In Oblivion pt 3

Grant and I had been in Oblivion for what seemed like a day, but he didn't have a scratch on him and I was all mangled and bleeding. Yes, I was a bad survivor. I wonder if we'd been in Virtul and gone into a dungeon, would I have been as stupid and messed up at every turn?

Probably not. If it were Virtul, I'd kill all the foxes with one hand if I had my rapier, and I'd shoot the wolves with a bow while jumping through the trees. I wish Grant could have seen me in the game, I'd have shown my martial arts skills.

His girlfriend would have been better than me, though. She's an NPC with a level infinitely higher than mine. Would love to see her live.....

“Let me guess, you never had an auntie?”

“What makes you say that?”

“So yes or no?” he gave me a charming smile, but there was no joy in his eyes.

“Yeah, I didn't have an aunt. I was just saying that to make a point.”

The guy smiled his foxy smile again, “I think I've figured out what the Labyrinth is.”

“And? What did you figure out?”

“This is the Labyrinth of Truth. If we lie, they'll try to kill us.”

“It can't be true. Why would anyone create a place like this? W-what are you doing?” I backed up as the guy started to step on me.

“I want to see if my hunch is right. How do you feel about me?” Circul came closer. He lifted his arm to hug me.

“I hate you!” I shoved his palm away and stepped back, angry at the amusement reflected in his eyes.

It seemed to take a moment for all the foxes in the forest to run to my cry.

“Why is this happening again?” sighing, I looked up at the cave's ‘sky’. I could barely stand; the bubble spell had taken almost all of my strength.

“You lied,” he replied indifferently.

“Then why are there so many of them?”

“You lied twice.”

“When was it?” I asked, but I shut my mouth quickly and never said another word. To avoid it.

Grant looked at me, staggering with exhaustion, sighed and said in a commanding tone: “Okay. This time it's my turn. Stand aside.”

The foxes beat each other up quickly, driven by the emotion of Grant's magic, but we were still in the middle of the forest. How much magic was in Circul Junior if we still hadn't left these lands? It seemed as if this Oblivion would never end.

I had rested during the massacre, so I set off with renewed vigour. The path we found in the hazelnut bush felt endless.

“I'm tired. I can't wait to get out of here.”

“You shouldn't have lied so much, Siri,” Grant rebuked me with a smile.

Surprisingly, he was in too good a mood, even though we had been walking through the thicket for two hours.

Yes, I see. He takes pleasure in the suffering of others. You can tell right away that he's a sadist.

And a masochist. Because no one in their right mind would enjoy a long walk through Oblivion.

When the trail broke off at the cave wall, I couldn't believe my eyes.

“This is the end...” I exhaled and sat down right there, leaning my back against the cold granite.

“Yes, it's over. We are close,” Grant examined the ground beneath his feet. “This way,” he pointed to the left.

I had to get up and follow the guy who was reading some invisible marks on the floor of the cave. But the idea of following the Circul proved sensible, we found a way out.

A breeze blew in my face as I walked down the stones to the meadow. There was a sea of flowers, stars in the dark sky and a huge disc of moonlight brightly illuminating the valley.

Despite the night, the buds were open. The wind ruffled the tall, glossy grass and the blooming flowers – daisies, cornflowers, bells, violets and wild onions – dotted the meadows. There were all kinds of colours. White, red, blue, yellow, purple. All the plants shone in the moonlight.

I lifted my head and admired the view. A myriad of constellations, such a myriad of twinkling points, the sky was littered with precious celestial gems.

“How many stars are there!” I raised my hand, hoping to stroke the sky.

“In reaching for the stars, people often forget the flowers beneath their feet,” Circul quipped, spoiling the mood.

“Flowers only know how to die, but stars live forever,” I retorted.

“But at the same time, only flowers really live. They live the days counted out by them, blooming so desperately, as if they understand better than people the transience of life,” the guy said philosophically, leaning over the low mallows.

The flowers smelled wonderful. I ran my palm over the cool buds, the silk of the petals caressing my skin.

Grant knelt down, buried his head in the flowers, and couldn't get enough of them. He seemed to have a sense of smell in Oblivion, so I let him enjoy the scents of the meadow.

I covered my eyes and spun around in a circle with my arms outstretched. A lightness ran through my blood and made me want to laugh.

A soft chime diluted the breath of the wind.

I stopped and looked at the figure of a girl dancing in a field not far from us. She wore round silver bells woven into her long hair. Every time she moved, they made a melodious ringing sound.

I stepped back closer to Grant, wondering what the unknown creature was up to. The guy froze, staring at the silhouette.

There was no fear on his face, so I reassured myself, but there was so much pain in his eyes that my heart broke with pity.

“Let's go,” he finally came to his senses and grabbed my hand tightly, leading me away without turning around.

We walked near the rock with the cave and entered the shade of dark trees. The forest was no longer deciduous, but mostly coniferous. The green needles smelled so fragrant that I felt like sneezing every few breaths.

Circul gathered the wood, a small spark shot from his finger and the flames crackled merrily. I threw the sleeping bag on the ground and spread a plaid over it. We sat almost side by side, watching the fire, and time passed slowly. The night seemed to like it here and didn't want to leave.

“Say a word. For half an hour you've said nothing.”

“I've noticed for a long time that you're afraid of silence. Is it because of something else?” the guy looked at me with interest.

“No idea. I just don't like it when people around me are so mysteriously and ominously silent.”

He grinned at me. Grant threw some dry twigs he'd been drawing on the ground with into the fire.

“I shouldn't have said those words to my father...” he exhaled. “He had his own reasons for shutting down Virtul. But every time it comes up, I can't suppress my anger.”

“I'm angry about that too,” I said eagerly. “I don't understand these reasons, and I probably never will. Virtul was everything to me. No one had the right to take it from me, not even the president.”

“You know, when my father became president, I was scared. I should have been happy. But I was scared. I was afraid that he would do the wrong things or things that others wouldn't like. My bad expectations came true.”

“My expectations, on the other hand, have been shattered. Your father, despite all the terrible things he's done... he loves you. Mine didn't care. It was an achievement if we could say a few words to each other in a day. It was as if I didn't exist for him. I had nightmares that I went blind and he didn't notice. And I starved to death because he didn't even feed me.”

“Did you have a bad relationship with your father?”

“No. More like none at all,” I pull my knees up to my chin, my eyes watering. From the smoke.

“I had a nightmare when I was a kid too,” Grant stretched and yawned. “I dreamt I snuck into my father's office, found a remote control on the desk, pressed a red button and destroyed an entire city. At the command of the button, bombs were dropped on the settlement.”

“But that's not the way it works,” I laughed as I imagined the horror of Risor Circul when he was told that his son had wiped out a small, pretty town.

“Yes, but the nightmares and the fears don't care whether or not it actually happens in real life.”

“That's true,” I smiled, remembering how afraid I'd been of the police and firemen as a child.

“What is your greatest fear?” the guy looked me straight in the eye.

I turned my head away and quickly changed the subject, “Tell me about her.”

“About who?”

“The girl in the meadow.”

Circul's voice shook, “It was Tina.”

“Is your girlfriend in the game? And how did she get here?”

“I don't have a clue.”

“How did you meet her in Virtul?” I was really curious. It was rare for a player to choose a System’s avatar as a mate, as there were plenty of live ones.

“When I was appointed guild officer, she became my assistant. I ignored her for three years until one day I saw her dancing. We were on a guild mission, and the quest was to dance at the Festival of the Moon and Stars, and there were no suitable female players with us, so Matina stepped up to the plate.”

“How romantic,” I exhaled enthusiastically.

“Not at all. Once I got to know her, I regretted ever getting involved with her. She had a great sense of humour. Mostly black. Your jokes, Siri, they're like innocent baby talk compared to hers.”

I sulked, but a clap of thunder from above made me jump. “Damn, it's too spooky in this Oblivion. I'm going grey.”

“Just remember that it's only a dream, and nothing more.”

“Yeah, but I might wake up already insane,” I grumbled. “If I manage to survive without going mad, I'll write a book.”

“About what?”

“About a girl who couldn't taste the flavour of life... and a boy who couldn't feel the breath of flowers.”

I grinned. The title was ready, all that remained was to emerge from Oblivion in a calm state of mind.

“Like in Oblivion,” Cirkul recalled wistfully, “I could taste and smell in the game. Mati smelled of citrus and nuts.”

‘And Krile smelled of bitter chocolate and sweet coffee…’

The guy moved closer to me. “You smell like peppermint.”

“Of course,” I smiled. “I'm using your shampoo.”

We were silent for a moment, each of us thinking of something special. I was dreaming of warm tea with cooling mint because my throat was dry, while Grant was probably working out the chain of crimes in his head: ‘Where is my precious shower gel collection going and who is behind it?’

“What about you and Krile?” he asked suddenly.

“What?”

“How did you get to know him?”

“Uh-oh,” I stretched out and made myself comfortable. “I lost to him at cards.”

Circul also changed position on the sleeping bag and prepared to listen.

I continued: “You may remember the level sixty-nine quest where you have to find the ‘suspicious person’ who stole the princess's jewels in the tavern?”

I smiled as the guy nodded. Grant had a surprisingly good memory when it came to the game.

“So I went into the tavern, and while I was looking at the customers, I saw Krile. He was sitting there in a busker's outfit, playing cards for money with a couple of drunken gamblers. I decided to try my luck.”

“Let me guess, you lost?” the young man asked expectantly.

“Wide of the mark! Well, yes, but that was later. First I beat him out of all his money, then he asked for a rematch.”

“What kind of prize did you play for?”

“For a wish. And I lost.”

“Have you lost at cards to an NPC? For a wish?” Circul rounded his eyes.

“Uh-huh,” I even lowered my head in shame. No matter how often I remembered that meeting, I always felt uncomfortable for my stupidity, even though it had given me Krile.

“I'm afraid to imagine what the System asked you to do when you lost.”

“A cloak as black as a raven's wing.”

“Hm?”

“I was to find him a black cloak the colour of a raven's wing. I spent three days bringing him different black cloaks, but he was not satisfied. Finally I beat him and he asked me to marry him.”

“Wow, what a story.”

“Yes. The worst part is realising it was real. The first few months of our life together in Virtul were hell, all he did was play cards with other players while we went on quests. Then, of course, I spent a lot of cheats on him to make his character a little better. He was even meaner than you. And he wouldn't stop talking.”

But I loved him like I'd never loved anyone before…

I listened to the breathing of the fire under the moon and remembered my short life.

“You know, it is said that the human soul is born and dies four times before it finds eternal rest and dissolves into the nothingness of time. And in each rebirth we meet the soul we loved before. But there's something that worries me.”

“You think you won't meet him? The System is not a living being, it's a product of magic and technology, so of course it's unlikely to reincarnate,” the guy grinned bitterly, not happy with his own words.

“Then I have no chance of being happy? Because I know that I could never love anyone else as much as I love Krile.”

Grant shrugged his shoulders. “If I were thirty or forty years older, I would say that you have everything ahead of you and that you will meet new love. But in general they say it's better to get over love when you're young. It's like chicken pox, the older you get it, the harder it is.”

I sneered. Yeah, maybe.

If I were in my forties right now, I wouldn't be sitting here. I would have ended my life a long time ago, without having to worry about a ‘beautiful exit’ and revenge.

“I still believe that the Creator is not so cruel. He'll let you meet Krile in your next life... or someone whose soul is so much like him,” Circul smiled encouragingly, seeing that I was so down.

“Thank you,” I smiled sadly in return, knowing I wasn't the only one with similar thoughts.

Grant was kind of mean, but he was understandable in some ways. Everyone in our world had lost someone close to them. Everyone felt the devastation and the ‘beauty’ of loss.