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'What's come over Brother today?' Aurelia
pondered silently as she observed Xylen revel in uncontrollable laughter,
radiating pure, unrestrained delight.
His actions were so erratic and absurd that he resembled someone who had been
miraculously granted another chance at existence.
Moments earlier, he had been wracked with a high fever, his
condition so dire that she had abandoned everything to tend to him. Then next,
he behaved oddly, acting as though battling some invisible force. And now...
now he seemed to have completely lost his sanity.
Her anxiety deepened, and, unable to stay silent any
longer, she called out softly; "Brother..."
Her words startled Xylen instantly, pulling him out of his
ecstatic state and making him aware of how far he had lost his composure.
He attempted to conceal his overwhelming joy immediately, but his
efforts were futile.
His eyes still sparkled with happiness, and the grin on his face
was impossibly wide as he focused his gaze on Aurelia.
If he could, he would have embraced her tightly—so tightly that it
would have felt as though he wanted to become one with her.
But, confined by his broken body, all he could do was grin
foolishly on the worn-out mat.
The anguish and despair he had endured after grieving Aurelia's
death had been immeasurable.
He had almost surrendered to the depths of hopelessness countless
times, contemplating dying alongside her because he had believed life without
her was inconceivable. And now… after three years of silent tears, an
unimaginable miracle had occurred.
How could he not be overwhelmed with joy? How could his happiness
have any bounds?
Xylen nearly blurted out the truth on the spot. Yet, he
instinctively knew this wasn't something to share.
It wasn't a matter of distrust in Aurelia. No. She was the one
person he trusted above all else in this lifetime.
Finally, he managed to quell his excitement barely.
"Yes?" Xylen finally replied, his voice trembling slightly.
Still gazing at him in bewilderment, Aurelia questioned, "What
could be possibly making you this overjoyed? Have you perhaps won a jackpot you
haven't informed me about?"
"This…"
Xylen was caught off guard.
'Did she really think my excitement was because of a jackpot?' he
wondered, torn between laughing and crying.
What is a jackpot compared to what had just happened?
But how could he explain to her that he had lost her once before?
That he had even taken his own life after losing everything?
Xylen's teeth clenched before he could stop himself, his eyes
turning red as suppressed emotions surged, causing Aurelia to feel like pulling
out her hair in exasperation.
"Brother…" she said helplessly, "why are you crying now? You're
frightening me."
In response, Xylen simply smiled.
"Don't worry, Sister," he assured her suddenly. "From this moment
forward, you won't be frightened anymore. I will protect you with my life and
ensure you have nothing but the best." He made the vow from the depths of his
heart.
Hearing this, Aurelia froze.
Not to lie, his promise tugged at her heartstrings because this
was the first time Xylen had ever done something like this.
She almost instantly lost herself to excitement, but then she
recalled their current circumstances.
She rolled her eyes playfully and stood.
"Now that I'm sure you're alright, I'll fetch some water to clean
you up and get you ready for the night. Your fever was so intense today that
you wouldn't stop sweating," she said, and Xylen, still gathering his thoughts,
simply nodded.
He knew Aurelia's thoughts, but his action would change her mind.
Without convincing her, Xylen watched as the stunningly beautiful
Aurelia, dressed in a faded, patched gown, stood up, turned, and left the
underground garage, her petite, fragile figure making his heart tighten.
Finally, the sob Xylen had been holding back escaped, leaving him
deeply emotional.
"You devoted your life to looking after me and bearing burdens
that weren't yours to begin with, in our previous lifetime, never sparing a
thought for yourself," he muttered, guilt washing over him as he recalled how
Aurelia had always made him feel whole. "Now that I've returned, it's time for
us to switch roles."
Mumbling this emotionally, Xylen sighed.
At this point in the past, he hadn't truly appreciated Aurelia,
instead, he had even taken her for granted. But after her death… everything
changed and he finally realized her value.
Although someone else had taken her place then, no one could ever
replace Aurelia—not even remotely.
Speaking of the person who had taken Aurelia's role after her
demise...
Xylen's face suddenly darkened in an instant, his gaze turning
venomous and hateful.
Before he could stop himself:
"Eris," he growled under his breath, the sheer intensity of his
hatred lowering the room's temperature.
This was the person who had driven him to despair and, ultimately,
to his death.
That's right.
Xylen had met her a few days after Aurelia's demise and she had
done everything to become close to him, helping him even despite his hopeless
state.
As for how she had contributed to his death;
Xavier's obsession with healing had grown stronger than ever
before, after Aurelia's death.
Desperately seeking a cure for his crippled body, he eventually
discovered a potential treatment. However, the price for it had been far beyond
his means, leaving him hopeless once again.
That, however, had been until one day, Eris suggested he buy a
game cabin for Fallen
Realm Online, explaining that he could earn
real-life currency through the game to pay for his treatment.
As Eris had taken over Aurelia's role as his caretaker, Xylen had
chosen to trust her, using every last cent of his savings to purchase the
gaming pod, and from that point on, he immersed himself in the game, grinding
endlessly in hopes of salvation.
Initially, his progress had been insignificant.
But then, a mission appeared—one with a reward so lucrative it could secure a
lifetime of comfort for anybody and be enough to get his treatment, Xylen,
driven by desperation had chosen to pursue the mission, though, never really expecting
success.
Yet, against all odds, he uncovered the
mission's hidden location—something countless players had failed to achieve.
Despite knowing that the secret shouldn't be
shared, he still chose to confide in Eris, believing it was through her fate
had finally granted him mercy.
That day, Eris had celebrated with him, giving
him the encouragement he desperately needed. From then on, Xylen had lost
himself in the game, battling the mission over and over for more than a hundred
in-game days until he successfully took down the boss.
But then, the unthinkable happened.
Eris, the person he had trusted and relied on, had betrayed
him.
That's right.
It wasn't just that she had come to claim the reward. She
had arrived with his most despised enemies—his half-brothers and sisters.
Together, they had seized the reward before his eyes,
ridiculing his naivety.
They then taunted the dumbstruck Xylen, revealing to him
that Eris had been deliberately placed in his life to earn his trust, give him
false hope of healing, and ultimately use him to complete the game's mission,
after which he would be broken and tormented.
Their plan had succeeded. But even then, Xylen had wondered
why.
And the answer?
It had stemmed from their desire to prevent him from
inheriting any share of their father's fortune. At the same time, to give him
just the needed hope to push him into completing the game mission which had
promised to bring them immense wealth and a life-changing reputation.
He had almost lost his sanity after
this revelation, as he had never been after his father's inheritance to begin
with.
Instead, completing the mission had been
his sole purpose in life—a desperate attempt to achieve healing. However,
before he could fully comprehend the betrayal, he had been killed in the game.
As he was
forced to log out, however, two final revelations broke him completely:
They had drugged Aurelia and planned to hand her over to a
powerful young master in exchange for a reward. Unable to endure the
humiliation, Aurelia had taken her own life. They had even colluded with the
hospital to provide Xylen with a falsified autopsy report.
They had also revealed to him, just before his consciousness
returned to his body that his mother's death hadn't been a mere coincidence as
he had always foolishly thought
….
This sequence of betrayals, loss, and bad luck was what had left
Xylen utterly broken, leading him to end his life, and now that he recalled those
events, his eyes burned with unyielding resolve, his killing intent palpable.
"Eris, my dear half siblings—you guys would have never seen
this coming, did you?" he muttered, his voice venomous.
With a chilling laugh that seemed to echo through the room,
he added, "Hehehe!"
But before he could lose himself in his darkness, a startled
voice interrupted him.
"Brother, what's gotten into you?" Aurelia's bewildered tone
brought Xylen back to his senses.
He instantly turned to her, smiling sheepishly. "You...
you're back already, sister?" he stuttered.