6 Was it all planned?

With blurry eyes, Leon couldn't make out a thing; as he regained consciousness. The chilly, rugged pavement he remembered laying on; was replaced by a soft bed and dull colored cotton sheets.

Above him was a dim flickering light source; hanging from a cord. Leon could tell that he was no longer in the back-alley. As he was now in a room with fixed panels in its walls, glowing an ominous blue every few seconds.

'Where am I?'

Leon's body felt sluggish and restrained as he tried to move. What was odd, though, was that he could feel his body again. Last he remembered; the mutant gave him irreversible spinal damage and a cracked skull—making him an invalid.

He wondered how he was still alive. After all, a normal person would never survive such trauma; and would most likely die of blood loss or internal injury. Even more so, because he had a vivid memory of the mutant extracting his soul. Unless this was an alternate version of nirvana, Leon was certain he died.

'Was it all a dream?' he thought.

Of course, that seemed very unlikely. Even for a lucid dream, what Leon had experienced felt far too real. Not even virtual reality could emulate such an immersive experience.

He knew some VR companies headed by maverick CEOs would sometimes place large-scale holographic displays of monsters and 'unsettling things' on unsuspecting people in cities; to gauge their effectiveness and warrant authentic reactions.

At most, that left some unfortunate victims traumatised; but not even the mavericks would go as far as physically hurting their 'precious' beta testers.

The pain, anguish, and despair Leon had felt were all genuine. Not in any way induced by dull holographic imaging or virtual reality. He knew that all too well.

The only logical explanation he could come up with was that he was in a hospital somewhere. 'That man' must've gotten his message and sent for help.

When the mutant first began her assault on the woman, Leon used his Locator; which was the metallic orb he had in his hand then, to send his location to all his contacts. Talking wasn't an option, so that was his best attempt at sending a distress signal.

After collecting his thoughts, Leon let out an overdue sigh and wondered what became of the mutant's first victim.

'Did she somehow make it out alive too?' He thought. Of course, Leon knew that was being wistful of him. Despite that, somewhere within, he wished that were true.

"... alive?!"

"... too late... extracted."

"... damn monster... end them all!"

"... calm down!"

A pair of muffled voices resounded and caught Leon's attention. One voice sounded soft, but feisty; without a doubt, a female's voice. The other was mature and rugged; distinctly male. Rather than idle banter, it sounded as if they were amid a falling-out of sorts.

When he tilted his head in the voices' direction, Leon could see the Silhouettes of two figures behind a semi-transparent glass door. One of them looked like a large brawny male with edged weapons of sorts on his back. The other was an unarmed female with long hair that looked like dreadlocks.

After he noticed their presence, Leon tried raising his voice to gain the two figures' attention; but his throat was dry, so the best he could muster were incoherent, pitchy cries.

Undeterred, Leon then started moving his limbs instead, but his movements seemed awkward and rigid. On closer inspection, one could tell he was bound with metallic straps at the ankles and wrists.

"W-what the hell?!" Leon said. An uncertain expression was visible on his face as his lips curled up into a frown and his eyebrows furrowed.

With his voice still somewhat pitchy, Leon yelled at the top of his lungs when he realized someone had bound him. Whomever had saved him from the back-alley seemed to have shackled him up as well.

The straps that bound Leon were connected to chains that unwinded and gave leeway for slight movement. However, the chains would restrict his movement once he passed a certain point; by pulling back on him.

'Could it be him? No. Why would he do this to me? Unless…' He thought. The image of 'that man' came to Leon's mind and stirred up waves of fear, anger and loathe from the depths of his soul.

[Your soul is agitated.]

[Soul purity altered by wrath.]

[Your wrath will now be purged.]

[Status effect: 30 second strength buff.]

[Strength: + 1]

[Strength: 10 —> 11]

[00:00:29.45]

"…"

A status screen of sorts appeared in Leon's field of vision, and his eyes started glowing a deathly hollow purple. Soon after, he was suddenly brimming with strength he'd never felt before—Like a sudden adrenalin rush. Out of instinct, he used every muscle in his upper-body, and pulled on the straps. The straps dug into Leon's skin; gripping onto his wrists with such force he thought they'd break off.

Despite the pain, Leon kept on pulling on the chains like a madman; as if compelled by some external force. For a while, it appeared the tug between him and the motor behind chains had reached a stalemate; as neither moved.

Eventually, though, Leon overcame the motor's power, and started raising his torso from the bed. He was nearly upright when his sudden boost in strength vanished. In a single motion, the motor pulled back on him with overwhelming force; making his back touch the soft bed once more.

[00:00:00.00]

[30 second time limit reached.]

[Status effect: Strength reset.]

[Strength: - 1]

[Strength: 11 —> 10]

Leon lost the tug with the chains; and the purple color in his eyes faded. He tried pulling back on them again, but he lacked the power to do so. He had lost the slight leeway for movement the chains gave as well—effectively rendering him immobile.

"What was that?!" Leon said, as if finally regaining his senses. The adrenaline rush was gone—and so were the feelings of loathe he had.

His tone of voice sounded nervous, but hinted excitement as well. At first, Leon thought he was imagining it when he saw those words appear in his field of vision, like a system. But seeing them again only confirmed his suspicions—it was a system!

Most virtual MMORPG games available on the market had systems which allowed characters to gain experience that improved their various attributes and abilities by completing quests. In fact, Leon often played a game called 'Inventory Warfare' that allowed characters to complete such quests.

It made him wonder, though. The Mutant, the victim, the gateway's malfunction… Was everything set up by a VR company specializing in systems development all along? Did they need a secret beta tester for new technology? That would explain why he was trapped. It was a new experience for him—an exciting one.

Of course, Leon had no way of knowing it, but he would soon come to regret having found his 'new experience' exciting. Especially after the next message appeared before him.

[Your wrath has been purged.]

[Lifespan halved.]

[Consume a soul within 5 days or you will die.]

[Soul Count: 0/1]