Fallen Fate Online

Zayne walked down the wide staircase, following Alex. Zayne didn\'t notice it, but unnaturally he was spreading an eerie aura. 

It was invisible, hardly anyone could see it or realize that Zayne was its source, but the people in the rooms next to those he passed went goosebumps.

Alex was stronger than others, so it had no effect on him, moreover, he was completely immersed in his own thoughts. But, there was someone else climbing the stairs who did not feel the pressure coming from Zayne at all.

Crackle.

Suddenly, a silhouette passed next to Zayne, catching him by the shoulder, causing him to almost fall and have to grab the railing.

"Oh... I\'m sorry! I\'m really sorry!" The girl with the long brown hair and blue eyes bowed low.

"Agh... It\'s okay." Zayne quickly replied, then the girl raised her head, and his eyes went wide.

It was Ena, the girl who had helped Nydan and escaped when help came to Zayne. She looked very different now, there was no coldness in her eyes, only care.

Ena was surprised too, but didn\'t say anything and just walked forward. For her, their meeting was almost nothing compared to the person she was going to.

"Well, well, what an unusual encounter. Ena Dilley, I didn\'t expect we\'d bump into her." Alex said with a slight smile, looking at Ena running.

Zayne was surprised, "What...? You know her?"

Alex shook his head, "No, I don\'t know her personally, but I have quite a bit of information about her, as well as most Players who have managed to achieve something and have been in the news at least once."

"Damn... I guess in that case you know more about me than I do." Zayne frowned.

"Heh, I didn\'t say that." Alex shrugged, "By the way, it\'s rather ironic that you two met here. You two have similar situations."

"Hmm?" Zayne gave him a questioning look.

Alex touched his hat and said, "You started the game to save your sister, it\'s an honorable goal, and the same goal follows Ena, except she has a sick brother."

Zayne nodded deeply. He had conflicting opinions about Ena, even negative because of what he had done to her mates, but it made a bit of a difference.

\'Now I understand her motives and where her cruelty comes from... Though I wouldn\'t want to be her friend anyway, it\'s too dangerous.\' Zayne muttered inwardly, then he stopped.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Alex turned around.

"No..." Zayne shook his head, "I was just wondering. You said she needed money but isn\'t this an expensive hospital?"

Alex\'s face grew darker, "Well... She\'s actually from a pretty rich family, though she has a bad relationship with her parents, but they\'re trying to save her brother together. I\'m not strong on medicine, but either they need too much money or it\'s experimental methods since his disease is probably almost incurable."

Zayne shuddered as goosebumps ran down his body. He imagined for a moment that Mia was in a similar circumstance, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Fuck..." Zayne exhaled cold steam, "Sometimes you think you\'re in a shitty situation, but then you realize there are those who are doing much worse."

Alex glared at Zayne, then moved on.

...

The black car stopped, and Zayne got out and headed for his house.

"See you later." Alex waved his hand and hit the gas, raising a cloud of dust with a loud sound that was unnatural for this quiet neighborhood.

Opening the door, Zayne took a step and stopped with a dazed expression staring at the box on the table. The box was white, wrapped in a red ribbon, small, about the size of a palm. Next to the box was an open packet of cookies, just like the ones Alex used to eat.

Zayne, with a puzzled face, walked over to the box and opened it. Inside was a brand-new phone with a shiny screen.

"Damn... The more gifts they give me, the more I feel indebted... It has to stop, but it\'s rude to refuse gifts, right?" Zayne muttered as he picked up the phone and headed for the second floor.

Pam.

Zayne collapsed on the bed, which overlooked the hills and his capsule, in the center of the room. 

He didn\'t want to play now, so he just rested and checked the news sites, which were just overflowing with content.

First, Zayne saw dozens of posts about the powerful flash and impact that shook the earth, as well as several theories about what it might have been. There was just an endless stream of news about blue-eyed silhouettes rising up.

"Did... Did all this happen because of me...?" Zayne muttered, guessing he had something to do with it, then he began to look at the photos of the aftermath.

Several villages had been completely destroyed, covered in fire and the blood of simple, innocent inhabitants. Even a couple of towns were severely damaged, only spots of a level like Red Feather City remained undamaged.

Zayne continued to read the news. In the morning, appeared the photos of joyful Players that were able to receive valuable rewards for their efforts, among them were tired Knights and Mages that fought as hard as they could and managed to survive until dawn and protect their homes.

Usually, it was pictures like this that got all the attention, no matter how bad the losses were, the most important thing was always to win, because that was the end.

However, most of Zayne\'s time was spent looking at the rare pictures posted by players from the action. He looked with trembling eyes at those who had lost their loved ones and literally felt the suffering seemingly forever marked on their faces.

"No... no... no..." Zayne muttered, looking at the photo. It depicted a simple young man who held his little sister in his arms, her eyes closed, forever, as her body was covered in blood.

"FUCK!" Zayne exclaimed furiously, clutched the phone, and threw it at the wall with all his might, shattering it into small shards.

Perhaps Zayne had learned to control himself better through experience, but it was impossible for him to endure such a thing.