Another Life In The New World

Upgrade

Meanwhile, I could hear what they were talking about, but I could not see where they were. Cool air ran through the hole in my shoulder. It was like having a hole in your pants and letting air run through it. I shivered, if not vibrated.

I could not do anything in this current state. I am sick of being useless! There must be something I could do. I silenced my thoughts and focused on the sounds. I breathed the air in. Girly’s starry eyes covered my space of thought.

They glistened as if they called for me. Among them, one shone the brightest. It landed in my hands. My heart absorbed the warm light. Cool air covered my entire body. Cracks formed long lines on my porcelain body. Then I forced out the shining light.

My brown hair grew until it reached my shoulders. My armor became thicker with air symbols dented on the shoulder pads. Then I felt something push outwards behind me. Sky blue wings bathed in light lifted my body. I gently landed on my feet.

“Congratulations! You have evolved from Paladin Warrior to Air Guardian Paladin! Your stats have doubled.” The message looked enthusiastic.

My Sky Slasher resembled the clear day sky. My sapphire earrings resonated with my sword. I growled as the wind filled my soul. Cool air danced around my body. Chikmi gave me a wide and blank look. He raised his veined palms against me.

“Gaaah! It’s payback time!” I could feel the vigor rush through my veins.

“I-impossible!” I could hear Chikmi say it in Japanese dub.

“You know what this means, right?”

“So you got an upgrade. Want me to give you a hand?”

“Keep your hands to yourself,” I gripped my sword tightly.

My feet barely touched the floor as I charged at him. My body was lighter than the feathers on my wings. Is this how reincarnation felt? I laughed as I flew like the wingless lost boy from Neverearth. My sword bit into his palms.

“It takes more than that to hurt me.”

“Is that so? Care to explain why your hands are trembling?”

“These are just spasms.”

“It’s not only your hands, though.”

“They get worse as you age.”

“A round of excuses is all I hear, I want some action.”

Chikmi raised his palms again. White dust scattered towards me. I flapped my wings. Low whistles sounded when the fumes redirected towards him. He scoffed, gargled and gagged. Suddenly, his body also hardened into porcelain.

Unlike his victims, he can move like a living stone. I pointed my sword at him, but it shattered upon contact. He snagged my neck faster than the anaconda. My neck hardened slowly in his grasp. It felt like my Adam’s apple had gained weight.

I called upon the shattered pieces with the help of the wind. My sword reconstructed itself, but it had noticeable cracks. I closed my eyes and envisioned myself as one of the characters in a fighting game. I remembered that white-haired woman with her flexible sword.

The wind softened my sword into an edged vine whip. With a sharp whistle, his wrist disconnected from his arm. I blew out a high-pitched whistle, and the sword broke into thousands of pieces. They attacked the sliced opening. Moments later, the shards busted his porcelain body from the inside.

“Ack! Have mercy on me.”

I looked at my fallen comrades before replying to him, “Tell me who your buyer is and I will let the winds decide your fate.”

“You have to kill me before he does.”

“Oh, we have time. I believe he is going to meet you soon.”

“No, you do not understand, he will—,” his head exploded before he could finish his sentence.

“What will he do? Hey! Bring my friends back to normal!”

“You have defeated Porcelain Magician! You have received a slight boost in stats. Your current level is thirty-three,” a message announced.

The bodies on the floor whistled in harmony like an ocarina. I dropped to my knees and embraced Girly’s fragile body. My lips touched her scalp. My vision blurred as I saw Kun’s still body. Vampire was also down, but my victory was unjustifiable.

I hummed to her my favorite ballad song whenever I played Heroic Stone Legends. I closed my wings around us while facing Kun’s direction. The sun bore through the open window. The silence stabbed my chest like knives in the dark.

“Girly, please come back to me. I would give anything just to have you back,” surrounding wind blew away the beads forming in my eyes.

“Hmm… I might get addicted to your delicious smell,” I felt something squirm on my chest.

“Girly, thank goodness you are alive!”

“Did I miss something?”

“Uh, no, not at all. You woke up just in time,” I forced a smile.

“Why do you look so sad?”

“It’s nothing. I miss home, that’s all,” I wiped my eyes.

“Who doesn’t?”

“Can we stay like this for an hour?”

She nestled herself under my arms. Her warmth ejected the darkness that shrouded my mind. If this is a dream, please don’t wake me up. I looked at the setting sun. I wonder how much time has passed already.

“It is awfully silent. Girly, did you see where Kun went?” I whispered to her ear.

“He couldn’t have gotten far. Don’t mind him.”

“Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Oh, come on, this is our only time together. Don’t spoil it.”

Girly pulled my arms closer towards herself. One part of my mind kept on sending me signals which I do not understand. I should be at peace, but something just feels wrong here. What could it be? I looked around with my peripheral vision. Surely, no one was watching us, right?

Then I began to notice the holes in her arms. She lifted her head from my chest, “Don’t worry about it, this is just a dream.”

“What? What do you mean?” I was boggled.

“You don’t actually believe me, do you?”

“You lost me here. I don’t follow you.”

“Open your eyes. It’s time to wake up.”

“No! This can’t be! I don’t want to wake up. I know this is real.”

“Temptation leads to one’s ruin,” said a voice.

“You desire her so much. Don’t be shy now. This is your chance,” coaxed the other.

“Yes, it’s my chance to have her for myself,” I agreed in a monotone voice.

“Wake up!” Called a familiar voice.

“Who is that?”

“Don’t mind that. Be happy with her… forever… forever… and ever.”

“Forever and ever and ever. I like the sound of that. She is mine forever.”

“Keith, you’re choking me. Ack! I can’t breathe.”

Hey! I know that voice. Who was it again? Ugh, I can’t remember. I ducked my head on her scalp. Suddenly, rotting stench violated my nose. The neck suddenly snapped. Tiny worms gnawed at the dried flesh on her face. Then they crawled up to my arms.

“Stay with me, Keita. Don’t you love me anymore?” The skeleton answered.

“Wh-Who are you?” I threw away the body.

“Don’t you remember me? I love you!”

“Get away from me! You are not her!” I scrambled to my feet.

“You can’t run from me forever. Don’t waste your energy on escaping.”

I soon met a wall covered in darkness. It spoke to me, “Wake up! You have to wake up!”

“But I don’t know how.”

“Close your eyes and listen to your heart. That is how you will reach me before she does.”

I looked behind me. Her bones stuck out from the holes in her body. She crawled towards me like that girl with hammered nails from that horror movie, except she had worms sticking out of her face. I closed my eyes and braced myself towards the wall. I felt her warm breath brush my face.

My eyes opened to the morning sun. Girly buried her face into my chest. I ran my hands on her twin tails. She looked up to me with stardust in her eyes. I wiped them off like a father gently waking his child. She smiled at me.

“Good morning, sunshine.”

“Is this what heaven feels like?” Her eyes studied my wings.

“It’s me, you silly. We are still inside the game.”

“Oh, I thought I woke up to an angel,” she reached for my face.

“Nope, I just saved you again. Now, you owe me,” I touched her nose.

“Keita! Oh, how I have missed you!”

“Ack! You’re breaking my neck!”

“S-Sorry, I got carried away.”

“I’m just glad that you are safe.”

“But I thought you died. I thought I died.”

“We can die another day,” I laughed.

“Hey, that’s not funny,” she chuckled.

“But you laughed. It counts.”

“You are so sick,” she playfully punched my chest.

“Am I now?”

“Aaah! No, I can’t die yet!” Vampire suddenly sprang up.

“I’m trying to get some sleep here. Could you keep it down?” Kun groaned.

“Are we dead? Girly, who is that? Is he the messenger of death?”

“Do you have a message you want me to send to him?” I replied.

“Keita, is that you? I never knew you had wings.”

“Neither have I.”

“What happened to Chikmi?”

“He blew his brains out.”

“What about Akachi and Maneta?”

“They are sound asleep in the corner.”

“Like them, I too am asleep. Shut up guys!” Kun hissed.

After a few hours, everyone woke up. We escorted Akachi and her mom back to their house. They felt safer there. Vampire picked up something from under Akachi’s bed. It was a blue seashell, like the color of the deepest ocean.

“Good thing I have not activated this thing. Who knows what could have happened to this house,” Vampire sighed.

“What does it do?” I asked.

“Who knows?” he shrugged.

We said goodbye to the mother and his child. We never found out what happened to the father, though. We headed down to the information booth. This guy had his hand under his chin, blowing wind out of his mouth. He flipped pages of a book without actually reading them.

“Hey! Do you have news on the girl, yet?” I asked.

“Ah, it is you. Unfortunately, she has not come around yet. The authorities are doing what they can to locate the ring. In the meantime, their hands are wrapped up looking for the escapees from last night. If you have any information, they will award you one million Garnets per head,” he frowned.

“That’s a lot of money. I will keep my eye out for them. Anyway, is there another way to reach Epetherial Channel in a day?”

“Ooh, that is a tricky one. Only special invites can get through that place. “

“Where do we get the invitations?”

“No one knows for sure, but some people claimed that only those selected by the angels are awarded with invitations.”

“Do you have any idea who has one?”

“That is all I know. If you do find one, I can give you a handsome amount of Garnets for the information.”

“Thanks. We will keep our eyes peeled,” I peeled my eyes away from his weird stare.

“Are you done? Can we get out of here now?” Vampire looked tense.

“What is with you, people? I noticed that you kept glancing in all directions.”

“It’s because we are the escapees from last night. We were framed and now we have huge bounties on our head,” Kun answered.

Suddenly, an army of officers plastered faces of my friends in every house. The information guy shut his booth immediately. I heard him dialing numbers on his phone. I flew up into the sky and dropped us all to the thickest part of the forest.

“We are safe here for now,” I assured them.

“Why is everybody after us wherever we go?” Vampire cursed under his breath.

“Because you reek, Vampire. That is why,” Kun joshed.

“Psst, hey!” A hushed voice coming from behind the tress startled us.

“Show yourself to us!” I brandished my sword out.

“I come in peace. I heard you are headed to Epetherial Channel. I think I can help you get there, but you have to trust me.”