Sigh... this is relentless.
Orson sighed and opened the game pod door, stretching his stiff limbs. After being immersed in the game for so long, even the support from nutrition fluids couldn't fully make up for the discomfort.
He was accustomed to the world where reality and virtual reality blended together. But the world of Infinite Dimensions always gave him a false sense of perfection, like a beautiful thing that was easily shattered. Players in Infinite Dimensions could die without consequence, but the real world, where the blending of the two worlds occurred, was far more fragile.
It was just dawn outside. Orson stretched, heading to the fridge in his villa to grab a bottle of milk for some quick energy.
The villa provided by Radiant Shuttle had a beautiful view. Orson stood by the pool, enjoying the sight of the rising sun. The warm sunlight on his face made him feel at peace.
Before long, Bradley started spamming messages nonstop.
Orson walked into the house and grabbed his phone.
"I swear... Orson! Can you be a bit more reliable? We've all been teleported to the Savage Mountains, where are you?" Bradley's frantic voice came through the phone.
Orson smiled and replied, "Well, I've been red-carded and sent off. You might have to handle the base battle without me."
"What!? What did you do this time?" Bradley was startled and angry.
Orson explained what had happened earlier, and Bradley cursed loudly, insulting Wedge and the rest of the SSR team thoroughly.
"Don't worry, it's not too late. I've been offline for 20 hours, and the base battle will last for a full day," Orson reassured him.
Bradley paused for a moment. "Wait, the portal guide will disappear in an hour. After that, you'll have to walk to the Savage Mountains. Are you sure you can make it in four hours?"
"It should be enough. You guys just do your best. Even if you can't reach me, I'll still be watching your live stream," Orson replied.
"You're not planning to watch us fail, are you? Madman said at least four or five guilds are going to target us. Even though Bradley's strong, we'll be outnumbered," Bradley said, sounding worried.
The base battle for Infinite Dimensions was a major event of the year. The game's publishing company, along with major global streaming platforms, would be broadcasting live, marking the rise of top guilds from various regions. Over 500 million viewers were expected!
"Well, if we fail, so be it. Each death gives us 500 bucks, and each kill gives 1000 bucks. Let's make it count, and empty out my pockets," Orson teased, eager for the chaos.
Orson figured that since he couldn't participate in the battle directly, it would be a great chance to train the guild members. Godslayer was still mostly composed of newcomers, and fighting in actual battles was the quickest way for them to improve.
"That's the spirit! If I'm going to die a hundred times, I'll do it for you!" Bradley cheered up instantly at the thought of the reward.
After breakfast, Orson decided to text Sienna. He heard she was feeling better today, so he decided to take her out and watch the base battle together.
As he was on his way to the hospital, the commercial district was filled with giant posters promoting the Infinite Dimensions base battle.
Infinite Dimensions, the battle never ends!
This ordinary Saturday morning had already overshadowed almost all other entertainment events.
Getting out of the ride-hailing car, Orson spotted Sienna standing in her casual clothes. Her perfectly delicate face and slender figure were drawing attention from passersby, almost like a celebrity.
But her face was unnaturally pale, which worried Orson. The day of her surgery was drawing nearer, and he didn't want to think of any bad outcomes. He could only force a smile, trying to push his worries aside.
"Hey, your brother's here."
Orson reached out, about to call out to her, when suddenly, an excruciating pain shot through his right eye again—the same flashback from the other world he had experienced before!
The pain was so intense that Orson almost passed out. He braced himself against his knees, trying hard not to fall down.
Is my eye going blind?
Gritting his teeth, he cursed under his breath, pulling up his phone's camera to check his eye. A faint blue light swirled over his eyeball, and for a moment, Orson thought it was just a hallucination.
"You can see me, right…"
"Aren't we both walking the same path..."
A voice echoed in his mind, and suddenly, a black-haired young man appeared before him, covered in blood, yet wearing a bright smile.
The figure appeared to move through pedestrians, and in the next second, he stood in the middle of a blood-soaked battlefield.
A thick black mist filled the battlefield, and the young man let out a maddened scream: "You pests, die! Die! DIE!"
He wielded a black battle spear and hurled it into the black mist. A brilliant light exploded, and the ground cracked beneath it, causing a deafening roar!
Orson's heart raced as he recognized the creatures in the mist—huge, terrifying Heavenly Demons.
He had seen these creatures before, they had slaughtered countless trial-takers.
Thousands of Heavenly Demons were wiped out by the black battle spear, and a ray of hope broke through the darkness. But before long, even more demons appeared, crushing the flickering hope.
"You... Who are you?" Orson tried to speak, but no words came out.
The scene grew even more terrifying. The young man, knowing his time had come, still wore a cruel smile.
Then, with a swift motion, he gouged out his left eye, followed by his right eye.
Two silver beams of light shot into the sky, temporarily pushing the demon army back.
Next, the young man knelt on the ground and reached into his chest to pull out his heart, shedding blood tears as he softly whispered, "Find the gift I left for you. Take my hope with you, and live..."
"Hello? Bro? Are you okay?"
Sienna's concerned voice snapped him out of his trance. The hallucination vanished instantly.
"Why are you crying?" Sienna tilted her head at him, taking out a tissue to wipe his tears.
Orson gave a self-conscious laugh, wiping away the tears, but still feeling a strange, burning sensation, as if his left eye was linking two different dimensions.
"No, nothing. Let's walk in the park first, and then watch the game."
Orson smiled, trying to regain his composure.
"I want ice cream. You buy it for me."
"You can forget about that, you're having surgery in a few days."
On the way to the park, Orson felt distracted. He kept thinking about the young man he had seen.
Who was he? Why did he say they were "walking the same path"?
Could he also be someone who was reborn like him?
But the young man's attire was nothing like a modern person's.
It was all too strange. Too much of a coincidence.
The Super God-grade Soul Seal he had obtained was called Heavenly Spirit's Right Eye, and it was his left eye that caused the pain and hallucinations.
Orson began to suspect that he might be merging with his character from the game.
For others, this would sound like something out of a science fiction novel. But for someone who had experienced a fusion event before, it wasn't that surprising. It was just a matter of time.
After all, the existence of Infinite Dimensions itself was already something unbelievable.
Orson absently reached out his hand, trying to cast a Chaos Magic Ball...
"What are you doing? Just don't eat it if you don't want to!"
Sienna, walking ahead, got a smack on her bottom and turned around with a face full of embarrassment, glaring at Orson.
Then, with a quick motion, she kicked him from behind.
The two laughed and played around like usual in the park.
Orson couldn't help but smile at her carefree attitude. It was hard to imagine how he had gotten through the five years of his past life.
On the park bench, Orson bought her some cotton candy and lazily basked in the sun.
Sienna suddenly got up, tossed the stick away, and shamelessly leaned into his arms. Orson shot her a look. "Got something to say? Stop trying to be cute. No ice cream for you!"
"Big brother, what would happen if I didn't make it?"
"Didn't make it? What are you talking about?"
Orson was momentarily caught off guard, but Sienna propped herself up and seriously stared at him, saying, "I mean, if the surgery fails, and I..."
"Fail?"
"Yeah, as in... kick the bucket!" Sienna rolled her eyes and pouted.
Orson was momentarily speechless. He tried to avoid this heavy topic by feigning anger, but Sienna wouldn't let him off the hook. She looked at him seriously, saying, "Can you promise me you won't give up on yourself? You have to live well."
Orson didn't know
what had gotten into her, but he had a strong feeling that this silly girl had some premonition of what was coming.
"I promise you, okay...?"
"Ahh! I knew it, you're going to throw a tantrum!"
When Sienna saw the change in his expression, she immediately jumped up and ran off.
Orson sighed helplessly and looked at her retreating back, silently thinking, No matter if I'm reborn once, ten times, or a thousand times... I won't let you die in front of me again.