I tore the headgear from my head. I threw it against the wall. The mix of emotions I felt in the Soul was still present. I was angry beyond belief but I also felt hurt. My eyes filled with tears. I couldn't control them. I cried, I sobbed silently on my bed. But then, I got angry again. I beat my pillow to suppress it. I calmed down. I got scared. I didn't understand this roller-coaster of emotions. Nothing important enough happened to trigger it. I took deep breaths but nothing helped. My heart beat loudly. 

A knock sounded on my door. I ignored it. 

“Akira, open that door!” Stephan's voice echoed as he yelled.

“Leave me the f*ck alone!” I shouted, rage tainted my words.

“Akira, open the door, please.” Jacob begged me.

Hearing his voice, all that he did to me rushed forth in my mind. I lost control of myself. I rushed at the door, opened it. All my roommates were there. I zeroed  in Jacob and threw a punch at him.

“Please? Did you ever stop beating me when I said 'please' to you? You fucking shit!” I jumped on him. I didn't care about form or anything of the like. All the teaching I received went out the window. I scratched, I pulled, I punched, I kicked. I wanted him to hurt as much as he hurt me. 

The others didn't intervene at first. They were too shocked about what was happening. Blood moistened my hands. I didn't know if it was mine or Jacob's. But I didn't care. The fact that he didn't defend himself didn't register either. I screamed. Arms surrounded my waist and lifted me up. I struggled. I wanted to harm, to maim. 

The years of pain and humiliation were at the forefront of my mind. I remembered how I kept finding excuses for everyone. It wasn't their faults. Claire was good at lying and Sofia was too caught up in her to do what was right. I must have done something to piss them off, that was why they lied. Even though I couldn't remember doing anything to them, I believed and waited. I waited for someone to see the truth so that everyone would understand that what they did to me was wrong.

I wanted to believe that someday I would be forgiven. I tried to stay out of sight, to ease the way. I stopped complaining so that they'd see that I made efforts. But even then, no one cared. I was still insulted and beaten. I tamped down my fear and presented a strong front but I couldn't do it anymore.

The training master's words echoed in my mind. “Who the hell are you? Who the hell are you?”

I didn't know. Deep in my heart was a deep rooted fear that I hadn't dared to acknowledge until now. As time passed, would I still have a place to return to? Would my parents remember me? I hadn't seen them since I entered middle-school 2 years ago. They didn't contact me even once. If no one remembered that I existed, how could I be forgiven?

My mind was trapped in a loophole and my body moved on its own. Tears fell down my cheeks as I screamed all the pain that I felt.

“Calm down. Akira. Calm down. Everything will be okay.” I heard this voice from far away. The fight went out of me. My screams gave way to heart-rending sobs. “It's okay Akira. Everything will be alright.”

Distantly I heard them talking.

“Elliott, help Jacob to the bathroom and clean his wounds.” 

“I'm okay. How is he?” Jacob asked. He had difficulty spelling his words. 

“Jacob, go clean yourself. It's an order.”

I couldn't place who was talking to who. My face was plastered to a hard chest. A hand patted my back in comfort. My sobs died down. I was empty. The voices disappeared. All that was left was a black void that engulfed my consciousness.

**** 

*beep*

*beep*

*beep*

A steady beeping sound tucked at my mind. With difficulty, I opened my eyes. I was disorientated. I was laid on a bed in an unknown room. The furniture were in solid mahogany wood. The room had an Asian feel to it.

“Do you feel pain somewhere?” A man in a white lab coat asked me. 

I shook my head in the negative. “Where am I?” I croaked out. My mouth was dry. A nurse held a glass of water for me to drink.

“Take a small sip of water. It will help. Do you remember your name?” The doctor asked me.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Akira Kirihara.”

“How old are you?”

“15.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

I shook my head. My mind was a little fuzzy. 

“Where am I?” I asked  again the question he hadn't answered earlier.

“You're at your grandfather's place.”

“I don't have a grandfather.” I might not remember how I ended up here but I knew that apart from my parents, I didn't have any other family. 

The man opened his mouth to talk but he was interrupted by the door opening. An old man entered the room. I remembered him. He was the man Stephan brought me to see a week ago. Lu Huang Fu was his name. 

“Akira!” His face lighted up as he saw that I was awake. 

He came and sat on the bed next to me. He took me in his arms. I bit my lips in embarrassment. I didn't know him that well for him to act like that.

The doctor reported my condition to the old Chinese man. 

“You can leave, I'll take it from here.” The doctor and the nurse left the room, leaving the two of us alone. “How are you feeling?” 

I shrugged. I didn't know how to answer this question.

“Why am I here?” I hoped that his answer would enlightened me. 

“Do you remember what happened?”

“No, I've already answered that question.”

“Three days ago, you had a meltdown.” I blinked, uncomprehending.

“What did you say?” I thought that I heard wrong but he repeated himself.

“Three days ago, you had a meltdown.”

“No way.” My denial was instant. “I'm not crazy.” I was getting agitated.

“No, you're not.” The certainty in his voice reassured me somewhat. “Stress piled up and you had no way to release it.”

I didn't deny what he said. The last thing I remembered was my in-game parents arguing with each other about why they tried to kill me.

“That still didn't answer why I am here.”

“You are here to rest. No one will bother you at my house.”

“I don't need to rest. I'm fine.”

“No, you aren't. You attacked one of your roommates. Check you hands. You hurt yourself when you punched him.” There was bandages around my knuckles. I didn't feel pain. 

“Who did I attack?” I asked unconvinced. 

“Jacob Clarke.” Was it bad that I didn't feel anything knowing that I attacked him? 

Suddenly, I remembered the Unas that I just moved into Forgotten Soul.

“I need to go back home.”

“Why?”

“I have a quest to finish in a game.”

“No game for you until your shrink agrees to it.” he proclaimed, his voice adamant. 

“I don't have a shrink and who the hell are you to forbid me to do anything?”

“I'm your grandfather.” I stared at him in shock.

“I don't have a grandfather.” I denied it. Since I was born, my parents never said anything about having a family. 

“I am your mother's father.” 

“Wait! You're Stephan's grandfather. Does that mean that he's...” I didn't dare to finish my thought. 

Previous/ Next

A.N:  I'll post 32.5 next week.  Also I need some advice.  Warning: spoiler ahead!

The MC won't play for a long while. Do you think it's better to make  several  .5 chapters story-telling  everything  that happens in game while he's away?  (For those who haven't noticed yet, all chapters with .5 after the number are from someone else point of view).

Or should I made a time skip, and when the MC's playing again, I make an info-dump?

 Both have  advantages and disadvantages.  So what do you think would be better?