In my dark room at night, staring at my precious newly-bought screen, and suffering from painful dry eyes, I couldn't help but feel an endless excitement.

I gazed at my completed creation... a 2D game I hadn't decided a name for yet. Despite its simplicity, I had poured every ounce of effort into writing its story and creating its characters.

In the golden skylands of the ruined Sun Kingdom – Solara, where the game mostly ends and where the player battles the immortal Sun Queen: Amberlyn Solisar, to overthrow her tyrannical and racist rule.

The queen, who has nine forms and dozens of skills, possesses endless solar energy and an incredibly long lifespan. There are several endings, with only one ending in her defeat.

Bloodmere Forest, the Time-Frozen Domain, the Rotting Lands, the Golden Sky Continent, and many other areas took a terrifying amount of ideas, along with characters I tried to make as realistic as possible.

A dark and grim fantasy game...

I watched the cinematic that began on the screen at the start of the battle, the only one in the game, as such things cost a frightening amount of money.

For my hobby and as an investment for the future, I decided to spend thousands to create a high-quality cinematic. It didn’t hurt me much financially since I had a job and a decent salary.

The player, wearing metallic clothes and armor, enters with his blue-black hair and glowing golden eyes, a hybrid born from sun and shadow beings, surviving a tragic past.

Then the Sun Queen descended from the sky, with her golden hair and matching eyes, covered in endless flames, and a crown shaped like a giant phoenix.

She was incredibly tall, more than two meters! Her expression was cold as she landed, staring at the player as if he were an insignificant insect.

She wore a luxurious blue dress, and with a flick of her fingers, flames danced in the air and surrounded her, forming the unbeatable figure...

I then turned off my computer and threw myself onto my bed to browse my phone before sleeping until morning...

***

I woke up to weak shakes, which I had been feeling for a while and were now starting to annoy me... I opened my eyes to see an elderly woman with wrinkles like spider webs on her face.

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My grandmother had woken me up, laughing proudly as she did. "See? I can still do it!" she clapped her hands.

I couldn’t help but smile at that sight. I got up and helped her down to the first floor, then returned to my room.

The first thing I did after waking up was head to the bathroom for a shower. I took off my cap and looked at my reflection in the mirror, my mood worsened slightly.

Bald... that’s right...

Even though I hadn’t reached thirty, there wasn’t a single hair on my head, and the reason was quite simple... illness.

Specifically, lung cancer, and a somewhat advanced stage. The doctor told me that treatment was very possible and that I should stay optimistic, and it would be over in a few months, and I believed him.

That burning cough was very annoying at first, but I started getting used to it after a whole year. There are still rare cases of blood coming out, which is not comfortable at all.

I sighed as I left the bathroom. My appearance was well above average, maybe even very good, but the side effects of cancer made me look almost like an old man.

Weight loss and hair loss, wrinkles, weakness, and lack of sleep... all these things force me to age quickly...

I immediately went to the downstairs of the house, where I found the only person living with me, or rather, living with me.

Very short and with a bent back, the wrinkles on her hands alone made me forget about my appearance issues and feel sorry. I immediately went to help her sit down.

"Grandma, rest, I’ll take care of it..." I held her hand and made her sit on the wooden chair, letting her lean on the table. I saw her warm smile as I helped her.

"Kaiden... it’s okay, I can still make some food! Speaking of which, what did the doctor say to you again?" she asked me.

I smiled a bit and went to prepare something quick while continuing my conversation with her.

My grandmother, in her late seventies, had taken care of me all my life since I became aware, and she made me a decent man without the presence of a father or mother to care for me.

She worked as a teacher until the age of sixty! Although teaching isn’t physically demanding, it’s extremely mentally exhausting! And she exceeded the retirement age by a lot!

Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago. It’s mild and manageable, but she can no longer spend much time alone, or she might lose her mind and get into serious trouble.

Although she needs full-time care, I never complained. I hired a specialist to stay with her when I go to work, and then it’s my turn to take care of her until she goes to bed early.

After breakfast and waiting for the specialist to arrive to care for my grandmother, I immediately went to work.

***

Although using a phone while driving is strictly prohibited, I still ignore all the laws as usual. I communicated with my friends, browsed social media for some interesting things, and so on...

Then suddenly, a huge white notification covered the top part of the screen, catching my eye, .

My heart skipped a beat and my breath quickened. Was what I was seeing really true? I could hardly believe it... how could it be so fast?

My happiness was instantly shattered when I was suddenly attacked by a coughing fit, forcing me to stop the car by the side of the road and wait a few minutes for the pain to subside.

I took out my phone to read the previous email from that advertising company. I didn’t expect, even in my best dreams, to get a response just one night after sending the proposal.

As I read the message, my eyes continued to widen more and more, and I began to daydream. It seems I’ll be resigning from my job soon...