The voice came through the door, bright and young and impatient, and Aether froze.
His fingers, which had been scrolling through his notes, locked in place on the tablet's surface. The air left his lungs in a quiet, punched-out breath. For a second, the sound didn't register as a real voice from the present, but as a memory made into audible.
Lumine.
She was Aether Step-Sister, bought when his father remarried her mother. She was in love with Aether since she was a kid, but both of her parents died in an accident when Aether just graduated high school, and she had just entered middle school.
Aether decided to ignore her feelings and became the brotherly figure that she needed rather than the man that she wanted in his last life. He treated her like a real sister with familial love, but that only made her more dependent on him, more in love with him.
He saw a flash of blonde hair stained with dirt and ash, golden eyes wide with terror, a final choked whisper of his name with real love before she was gone forever. The image was sharp and brutal, a knife twist in his gut. Aether still remembers her last words.
Brother, even if you decide to ignore my feelings for you, that's not what I wanted. What I wanted was you as a man, not as a brother. I Love You.
Then her lips smile with love that even pierces Aether's heart as she breathes her last.
He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing the memory back into its box. The relief was a physical wave, so powerful it made him dizzy. She was alive. She was right outside his door, breathing, talking about video games. The guilt followed right behind, oily sludge that coated his insides.
You let her die. You make her suffer by ignoring her. You were too slow, too weak.
He took a long, shuddering breath, locking the trauma away behind a wall of sheer will. The mission. Focus on the mission. She was a part of it now. The most important part.
"I'm awake," he called out, his voice rough from disuse but certain. He cleared his throat. "Come in."
The door swung open fully, and there she was. Lumine.
Twenty years old, forever frozen in his memory as a tragedy, now standing in his doorway, bursting with life. Her blonde hair was a messy ponytail, her golden eyes bright with excitement, her cheeks flushed from running up the stairs.
She wore a simple t-shirt and shorts, her model's figure casual and unguarded. She looked so young. So untouched by the horrors he knew were coming. The sight was a punch to the chest, a beautiful, painful nostalgia.
He didn't think. He just moved.
In two strides, he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug so tight it probably hurt. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo, something fruity and clean. It was a scent he'd forgotten. He held on, his arms trembling slightly, clinging to the solid, living reality of her like a man drowning.
"Brother…?" Lumine's voice was a muffled squeak against his shoulder. Her whole body had gone stiff with shock. "What are you… What are you doing?"
She pushed against his chest, not hard, but enough to break the contact. He let her go, his hands falling to his sides. She took a stumbling step back, her eyes wide with bewilderment. He never hugged her. Not like that. In their previous life, he'd built a careful wall of brotherly indifference, politely ignoring the love shining in her eyes until it finally guttered out.
Aether looked down at her confused face and felt a genuine smile break through, a beaming, unguarded expression that felt foreign on his own features. "Nothing," he said, his voice softer now. "I'm just… really glad to see you. That's all."
Lumine stared at him. Her confusion melted, replaced by a slow, dawning delight that turned into a brilliant, sunbeam smile. Then a deep, crimson blush spread from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears. She let out a high-pitched, flustered giggle that sounded completely unhinged, clapping her hands over her mouth as if to trap the sound.
"Hehehehehehe."
She sounded like a crazy woman. Like someone who had just been given a gift she never dared to hope for.
Then she seemed to realize how she was acting. The giggles cut off. Her eyes went wide with horror at her own display. With a wordless, high-pitched sound of pure embarrassment, she turned on her heel and fled down the hallway, her footsteps pounding a rapid retreat.
Aether stood in the doorway, watching the empty space where she'd been. The smile faded from his lips, leaving behind a hard resolve. The warmth of her body still lingered on his arms.
I'm here, the words a silent promise etched in fire. You're alive. And I won't let you die this time. I won't let any of it happen.
He closed the door and went back to his desk. The emotional storm had passed, leaving his mind clear and sharp as a scalpel. He opened his notebook to a fresh page.
The emotional wave had passed. Now it was time for the plan.
He worked until a chime from his wristband told him it was time for dinner. He saved the document, encrypted it with a cipher he'd learned from a dead hacker in the ruins of Neo-Tokyo, and closed the tablet.
The smell of food eventually pulled him from his notes.
The kitchen was a bubble of normalcy, a scene so mundane it felt like a dream. The lights were warm. The air smelled of garlic and roasted vegetables. Lumine was already seated, diligently avoiding his eyes, though a faint pink still tinted her cheeks.
They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the clink of cutlery the only sound.
"So," Aether said, breaking the quiet. "This game. New World. It launches tonight, right?"
Lumine's head snapped up. She blinked, a piece of carrot halfway to her mouth. "Yeah. Midnight. Why?" She set her fork down, a sly smile playing on her lips.
"I thought you said it was a glorified marketing gimmick. A cash grab for people with too much time and not enough brain cells. I believe your exact words were 'a fantasy-themed spreadsheet simulator.'"
Aether shrugged, taking a sip of water. "I might have been… hasty. The buzz is everywhere. It got me curious." He met her gaze, keeping his expression neutral. "We should play it. Together."
Lumine's golden eyes went perfectly round. For a second, she just stared at him, as if waiting for the punchline. Then her face exploded into a radiant, disbelieving joy. "Really? You mean it? You want to play with me?"
"Yeah. But I want to scout ahead first," he said, his tone shifting into something more strategic.
"The servers will be a madhouse at launch. Lag, queues, people everywhere. Let me go in at midnight, get through the initial chaos, and find us a good starting spot. You can join me tomorrow, on Sunday. It'll be calmer. Safer."
He saw the protest form in her eyes, but the logic was sound, and the promise of playing together was too sweet to refuse.
"Okay," she agreed, nodding eagerly. "Deal. You go be the pioneer, clear the path. I'll meet you in-game tomorrow afternoon. We'll have our own party!"
"It's a promise," Aether said.
The rest of the dinner passed in a blur of Lumine's excited chatter about class choices and starting races. Aether listened, adding a comment here and there, all while his mind was already miles away, in a digital forest under a false moon.
At 23:45, he was back in his room. The door was locked. The lights were off, save for the cool blue glow of his wristband. He confirmed the status with a tap.
He sat on the edge of his bed. He brought up the interface on his wristband, the sleek, government-issued device that was every citizen's link to the network.
The New World client was there, an obsidian-black icon with a swirling galaxy at its center. It showed as fully downloaded and installed, a monstrous file size that had taken up most of the device's storage.
He lay back on the bed, staring at the familiar cracks in his ceiling. He placed his hands flat on his stomach. His heart was a drum against his ribs, a steady, pounding rhythm of anticipation and grim purpose. He breathed in slowly, out slowly, calming the frantic energy that wanted to make him jump up and pace.
Shadow Archon. The title he'd earned in blood and betrayal. The pinnacle of dark element, a master of the void. He'd worn it like a crown of knives in the end. Azrael had been his right-hand man.
He'd taught Aether the advanced techniques, shared the hidden lore, and stood beside him in a hundred battles. The betrayal hadn't been a clash of ideals. It was a simple, brutal transaction. Azrael wanted the power of the core for himself, and Aether was in the way.
The memory of the dismemberment and the cruelty of it sent a fresh wave of fury through him. He didn't suppress it this time. Let it fuel the furnace of his resolve. That would not be his future. That would be Azrael's end.
This time, Aether thought, the darkness behind his eyelids was deepening.
This time, I'm coming for you.
On his wristband, the digital clock flickered.
00:00:00.
Aether closed his eyes. The darkness behind his eyelids was total. He focused on the mental command, the trigger phrase that was already iconic in the cultural zeitgeist, a phrase that would be uttered by millions tonight, but only one with the weight of a second life behind it.
His lips moved, forming the words silently, then with voice.
"Link Start."