The First Quest

Mr. Carson's face drained of color as realization hit him. "They're heading to your place right now."

Alex's heart dropped. Iris was at home alone. He fumbled for his phone, dialing the landline with trembling fingers.

Each ring felt like an eternity until—

"Hello?" Iris's groggy voice came through.

"Iris, thank God you're safe," Alex exhaled, his relief palpable.

"Why wouldn't I be safe?" Confusion sharpened her tone. Even half-asleep, she could hear the panic in her brother's voice.

"Listen carefully," Alex said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I need you to pack just essentials—clothes for a few days and all your medication. Don't forget the blue inhaler in a bag."

"Alex, what's going on?" Alarm crept into her voice.

"There's no time to explain right now. Just pack quickly and meet me in the alley behind Mason's Bakery. It's only two blocks south of the apartment."

"You're scaring me," Iris said, her mind racing as her heart beat rapidly.

"Everything is alright, Iris... Should I call the police?"

"No!" Alex said too forcefully. "No police. Just meet me at the alley in fifteen minutes. Don't use the main entrance—go out through the window stairs, exit at the back of the building."

"Okay," Iris said, her voice small. "Fifteen minutes."

"And Iris? Be careful. Don't let anyone see you."

After the call, Iris rushed to do as brother instructed....

After she was done packing everything.

Iris moved toward the window stairs, her hands trembling as she clutched her hastily packed bag. Suddenly, a thunderous bang shook the apartment door. Another crash followed, then another—someone was trying to force their way in.

"Oh God," she whispered, heart hammering against her ribs. The panic surged through her veins like electricity, propelling her toward the window with newfound urgency.

The door splintered with a sickening crack just as Iris swung her leg over the windowsill. She caught a glimpse of dark figures pouring into her apartment before she scrambled down the fire escape, metal clanging beneath her desperate footsteps.

Mercer rushed to the window, spotting her fleeing form disappearing between buildings. "There!" he shouted, pointing toward the shadows where Iris had vanished.

The security team poured out of the apartment, racing down to street level. They converged at the mouth of the alley, scanning the darkness with military precision. A slender figure darted across the far end of the passage, a duffel bag bouncing against her back as she ran.

"Who was that?" Reeves asked, squinting into the distance.

"I don't care," another replied coldly, already moving toward their vehicle. "Let's just follow her. She's going to lead us to her brother Alex." He yanked open the car door. "Let's get in the car and trail her. Keep your distance—we don't want to spook her before she delivers us to our real target."

Meanwhile, Alex ran from Mr. Carson's store, his heart pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat. His mind raced with terrifying possibilities about Iris's safety, each thought more disturbing than the last.

"What if they caught her?" he muttered under his breath, pushing himself to run faster. "Would they use her to set a trap for me? Or worse—would they kill her right there and then?"

The thought made his stomach turn violently. He couldn't lose Iris. Not after everything they'd been through. Not after all the promises he'd made to protect her.

Alex ran without stopping, lungs burning and legs aching, until he reached the roundabout point where they had agreed to meet. He skidded to a halt, scanning the area desperately for any sign of his sister.

"Please be okay," he whispered, checking his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Please, Iris."

A few minutes later, Alex saw his sister entering the alley he had described for her. She was also glad to see her big brother as she ran towards him.

"Alex!" she called out, relief flooding her voice as she ran towards Alex.

He was flooded with relief seeing Iris safe and sound, but his happiness vanished instantly as a gunshot cracked through the air. The sound reverberated against the brick walls of the narrow alley.

"No!" Iris cried out, tears streaming down her face.

'Why can't I hear what she's saying? Why is she crying?'. The thoughts drifted hazily through his mind as he stood there, not yet comprehending that the bullet had torn through his abdomen.

"Big bro!" Iris screamed, her voice breaking as the terrible realization finally hit Alex. He had been shot.

"Oh! Fuck!" The curse escaped his lips as pain suddenly exploded through his body.

Alex collapsed to the ground, his legs giving way beneath him. Iris rushed to his side, desperately trying to help him up as blood began to seep through his clothing.

"Please, Big bro Alex, don't die," Iris pleaded, as Alex bled out but remained conscious.

"Run Iri... it's me they want," he said to Iris with a fainting voice.

"No, I can't leave you big bro," she responded, tears dropping from her eyes.

A figure laughed maniacally in the distance but the laughter was cut short as the two bodyguards pulled up to the scene.

"Look, it's Mr. Drake!" one of the security men screamed.

"The boss must have sent him to kill—"

*Bang*

*Bang*

The sound of shots echoed again around the alley. The two bodyguards trailing Iris got headshots and died immediately.

Drake kept laughing as he walked closer to Iris, who was still holding her dying brother in her arms.

No words were altered just the laughter of someone who was enjoying every bit of what was happening as he made over to Iris and pointed his gun at her head, then shot her.

Alex tried crying out, but the blood had already clogged his mouth, and he couldn't utter a word. Tears streamed down his face as his sister died holding him, her blood dripping onto his face.

Just before Alex could bleed out and lose consciousness, a screen showed up before his eyes, like a video game. It said:

[You have been chosen by Nemesis, Goddess of retribution]

In his mind, Alex wondered, 'What's this?.. is this real? Well there's no point in not trying it... I'm going to die anyways.'

"Do you want to restart?"

Yes or No

Alex, still wondering if restarting meant he would get his sister back as well, immediately selected 'Yes.'

Everything went dark.

Many voices collided in the background, incomprehensible whispers swirling around him like a distant storm.

Andre Atlas—the new body of Alex—opened his eyes slowly. His vision cleared to reveal people who were strangers yet strangely familiar, their faces streaked with tears as though they had been mourning someone's death.

"No way... he's alive!" gasped one of his step-sisters, Eliza, her perfectly manicured hand flying to her mouth. "That's not possible. He was pronounced dead not long ago"

"Call Doctor Albert!" a voice screamed, panic filling the opulent bedroom.

Alex was confused by the chaos, unaware that Andre Atlas—the owner of the body he now resided in—had been pronounced dead just twenty minutes ago, only to suddenly return to life.

His mother, Victoria Atlas, had been sitting beside the bed, her elegant black dress wrinkled from hours of vigil. She staggered to her feet, mascara streaking down her alabaster cheeks.

"Andre?" she whispered, her voice breaking. "My boy?"

His father, Maxwell Atlas, stood rigidly by the window, his stern face a mask of controlled grief that now fractured with disbelief. The business tycoon who never showed emotion took an unsteady step forward.

"This is impossible," he muttered, his eyes wide. "I checked his pulse myself."

The head butler, Harrison, who had served the Atlas family for thirty years, dropped the silver tray he'd been holding. The crash echoed through the room as he crossed himself, whispering something about miracles and the unexplainable.

The two maids huddled together near the doorway—one young with wide, frightened eyes, the other older with a weathered face now pale with shock.

His other step-sister, Catherine, was frantically pressing buttons on her phone. "Doctor Albert isn't answering! Should I call an ambulance instead?"

"He was gone," the older maid whispered. "I helped prepare the—" She couldn't finish her sentence.

Andre—or rather, Alex within Andre's body—tried to sit up, causing another wave of gasps and exclamations. He felt strange, like he was wearing a suit that didn't quite fit.

"Stay still, sir," Harrison urged, recovering his composure first and approaching the bed. "You've been... unwell."

Victoria reached for her son's hand with trembling fingers. "Andre? Can you hear me? Do you know who I am?"

Alex stared at the unfamiliar woman calling him by an unfamiliar name, unable to reconcile the memories of his dying sister with this strange new reality.

Suddenly, a wave of memories flooded his mind—Andre's memories becoming his own. Images of childhood vacations on private islands, boarding schools in Switzerland, fierce arguments with Julian his best friend, and something else—something crucial.

His head pounded as the memories settled into place. He gripped the silk sheets, steadying himself.

"Mom," he whispered, the word feeling both foreign and natural on his tongue.

Victoria sobbed with relief, clutching his hand tighter.

But as his family crowded around him, a notification appeared at the edge of his vision—visible only to him:

[System Alert: Transfer Complete]

[New Quest: Find Andre Atlas's Murderer]

[Details: Someone in this room poisoned Andre Atlas. Identify the killer ]

[Reward: Power to Resurrect One Person]

Alex's heart raced as his eyes scanned the tearful faces surrounding his bed. Someone here had killed Andre, and now they were pretending to celebrate his miraculous recovery.