A New World, an immersive game experience

Chapter 176: Gengxin; a friendly elder and caretaker

Waking up, Eldrian found himself in a pristine white room. He took some time and stared at the ceiling in curiosity. The roof looked like some kind of circuit. Eldrian had no idea why it had such intricate patterns and he soon turned his attention to the rest of the room. Curious if it would all be so sci-fi like.It indeed looked extremely high tech, like something out of a sci-fi movie. Eldrian was certain that it was probably one of the best high tech medical labs in the world.

What happened?Eldrian asked as he looked at all the tubes going into him. Luckily there was none in his mouth, allowing him to not feel that discomfort. The IV was something he expected seeing the room he was in. The other tubes and their bags confused him, he had no idea what they were for.

Eldrian's memories soon rushed back, his eyes flying wide open as he remembered how bad things still were when he had failed to cast one more spell. Just one more!He shouted at himself, angry that he had not managed to do so little. It was just one more, how could I have fallen asleep before casting it!?

Eldrian did not want to wait for whoever was taking care of him. He needed to confirm what had happened, how it had ended. Moving his arms he grabbed the side of his bed and helped himself up. Finding his entire body to be frail and weak, sitting up took his breath away.

Don't stop. How many days have already been wasted!He shouted at himself as he pushed his legs off the bed and grabbed one of the IV-bag stands as a make-shift crutch. He did not know if it even was an IV bag on this stand, right now he did not care though. Using it, he managed to stand up, yet he now found that he did not know where to go.

My clothes...Eldrian decided to head over to the chair where his clothes had been packed. Searching through his pockets he found his phone, flat. "Dammit" He mumbled as he had hoped to confirm the date and time.

The door then.Eldrian did not delay more. There were two doors, but he was now almost next to one so he might as well go through it. Pushing the IV stand ahead of him, he suddenly felt a stinging pain on his neck and arms.

Shit. Just as Eldrian was about to rip them out, someone rushed into his room.

"Stop! Don't be so reckless! You stupid fool..." An old man with white hair and a goatee jumped under Eldrian's arms and brought him back to his bed. "Give me a few minutes. It will be quicker than you trying to find your way alone. This place is like a maze."

Hearing that the man did not plan to stop him, rather help him, Eldrian acceded. The man worked quickly, removing the drips from Eldrian with practiced perfection. Eldrian did not even feel the sting of the syringes being removed.

"Lean on me now, I am certain you are very anxious about what happened to your friends." The man said, offering Eldrian his shoulder.

Eldrian nodded and took the offer. With the help of the man, he left his emergency room. He did not even question how the man knew of his situation, feeling it should be obvious considering his current environment.

"You know, you gave us all quite the fright. First your insane performance, then you being in such a terrible state." The man said as they entered the medical ward's hall.

"What happened? Are my friends alright? How long was I out?" Eldrian asked quickly, wanting answers as soon as possible.

"I will ignore the first, since it is a long story. The second... Some, or rather just two." Before the man could continue, he felt the weight on him increasing as Eldrian lost the strength in him.

"Whoa, whoa. Careful!" The man did his best to stop Eldrian from falling onto the ground. In the end, they both ended on the ground against the wall of the hall.

"Who?" Eldrian asked as his heart ached and tears formed in his eyes. He clutched his chest with one hand, fearing the worst.

"The redhead and blond guy." Said the man, causing Eldrian great relief. Yet pain still followed behind the relief.

He was happy that Vivian was alive, certainly he was. Nonetheless, the pain assaulting him now was too great for him to not cry. What hit him the hardest was that Sabrea did not make it.

She was the one he was closest to, excluding Vivian. He often talked to her and sparred with her when there was time. They had grown close and now he thought back to the last time he had saved her.

"Sorry... I-I, cou-ld not... Save you..." Eldrian stuttered through, the old man trying to comfort him. The man naturally did not know Eldrian nor those who he had lost, so he just stayed close to Eldrian. Offering him the support in the form of a shoulder to cry on.

Eldrian wanted to blame himself, naturally he would. It was because of him that she had been there. He knew it was war and a mission, but the blame still came. This blame was worsened more as he thought about if he had just let Terlas die. He was not close to Terlas, if he had chosen to save Sabrea and Vivian first, failing on his third try to save Terlas.She might have lived...

This was what ate at him the most. He had been so close to saving all three of them, if the order he had gone with had been different... He might have managed to save her. Some part of him knew that what he did was the most logical. Terlas had been in the worst situation, a second or two from death. The others at least were still holding out. Realizing this lessened the pain somewhat, but it still lingered.

The pain of losing Floyd and Margit was far less than the pain he felt for Sabrea, so much that it was completely overshadowed. Margit was more just an acquaintance, he thought of her as a past school friend at most. Floyd as a distant uncle... Sabrea, he would truly call her a friend.

"Why?" Eldrian asked repeatedly, the man with him having no words. Only rubbing his back in support as Eldrian vented. He wanted to beat himself up, some part of him trying to convince him that it was his fault. Another part told him it was not. Eldrian certainly believed the latter, yet the guilt did not fade.

After a few minutes, Eldrian calmed down. His heart still ached and his throat felt like it was in a vice. I can't become lost. I need to help Vivian, still...Eldrian told himself, not knowing her condition. However, as he stood up the man pulled him back down.

"Don't rush young man. I know you are suppressing your emotions now so that you can go on. I assure you that the two who have survived are alright. They were saved by someone an hour after your second death."

Eldrian's strength left him as he heard that they were alright. His strength leaving caused the emotions he had just suppressed to rush back. Slowly he started crying, grieving. The man with him continued to offer his shoulder, letting Eldrian take his time.

Naturally Eldrian would not overcome the loss in a day, but after a few more minutes of crying, he felt much better. Standing up again the man next to him did not stop him. Instead, he again supported Eldrian as they started walking. Eldrian's body was still weak from whatever had happened to him.

"I am Gengxin, young man. Let me guide you out of here." Eldrian nodded absentmindedly to Gengxin's words. He did not really care for this, for pleasantries, he only wanted to go into the game and confirm that Vivian was indeed alright.

Gengxin seemed like a good man, but Eldrian did not know him. He would not be at ease until he saw Vivian with his own eyes and talked to her. Words of a stranger only carried a certain amount of weight, he could not take it as the truth.

Getting out of the medical ward of the building took close to ten minutes. Outside of this part, they climbed into one of the many SUV's parked near the building.

The place they were currently at was Miracle Corporation's main headquarters. Where they did all their most cutting edge research. The buildings all looked amazing as did the complex they were on.

All the buildings had a modern and futuristic design. Focused on clean and sleek lines along with many windows, mostly light and dark colors used. Fantastical gardens accompany the buildings. Mostly in the form of flowers, but now and then there would be a tree that had a strange glow. The birds especially loved these trees as they filled the branches, leaving the ordinary trees alone.

Eldrian's gaze did not wander to these things. He kept his head low, lost in thought and loss. Missing out on what he would normally wonder at.

What can I do to never feel this again? He asked.

He hated this feeling. This pain. He truly never wanted to feel this again. It was illogical, impossible. Regardless, Eldrian clung to this desire. Even knowing that it would never be possible.

He set this to be his goal.

He decided to make this his priority.

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