"Brother!" A girl's voice cheerfully rang through the room.
Opening the door, an older teen stuck her head into the bedroom where a young man lay. Looking at the boy, she snuck the rest of her body through the door before gently pulling it closed.
The girl crept up to the side of the bed. Looking at the young man lying still on the bed, she could hear faint rhythmic breathing coming from his lips. "Oh brother, you can't sleep forever." The girl faintly whispered, leaning her head over the boy.
The girl pressed her soft lips against the somewhat clammy forehead of the boy. However, she didn't mind the sweat touching her lips as she held them on his head for a few moments before pulling away.
The girl gently shook the boy's arm, rousing him from his sleep. "Brother, I have something for you."
The boy's breathing changed from its previous rhythmic form as the boy woke. But, even after he awoke, his eyes never opened. "Belle? Is that you?" The boy's voice was so weak; if the girl weren't right beside him, she wouldn't have been able to hear it.
"I'm here." The girl named Belle wrapped her hands around the boy's in a comforting way. She knew that the boy couldn't feel it, but the gesture still made her feel closer to him.
A faint smile tugged at the corners of the boy's mouth when he heard his sister's soft voice. "I wasn't sure if I'd, kha kha, see you, kha, again." The boy's softly whispering voice was interrupted by raspy and weak coughing.
Seeing the boy in this state broke Belle's heart. Without responding, she carefully climbed onto the bed behind him, cradling his weak head in her lap. She gently began stroking his silky black hair with her fingers.
Tears welled in Belle's eyes as she whispered. "Don't say that, brother. There is too much we still need to do together." She continued to gently stroke his hair before leaning over and whispering into his ear. "I got you a present."
"You don't have to." His voice frail
Belle couldn't stop a sad smile from spreading on her face as she gently pinched his cheek. "Of course I do, silly."
Belle slid off of the bed, making sure to be as gentle as possible with the boy's head. She then lifted a package from the side of the bed.
Inside of the package was a very techy-looking white helmet. "I got you one of the new Annex headsets I was telling you about."
"Huh." A small sigh escaped the boy's lips. "You shouldn't waste your money on me."
"Hey! Don't talk like that!" Belle's voice had suddenly become a bit more fierce. "Nothing I will ever do for you is a waste. Nothing! So don't you ever say that. Do you understand me?"
Several seconds passed by silently before the boy's soft voice returned. "Okay, I'm sorry."
"Ugh," Belle sighed. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled." Belle leaned forward a bit more, placing her lips on his forehead. "I'm going to put the helmet on you now."
Belle lifted his head, gently placing the helmet over the boy's dark hair. "Is it okay?"
Belle had to put her ear right against the helmet to hear a soft voice. "Feels great."
Belle leaned back, smiling, but she knew that her brother couldn't actually feel anything and was just indulging her. "I'm going to turn it on. If the helmet is half as good as Annex said they were, this is going to be amazing."
Belle then pushed several buttons on the helmet, causing it to whir to life. Several green lights began to glow from Belle's view. However, the experience was vastly different for the boy who had the helmet on.
It was like a flashbang went off. The lights were so blinding that the boy had to shut his eyes. He felt like his body was flying through the air. For the first time, he could feel it; the wind on his skin, whipping his hair and whistling in his ears.
When the boy finally opened his eyes, what he saw pulled the air from his lungs. He was flying so fast that the world beneath him was a blur, just a blend of colors speeding past. He couldn't make anything out, but it was everything he could've asked for.
Suddenly, the boy's vision blurred as the world around him seemed to stretch and morph. He felt a strange force take hold of his body before the world flipped, and he found himself standing on a cold platform.
However, the boy wasn't used to standing, so his legs immediately gave out from under him.
When his body hit the ground, he ended up scraping a bit of skin off his knee. Tears welled in his eyes when he felt that, but they weren't from the pain.
The boy couldn't hold back the tears as he started to cry. "I can feel it. I can feel it all. The wind, the pain, the cold." From his position on the ground, he ran his hand over the cool smooth floor. "Thank you, Belle. Thank you."
The boy lay there for several moments, crying as he felt the floor. He lay there until a sudden voice came from beside him.
"It is a pretty nice floor, but I dunno if it's that nice."
The boy looked up from the floor at the source of the teasing voice.
Standing over himself was a handsome brown-haired boy who looked in his late teens. A smirk plastered on his face as he held out a hand.
The boy on the floor was frozen. It had been so long since he saw another person. He just stared, awed by the boy.
"Ahem." The brown-haired boy cleared his throat to snap the other kid out of it. He was starting to wonder if the kid was okay mentally.
He saw the kid fall over and then break down as he rubbed the floor. Now, he was just staring at him, and it was starting to make him uncomfortable.
The boy on the ground felt a bit embarrassed, but he reached up and grabbed the outstretched hand. "Thanks."
Without much effort, the brown-haired boy was able to pull him up. "No problem. Name's Jaime."
Once he was back on his feet, the boy looked toward Jaime. "Cain."
Jaime nodded his head. "Are you alright? You seem a little out of it."
Cain, however, didn't even hear Jaime's question. He began looking around in awe at all of the people around him. There seemed to be an endless sea of people from all different walks of life—Some old, some young, rich and poor, male and female, black, white, and everything in between.
"Amazing," Cain muttered silently under his breath.
Jaime could see Cain's expression as he looked around, and hearing the words Cain muttered, he couldn't help but agree. "It truly is amazing. So this is Eden."
Cain looked over to Jaime, but before he could respond, a flash of white filled his vision before he suddenly appeared before a lake.
The grass beneath Cain's feet tickled his toes, and he couldn't help but sink his feet into the dirt. The shimmering lake before him was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the beautiful sight.
That is until a light flashed, and another person appeared beside him. It was a pretty girl with waist-length blonde hair and a ballcap on her head. She was wearing a letterman-style jacket that seemed a bit too big for her and tight black jeans.
Cain might've stared a bit too long because the girl walked a bit closer to him before she opened her mouth to speak. However, before she could even get a word out, another light flashed between the two, and Jaime popped out, falling on his ass.
"Ow." Jaime stood up, rubbing his semi-sore buttcheek. Cain was glad that Jaime appeared; he was, after all, the only person he had any connection with.
Another light flashed close by as another person appeared. This time it was another boy, but he seemed only around twelve years old. "Oww… Shit, that really hurt." The boy stood, rubbing his hip where he fell.
Another light then flashed as a person came through, then another, and another. Soon there were lights all over the grassy field. They only stopped when the fiftieth person appeared.
At this moment, between the people and the lake, a portal made of swirling air appeared. Out from the portal came an older man with a flowing white beard and a head of long silky-looking white hair pulled back by a tie. He wore a set of very comfortable-looking white robes that went all the way to the ground. He had a calm and gentle air about him.
Following the old man was a gorgeous young woman. She had silky brown hair that flowed down her shoulders. A busty figure that could hardly be hidden even by the somewhat baggy robes she was wearing. Her icy blue eyes held a coldness as she gazed at everyone there, almost like she was looking down on them.
When the girl appeared from the portal, Cain heard Jaime beside him mutter. "I think I'm in love."
The words earned Jaime an extra piercing stare from the girl and a quick glance from the old man. However, they shouldn't have been able to hear the words from how far away they were, especially with all of the other people whispering and muttering.
But Jaime didn't seem bothered by it. He just winked at the girl giving him the death glare, seemingly not affected by her coldness at all.
The girl snorted and looked away, walking up beside the old man. The old man stopped walking and stood in front of the crowd. However, it was at this point that something miraculous happened. The old man suddenly began to levitate over them.
Gasps and whispers rippled through the crowd as he floated higher. However, the old man didn't seem to pay them any attention. He simply hovered above them for a few seconds before he spoke in a calm but steady voice.
"Hello, new cultivators. My name is Elder Biang. However, you can just refer to me as Senior. I am here to welcome you to the world of Eden!"