ARF spent the next few days exploring the World Map and other things except for Hawk who would oftentimes leave alone for untold reasons. Players reported a barrier preventing them from exploring further, but a Dungeon was yet to be found. From the reports, the silhouette of a city could be seen at the edge of the barrier.

    With the surplus of money I had, I bought the Feather Boots that got my attention and equipped it. As its description said, it made my movements better. Balancing on one foot was now easily done; also, I could move around a bit faster.

            Eric’s condition steadily declined. Only a miracle would let him hang on till June ended. ARF visited him every other day. Every time we did, energy would rekindle in his face, but they only remain for fleeting moments. We knew. Eric and Liza had accepted it. Eric’s days were coming to an end.

             June 21, XX17, 8:00 at Night

            A stormy night it was. Heavy rain filled Naut City tonight. Frequent bolts of lightning visited the city.

A message from Hawk prevented me from falling into slumber. The message ordered us to gather outside immediately.

I wasted no time and exited the room. Just as I did, another message popped up. The sender was Liza. My bad feeling was proven true as I read the message.

“Father is in a dire condition. Please bring me to him.”

When I exited the room, Hawk and Canary were already there. Hawk seemed to have told Canary about the situation. We hurriedly left the Inn and plunged into the storming city.

Wearing our Elven Capes, we reached the Item Shop where Liza lived. She opened the door the second we knocked, implying that she was already waiting for us.

Liza stepped out of the Item Shop and could not move any further. Hawk let Liza unto his back, and we made a beeline for Eric’s house.

             At a quarter from nine, we arrived at our destination. We found Eric lying on his bed. His face was as pale as a ghost. No energy remained          in his body.

            “Father!” exclaimed Liza as she immediately went down Hawk’s back and rushed beside Eric. We followed her and stood besides Liza.

            Liza buried her face on Eric’s chest as endless tears flowed out. No matter how ready a person can be, death of a loved one would bring unbearable sadness to person. Because Liza knew, words of rejecting Eric’s death did not come forth. Instead, the mere sadness overflowed from her.

            Sadness filled me as well. Death was inevitable. We all take different paths in life, but we all end the same way. We all aim for a regretless and peaceful death, but not everyone can achieve that.

            “I’m… glad… I could see you all before death…” said Eric.

            Canary had already crying his eyes out as he held my hand. Standing straight without movement, Hawk silently looked at Eric with sad eyes. Despite being full of sadness, respect filled Hawk’s gaze. It was something I’ve rarely seen. Hawk only showed respect only to a handful of professors at university despite studying in the best university in the country. He did his best in holding his tears.

            “Eric, I’m glad I made it in time.” a sudden monotonous voice pierced the room. It was voice none of ARF recognized. None of us three felt a presence enter the room. We looked back and saw a girl there.

            The girl was not somebody I recognized. The green icon above her head indicated her being a Player, but the icon’s shade was darker than normal. At first, I thought it was a live-sized doll. My mind could not accept that a girl with such perfection existed. Human language did not hold the words to describe her beauty, which was akin to a doll hand-made by God.

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    The girl’s snow white skin was contrasted by the black that colored her. Her wavy hair was tied into two shoulder-length pigtails by two frilly black ribbons. While my eyes were also black, the blackness of the girl’s large eyes surpassed mine greatly. They were like a black hole that sucked all light into it. Her small nose and thin lip along with her pale white skin combined to form a doll-like image. The girl’s body and height was small. She could be mistaken for a middle-school, but she’s probably the same age as I was.

    People normally wouldn’t point out other Player’s clothes, since they were mostly similar, but this girl differed. The girl wore a frilly one-piece black dress that did not reach her knees decorated with a black ribbon at her absent chest. The girl’s black socks were as frilly as her clothes, decorated with black flowers. The socks extended higher than the end of her skirt, covering both her legs. I could not pinpoint what country she came from. The girl’s walk was like that of absolute royalty. Unlike Zoe’s nobleness, the girl movements made people want to bow down and worship her. “Kard… even you came…” uttered Eric.

            Hawk looked directly at Kard’s eyes to analyze. As he was doing so, Hawk fell to his knees, gasping for air. I could not believe my surprise when I saw this. He asked, “Who are you?”

            “Brother’s sword teacher. A first generation Player.” explained Liza.

            “I apologize. My reflexes reacted to the invasion of my mind and attacked you back. My name is Kard Miya Midil. As Liza said, I was Paul’s sword teacher and a first generation Player.”

            “Also… Liza was never told this… but Kard was also… Paul’s girlfriend…” added Eric.

            Player-Character romance plagued both Liza and her brother. Whether coincidence or due to upbringing, the siblings romance shared the same impossibility.

            Hawk had recovered from the shock and was back to how he was before. He did not bother prying into Kard any further and focused on Eric.

            “Thank you… Father…” said Kard as she held back her tears.

            Hearing that, Eric smiled and said, “So in the end… you granted… my wish…”

            Eric coughed out blood as we spoke. All of us here gathered closer to him.

            “I’ve been… blessed with… such wonderful… children… Please… take care of… Liza for me…”

            Eric conveyed his final words. The smile never left his face as he passed away. As his body slowly transformed into pixels, Eric shed a single tear at his deathbed. The story of Eric, the Father, the Mayor, the Teacher, the Fighter, ended.

            No words were exchanged between us. We all accepted Eric’s death, but the sadness remained nonetheless. The furniture in the house disappeared one after another and replaced by new ones.

            After an hour, we left what was once Eric’s room and met at the dining room.

            “As Father desired, this house’s ownership had been transferred to Hawk.” stated Liza, her voice still filled with sadness.

            “I can never thank you enough. Feel free to ask for anything from us when in need.” said Hawk.

            “Yes. I’ll be going now. Please buy at the Item Shop as always!” said Liza, forcing a smile on her face.

            “We’ll take you there.” volunteered Hawk.

            “No. I’ll take her instead. You should get used to your new house.” said Kard.

            “Thank you.” replied Hawk.

            Liza and Kard went to the house’s entrance. Kard opened door, but turned around and asked instead, “The boy who tried to invade my mind, what’s your name?”

            “Hawk. If you were offended by my actions, I apologize. I meant no harm.”

            “Don’t stress it. You doing that actually acquired my attention.”

            “You’re no ordinary Player are you?”

            “I was an average Player whose life changed due to an impossible love. Only with Paul’s help did I break out of the ordinary.”

            Hawk did not reply to Kard’s melancholy. He merely watched Liza and Kard leave.

            Kard left a few words without looking at us as she exited the house, “Survive, so that we may one day meet again at the end of Reality. I will be waiting in my throne as the Dark God of Depravity.”