. You're not thinking clearly. This is a game. You said it yourself—we don't know what's real anymore. That's why you have to hold on."
"Game?" I scoffed and got to my feet, laughing dryly. "Chris, look around. My sister is dead. I held her in my arms. I watched the light leave her eyes. I watched my mother cough out blood and blame me. This isn't a game. This is a nightmare I can't wake up from."
He fell silent, and I pressed on, pacing in front of the bloodstained pavement. "I ran away from a monster who sold me like property, only to end up trapped in this world—a government project dressed up like a digital game. Everything's falling apart and I—I don't even feel human anymore. I'm forgetting what it feels like to be alive. My emotions… they're fading."
"Harper—"
"I don't care anymore, Chris," I said coldly, wiping away tears that didn't even sting. "I'll go through the lashes if that means getting Sophie back. At least then… maybe there's peace."
"No! Harper, listen to me!" Chris's voice cracked for the first time. "This isn't you. You're not thinking like you. Please, don't give up now. You're stronger than this. Remember that killing yourself is against the rules!"
"Rules? Ha! There are no more rules Chris "
I turned away from the sound of his voice.
Then, out of nowhere—
WHAM.
Everything went dark.
---
I groaned as the world came back into blurry focus. Cold metal walls. The faint smell of engine oil and dust. I was in a small, dimly lit room.
Tied to a chair.
My head throbbed. I tried to move, but the ropes bit into my arms.
Footsteps.
A familiar silver-haired figure stepped out from the shadows.
Her.
The silver-head player I had met once—before all this had started. I had seen her before entering this hellhole.
She leaned against the wall, arms folded. Her face unreadable.
"Oh," I said with a bitter laugh. "You . Come to kill me? Go ahead. Get in line."
Chris's voice was frantic in my ear. "Harper! Are you okay? I lost you for a second. Don't antagonize her, please!"
She didn't say anything at first. Just studied me.
"You know," I continued, my voice dull. "I really don't care anymore. So if you've come to end me, just do it."
"Cut the crap, Harper."
That made me blink.
"I'm not here for your self-pity," she snapped. "You think you're the only one who's lost everything? You think you're the only one in pain?"
I stared at her. Her voice was trembling.
"My name is Runa," she said finally. "And I have to kill you to survive. That's how this level works. One of us leaves alive. One doesn't."
She drew her blade and walked closer.
But her hands were shaking.
I expected her to kill me immediately but to my utmost disappointment, the blade dropped from her hands and she began shivering.
"Ha! You can't even kill me? I guess you're scared huh?. Don't worry though, if you can't kill me then I will kill you"
I didn't realize that my voice had became dark almost as if I was possessed.
*No Harper, don't kill her. Even if it'll make you level up, it won't be out of your efforts*
I didn't listen to Chris and I felt my hands around Luna's neck. I was strangling her but it felt like something else or someone else was doing it.
*Harper! Snap out of it!*
Just as I thought I would drain the life out of her, I snapped out and let go.
*Chris, i-i....that wasn't me. I don't know....*
*Calm down Harper and try to think straight. I think this is due to all the anger in your heart*
*Yeah, yeah, it must be. That must be it*
I agreed with what Chris said even though I knew in my heart that what just happened is unexplainable.
I looked down at the girl who was panting hard.
'What level are you?' I asked her randomly.
'Level three'. She answered, still trying to breathe.
*It's strange that you were able to overpower her but it's not a big deal for a player like you. You've handled a level six player before*. Chris said to me.
*Yeah*.
*Harper, I have a wonderful idea*
*Instead of getting a thousand lashes,... Why don't you just set things right*