1 Death

Confusion could not even begin to describe how Lucian felt at this moment. If he were to try to put his emotions into words right now, it would be apathy. The sensation was so strong that it was numbing.

He had died. He could still feel the chilling sensation of the blade piercing his insides, the slow warmth of his blood pooling around him. The memory was so vivid that it left him momentarily breathless, unable to distinguish it from reality.

Though it was odd... Did he even need to breathe now? Was he a soul? He died, yet he did not get the treatment he had expected. No pearly gates, although he was not actually expecting that. No eternal suffering, at least not yet, he hoped.

'Though reincarnation is still not completely marked off,' he thought, his gaze inspecting the odd room he had awakened in.

The walls were painted a smooth grey, adorned with the occasional poster and displate of anime or manga. The large king-sized bed he had awoken on was draped with a pair of fine black silk sheets, positioned to face an extensive computer setup with a gaming chair and multiple monitors.

"Did God take pity on me?" he asked, bewildered. He had never been particularly religious, but having died and now finding himself in this place made him question things.

Lucian chuckled at the thought. "Yeah, right. If there were a God, they would never pity me," he mused, running his palms along the smooth sheets as he rose from the bed.

As if on cue, the metal hinges of the wooden door to his left creaked. Lucian turned his head, met with an unexpected, yet not unwelcome sight.

A woman entered the room, her body almost entirely bare like the day she was born. Her long, damp, blonde hair flowed gracefully down her back, drawing the eye towards her curvaceous rear, accentuated by snug-fitting black shorts. Her piercing deep blue eyes locked onto Lucian's the moment the door opened, and her ample bosom subtly moved beneath the confines of her well-fitted sports bra as she came to a stop.

"You're awake," she said, her voice carrying only the slightest bit of surprise as she continued toward the gaming setup. She stopped at the computer chair and sat down.

Lucian watched in silence, his mind reeling from surprise. His girlfriend! His girlfriend was before him!? That woman who had killed him was now acting like nothing was different!?

"You killed me!" he shouted, attempting to rush at her in a fit of rage, yet his body did not move.

"What...?" Lucian muttered, stupefied. It felt as if he were a puppet whose strings had been taken hold of.

"Wrong," she said, her tone nonchalant.

"I didn't kill you; my avatar did. I am not your girlfriend—she was," she stated coolly, her eyes never leaving Lucian's form.

"Though I suppose, in a way, she is me, and I am her. So, I guess you are partially right," she added amusedly, her fingernails idly tapping away on the armrests of her chair as she spoke.

Lucian's mind came to a halt at her words, utterly confused as he tried to grasp the situation. His girlfriend of six years had suddenly killed him out of the blue. After finishing his livestream for the day, he walked into the kitchen and was met with the sight of his beautiful fiancée, Jessica.

"Finally done with work for today, dear?" she asked, her deep blue eyes resting on him as she momentarily stopped cutting up the food.

Lucian sighed as he slumped down on the bar table seat in front of her. "Yeah, the bastards were relentless today. But it was fun," he said, a tired smile adorning his face.

A sweet smile graced her features as she heard his words before she turned her gaze back to the green peppers and began cutting them again. "Good," she replied.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I was thinking, why don't we take a vacation?" Jessica said casually, her gaze still fixed on the green peppers, the sound of the knife colliding with the chopping board resounding throughout the kitchen.

Lucian raised a brow at her words. "Hmm? Where to?" he replied curiously as he began to stand up and walk around the counter towards her.

"I don't remember you mentioning this before," he continued as he embraced her curvaceous form, his arms wrapping around her slender waist from behind.

"Mmm," Jessica hummed, enjoying his embrace, and turned around to face him. "I don't know, I just feel like it," she said, a sweet smile adorning her words as she leaned in for a kiss.

Lucian chuckled, breaking the kiss before saying, "Sure, that sounds nice. We can talk more about it later. Call me when dinner is ready; I am going to take a shower." He released her from his embrace and turned around to head to their bedroom.

As Lucian was leaving, he heard Jessica hum in agreement. Taking a step away, he felt a cold, stinging sensation, followed by a pain like he had never felt before. His eyes widened. "Huh..." He gasped as he turned his head back to see the gentle eyes of his fiancée looking into his own.

His knees gave out, and he dropped to the cold hard floor, intensifying his already-felt pain. "W-Why..." Lucian coughed out, feeling his breath getting heavy as blood began to pool around him.

Though no answer came, nothing. Just a gentle smile that began to form on her face as if she had done nothing wrong. 

He had always known she loved him more than she had any right to. He had always known that something was deeply and utterly wrong with her, that she had an obsession with him that no one should have. Yet it only made him love her even more. 

'I really am stupid... Never put your dick in crazy.' He thought, that being his last thought as his conciseness faded. 

"Do you understand now?" The woman before him asked, her tone casual, and if she did feel anything for the man before her, she knew how to hide it very well. 

Lucian took a breath, trying to gather his thoughts. 'Understand what?' He thought, that his girlfriend was fucking insane. That she killed him... 'Wait how did she die?' He thought, confused. He knew there had to be a greater reason behind his death, even in his anger he knew this. 

"Why did you...? She kill me?" He asked, needing clarification.

"Jessica knew this would happen. Avatars are born to die, just like any other mortal. So, when she realized her time was up, she couldn't bear the thought of never seeing you again," she said casually.

As he heard her words, Lucian couldn't help but remember one of the last things Jessica had said to him: 'I was thinking, why don't we take a vacation?' Her sweet voice echoed in his head, triggering a cascade of chaotic emotions and thoughts.

Lucian took another breath, attempting to calm himself. He knew he could do nothing to change this; he was just angry, not stupid.

"So, what does that mean for me?" he asked.

As if sensing he had calmed, whatever had held his body in place before was released, and he quickly caught himself from dropping onto the floor.

As Lucian moved back towards the bed to take a seat, he heard the woman speak again.

"It was Jessica's last wish for you to be with us... Her forever." She said, her voice slightly stuttering at the end as she corrected herself.