Leroy stared off into the distance, exhaustion and weariness overcoming him. He decided to skim through his Status Info, an attempt to calm his nerves down from everything. While skimming through it, he remembered the Events tab. Leroy pressed it since he thought it'd be a good way to distract himself. Though it was just junk...
Slowen's regeneration power was somewhat helping Leroy with his pain. Even though he felt like he could just drop dead right then and there…
<
<<[Yes/No]>>
Leroy looked at the message with a heavy sigh.
"Yes."
Leroy chose. Slowen bounced and chirped at Leroy's choice, happy to follow him to the lobby.
A portal opened in front of Leroy and Slowen; the portal glowed a dark color within but a nice, ocean blue on the rim. It contained a nice, comforting coolness to it, like air conditioning on a hot summer day. Leroy stumbled in front of the portal, his footsteps heavy and his stance sluggish. Behind Leroy, Slowen hopped on with him, still trying to regenerate his health the best he could.
Leroy and Slowen enter the lobby. Immediately, Leroy felt the healing effects of the lobby's abilities. It felt like a cozy, warm blanket being wrapped around his wounded and hurt body. His eyelids began to grow heavy, his legs on the verge of giving out already. Slowen turned to look up at him, the blob's face carrying a worried expression.
A weak breath of air left Leroy's tired lungs as his body tilted from side to side. The weariness Leroy felt was starting to catch up to him more. It didn't matter whether his mind wanted to stay awake or not; his body had made its decision on resting. With one shaky and quiet huff of air, Leroy's body tilted forward, causing him to tumble to the ground.
Slowen jumped up in fear at the young man's sudden faceplant. The blob scurried over to Leroy, nudging his side with concern and worry. When Leroy didn't seem to be moving much, Slowen began making small chirps of distress.
"...Can you...hush for a second?" Leroy groaned exhaustedly through the ground.
Slowen let out a small buzz of relief hearing that Leroy was, indeed, awake and well. The slime did take note of Leroy's tired state and bounced to him. Taking a small glance at Leroy, Slowen nuzzled under Leroy's face, behaving as a pillow for the young man.
Leroy began to succumb to the exhaustion. Not like he had a choice; his body would have forced him to sleep either way. Leroy's vision began to blur, his eyelids closing at their own will as his body grew limp. Eventually, the male had fallen asleep.
The hairs on Leroy's face felt a light breeze, his ears hearing the words of the wind, while his hands discovered the bristles of the grass underneath his fingertips. His eyelids fluttered open, immediately being blinded by a beautiful golden glow. One of his hands hovered over his face as he sat up, trying to keep the light out of his eyes. Slowly he moved his hand away from his face, taking in his surroundings.
He lay in a rich green field of grass and fern, some flowers blooming from within the field of grass. The flowers contain a wide variety of colors: pink, purple, white, yellow, and blue. Bees buzzed in the wind, while birds sang songs far off in the trees. The birds happily flew above Leroy and past him. The bees gathered pollen from the flowers so they could provide honey for their hive.
Everything felt so…peaceful. So serene...
A few clouds floated in front of the sun, allowing Leroy to see more clearly. Leroy blinked a few times to help adjust his eyesight, but he felt something next to him. At first he figured it was Slowen, but then it chuckled softly.
"The sun's pretty, isn't it?" The voice sounds soft and feminine but sweet nonetheless.
Leroy looked to his right and saw…someone?
It was a woman, about his age, with long silver hair and blue eyes. Her hair reached to her waist, shining a light yellow in the sun but taking in some blue light from the sky. When Leroy stared into her eyes, it was like he was staring into a bright, blue lake. Though her eyes stared back at him with a friendly kindness...
Or did they stare back?
Leroy stared into her eyes but noticed that when she stared at his eyes, it seemed almost as if she was distant or as if her mind was elsewhere. He continued to look at her, but with a more confused expression.
"Yeah, it all may just be a game, but that doesn't mean the sun isn't pretty!" The woman pouted before giggling softly and looking back into the sky.
Leroy felt even more confused. Who was she talking to? No one else was around.
The girl continued to talk and giggle, like she was conversing with an old friend or pal.
Leroy tilted his head in great confusion. He noticed how her gaze seemed to be at him—no—through him. Like he didn't even exist. Like he wasn't even there.
"So what level are you on now, hm?" The girl inquired, looking genuinely curious but also smug.
"What!? Aw, man… I've got some catching up to do then. But spill, was Level 98 hard? Come on! Don't leave me in the dark about this!"
Leroy froze upon hearing that. Level 98? Who was she even talking to!? Who was at Level 98 already!?
The girl went silent after a short while, only her breathing and the sounds of nature to be heard.
Some minutes later, the young lady sighed in content. "You know… When you get back to Earth, what's the first thing you're doing?"
The way she spoke felt like a memory. A memory from the future, or present... or past...
Leroy stared at the girl, then blinked. Once he opened his eyes, the world before him shattered like glass. Leaving him a cold, empty feeling.
Leroy suddenly stood barefoot in a field. But that field wasn't made of grass but rather ash instead. The sky was painted a deep, dark red with blackened petals that swam through the sky's color. Far above the petals and into the skies were—not clouds—but masks. Each mask bore his face. And watched. Watching him.
Though Leroy didn't question it.
He raised his left foot and took a step forward, the ash below him flying into the dry night—or day—Leroy didn't know what time of day it was. Nor did he care right now.
Leroy continued to walk, dragging his feet within the field of ash as the masks watched him eerily. He walked and walked, as if something was pulling him to a specific destination.
Everything about this place seemed so abstract. Nothing seemed real, but it all felt real. The atmosphere was dull and heavy. Every step he took came with a heavy feeling in his heart. A pool of regret circled in his stomach, making him acknowledge a feeling of guilt. Though he didn't know why he felt this way. He didn't do anything wrong. He doesn't remember doing anything at all.
In this state, Leroy barely knew himself. He barely felt himself. Everything was so lucid, but his mind was so absent at the same time.
Far ahead of him, a figure waited on a bench. The bench was made of stone, carved from obsidian. The figure sitting on the bench sat quietly, their legs dangling off the bench and on the ash field.
Her hair shone silver. Her skin was pale. Her eyes were soft and blue, like frozen time.
It was the girl again.
She didn't speak. She just stared at the sky, as if waiting for it to shatter or for something to happen.
"You," Leroy said, his voice cracking in the unnatural air. "Why do I keep seeing you?"
The girl looked at him, then smiled—but there was nothing knowing in it. It was the kind of smile strangers gave when trying to be polite.
"You must be mistaking me for someone else," she said softly but coldly.
He stepped even closer. The masks above turned to follow, all their eyes landing on Leroy.
"No... I've seen you before. In the ocean. The darkness. The screams. In someone else's dream,"
She stood up slowly, brushing her dress—white, untouched by ash. Her hands trembled.
"You should wake up now."
"What?"
"This dream doesn't belong to you anymore."
Suddenly the world cracked. A line split the entire field in half. From beneath the earth, in the void of the crack, something dark pushed upward—a root? A hand? A shadow?
He stepped back.
"I need to know what this means! Tell me! What is the purpose of these dreams!?" Leroy cried out, begging for an answer.
"You already know," the girl said. "You will just not want to accept it… All I want is for you to be free now. So find her. The Timeless Swordsman, the one who's meant to be with you. Find her. Escape your hell."
The ash then blew away. Above Leroy, the masks began to fall from the sky like rain. Smashing into the ground and scattering all over the ash field.
Leroy suddenly wakes up and gasps, inhaling some slime from Slowen. The boy began coughing from the slime, sitting up. Slowen jumped up seeing him wake up suddenly but was a bit concerned seeing him choke. Leroy coughed out the piece of slime, then looked around. The Lobby. Back where he was, or had always been. Looking down at the ground, he started to wonder who that young woman was and who she was talking to.
"...Who was she...?"
<<3... 2... 1...>>
[You shall be transported to the Neutral Ground]
Everything suddenly turned white. But before the light had fully consumed him, he heard it. The voices. Thousands of them. The constellations... they spoke...
"We are watching your movements."