Chapter 32:

Whispers from the Past

Brought into my Unfinished Game World


The group stepped into the endless desert, leaving the last traces of civilization behind.

The group fell silent as they walked across the vast expanse of sand. The journey felt like an eternity, with nothing but barren dunes stretching in every direction under the relentless sun. No one had the heart to speak, and even the normally cheerful Kuria remained quiet, her usual bright demeanor subdued by the oppressive emptiness surrounding them.

Alpha kept his eyes fixed on the white horizon ahead, his pixelated features set with determination. Suzaku walked with measured steps, her hood pulled up to shield her face from the harsh light. Bolg led the way with practiced efficiency, his demonic features adapted to the brutal environment.

Dave floated alongside them in silence, the weight of approaching his creation's edge pressing heavily on his consciousness.

They focused solely on enduring the long trek, each step bringing them closer to the Horizon Canvas and the unknown dangers that waited at the boundary of their world.

Suddenly, Bolg stopped and raised his hand, signaling for the group to halt.

— Everyone stay put, he said quietly, his red eyes scanning the air ahead.

Dave floated forward to see what had caught Bolg's attention. In the space before them, something extraordinary was taking shape. Streams of raw data flickered into existence, visible lines of code tangling and weaving together like luminous threads. The phenomenon pulsed with unstable energy, creating patterns that hurt to look at directly.

— An unknown error anomaly, Dave breathed, recognizing what Mia had described to him.

Bolg nodded grimly.

— We must go around it. Do not touch the anomaly under any circumstances. The consequences are completely randomized, and the probability of gaining something beneficial is near zero.

But Dave found himself drawn to the swirling mass of code. Despite always following reason and logic, something deeper compelled him forward. The anomaly seemed to call to him, promising answers to questions he did not even know he had.

— Dave, no! Alpha called out, noticing his friend's movement. Stay back!

Alpha's warnings went unheeded. Dave reached out with his ghostly hand, unable to resist the pull of the chaotic data.

The moment his fingers made contact, the world exploded into sensation.

Pictures and sounds from Dave's past flooded through everyone's minds.

Dave had been born from an unwanted pregnancy. Memories he did not know he still possessed surfaced with painful clarity. His biological father had left as soon as he was born, never to return. His mother had tried to be loving at first, holding him close and whispering promises of a better future.

But as the responsibilities of single motherhood accumulated, her love turned to resentment. The group witnessed her leaving young Dave alone in their cramped apartment while she went out partying with different men each weekend. They felt his confusion and fear as he waited by the window for her to come home.

Eventually, his mother found a wealthy man willing to support her. She was still around the house from time to time, but their relationship became completely non-existent. Dave was essentially left to raise himself, with nothing but an old laptop that one of her former boyfriends had abandoned.

The visions shifted to show Dave at school, awkward and isolated. Even other students who shared his interest in games avoided him because of his mother's reputation in their small town. His only escape came through the old RPGs he could run on his decrepit computer.

Night after night, he lived different lives through pixels and code. He experienced adventures in worlds that offered him the comfort and purpose his real life lacked. Heroes were needed in those digital realms. Stories had happy endings. But each time he finished a game, the emptiness returned.

Then came the day he decided to create his own world instead of just visiting others. For the first time in his life, Dave felt a flame ignite within him. Each line of code he wrote felt meaningful. Every character he created became a friend. His world grew more real to him than the harsh reality outside.

Even when his mother finally threw him out of the house and he nearly became homeless, that old laptop and his unfinished game remained his anchor. All he needed was a power source to continue building the one thing that gave his life purpose.

The visions faded, leaving the group standing in the desert with tears in their eyes and a profound understanding of why this journey meant everything to Dave.

But something else had happened during the anomaly's manifestation. For those brief moments while the chaotic data swirled around them, the group had been able to see Dave clearly. All of them - even Kuria and Bolg who normally could not perceive him at all. Not as the faint presence that only Suzaku could barely sense, but as a young man standing among them with brown hair and tired eyes that held both determination and deep sadness.

Alpha reached out instinctively, wanting to touch his friend's shoulder, to offer some gesture of comfort after witnessing such painful memories.

But as the anomaly dissipated into the desert air, the others lost their ability to perceive Dave. His form faded back into invisibility for everyone except Alpha, who alone retained the ability to see and hear his friend.

Alpha looked around at his companions, who were staring at the empty space where Dave had been moments before.

— We understand now. Why this matters so much to you, Kuria said softly, addressing the air where she remembered seeing him.

Suzaku stood silent, but her hands trembled slightly at her sides. Even Bolg looked shaken by the intensity of the memories they had shared.

After a long moment, Bolg straightened his shoulders and looked toward the white horizon.

— We should continue, he said quietly. The Horizon Canvas awaits.

But as they resumed walking across the sand, something had changed in their steps. Kuria walked with more purpose, her jaw set with determination. Suzaku's usual stoic expression carried a new intensity. Even Bolg moved with greater resolve.

Alpha glanced at Dave, who floated beside him with a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude in his translucent features.

— I'm sorry, said Dave quietly, only Alpha able to hear him. You all had to see that. My whole pathetic story.

Alpha shook his head.

— There was nothing pathetic about it.

— I've been dragging you all on this dangerous journey just so I can get what I want, said Dave, his voice heavy with shame. After seeing how I lived... I feel like such a selfish bastard.

While Alpha continued his quiet conversation with the empty air, Kuria noticed Bolg watching with obvious confusion.

— You are wondering about Alpha's behavior, are you not? she asked the young demon quietly.

Bolg nodded, his red eyes studying Alpha with concern.

— He speaks to nothing. Makes decisions that seem to come from nowhere. I thought perhaps the stress of our mission was affecting his mind, but after those visions...

— There is someone else with us, Kuria explained gently. The creator of this world. He exists as a spirit that only Alpha can see and hear. That is who Alpha speaks with when he appears to be talking to himself.

Bolg's eyes widened with understanding.

— The life bender abilities... they come from this spirit?

— Precisely. Dave - that is his name - has been guiding Alpha throughout our journey. The memories we witnessed belonged to him, not Alpha.

Bolg looked back at Alpha with new comprehension, watching as their companion gestured subtly while conducting his invisible conversation.

— So Alpha truly does carry the burden of someone else's pain, Bolg murmured. That explains much about his determination.

Alpha looked ahead at his companions, then back at Dave.

— Now we are fighting for our friend, not just helping some ghost achieve a dream.

The group pressed forward through the desert, their footsteps carrying the weight of shared understanding and renewed purpose.

Don.Coals
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