Chapter 3

It was no less easy to have her body falling apart. Saranie never wanted to feel that again, yet it was. There was no way to stop or heal it, as she tried with her mana, but her connection was 'muddy' at best right now. Once the effects ceased, she could assess the damage.

Her eyes were coming back to her and she spotted movement. Reaching out to grab at it, it fell down. Then she realized it was a person. From the outline and colors of the person, it wasn't Xercoid. If she teleported away, then who ever was here now would need to answer her questions.

"Who…ha… are you?" She asked through heated breaths.

The room she was in wasn't the tavern. That was easy to tell. The wood in that place was all a dark brown and the light outside started to wane, making it even darker when she was interrogating the elven woman in her grasp.

But the room she was in now, was bright, too bright. A lot of bright colors filled the room. As her feelings came back, the floor was a white carpet that was quite smooth and warm. It felt nice, if she wasn't holding on to the person squirming away from her grasp at the moment.

"Who are you?" She shouted at the person in her grasp.

The person was now kicking her in the face. Which would have hurt, if she wasn't wearing the helmet she took from that Astern knight, but it was uncomfortable. Saranie reached out with her other hand to grab the other leg and twisted her body to get up. Which hurt a lot. Her body was not meant to be moved when she was going through… whatever was happening to her.

"Get off of me!"

That recognizes that accent from a kilometer away. Could she change shape or was her eyes deceiving her? Maybe it was some illusion.

---

Xercoid couldn't even curse at the woman grabbing his legs. This whole thing was impossible and his mind wasn't even able to comprehend how something for a game appeared in his room.

Thankfully he wasn't physically out of shape or exhausted from his VR game. So he had enough energy to fight back, but Saranie grabbed his other leg and was about to pull him back. He pushed up with his hands on the ground, bringing his center mass closer to his legs, before pushing at Saranie like he was doing a long jump.

Her grip loosened enough where he was able to get to his feet and get out of the door to his room. Unfortunately he lost his sweat pants in the process, but that wouldn't stop him from running outside, getting everyone's attention, and calling the cops. It was his plan.

While he was thankful for being able to stream games and make money off of them, this wasn't the time. The money allowed him to purchase a house. Big house with a lot of rooms. Most were empty, but that made it difficult to get to the door out of his house.

Unfortunately for him, Saranie got up and tackled him into the wall.

---

She got Xercoid. She was on the ground, conscious, but she had her arms tightly gripped between her hands and her legs were wrapped up by her own.

"Xercoid, I know it is you. Your illusion won't be able to save you. Tell me where we are?"

"We're in my- Ahh- My home! In my home!"

She wanted answers. While she did regret keeping Xercoid alive before, if she can teleport at will, Saranie might be able to get home. That was now the only thing keeping her alive. No matter the pain she has to endure through teleportation, Saranie will make it home. This is the first sign that it's possible.

"Nation? Kingdom?"

"Listen this isn't - Ahh! - Ullerntas! There, you happy?"

"Where's its relation to Astern?" She hadn't read about that place or heard of it in her travels.

"Saranie, listen to me - Ahh! - Stop that! You need to understand that Astern isn't real. You're not real."

"What are you talking about?" She was just speaking nonsense now.

"Astern is in a game. You are from that game. I don't know what is going on, but this can't be happening."

"Game?" She remembered him saying that before, in the throne room. "What do you mean 'game'?"

"Video game… In virtual - Ahh! Please stop twisting my arm. I'm telling the truth. Astern isn't real. Everything in the game isn't real."

Saranie's body was clearer now, not at her peak due to exhaustion, but she could see the man in front of her. She needed to test something.

"If you are lying…" She wasn't sure she would kill this person just yet, so she left the threat of violence open. "Don't move!"

Using the dagger in her hand she grabbed out her lifeforce and did everything she could to dispel illusions and clear her mind. Just in case her lifeforce was vulnerable, since it was new to her, Saranie used her mana to cast the same spells, but at a lesser effect because lifeforce always is more potent. Even so with how it changed after closing the portal.

In the end, the man in front of her, didn't move. Just looked at her from the edge of his eye, showing shock when she used her lifeforce, but stayed still and quiet. Docile.

Thinking back on it, Xercoid, wished to help her. In return, Saranie ambushed and attacked the elven woman. She made no hostile movements, yet she assumed the worst and went for the kill. Then instead of killing the woman, from her connection to the Star-born and therefore cultists, she tied her up and interrogated her.

Now, if the man in front of her was to be believed, this was his home. Which Xercoid fled to, to get away from her. Not hostile attacking, just running away. All Xercoid had done so far, was defend themselves. Human or elf. Man or woman. Real or not. Saranie was the one who was hostile. She was the attacker.

The war had really messed her up.

---

"I'm sorry." He heard Saranie say and then she let go of his limbs, getting off of him and leaning against the white-grey walls in his second floor hallway. "

He didn't move either at this point. He was still scared and she had the knife in her hand. A knife she used to cut her hand performed magic. An NPC from a video game created magic in real life… well unless he was insane, this is amazing.

But his fear of her was strong. Saranie could and had shown multiple times the ability and easy at which she could kill him. So he just laid down there. The hallways, his house and the two of them were silent. She kept her head down between her legs and he just laid there watching her for any movements.

But things couldn't go as planned. The door downstairs was opening up. To a sound, a person, he cared about the most. Ever since he made enough money streaming and bought this house, he got his mother to move in with him, so he could take care of her. Even though she still went out to her own job, refusing to laze around all day, she accepted and lived there with him. But now she was home and he feared for her safety.

His mother didn't say anything, because he would still be streaming at this time and in the game, he wouldn't be able to hear her. But he knew it was her.

As his eyes moved from where the door through the floor and walls, he looked back at Saranie whose head turned towards the direction of his mother.

"If you hurt my mother, I will kill you." Even if his whisper was quiet, it was a threat. It gave him the push he needed to stand up and block the hallways with his body. Saranie made no movements towards him, instead just deflating further when he said 'mother'.

---

Saranie didn't know what to do now. Xercoid was now defending his mother. Not his own life, but family. There was no way she was going to fight him, even in defense at this point. She lost the will to do anything to harm another person.

She was exhausted from everything and with nothing to push her forward right now, her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

---

She fell asleep? Did she die?

Looking around, there was a dent in the wall where she slammed into him, but other than that, the house was fine. Saranie on the floor was wearing real metal armor, which he kicked a lot and made no dent so he was sure it was real. With a knife that she used to cut her hand, a hand that was still bleeding.

He could call the cops and explain that some crazy woman entered his home and attacked him. With all the evidence here, they could easily prove it. As long as he didn't speak about magic or her coming out of his game, they would take him seriously. Not to mention his mother was now home and could take his side in this.

But he was panicking. A little in denial that this wasn't real. That if he called the cops or had his mother come up the stairs to see this woman here, that she would disappear and he would be crazy.

So he crouched down and put his hand on her neck. 'Could video game characters have hearts?' It was a question he asked himself, until he looked at her bleeding hand again. He did feel a heartbeat, so she was alive.

No, he had to call the cops. He had to tell his mother and he could just explain it as a stalker or something.

'I'll do that.'

He walked away from her and went downstairs to his mom. He still had some of Saranie's blood on him. He tried to wipe it away, but it was messy and smeared all over his hands.

"Mom?" He whispered. As he entered the kitchen, she was currently cutting up vegetables.

"Chalamar? What are- is that blood? What happened?" She dropped the knife and walked over to him.

"Mom, someone's in the house. Call the police."

---

Chalamar nor his mother went upstairs afterward. They abandoned the house after alerting the police. Armed officers entered his home calling out to Saranie upstairs, before going further in themselves.

His mother was much calmer than himself. He was worried that she would be having a hard time, but instead it was him. Chalamar didn't want anything like this to happen. It became a big scene where neighbors were coming out to check what was going on.

An ambulance arrived to look over his injuries. Just a few bruises, no cuts thankfully. His wrist still hurt from when she twisted his arm.

Shortly after, the officers came over to talk to him.

"There was no one in the house. They must have fled before we got here. Did you get a look at your attacker?"

That made his heart stop. Was she real then? No, these bruises were real. The pain was real. Honestly his head was a mess with that. Should he pretend he didn't get a good look and just so he can slowly forget about this whole thing?

"I didn't. She was wearing a mask." He didn't say helmet, just in case.

"Can you tell me what happened?" The officer asked.

He needed to talk in half truths here, just so they don't think he is crazy.

"I'm a streamer. Playing video games. Just as I finished this woman attacked me. I fled and ran out the door where she grabbed my leg. I tried kicking her, before I was able to break free and make it into the hallway. She tackled me into the wall and I fell down." While most of it was right, he didn't specify much. "I managed to knock her out, at least I think I did, then I called you guys."

"The paramedic said that you didn't receive any wounds but we did find blood up there. Do you know how that happened?"

'They found her blood? If that is true, then he wasn't crazy.' His thoughts were going fast, so he told them the truth.

"She took out a knife or something and cut her own hand with it."

"When was that?"

"After she knocked me on to the ground. She twisted my hand asking me questions. Crazy stuff. She was talking about the game I play and asking me questions about it. But I got her off of me and then called you guys." He was more fervent about it now. If she ran away, magic or not, she could have hurt his mother. "I remember what she looked like now. The mask she wore came off, with her hat, and I saw her face."

"I see."

"I'm telling the truth!" He didn't feel like the officer was taking him seriously anymore.

"It seems you are still in shock. We'll give you a call later. For now, your home is a crime scene, so you will need to find another place for a while."

---

A few weeks later with little to show for it, Chalamar and his mother were returning to the house. They had spent the time in a hotel and he stopped streaming for most of that time. His Dudes understood and sent sympathies to him for his situation. He only streamed a few times, just as updates, but nothing more.

His situation made the news, including the sketch they drew up with what Saranie looked like. Actually when he was brought in to give the sketch, he realized his mistake back when he was giving his statement. His viewers would recognize that face and he could face backlash. So he made a vague guess about the face, but one thing he kept the same was her blue eyes. The rest he essentially made up and made it clear that he wasn't sure that was right.

His mother was doing much better than him and even suggested that he hire a bodyguard. Which he agreed with. Two people would always be around. Rashva and Pentaask. Rashva was a bulky man and would be staying around him, while Pentaask, a similar build to Saranie weirdly enough, would protect his mother. Even if Saranie was a video game character and not real, it is something he should have had since he had been in the spotlight. Who knows when a real stalker could show up.

Anyway his bodyguards would live in his home. They were professional, giving him and his mom space, but they would be taking up two rooms on the bottom floor. So they could sleep and take turns. That was security he was looking for and if they ever left the house, they would stick close just in case.

He wanted to get two body guards for his mother, but she said that was too much. It probably was.

Rashva and Pentaask had already set up in his home. Clearing it out and changing the locks and putting in a security system already. Because if Saranie ever came back, something he wasn't sure would happen, they would be ready.

Once in his house he didn't go upstairs right away. He stuck with his mom in the kitchen, Rashva joining them in the meal, while Pentaask was looking through cameras and walking around the house. She was on a patrol.

Eventually he went upstairs to his room at the end of the hall. His mother's room was next to his now and she was walking with him.

As he looked down the hallway, his heart stopped. At first he thought he was just imagining things, but now he was sure. Saranie was there, lying on the floor. Like a dead body, except he saw her hand twitch.

So he stopped and watched his mother walk ahead of him. Since he wasn't moving she turned around to him.

"Chalamar, is something wrong? Thinking about the attack?" She walked back over to him and gave him a big hug. "Everything is fine son. We're safe." He had no idea why she was so calm about all of this in general, but he hugged her back. Saranie was still there on the floor, but maybe he was crazy. Even if they found blood, who was to say that it wasn't his. Maybe when he hit his head after getting tackled, his mind made up the attacker to be Saranie instead of whoever it was. After all, the blood didn't match anyone in their system.

"Go ahead mom, I'm going to take a second here." She nodded to him and walked ahead.

Then when she stepped on… through Saranie, he sighed. So he was just seeing things. It had been a long time and he was told that when he went back to his house it could bring up memories. Maybe that was true.

So he walked forward over the carpet on the ground. He had paid cleaners to clean up the blood and fix his wall and door. Everything was fine, back to normal.

Has he reached Saranie, he slowly let his foot fall on her. His foot didn't go through, and just rested on the metal gauntlet Saranie wore. His mind was just playing a trick with him, so he avoided her and walked over to his room. He looked up in the corner of the door, where a camera was facing towards him, smiled and walked into his room.

---

Saranie had heard shouting but she was so tired her eyes would barely open. Her hand hurt and so she tried to heal it. Unsure if it worked, she attempted to stand only to fall over. She was so weak and numb. It was like all that pain she felt just earlier was gone, replaced with nothing.

Her thoughts were slow and she lightly fell to the ground. Sleep taking her over.

---

But now she could hear voices.

"… mom, I'm going to take a second here." Her body was so tired that she couldn't even move or open her eyes.

Then something tingled within her chest for a moment, then she could hear a door opening then closing.

Moments later she could hear something touching her chest plate before footsteps moved away and then another door opened and closed.

She was completely out of it and it took a long time, or it felt like a long time before she could even open her eyes. Saranie recognized the place she was in, but it looked different.

Before she could move her body, the door next to her opened. An older woman walked out, completely ignoring her, before walking across the hall through the door on the other side.

That baffled Saranie. Perhaps she was being treated as a dead body, but then why not get rid of her?

Shortly later, with a grunt, she sat up. In the room where that woman went into, she could hear water dripping down. It had to be some kind of bathing room. Considering when the woman walked in there, she was carrying a bundle of extra clothing.

The water stopped and a bit later the woman came out. Her hair was still a bit wet, but she was in a set of pajamas. Then the weirdest thing happened. She walked through Saranie. Her body was moving slowly and she couldn't avoid the woman who was ignoring her. Well not out of ignorance, just… was she a… ghost?

If she was a ghost, why wasn't she falling through the floor? If she remembered right, there was a sound… Was that Xercoid's mother? Looking around, there was clearly a staircase going down near her, so that was true. But she tried to force her hand through the floor and nothing happened.

"Ma'am?" She wanted to attempt to get the woman's attention, but she was ignored. She thought she was loud enough, but she wasn't. Then the door opened up behind her. The older woman stood in the doorway and looked behind her. Saranie turned her head and was shocked to see a similar face of shock on Xercoid.

"Chalamar, is something wrong?" The older woman asked Xercoid or Chalamar.

The man, whatever his name was, just looked between Saranie and the woman in the doorway. Saranie didn't move, because she didn't understand.

"Mom… I just thought I heard you say something… How do you feel?" The last part was awkward, but he kept looking at Saranie and his mother.

"I'm alright. We'll get through this. Rashva and Pentaask are here now." She smiled at her son, before walking over to him to give him a hug. The young man returned the hug, but stared at Saranie the whole time.

Then she turned her head away, as it was a private moment between the two. Eventually the mother walked through her again before closing the door. Leaving herself and the young man stunned.

Their eyes met again, but then the young man slowly closed his door. She could hear a heavy sigh before she was left alone. So maybe she wasn't a ghost. Maybe she was ethereal, it was something she had heard a little about, but nothing more. Something about ghosts, but even so, how did she become like this. Everything was just so strange, it confused her.

Then her stomach rumbled. She was hungry and her body was still unable to stand. She tried and right now she was leaning on the wall. Taking a step, she fell to the flood with a loud thud.

She resigned herself to waiting in the hallway. Her mana and lifeforce were slowly regenerating. It gave her a chance if anything were to happen. The knife was still with her too, so she did have a weapon available.

So much has happened to her recently. In a single day so much happened. Even now, into the night as it was quiet other than a low hum throughout the house. Which was unnerving, but ultimately comforting late on.

A few hours later, after resting and waiting for her reserves to fill, she stood up and started walking down the hallway towards the staircase. It was strange to have her lifeforce regenerate as fast as her mana, but it was a boon for her. Something she didn't really need to worry about anymore.

As she reached the staircase, she felt weak. So she stopped and sat down. Looking down at her hands, they were barely transparent. Looking back towards the hallway where she came from, she stood up to test a theory in her mind.

Getting closer to the door that held Xercoid, or whatever his mother called him, her hands were no longer seen through and she felt just fine. She did think that Xercoid had done something to her, but the way he looked at her, he was just as surprised as her. His mother couldn't see her, bringing her thoughts back to being a ghost of some kind. It didn't make her feel good.

---

*Ring Ring Ring*

Chalamar's alarm on his phone went off. Getting up and sitting on the edge of his bed, he wiped his eyes. Did a few stretches and took a drink of water from the bottle next to his bed. Grabbed his clothes and opened the door to go take a shower.

He was greeted, not with an empty hallway, but a woman dressed in medieval cloth-like clothing with a bundle of armor on the floor, while she leaned against the wall. His mind was still groggy, but his increasing heart rate made him pause for a moment.

"Can we talk?" She asked him.

He looked at her, then at the camera above his door and down the hallway. He had to make sure, before this went on any further. He knocked on his mother's door to wake her up.

He waited a moment, then she opened the door.

"Thank you. Now step aside, I got to go." His mother actually pushed him gently and ran across the hall into the bathroom.

To which she walked passed Saranie who stood there next to the bathroom door.

He sighed and started to walk towards the staircase.

"Please, I really need to speak with you." Ignoring his crazy mind talking to him, he went towards the bathroom there.

"Good morning, Rashva. Pentaask." His bodyguards were making breakfast in the kitchen. Over the last week he had gotten to know them and they were really good people. He seemed to click with them both and he thought that was the best considering they would be living with him and his mom for a while.

"It's a great day out there Chalamar. If you want to go out for a walk, just let us know." Rashva suggested.

"Will Gretjah be joining us shortly?" Pentaask was cooking breakfast it seemed. His mother and her bonded. They enjoyed the same music. He was happy she had a friend.

"Yes, she's currently getting ready. I will join you after I do as well." He paused for a moment before asking. "Could I take a look at the security cameras? Just nervous being back and all."

They agreed and he took care of his morning business. But there was a problem.

"Okay, if you won't talk to me… I can't go too far away from you and… I need to go too!" Her screaming and begging at this point was annoying as it was loud. The fact no one was talking about it currently, meant that she wasn't real. But a part of him couldn't think like that. Pessimistic as he was, he believed her to be real. Especially when she was banging on the door.

He walked over to the door and whispered when she was taking a breath. "If you are real, then open the door."

"Thank you… I can't. I don't know what magic you used to bind me to you, but even though I can touch and feel objects, I can't move them. Please…"

---

"Fine…" She heard a low whisper coming from the other side of the door. Saranie was thankful she had removed her armor. If no one could see her and there were no threats, she didn't need it for the time being.

"Thank you, but can you leave?" She asked the man next to her. He quickly avoided his eyes before closing the door behind him.

Once her business was taken care of she looked around the room. Like the glimpses of this room she saw from upstairs, they were similar. A tub, toilet for royalty, and a basin under a mirror. It was casually lavish. Compared to the rest of the house this was the same. Strong and bright colored walls, carpets, even towels… It was a place for the rich.

"I'm done." She had washed her hands with water magic over the basin.

"…"

"Xercoid?"

"…"

She really didn't want to get angry. Not to scream and yell like a child because she cannot open the door, but this room is underneath the staircase. So if he were to go back to his room… she wasn't really sure what would happen.

Begging was all she had at this point, because she wasn't going to harm anyone else.

---

There was a lot of screaming coming from the bathroom. When someone opens the door she will get out then.

He keeps going back and forth from believing she is real and not. Being contradictory isn't new to him. It is just that everything is so real, but he wishes it wasn't. Looking at the camera footage revealed no one in the hallway last night, which just freaks him out even more.

Passing by the door, he could hear her yelling.

"I know what I did wrong, please can we talk face to face. I won't hurt you. You have my word."

He stopped, next to the door. Just standing there staring at it. If he opened that door then…

"Alright." He spoke aloud and opened the door.