Everything Will Change in an Instant(pt. 2)

Eris had my face.

Memories of that face—in the mirror, in photos, my reflections in water— flashed through my mind. A headache like a thousand claws scratching at my brain set in, and I clutched my head as I doubled over. The noises of the world around me became muffled and overcome by a loud ringing in my ears.

“… Ghostie! Ghostie, get up!”

I heard the sound of arrows striking the ground near me. I felt dizzy and fought back the urge to vomit. I shakily rose to my feet, my vision slightly blurred.

I shook my head and turned to see Eris approaching Finley. Matthias stood a small distance away, firing arrow after arrow at Eris. One stuck out of her left shoulder. She lifted a finger, and a magic shield wrapped around her form.

I forced my body to move forward step by step. Eris turned to watch me, and I darted my eyes away from her face. I could hear Finely struggling to break the shield with her axe and sword. I could feel Eris’s gaze as I scanned the ground for a weapon.

I need to get out of this body. Now I know why she came here herself, without an army— she knows she can’t be killed.

I spotted a dagger on the ground. As I neared it, it was shot by a bullet of light. It skidded away, and I heard Eris laugh beside me.

“Oh, come on now. Just accept it, I’m better than you. This world was made for more than a meaningless hero’s journey. You’d have a lot more fun if you just accepted that.”

I turned to face Eris, her annoying sneer still plastered on my avatar. I fought against my roaring headache as I charged at her. I slammed my fists on her shield, ignoring the pain that surged through my body.

“Why are you doing this? How is destroying a whole kingdom and killing its subjects ‘fun’?”

Eris made an exaggerated frown as she crossed her arms.

“Jeez, girl, they’re just NPCs. The ones who remain will worship me like a goddess, and they’ll have little NPC children who will have more children. Eventually, no one will remember the old kingdom, and it’ll be like no one ever died. Don’t you see? None of what you’re doing here really matters.”

“It matters to me.”

“Then you’re a fool. Here, watch.”

With a flick of her wrist, Eris moved from her place in front of me to the space behind Finley. I turned my head and started to run.

Finley’s head moved to look behind her. Before she could meet Eris’s eyes, a hand shot through her chest.

“No!”

“Finley…!”

Every second felt like a century. Finley’s weapons fell to the ground. I could hear Matthias running toward us. Eris’s hand stuck out of Finley’s chest, holding a strange, constantly shifting mass of green light and symbols. She pulled her hand back, and Finley’s body fell with a thud.

“This,” Eris proclaimed, “is what you’re trying to protect. A bundle of code masked by a 3D asset imitating ‘thoughts’ and ‘feelings’.”

Finley’s ’source code’… Her wound-less body… that means she isn’t dead yet. We can still save her!

I continued sprinting toward Finley’s body as Matthias arrived. Eris scoffed and sent him flying back with a blast of wind.

“Really? I just ripped out her code, showed it to you, and you still want to care about her? Do you not understand— are you really that stupid?! Agh, I’m not even going to try anymore.”

Eris placed the bundle of code within herself and walked away. I stopped running as I reached Finley’s lifeless body.

“Give it back.”

Eris turned her head and looked at me with a blank expression. There was a ringing in my ears as I glared at her.

“Seriously? Who do you think you are? I helped to create this world. All you did was let an old game suck the life out of you until you were offered a shiny new one.”

I charged at Eris. She snapped her fingers, and a dark cosmic portal opened up beside her. She stepped toward it, and a familiar cloaked figure stepped out. I froze when I saw him, the strange gap in his skeletal chest glowing with an ominous blue hue.

“You know what… if you survive, you can have that body over there— as a reminder. You might want to hurry, though, before it deletes itself.”

I hesitated to whip my head around and check Finley’s body. Rage welled up in my chest as I stared wide-eyed at Eris.

“Bye-bye, ‘Ghostie’.”

Eris stepped into the portal as the knight zoomed toward me. I stepped back to get away, but his right arm swung outward to reveal a large sword. The sword looked to be made from the same rocky material as his body and had grooves along it that resembled a spine.

The sword sliced sideways, and I felt my body growing colder as I fell back. I stared up at the sky as the knight stood over me. His left hand reached down to grab my neck. I grabbed his arm and saw my pale gray hands, realizing he’d pulled me out of my deteriorating body.

He can touch me?! Dammit, how…? It hurts…

“It seems you have made an enemy of the Queen. This is goodbye.”

No! I need… I need to get to Finley! I’m the only one who can keep her body safe, the only one who has a chance of putting her back together…

I looked into Endymion’s eyes as I tried to free myself from his grasp. I strained my throat to try speaking.

“Please…”

The knight avoided my gaze, his eyes focused on the place where his hand met my neck as he lifted his sword. I stopped struggling and concentrated on making my voice heard.

“Why…are you helping her?!”

Endymion’s eyes drifted upwards to look at me. Suddenly, a large ball of fire struck his side, and he let go. I moved away quickly to the place where Finley’s body lay. Glitches were beginning to appear. My hands shook as I looked her over.

Okay… okay. I can still do this.

I prepared to plunge my hand into her chest, as I did with the others, but the memory of what just happened caused me to stop. I moved my hand to her head and placed it lightly on top.

I blinked, and when I came to, I sat up in Finley’s body. I covered ‘my' mouth with ‘my’ hand, feeling terribly sick. I looked up and saw the knight cut open a space in the air. The slice opened up to reveal another dark cosmic portal, and he stepped inside before it closed.

Matthias rushed over and fell to his knees. He pulled me into his chest, and I felt an overwhelming sense of warmth radiate from my chest.

Oh, Finley…

I let my instincts take over and wrapped my arms around him, crying until my eyes burned.