Ch29. I'm glad you're alive...

Miles took a step forward, frowning underneath his mask.

"Hey, what's wrong, buddy?" He reached out for Diego, but as soon as his hand went forward, the young man flinched, his brown eyes wide and teary. "What the f-"

Only then did Miles notice his own muffled voice resounding beneath the mask.

"Oh, fuck…" Unsummoning the [Ender's Mask], Miles' face was revealed from the whirlwind of black sparks, and little by little, Diego's expression went from pure horror to shock. And then, simple dumbfoundedness.

"M-Miles?" The boy stammered, staggering up. "Is… Is it you?"

Miles walked slowly towards Diego, and with a soft smile on his face, he gave the boy a slight slap at the top of his head.

"Of course, it's me, dimwit…" Chuckling, he added. "Who else would save your ass from those damn puppets?"

Miles stopped speaking for a moment and, scratching his chin, he asked.

"In fact, what were those puppets? I don't remember seeing any of them back when the city fell."

Diego breathed in slowly, sitting on the bed as he tried to calm down, drying his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I don't know, and none of the scouting players seem to know either." Diego sighed. "We better ask the Seers as soon as we can. I think that whoever planted this game on Earth, might be kicking it up a notch. But…"

Diego frowned, squinting his eyes as he looked at Miles, and after a moment of silence:

"Why is your face blurry?" He shot. "I don't need glasses, and though my eyes are slightly burning from the tears, I can see everything clearly, but your face…"

It was Miles' turn to frown.

"What do you mean?" He went to the bathroom to take a look.

It was small and utilitarian, with only the essentials furnishing it. But above the sink, there was a mirror shard, large enough to show the entire upper body of anyone reflected in it.

At least, anyone at Miles' height. Which was not tall, but was not short, either.

"What in the major fuck…?" Miles' eyes widened as he looked at his reflection.

His features were blurry and indistinct. He was not able to see any of his face, only the olive skin showing on his neck, and the coat that covered his torso, with the black waistcoat underneath, the white shirt beneath, and the bowtie contrasting against the other colors.

Above it, all was just a blur, and then, Miles recalled it.

The White Rabbit's words before they got to the Queen's ruined castle.

"You might even find yourself…"

"Huh… Come to think of it…" He tilted his head. "Diego… How long have I been away?"

While Diego thought, Miles recalled the events back in the woods. Not the battles or the most poignant moments, like when he met the Rabbit or the hordes of monsters he had run away from, but the simplest ones.

When he bathed in the river, or when he drank from the lake, before eating the stew that Rabbit had cooked for him.

"What the-"

"It's been three weeks today. But… Where were you?" Diego retorted. "I thought you were a goner!"

Miles ignored his friend's question, a crease forming as his frown deepened.

"I can't remember…" He muttered to himself. No matter how hard he thought and tried to recall it, he was not able to remember how he looked. Neither the color of his eyes, his hair, nor even if he had dimples or not. "Okay, calm down… Calm down…"

His breathing became unsteady as he walked out of the bathroom and sat on the bed himself, holding his face between his hands.

"Okay, one thing at a time." He breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly. "How long was I away, again?"

"Three weeks." Diego answered, seemingly indifferent to Miles having ignored him before. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I just… Need some time to think, but I have more questions than answers at the moment. So, I need you to answer some for me if you can." Miles felt his breathing become slower and steadier as he organized his thoughts. First of all, how are the-"

Miles felt the fist colliding with the top of his head before he could even finish his question.

"Ouch! What in the-" Shook and bewildered, Miles felt more than saw Diego's smaller frame enveloping him with his arms.

"Shut up!" The boy stammered, his voice wet with tears. "I thought you weren't coming back, just like… Just like your mom and dad…"

Miles fell silent, shocked for a moment, his heart beating in his ears as the sobbing boy kept hugging him. After a couple of seconds, Miles patted Diego on the head, breaking the silence.

"I wouldn't, and you know that, right, Dee?" Miles kept patting Diego on the head. "There, there. I'm sorry, though. I should've let you know that I would take longer, but I thought it was a simple quest, and boy, I've never been so wrong in my life."

With a chuckle, he pushed the boy away gently.

"But you're a little man, now, Dee. You're already fourteen, so you can't spend your days worrying about another player, right?"

Diego shot a glare at Miles with his big, brown gleaming eyes, shaking his head fervently.

"I know, but you're the only family I have left… And I'm not strong enough to follow you, yet…" The boy sobbed.

"What level are you at, currently?" Miles patted him on the head one more time, then patted the mattress, inviting his friend to join.

"Fifteen…" Diego stammered as he sat down.

"FIFTEEN?" Miles' eyes widened as he gasped. "I was at level nine just yesterday, what the fuck are you talking about?"

It was Diego's turn to look bewildered.

"Nine?" His eyes were wide as golf balls as he tilted his head. "Then how come you defeated those monsters from earlier so easily?"

"Don't call that easy." Miles shook his head. "It was all thanks to the enhancements that these little beauties here gave me." He pointed to his clothes. "Which reminds me."

He unsummoned the hat, and the mantle, the items vanishing in a whirlwind of black sparks. It seemed that the items repaired themselves while inside his inventory, so he thought it was a good idea to leave them to rest for now.

"Now I'm only at-" He stopped mid-sentence, squinting his eyes at Diego. "Why is your face blurry all of a sudden…?"

The boy tilted his head, but before he could say anything, Miles tumbled down on the bed, shaking violently.