Beyond Phantasia

There’s about 3000 feet before I hit the ground.

I looked around the Prism. Water or trees? Both are terrible options.

Sigh…I’ll have to test my luck with the trees.

As much as I love water, I don’t think I’ll be able to swim if I land with that heavy of an impact. I could at least try to lighten the fall with the tree branches.

I navigate myself towards the densest part of the island.

“Hopefully it’s the same as in game…”

One of the features of the cape is its ability to harden into different shapes, like a shield. With my aethergaunts, I moved my hands in an X formation. My cape hardened, tightening around my body like a cocoon.

“Okay, good. It might be possible.”

2000 feet remained.

I need to relax. Feet and knees together. Steady my breathing.

1000.

900.

800.

Relax. Trust the armor.

700.

600.

500.

The canopy of the trees came into view.

400.

300.

Relax.

My body finally relaxed and went numb.

200.

100.

My vision faded.

CRASH! BANG! CRACK! SNAP! SNAP! CRACK! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

<><><><><>

“Lucien, is dinner to your liking?”

What?

I scanned my surroundings. It was a nice dining room, a very nice one. Three people were seated at the dinner table, while one was in the kitchen. Lucien sat in front of me as I stood behind him.

Am I dead again?

“Why wouldn’t it be to my liking, mom? You know I love cooking,” Lucien replied to the beautiful woman with the same black hair as his.

His mom? What is going on?

I tried to grab Lucien’s shoulder, but my hand phased right through him.

“Hello?” I said.

No reply. I was in utter confusion. The only thing I could do was watch in silence.

“Are you ready for round two of training?” This time, an older man spoke; his hair and eyes matched Lucien's.

I understood his looks now — his parents were extremely good-looking people.

“Of course, Father. You know I want to make this family proud,” Lucien said. “It’s my goal to make our family the greatest.”

“Haha! I know you don’t have to do this, but thank you. As a father, I’m proud of you,” his dad replied.

“Dessert’s ready, you three!” The mom called.

“Yes! Finally! Lucien, you promised to play mermaids with me after this!” A younger girl cheered.

“I will, Lucy, but you’re going to have to give me half of your dessert,” Lucien laughed.

“Hey! That’s not what we agreed on! Mom!”

“I’m kidding! Kidding! I’ll play mermaids after we eat!”

“Yes!” she cheered in victory.

“Haha! We sure have funny children, wouldn’t you say, my love?” Lucien’s dad laughed again.

“Yes, we do, dear.” She smiled.

Lucien’s family seemed loving and warm—a feeling I hadn’t remembered in a long time. It was…nice. I could feel my heart beat faster. It was something I had longed for. However, when I checked my status screen he was an orphan. So, what happened during the time span beforehand?

That’s when it struck me.

What was it?

“Status plus,” I said.

I figured that out after experimenting with the status screen for a bit.

==================

— {[Lucien Crow]} — -

Orphan

Sole Survivor of the Verita Massacre

???

Goal: Defeat the Primordial Giant of Destruction

Age: 16

Affinity: 0.7%

Silvion Academy Rank (Year 6864): 4000/4000

S: 300; A: 500; B: 600; C: 700; D: 900; E: 1000

Overall Rating: E

Affinity: E-

Combat: E+

Technomancy: E-

Stamina: E+

Skills:

Jack of All Trades Lvl 1

Allows the user to perform most tasks that they can’t perform at a moderate level.

==================

“Verita Massacre. Could this be the reason?”

I needed to do research. I had been putting in effort, but it wasn’t enough. Fortunately, I had community service at the library next week. I’ll use that opportunity to find out what the Verita Massacre is. Maybe then I’d have a lead on why I’m here.

Knock! Knock! Knock! The door was knocked repeatedly, sounding urgent. Lucien’s dad got up from his chair and opened it.

A man outside gasped, “Ha…h…ha…h… Lysander, we have a problem. It’s bad, really bad.”

Lysander’s nonchalant expression shifted to something solemn.

“Not in front of the family. Liliana, please watch the kids. I’ll be right back.”

“Daddy, where are you going?”

“Don’t worry, Daddy will be back. He just…has a job to do,” he replied. “Lucien, take care of your mother and sister.”

“Understood, Father.”

Lysander grabbed his coat from the rack.

“Be careful, Father. Please.”

He glanced back at Lucien. “I will.”

My vision started to blur again.

What? What’s happening?

CRASH! BANG! BANG!

Wait, I need to see what happens! What’s going on?

<><><><><>

GASP!

“AAAH!” I screamed. “DAMN IT!”

My body was in excruciating pain. The pain radiated throughout my body, sharp and unrelenting, leaving me gasping for air. I struggled to move, every motion amplifying the discomfort I was in. It was unbearable.

Huff! Huff! Huff! Breathe. I needed to breathe.

I clenched my teeth and focused on breathing slowly, desperately trying to find some relief from the pulsating, burning pain. I tried to move my hands; it was painful, but I needed to. With the last of my strength, I grabbed a stick lying next to me and put it in my mouth to bite down on.

Focus. If I lose consciousness now, it’s over.

I bit down on the branch. The next moments —hours, however long it was — were pure physical torture. I’ve taken a bullet before, but falling out of the sky? I’m surprised I’m even alive. I needed to stay optimistic; the armor had reduced most of the impact.

Huff…Huff…

Slowly, I pushed myself up. My legs felt on fire, strained to the very bone. With a few steps, I managed to plop down under a tree.

The status screen appeared.

[3 Days Remaining|64:31:24|Objective: Sync with Socrilium]

I’ve been out for over eight hours?

I needed time to process. The dream I was in felt too real. The status screen now gave me an objective, and my body wasn’t responding to my commands.

Let’s check the rest of my body.

I tried to wiggle my body around, testing to make sure nothing was broken. But when I tried to move my right arm — crack.

“Agh!” I yelled.

I glanced down at my arm, wincing as pain shot through it. It was fractured — no wonder I couldn’t move it properly earlier. I needed to stabilize it, so I scanned the area for supplies.

I picked up a few sturdy sticks scattered around me. Using my good hand, I broke them to the right lengths, gritting my teeth as the movement irritated my injured arm. Next, I found some thick, strong vines to hold everything together. I wrapped the sticks around my arm and secured them with the vines, tying them as tightly as I could manage.

Each tug on the vine sent sharp waves of pain through me, but I forced myself to keep going, biting down on the wood I had earlier. I couldn’t afford to leave my arm like this. When I finished, I sat back, breathing heavily, hoping this makeshift splint would hold.

I need to stay awake…

“No you don't,” my subconscious countered.

My eyes began to blur.

But…the trials.

“Fuck the trials. We didn’t ask to be sent here. We were supposed to be dead.”

Ha! It’s true, why was I working so hard? Did I even want a second chance, or am I trying to make amends?

“There’s no point. If you let the timer run out, it’ll all be over.”

Yeah…if I let the timer run out. I could call it quits. I wouldn’t have to put in all this effort. I can finally…rest.

I let my eyes slowly close.