Chapter 03 [arc one]

Troubled, Karilyn lay in her hospital bed with exhaustion. She wasn't sure if it had been a month since her arrival or just a few days. All she knew for sure was how screwed she was. "Death Becomes Her" was one of those games that threw on edgy elements often. The world was cruel, to the point you wondered how it even functioned. People went through an endless cycle of birth and work that made their bodies decay. And the dark underbelly of it all reigned Supreme.

She knew that if she survived the sacrifice, life after would be hell. The twenty-two-year-old would find herself with two options. Return to enslavement or go off in the red-light district on her own. A place that is full of prostitution, slave traders, cults, and other horrid realities. She wasn't even sure she'd know where to go. The main character avoided the district in her play through of the visual novel. That left her returning to slavery, which she refused to do.

'If I go to the ritual, I must find some way to survive it.' She grimaced as she remembered what would happen. In both routes of the game, the ritual was non-skippable.

"Death Becomes Her" had two main game routes and two dlc routes. She had gotten the game only recently, so she didn't bother buying the dlc. In route one, titled the K Route, you chose to be Kaname's wife. This meant your morality meter, a game mechanic for your morals and emotions, had to be at its lowest. You would accept the atrocities the man had committed openly. All the crimes he helped bury would be swept under the table as you got married.

In route two, the M Route, your morality meter is at least halfway full. You don't choose Kaname and defeat the main villain without him. Afterward, you go help Kaname repay all the people he's wronged. It's meant to be the bad ending, as he's injured in the aftermath of the last battle. In a wheelchair, Kaname was humbled and realized what it was like to be helpless in this society. Karilyn honestly found it not to be good enough, considering what he did.

Either way, each route excused Kaname's crimes. And it made the ritual to be necessary for both of their growths as characters. No one would save her once it commenced. The demons would spring from the ground and fall from the sky. They would attack her, pulling her into their domain to be killed by their leader. The ogre king or emperor, depending on your translation. He was the second male lead but was never going to be chosen with Kaname around.

'They're both murderers, but at least the ogre king wears it on his sleeve,' Karilyn thought with an eye roll, as she suddenly heard footsteps. This puzzled her, as all the staff should be home.

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"Sir, she isn't ready to leave yet! Her concussion is worse than we thought!" Immediately, the woman hid under her blanket. The nurse from before was screaming at whoever was coming in.

"I don't care about her head injury. The ritual is next week, and I want my property!" A loud slap echoed in Karilyn's ears as her eyes widened. She knew that voice like the back of her hand.

It was Kaname, and she was so screwed. The bastard was violent enough to slap a nurse and beat her silly. The poor woman whimpered and started to apologize. Each word sounded more unintelligible than the next as she cried harder. In the game, Kaname purposely wore rings to make his hits hurt more. The twenty-two-year-old had no doubt he was wearing them today. It took all her willpower to stay perfectly still. If he knew she was awake, he'd reign hell in her life.

All she felt was the primal need to survive the night. If she stayed alive after the ritual, she swore she'd find a way to kill this man. The game described his power as all-encompassing. He controlled the entire city. Karilyn felt her heart thump uncomfortably in her chest as he walked. Someone roughly pulled the plastic sheet to the side, and she felt him stare at her body. He was so tall, she couldn't see anything but his figure above. And like the animal he was, he reached down and pulled her up by her long, curly red ringlets.

"No!" Karilyn felt her body freeze as she let out an instinctual scream of protest. Her head throbbed as she felt her roots buckle and scalp stretch.

If she even dared to fight back, it would be pointless. The man wasn't exactly human. Being that this was a science fiction setting, they genetically engineered Kaname. His pure white eyes glared at her, looking at her as if she were a bug. His grip was like iron as he wore gloves powered by the chip implanted in his brain. He was a cyborg who could rip her scalp if he wanted. Hell, she was shaking with fear at the idea of him tearing off her head. Because he was snarling with rage, his lip curling as he got in her face.

"What did you just say to me?" He used his free hand to grab her face. It hurt so badly she could feel her teeth crashing together. Tears fell as he laughed at her mutters of pain. "Jeez, what happened to this one? Is she an idiot now?"

From behind him, the nurse startled and answered while looking at the ground. Karilyn could see that she was also scared. "Well, the candlestick bruised her badly. And the multiple hits made her lose any memories before the incident. She's become an amnesiac."

"So, she doesn't remember a thing, huh?" The man poked her forehead once, twice aggressively. She squeezed her eyes shut as he got closer. His breath was on her cheek, disgustingly.

The nurse nodded. "Yes. She doesn't know her name or who she is. Any questions we've asked about her parents or her life serving under you are answered with confused looks. She isn't faking it."

"That's not going to be an issue for me," Kaname laughed and yanked her hard enough that she screamed bloody murder. "The ritual just requires a girl her age, and her hair color. Not that she has to be perfectly intact mentally or physically."