[BONUS]

"R . . . en . . ."

"Re . . . n."

"Ren."

Ren groaned.

Upon opening his eyes, a glaring light flashed through his eyes, causing him to close his eyes shut. Intense pain pulsed through his head, shooting into his body with clenching agony.

Ren bit back a groan.

He then became sharply aware of the hot, rising soreness that radiated in all parts of his body. Waves of pain pulsated in his spine, momentarily blurring his thoughts.

Why was his body so hot? He felt like he was melting inside his muscles felt like they were tearing apart, and his bones seemed to be breaking and reconstructing.

"AarRgH!" Ren thrashed but found that he couldn't move. Something was restricting his movement.

"Doctor!"

"Doctor! Doctor!"

Ren heard that familiar voice calling for help.

The sharp pain tore at him like claws of madness ripping away his sanity.

This was something that he had never felt before.

He couldn't see amidst the blur, and he wanted nothing but to make the pain stop.

Going in and out of consciousness, Ren felt a sharp prick on his spine before everything went dark again.

"Ren."

Ren looked over from his food and found his parents looking at him.

"You should stop making goals around us. Your mother and I are already content that you're doing well for yourself," Troy said. "You should start making new goals around you."

This was the first time Ren saw his father smiling so peacefully.

"Don't worry about us, Ren. We're in a good place. Remember, you have to live without us someday, but we'd just die without you whether our hearts were beating or not," Helen added and teased, "My only regret is not being able to see my grandchildren."

Helen and Troy laughed, but Ren didn't know what they were talking about.

"Mom, Dad. What are you talking about?"

His parents stopped laughing, and Helen reached out to him. The warmth of her palm gave life to Ren's body.

"Sorry we didn't have the chance to say goodbye."

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

Troy smiled and ruffled Ren's hair like he used to do when he was still a child.

"We're so proud of you, son."

"Dad?"

"Forget about us and live a happy life, okay?"

. . .

. . .

Ren was woken up by the voices, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. His eyes tried to see past the blurs and his disorientation from the bright light, but he could only sense the white walls and the static voices.

Ren tried to move but realized that he still couldn't. Something was restraining his hands and feet, and his body was so weak he couldn't even lift a finger.

He couldn't understand what was happening and could only feel his heart beating fast, as if it wanted to jump out of his chest.

His first reaction was to ask a question, but he realized that he couldn't let out a single sound. A sharp pain struck his stomach, and he was suddenly struggling to breathe.

It felt like he had been spiked with some sort of drug that made him feel numb and sleepy. He tried to lift his head, but his head felt too heavy. The pain in his chest was still there, but it didn't bother him anymore.

Ren turned to his left when he felt that someone was squeezing his hand. Looking to his side, he saw Evie's sleeping face. She was holding his hand, not letting go.

His girlfriend looked thinner, and there were dark circles around her eyes that were in contrast with her silky white skin. She looked so tired for some reason.

Ren wanted to brush her hair with his hands but noticed that his hands were tied by a leather buckle. He didn't know why that was.

"E . . . vie . . ." Ren's voice was so raspy that he couldn't recognize it himself.

Ren's attention then shifted to the voice coming from the widescreen in front of the bed.

His eyesight was still a bit blurry, but his ears could pick up sounds now.

"As of the moment, there are two hundred and fourteen death tolls from the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Zone A. There are still a hundred more missing under the rubbles, and the government is losing hope in finding any more survivors after the seventy-two-hour time mark had passed."

Ren couldn't digest what the lady with a mic was saying until the screen flashed media of destroyed buildings, cracked roads, and people going to and fro rescuing everyone from underneath the rubbles . . . Ren still felt like he was watching a movie.

"You're awake?"

Ren flicked his attention back at Evie, who was now awake.

He was even surprised to find that she was crying. Fat tears were rolling down her cheeks, and it was only then he noticed that her eyes were red and sore. It was as if she had been crying for days.

"Wha . . . happened . . . ?"

Despite her tears, Evie smiled in glee. She was happy that Ren had finally woken up, and if not for the fact that she was worried about hurting him, she would have hugged him by now.

"Wait here. I'll call the Doctor."

As he watched Evie hurried out of the room, Ren finally realized then that he was inside a hospital room.

But why?

In just a minute, a doctor came in and checked on him.

"Is he okay, doc?" Evie asked worriedly.

The Doctor nodded. "He is still weak due to the drugs, but he should be fine now. But I suggest not agitating him and wait till he recovers his strength first before . . ."

Ren couldn't hear what the Doctor said next because his voice suddenly turned into a whisper.

But after the Doctor spoke, he saw that Evie covered her mouth with her hands, and her tears were rolling again.

It seemed like she was repressing her wails while nodding her head at the Doctor's instructions.

When the Doctor left, Evie went back to his side. It was the first time that he saw her cry so hard.

Something must have happened.

Ren asked her with a weak voice again.

"Why . . . am I here?" Ren finally found his voice, though still weak and struggling. "What happened . . . to the event?"

". . ." Evie wiped her tears and held Ren's hands. "Ren . . . after we went to the 10th server, you . . ."

Evie shook her head and continued, "We were forced to log out, but you remained in the game. We didn't know what happened, but . . . when I noticed that you weren't up, I knocked on your doors and . . ."

Evie took deep breaths in between, explaining like she didn't know what to say. Like she was struggling with her words.

"You were asleep in your pod . . . we had to open it. But you wouldn't wake up, so we brought you to the hospital . . . and . . . you have been asleep for a week now."

". . ." A week?!

"Ren . . ." Evie clutched Ren's hand and stared at him seriously. "I need you to calm down . . ."

The helplessness and devastation in her eyes didn't sit well with Ren. His instincts told him to run away. To shut her up.

But he couldn't.

"Ren . . . your parents . . . they're dead . . ."

A/N (Doesn't consumed coins)

I know I said that the Alchemy will start next, but we'll have to sort some things first. Don't worry, this ARC is short.