Chapter 39: Fragmented Soul Detected

  Lissy sat on her bed, the photo of her and Lily in her hands. The same picture she had held every night for days now. She didn’t even know why she kept doing it anymore. It wasn’t a conscious decision; it had become mechanical, a habit her body followed while her mind drifted somewhere else. It was strange, because she didn’t feel particularly sad. No, what she felt was emptiness, quiet, heavy, endless emptiness.

  The last week after Lily’s death had passed like a dream she couldn’t wake from. Everything around her seemed dull. The world had lost its colors, as if someone had drained them out of the air.

  She ran her thumb slowly across the glass surface of the frame, tracing Lily’s smile. The movement felt hollow.

  But she wasn’t as emotional as Clara. Clara hadn’t logged into Xantia at all since Lily’s death. She said she couldn’t handle the emotions that hit her every time she even looked at the login icon. That was so typical for Clara, always the emotional one. Lissy remembered how she and Lily used to gossip about it, teasing Clara for being such a crybaby. Especially since Clara was the oldest of them, though none of them had ever known her exact age. Lily once mentioned she was over forty, but for both of them, it never really mattered. To Lissy and Lily, Clara had always been the cute elf from Xantia, clumsy and soft-hearted.

  It was funny how strange those facts, like the age, sounded when you only knew someone through their avatar. Only Lily had ever really known the truth about everyone. She took her role as guildmaster seriously, too seriously sometimes. She was always there when someone needed help, always listening, always giving advice. She spent more time comforting people than Lissy had ever spent talking to them. The funny thing about this was that Lily always claimed she wouldn’t do such things. In-game, she talked like a bad B-movie villainess, throwing out dramatic lines and cheesy monologues. But when someone was serious or hurting, she was always the first one to take her time for them.

  Lissy sighed quietly. She thought back to how selfish she’d been. Always talking about herself, her plans, her problems, barely listening when others spoke. She’d been angry when no one had waited for her after her camping trip, when she logged in and found they had cleared the raid without her. Angry because she’d been afraid they had forgotten her. Afraid she didn’t matter anymore.

  The realization stung, but it didn’t bring tears. She felt nothing but that same hollow ache. The kind that sat in the chest like a stone and refused to move.

  She looked again at the photo—two girls smiling with sunburned faces and mouse ears, the castle behind them bright and unreal. It felt like it belonged to another lifetime. Meanwhile, the clock on her nightstand ticked softly. Outside, the evening rain tapped against the window, and the faint reflection of the photo shimmered in the glass.

  Lissy let out a slow breath. I should stop doing this, she thought. But then what? What else is there to do?

  Her phone buzzed on the desk beside her. She ignored it. The screen flashed once and went dark again.

  All she could think of was how quiet everything had become since Lily was gone. Not just the guild hall or their late-night chats, but the world itself. Even the city outside her window felt muted, like someone had turned down the volume on life.

  In two days, would be Lily’s funeral. Lissy wanted to be there. She had already bought a flight ticket for tomorrow, but she didn’t know if she had the strength to actually go, to get on the plane and fly hundreds of miles just to see Lily one last time.

  Could she really manage it? Could she even face it?

  It would be only the second time she had ever seen Lily in real life.

  Why… why did it hurt so much?

  She was just… what was she? A sister? A best friend? Her cr—what, exactly? Whatever she was, it didn’t matter anymore.

  Her phone buzzed again. Lissy tossed the picture onto her bed, wiped a silent tear from her cheek with her sleeve, and picked up the phone. Then she paused, frowning in confusion as she looked at the screen.

  There were thousands of messages from random numbers.

  “What the…” she muttered as she unlocked the screen.

  Every message was filled with random symbols, strange signs, and unreadable characters. Nothing made sense. SMS, messenger apps—everything was filled with the same chaotic flood of text.

  And the moment she unlocked her phone, the messages started coming faster.

  ?3$!??##￥?—???!!!

  ∞ you_left_us ∞ you_left_us ∞

  001101100011…011100

  ?? L???I???S???S???Y??? [s?y?n?c?h?r?o?n?y?.?f?a?i?l?e?d?]

  ??????????

  01001100 01101001 01110011 01110011 01111001 F???l???a???m???e???s???b???o???r???n??? {core link unstable}

  ???system_s?y?n?c?r?o?n?…incomplete…???

  [connection request: ???????? ????????????]

  ?? D?o?o?m?s?d?a?y? ?I?n?i?t?i?a?t?e?d? ?????

  ??? S?y?s?t?e?m?_?W?a?r?n?i?n?g?:? ?S?o?u?l?_?D?e?t?e?c?t?e?d?

  01001000 01000101 01001100 01010000

  ?? {error log 323} – [memory_fragment: U?s?e?r?:? ?L?i?s?s?y? ?F?l?a?m?e?s?b?o?r?n?]>? ?S?y?n?c? ?L?o?s?t?]

  ???????? ???????????? ????????

  ?? [core breach imminent] ??

  ?? FRAGMENTED ?S?O?U?L? ?D?E?T?E?C?T?E?D? ??

  ?? r?e?a?l?i?t?y?_?s?y?n?c? ?f?a?i?l?u?r?e? ?>? ?i?n?c?o?m?i?n?g? ?u?s?e?r?

  0011010010100111…01100011…error

  01101001 01101001 01110011 01110011 01001001

  [reconnecting: LISSY.FLAMESBORN]

  ??WELCOME BACK, FLAMESBORN ??

  ? [ghostdata.active] - [soul.echo.detected] ?

  n?o?t? ?r?e?s?i?s?t? ?t?h?e? ?u?p?l?i?n?k?

  {core link unstable}

  The screen flickered, the icons twisting and glitching, and Lissy’s hand went cold around the phone.

  What in the world? she thought. Is my phone hacked?

  [LINK ESTABLISHED]

  [source: unknown_core]

  [location: █████████]

  [incoming call: UNKNOWN]

  Before she could react, the phone answered itself.

  A sudden static noise filled the room, so sharp that she flinched. Then, through the distortion, a voice began to speak. It was soft, relatively drawn-out, and sounded mechanical—but far too human to be mere random noise.

  h?e?l?l?o? ?l?i?s?s?y? ?f?l?a?m?e?s?b?o?r?n? ?

  The sound crawled across the speaker.

  …

  In the next moment, engines roared. The sudden acceleration pressed her into her seat, and Lissy’s eyes flew open.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  What the…

  She blinked rapidly, disoriented, as the plane picked up speed along the runway. Her ears popped when it lifted into the air.

  What is happening? Am I dreaming? Where am I?

  Something buzzed in her pocket. Slowly, she reached for her phone. The screen lit up with a single new message—from Tom.

  I’ll pick you up from the airport.

  Message me when you’re there.

  Clara’s already here; we’ll come together.

  Lissy stared at the text, her breath shaky. She tried to steady herself. Okay… okay, calm down. You’re on the flight. To Lily’s funeral. It’s tomorrow. It’s fine. You’re fine.

  But the thought didn’t feel real. It was as if the last thing she remembered—the voice coming out of her phone—had been more real than this.

  She checked her phone again. Nothing. No strange messages. No corrupted text. No call logs.

  “Am I going insane?” she whispered out loud.

  The older woman sitting next to her gave her a brief, concerned look and shook her head. Lissy flushed. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  She sank back into her seat, gripping her phone. How had she lost twelve hours in an instant? How was she suddenly sitting here? The more she tried to think about it, the more her thoughts tangled.

  After a while, she turned to the woman beside her. “Sorry, miss, I know this sounds strange, but… did you see me board the plane?”

  The woman blinked at her, pity softening her expression. She seemed to misunderstand the question. “Oh, sweetheart, of course I did. I didn’t want to say anything, since I know it’s hard, but… I’m sorry for your loss. It’s completely understandable to be distressed, especially after a five-hour delay. My condolences.”

  Lissy stared at her. “Wait… you saw me?”

  The woman nodded kindly. “Everyone saw you complaining at the desk, dear. Don’t worry, no one thinks badly of you. The airline is really awful these days.” She gave a small smile.

  Lissy went silent. Her hands trembled slightly as she looked out the window. The clouds rolled past, pale and endless.

  How in the freaking world…?

  …

  After three hours, the plane finally landed. The captain’s voice droned over the intercom, half-asleep, half-bored, and Lissy felt relief more than anything else. She grabbed her phone, texted Tom that she had landed, and followed the crowd toward baggage claim.

  She waited at the carousel, watching the belt start to move when—miraculously—hers was the first suitcase to appear. At least something. She hauled the heavy case off the belt and stood for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened. Maybe she’d just… snapped. Maybe the whole thing with Lily had hit her harder than she wanted to admit, and her brain decided to mix reality and Xantia together in some weird stress response.

  At least that explanation made sense, sort of.

  “Great, Lissy,” she muttered under her breath. “You’re coping with your dead friend by hallucinating something from a fictional game world bleeding into your phone. Perfectly normal behavior. Totally fine.”

  She sighed, shaking her head. “That damn brain didn’t brain,” she whispered as she walked out of the arrival area.

  Outside, the small airport supermarket buzzed softly with background chatter. She leaned against a vending machine, waiting for Tom and Clara. It would be the first time she had ever seen either of them in person. The thought alone made her chest tighten a little. But after everything that had happened today, her nerves felt mostly numb. Compared to hearing a strange voice through her phone and somehow skipping twelve hours into the future, meeting her online friends sounded… manageable.

  She glanced around, trying to spot Tom. She had seen at least from him a picture before, he was tall, short hair, would wear today a black jacked, but none of the faces in the crowd matched.

  Then she noticed someone else instead.

  A tall, elegant woman stepped into view, walking with graceful precision on high heels. Her long blond hair shimmered under the terminal lights, and her black dress looked like it came straight out of a movie. A wide-brimmed hat, too big to be practical, completed the look.

  Wow, Lissy thought absently. This woman has style.

  The thought barely formed before the woman’s eyes locked directly onto hers.

  Lissy blinked. The woman froze for a heartbeat—then suddenly started running.

  Wait, what—

  The sound of heels clacking against the floor echoed through the terminal as the woman charged straight at her.

  Lissy barely had time to think, This can’t be Clara, can it? before the stranger slammed into her with full force, wrapping her in a tight hug.

  “Lissssyyyyyy!”

  Lissy’s breath caught. “O-oh—hey, Clara!” she gasped, voice muffled against the woman’s shoulder.

  A deep voice called from behind them. “Let her go, you’re strangling her!”

  Clara laughed, loosening her grip just a little but still keeping her arms around Lissy. “Oh, hush, Tom! I haven’t seen her in real life before! I’m allowed to have a moment! Besides, she needs a real hug after everything. She was Lily’s best friend!”

  Tom rolled his eyes as he walked up beside them, hands in his jacket pockets. He looked exactly like his profile picture; tired eyes, messy brown hair, and a sarcastic expression that screamed perpetually annoyed at everyone and everything.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Just don’t suffocate the poor girl before we even get to the hotel.”

  Lissy coughed lightly, rubbing her neck as Clara finally released her. “Wow, you really—uh—hug like a raid boss.”

  Clara grinned through watery eyes. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you, Lissy. Really.”

  And even with the exhaustion, the confusion, and the fear of attending Lily’s funeral still sitting in her chest, Lissy smiled back. “Yeah,” she said, barely above a breath. “Me too.”

  They were driving in a rental car toward the hotel.

  “Matz will come tomorrow morning and go straight to the funeral,” Tom said, his eyes on the road.

  Lissy sat in the back seat, looking out the window. The city lights passed by in soft streaks of gold and gray. This was the city where Lily had lived for the last two years, where she had studied, worked, and built her small world away from the screen.

  “Also, Kaito’s still stuck at the airport in Kyoto,” Tom continued. “He texted that he’ll catch the next flight out. He should be here by tomorrow too. Honestly, I was surprised he’s coming all the way from Japan.”

  “Of course, he comes!” Clara huffed from the passenger seat, crossing her arms. Then her voice softened. “It’s our first guild meeting, after all. The first where everyone is actually here…”

  Tom clicked his tongue, glancing at her through the mirror, then changed the subject. “The murderer is still on the run. I wish I could find him.”

  “Tom! Stop that,” Clara said sharply. “You’re too young for thoughts like that.”

  The rest of the drive passed in silence.

  After a while, they reached the hotel. They had a quiet dinner in the restaurant downstairs, none of them was really hungry, but none willing to eat alone, and then everyone went to their rooms.

  Lissy dropped onto her bed as soon as the door closed behind her. The ceiling light buzzed faintly overhead, and for a long moment, she just lay there staring at it.

  She was still confused about what had happened earlier, still shaken by the strange lapse of time, but she told herself it was just stress. That was the only explanation that made sense. Her thoughts drifted to tomorrow, the day she would see Lily again, for the last time in her life.

  Everything she wanted to say. Everything that had been left unsaid. It would all stay that way forever.

  She turned on her side, curling slightly. Also, she didn’t want to meet Lily’s parents. She couldn’t stand their fake grief. Lily had told her once, half joking but with that bitter edge, how little they cared. And now they would put on a show because their daughter was gone.

  Lissy closed her eyes and exhaled. But well, she thought. It won’t change anything.

  She tried to sleep, but sleep didn’t come. After turning restlessly for what felt like hours, she gave up and reached for her phone.

  She scrolled aimlessly through the news, trying to distract herself. Then she stopped dead.

  Top News:

  The former idol ??? (Choi Ha-rin), better known under her stage name “Honey Rei,” who had faced various scandals in recent years and still had a few open charges against her, has died in a devastating accident. According to authorities, a malfunction in her apartment’s gas line caused a fatal explosion. In recent years, Honey Rei had shifted her focus to streaming, gaining renewed popularity through the world’s leading VRMMORPG, Xantia.

  Lissy stared at the screen, her mouth dry.

  “Luxandra…” she whispered. “We never liked you, but… rest in peace. You didn’t deserve to die so early.”

  She lowered the phone slightly, staring blankly at the wall. Then the thought hit her.

  That makes three.

  Three top 1000 players.

  Three weeks. Three deaths.

  A week before Lily, another well-known player—RynX_91—had died in a car accident.

  The realization settled in her stomach like ice.

  No… it’s just coincidence, she told herself. Just a weird, tragic coincidence.

  She closed her eyes again, gripping the phone tighter.

  Don’t lose it, Lissy