Licking her lips with delight, the woman pulled the black veil off her face. She savored the sweet flavor that teased her tongue.
The wide screen in front of her displayed the four children who recently entered her realm.
Valentine, Xavier, Mizuni, and Harris.
For several millennia, she waited for this perfect moment.
"You shall taste my wrath. My vengeance is ripe. It's ready for harvest."
Her laughter echoed around the vast space of her surroundings.
'Enough of this!' A tiny whisper that came from inside cut her delight short.
'They are children!' The voice was small but incessant.
"Indeed," the woman agreed. "Children of those responsible for your demise!"
'They have nothing to do with what happened to me.'
"Oh, darling. But they do have everything to do with it." The woman insisted. "If not for their ancestors, you wouldn't be here."
'If not for them, you would have never existed!'
"Their veins have the very same blood as those who wanted you dead. If not for them, you wouldn't have died!"
–
A few minutes before they were spiraled into the game…
Jaspreth heaved out a sigh.
"What happened to making the most of it?" he mumbled, tapping on his phone. The screen had turned white after each of them clicked the start button.
Restarting his phone, Jaspreth stared at the ceiling. He glanced at his friends, the three girls whom Green Light University considered as princesses. Even though each of them would look at him funny whenever he tells them that.
They would make a face and roll their eyes.
So, what was he doing with them?
Living in a house full of females, it wasn't hard for him to get along with the opposite sex. His younger siblings were close to him, and Jaspreth was overprotective of them.
He felt like it was his responsibility to keep the bad guys away. And he does his best. Especially with Tate, the one who came after him.
She's going to be a freshman this school year. And Jaspreth could already tell how many guys would try to get her attention.
"Off limits, morons!" Jaspreth hissed under his breath, keeping his tone low. He couldn't afford to wake his friends or he was going to hear an earful of curses and even get smacked with a pillow on the head.
"Yikes!" girls could be feisty, he would know.
Finally regaining his phone's proper function, it immediately got bombarded with messages.
But he ignored all of it except for one.
'Babe?'
"Oh, crap!" He immediately checked the message, which was sent five minutes ago.
The girls almost didn't believe him when he told them he was dating someone. That was his fault. He always pranked them about having a girlfriend that when it actually happened, they thought he was still lying.
He had to show them some of the embarrassing chats and a photo of her for them to know that he was no longer just pranking them. He was dead serious.
Sharmaine, her name was Sharmaine, and she was from the same city which Beatrix came from, Wayne.
They met once. Jaspreth came to see her and they talked, officiating their relationship. But since it wasn't easy trying to come over from one city to the next, that was also the last time they had a face to face interaction.
He dialed her number, getting up from the couch. She picked up on the third ring.
"Babe," Jaspreth noticed the tone of her voice. She sounded like she had been crying.
"What happened?"
"Can I stay with you for a few days?"
The thought thrilled him. He wouldn't just be talking to his beautiful girlfriend through video call, but they'd be together for real.
Yet, before he got way over his head, he needed to know why she suddenly brought it up.
"What happened, babe?"
"I'll tell you when I get there."
"Okay." Jaspreth scratched the back of his head. "I love you, no matter what. I'll wait for you to get here. Call me as soon as you do."
"Thanks, babe. See you, I love you."
Jaspreth stared at his phone. He was worried about Sharmaine and had wanted to pry. But he didn't want to force her. She will tell him when she's ready.
A few minutes after that call, a message popped on Jaspreth's phone.
[Welcome to Priestess Online]
"Eh? This is a weird game." He clicked the pop-up message anyway, which redirected him to another landing page.
[Player Name: MasterTrickster]
[Gender: Male]
[Player level: Beginner]
[Class: Fighter]
[Affinity: Crow]
[Mana Points: 500]
[Attack Damage: 500]
[HP: 200]
"What?" Jaspreth made a face, furrowing his brows. Just when his friends already went to bed, the game decided to work.
[Please click proceed if you still wish to play]
"Heck dude, I can't play this by myself."
[Analyzing response…]
[Analyzing complete!]
"Eh?"
[Click proceed to continue]
Jaspreth didn't see any change. His friends were still asleep.
"Maybe I'll try it out and play one game."
Making a decision, he hit the proceed button and instantly witnessed his phone's screen die.
"Man! What the hell?!"
He then covered his mouth, his eyes fleeting to the three bulks inside the tent by the staircase.
Thinking that his phone broke, he was about to slam it when a powerful force pulled at his body, stretching every piece of him until his vision turned to black.
[Welcome Player MasterTrickster!]
"Whoa!" Jaspreth expressed, finding himself staring at a translucent screen displaying the same message he heard just now.
Colorful lines, like the one appearing in barcodes, danced in his vision, enveloping him in a square wall. It mimicked an elevator with the floor continuously ascending.
A holographic image of a woman then appeared. A black veil hovered over her face, concealing it from view.
[Thank you for accepting the call, Player. The Priestess has chosen you to be the Whisperer. You are expected to receive commands from the Priestess. You must do everything in your power to follow them. Failure to adhere to her commands will cost you and your team a deduction in Health Points]
"Eh? What kind of rule is that?"
[Performing a body scan in zero minutes]
"Hey! Argh!" Jaspreth tried to move, but it trapped his body. Bound by an invisible rope, he writhed and cursed. Yet, nothing changed.
[Body scan finished!]
[Welcome to Priestess Online! You are now ready to enter the Fortress. The Priestess wishes you good fortune!]
Taking up speed, Jaspreth desperately clung for his life, cursing at whoever could hear him.
[Please be ready for battle. Opening the gates in 3…]
[2…]
[1…]
A few minutes before he was pushed off the platform, a distinct laughter echoed in his head.
'Don't die on me just yet, dear one. That goes for the rest of your friends. You're all valuable to me. Very valuable.'