36) Goodbyes Hurt

He picked up a few of the blackberries and tossed them into his mouth. There was a slight sweetness to it with a little quick at the end.

[Midnight berry consumed.

-1 to all stats.]

'Wait wait wait WHAT!?'

He then opened up his stats and he had indeed lost one status point of everything. Things would have been different if he had a different affinity as these berries were meant for the beasts residing in Lunar Peak but as the saying does, curiosity killed the cat, in this case, it only weakened it.

He then continued his journey keeping his hands to himself. Soon the light of day started to fade and night washed over the mountain. He knew how dangerous it was to stay here at night, all of the beasts drew power from the moon so of course, they would be more powerful at night. He had thought about it and decided to spend the night in the dream realm with Golak. Even though they had not met a lot of times, he still considered him his friend. It was hard for Ryker to consider someone a friend.

For the past year, he had closed himself off everyone. He had also realized that he didn't really have any friends. Once he lost the championship, he lost everything. The good thing was that he no longer blamed others for his misfortune. He now knew it was all his fault, which was not healthy either but he was slowly improving. Good things never last tho.

He ran towards Golak's stand very excited. He was eager to talk about more weapons and get to know the orc. Sadly, what was waiting for him was the complete opposite of what he was expecting. The stand had been cleared and all that remained was a big orc sitting on a lonely stool looking down at the floor.

"Hey Gol, is everything alright? Where are all your weapons?" -he asked with a tight knot on his stomach. Something was telling him he did not want to know the answer to the question but we always ask things we really don't want to know.

"I have to tell you something Ry" -Golak's voice was cracking and he had clearly been crying as when he raised his head, his eyes were swollen and red- "truth is I knew I didn't have much time left. Originally it was going to be three weeks, that was when we first met. But the Orc Emperor found out that I had a friend in the dream realm. He was also told that since that first time we met, my mood had improved and I was smiling again. That is something he could not tolerate-"

"Stop stop stop, what is going on? What do you mean you didn't have much time? Why does this Orc Emperor want to see you suffer? What is going on?"

"Let me finish, please, I don't have much time. They will be coming to get me soon. Everyone thinks I killed the Emperor's daughter, but I didn't I swear! I was framed! It doesn't matter anyway. That was three years ago and I was given the death penalty. They postponed it for three years to break me. I was given the dream bead to access the Market and at first, I was thrilled to be able to sell my stuff." -sigh- "but when no one would buy my stuff and I was cast away, I quickly realized it was just to break my spirit. That is until you came around. You made me feel alive again, even if it was just for a week. Thank you so much, Ry. Sadly, the Emperor said I did not deserve happiness so they moved my execution to next week and they are taking my dream bead away. I was just given permission to come and get my stuff but I wanted to say: goodbye Ryker." -the light reflected off a tear that was streaming down Golak's face.

Ryker was frozen in place. He was feeling so many different things he didn't know what to do. There was only one thought in his mind.

'Why. Why. Why. Why must this happen again?! Even in a video game, I lose everything! He had made me feel normal again. I had a friend…. I HAD A FRIEND!'

Ryker lowered his gaze and stared at the floor. He clenched his fists and he was unconsciously trembling.

"Hey Ry, it's alright. I knew this was going to happen. There is nothing you can do. You have done your best already. Given me a reason to smile in my last moments." -Golak said while reaching a hand to touch Ryker's shoulder and calm him down but Ryker shoved it away.

"How can you say that?! You didn't kill his daughter! How can you be okay with this??? I am weak. I-I wish I could protect you. If only I had come here more often. If only I was in the southern continent. If only we had met earlier. I could have done something. I need to do something. I can't just stand here and know you're going to die!" -he was visibly shaking at this point. His voice was breaking. Tears rolled down his face. His mind was clouded with sadness, anger, guilt, and pain.

"There is nothing you could have done. Our paths were meant to split. I am just happy that they met at some point. You made me feel proud of my work again. You gave me life. For that I am thankful. I have to go now. Please, do not miss me. Move on with your life. Make Dr. Echo craft your new equipment. You deserve only the best. I did leave you a gift. You will receive it once you're strong enough. Even though I have been locked away for the past three years I am by no means weak. Thank you again, Ryker. Goodbye, sir." -he then looked up to the roof and his body became a purple light that shot through it. It meant that the bead had been forcefully removed.

Ryker stood there. Paralyzed. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to move. He fell to his knees. He had been so happy just moments ago. Why does this happen to me? He wondered.

The hours passed by and Ryker still did not move from that spot. When the dream realm closed at sunrise. Ryker appeared in the grey forest again. The color scheme did not help his mood.

'What's the point? Why am I playing this stupid game if I'm just going to get hurt? I can't anymore.'

*rustle*

A dark grey humanoid figure walked out of the tall grass. It had long arms that reached the floor, a slender figure, and a dark hole where its mouth was supposed to be. It had no hair and a pair of completely white eyes. There was no iris or pupil. Just white. It also had a fleur-de-lis tattoo covering its entire back. It looked at Ryker cautiously before running back to report to the village chief deep in the mountains. It was one of the Souleaters scouts Ryker was supposed to kill.

The hours passed and Ryker was still kneeling there. He not only lost the first person who made him feel normal in a long time but he lost the most important thing. He had lost hope. His eyes were dull, they had no emotion behind them. He would have passed as dead if not for the constant breathing. He was the only one frozen in time as soon he was surrounded by Souleaters.

They had different tattoos, that is how they would differentiate themselves. The chief then walked closer to Ryker followed by the three champions of the tribe. He made a few screeching noises and the three champions lunged at Ryker who did not move.

*Chomp* *Riiiip*

He was bitten. Chunks of fleshed ripped out of his body. Blood splattered everywhere. And still, Ryker did not make a sound. He finally looked down at his hands and realized they were a blue semi-transparent color.

'So this is my soul huh'

He had been affected by [Necrosis] and so he was now a soul without a body, ready to be consumed by the chief of the Souleaters. He looked up just to see an endless void that was slowly swallowing him. He could feel an incredible pull coming from the void. Anyone rational would have fought against it, but he had lost all sense.

As soon as his soul made contact with the mouth of the Souleater there was an unexpected event.

[⚠ERROR⚠]

[⚠WARNING THE PLAYER'S SOUL IS ABOUT TO BE CONSUMED⚠]

[⚠ERR-]

[⚠HEBDIXBSNJAKN]

[⚠LAKisnhn/&"WFV⚠]

Ryker closed his eyes, even though he didn't have physical ones anymore, and let himself go. He ignored the system warnings and notifications and relaxed his mind.

His soul then started to disintegrate into particles of blue light. The Souleater tilted its head in confusion as that is not what is supposed to happen. The blue particles slowly dispersed into the very fabric of the world.