Unholy Player Chapter 4: A Tragic Past (Part 2)

Adyr gazed into the tomato soup, and the soup seemed to stare back at him.

Two circular shapes remained motionless on the surface, observing him.

Gradually, his surroundings began to distort.

A crimson tint bled into his vision, slowly saturating the room until everything was the exact shade of the broth.

He could sense it.

The coming event was known to him.

The unavoidable was approaching, but the window to escape had already closed.

Then, a voice manifested.

"Son."

It was monotone, freezing, and detached.

The sound resonated not from the environment, but from a place much deeper within.

"Stop," Adyr managed to whisper, his voice trembling. The voice, however, did not cease.

"Son."

By instinct, he squeezed his eyes shut. He had always sought refuge in the dark.

Yet even in the void, it pursued him. "Son. Consume your food. We wouldn't want your sister to be wasted... would we?"

His eyes snapped open in a desperate attempt to flee the nightmare. But the light only served to sharpen the hallucination.

The face appeared before him. She was a young girl with long, golden hair.

She watched him through hollow, empty pits where her eyes should have been.

Thick, crimson tears tracked down her ghostly white skin.

Then, her pale lips began to move.

"Brother."

Suddenly, the vision dissolved.

The red hue vanished.

The spirit of the dead girl disappeared.

In her stead stood Niva, her face etched with anxiety and her tone soft. "Brother? Are you alright?"

Adyr’s gaze was vacant as he looked at her, struggling to convince himself that he had returned to reality and that the echoes of his childhood were gone.

"I’m..." He attempted to speak, though his breath remained jagged. "...fine."

"I am so sorry," Niva murmured with concern, pulling him into a firm embrace to provide whatever solace she could. "I hadn't realized the trauma still affected you so much."

The trauma she referred to was not his actual past—the one from a previous life of darkness—but rather the fiction he had constructed in this world.

Following his reincarnation, Adyr had been discovered as an infant outside the city walls and taken to a local orphanage. He spent eight years there before Marielle, an employee at the facility, took him into her own home.

Whenever he was questioned about his strange habits—such as his intense aversion to soup—he simply blamed the orphanage and its terrible cooks.

"It is alright. You didn't do anything wrong," Adyr said quietly, accepting his sister’s comfort.

"I'll prepare something else for you. You don't need to eat this," Niva said urgently, seizing the soup bowl and retreating into the kitchen.

Adyr sighed internally, slowly releasing the spoon he had been clenching. A small smudge of blood stained both the handle and his fingers. That sharp, grounding sting had been enough to pull him back to the present just in time.

Pain remained the only anchor powerful enough to tether him to the world.

He used a napkin to clean the blood just as Niva walked back in carrying a plate.

"We had some canned salami left, so I fixed a sandwich. Is that better?" Niva asked, her voice laced with worry.

"It’s perfect. Thank you," he answered with a weary smile. He was about to take a bite when a knock sounded at the door.

"Is that Marielle?" he asked, pausing with the sandwich in hand.

"I doubt it's Mom. She mentioned she would be working late tonight," Niva said, moving toward the hall. "I'll see who it is. Just eat."

A moment later, Niva came back holding a massive box, looking both confused and startled.

"This was delivered for you," she remarked, placing it on the table.

While the box wasn't heavy, its size was significant. However, the delivery itself was what shocked her. Within the city, all shipments were handled by a single logistics firm with exorbitant fees. Whoever sent this possessed significant wealth.

"Do you have any idea what this is? Who sent it?" she questioned excitedly, leaning in with the hope that her brother would open it immediately.

Adyr stood up and began to unbox the parcel with a calm demeanor, as if he had been expecting it. Upon opening the flaps, he found a small note resting on top.

A soft breath escaped his nose—a sound somewhere between a smirk and a sigh.

"It's from a friend," he remarked casually.

Niva leaned forward, her eyes shimmering with curiosity.

As the final flap was pulled back to reveal the contents, she gasped loudly.

"Wait... is that a game helmet?!"

Like everyone else in the twelve cities, Niva was aware of the hype surrounding the new VRMMO. But more than the excitement, she remembered the price tag—this was an incredibly lavish gift.

"I can't wait to pass my exams and start making wealthy friends like yours," Niva joked with a dramatic sigh.

She wanted to play as well, but online forums stated that once a game helmet was activated, it bonded to the user's brainwaves and became unusable for anyone else. Borrowing it was out of the question.

As she used that thought to fuel her motivation to study, another knock at the door broke her focus.

"Now who could that be?" she muttered, shaking off her daydream.

She went to the door again and returned with a second box—this one even larger than the first, balanced carefully in her arms.

"Let me guess. Another rich friend?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I suppose?" Adyr replied, sounding genuinely unsure. Unlike the first package, he hadn't anticipated this one.

When he opened the box, he was greeted by a cake sealed in a transparent container. It was drenched in a deep red glaze and topped with shiny, fresh cherries.

"Ahhhh! A cake?! Are those actual cherries? Sour cherries?!" Niva shrieked like a fan, her face lighting up. She seemed even more thrilled by the dessert than the game helmet—and for good reason. A cake with fresh fruit was a luxury someone in her position might only see once or twice a year.

She lifted the cake out, revealing a second game helmet beneath it... along with another note.

Unlike the messy note from Victor, this one was written on vibrant pink paper that smelled faintly sweet. The script was elegant and refined—clearly written with great care.

At the bottom, the signature read:

"Selina White?" Niva forced herself to look away from the cake to squint at the name. "Why does that sound familiar?" she wondered aloud. Then, the realization hit her. "Wait—what?! No way. Is it really her?!"

"You've heard of her?" Adyr asked, curious.

Niva turned to him as if he were crazy. "What do you mean 'heard of her'? Everyone my age knows Selina White!"

She began ticking off points on her fingers, her voice bubbling with energy.

"She was the top-ranked person in Young Influentials Monthly, she's famous for her charity work—especially for orphans—she's incredibly brilliant, and I mean, look at her! She’s stunning."

Then her expression turned serious. "And her mother? She’s the Chairwoman of the Angel Wing Foundation. She literally owns the orphanage where our mom works." She paused, looking at him skeptically.

"...Brother. Are you actually dating the daughter of our mom’s boss?"

"I'm simply assisting her with piano lessons," Adyr answered casually as he pulled the second helmet from the box.

"Piano lessons? Since when did you become a pianist?" Niva asked with a suspicious look. Before she could interrogate him further, Adyr interrupted.

"This one is for you," he said, offering the helmet to her.

Niva stared at the sleek, grey device. Its design resembled a motorcycle helmet, though it lacked a visor.

Adyr watched her face cycle through various emotions as she debated with herself. Finally, she spoke.

"I think you need to send it back," she said softly. "It’s far too pricey. I can’t take this." After a moment, she added, "Besides, with entrance exams only two months away, I shouldn't be distracted by a game."

"That’s a wise decision," Adyr said with a smile, returning the gear to its box. He then reached for the cake, intending to return it as well, but her hand stopped him with surprising strength.

"Leave the cake," Niva commanded, her voice firm and her gaze unusually intense.

It was clear the cake wasn't going anywhere.