Chapter 26: Becoming the change

My hand reached for the door, and with a little effort, I was able to open it. My eyes were focused on what waited for me behind the door. The place was so strange to me that I didn't know what to expect, but as soon as the door opened, I saw something. 

Behind the door was a small room, what surprised me was that it was exactly like Amber's room. Even more surprising was that Amber herself was sitting on the bed. Holding a book in her hand, she was slowly reading, she didn't even seem to notice I was there.

After thinking for a while, I raised my hands and looked at them. It turned out that my hands had become like they were in a previous life, causing me to feel displaced. Putting my thoughts aside, I looked at her again. 

Not knowing what was going on, I slowly stepped inside. Amber seemed to notice something and moved her eyes to me. I stopped as I didn't know what to do because I had somehow taken Amber's body, and the owner seemed to be in front of me now. While I was silent looking at her, she suddenly smiled and spoke. 

"I think it's time." Her words seemed cryptic, causing my doubts to sink deeper. Putting the book aside, she got up from the bed with light movements and stepped in my direction.

While I was thinking about what to say, she finally came to me. 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Amber." As I was about to introduce myself too, she interrupted me. 

"You don't need to introduce yourself, I know what you know about you. Just as you can watch my memories, so can I watch yours." 

What she said made me stunned. Doubts flooded my mind, but curiosity took hold of me as well. 

"So we're in soul form? Inside your body?" I couldn't keep guessing, so I asked the question directly. 

"Yes, we are in soul form, and we are both inside my... Now your body," she said, smiling again.

This made me suspicious; she seemed already resigned to the fact that I had taken her body. 

"I took your body... Don't you hate me?" I was curious why she was so calm and happy after I took her body.

 "No," she replied, turning and walking around the room. "Why should I hate the one who saved me?" Speaking, she spread her arms and showed the room. 

"Although I was rescued, I was also in this place like a prison. I know if this place is very similar to my room in the nasty world... or you could say in the game you played."

The last moment she spoke and wanted to finish her words. She suddenly changed her words and looked at me, and what she said at the end confirmed one fact: she definitely knows everything about me. 

"So you can really see my memory..." It seemed less surprising to have something like that in this world. 

"Yes, but... you can't watch my entire memory..." The next words made me misunderstand again. 

"What do you mean?"

 After looking at me for a few seconds, she started pacing the room again. A picture of their family was placed on a closet of clothes, which she approached and stopped, and after a few seconds, she slowly spoke. 

"The thing is... although you can watch my memories, I can also hide or change them." 

Speaking, she shifted her gaze from the pictures of their family to me.

"You weren't protecting yourself from me, so I could see everything. I admit the fact that this world can be a game shocked me a lot, but also looking at your other memories made me realize that I'd rather be in your world." 

I just watched and listened without interrupting her. 

"I hid some memories by replacing them. I admit that I wanted to control you through those memories so that you... could hurt my... sister." 

Speaking, she pulled her head down, and her voice became hoarse and quiet. 

"I've always... always hated... her, and envied..." Watching her, I was shocked for reason, it didn't fit in my head. She was shaking a little, which made her seem more pathetic.

"I always... envied her, she was always strong. When our parents died, the envy got bigger..." 

She sat down on the bed picking up a picture of their family. I couldn't see her face because her hair was covering her face. 

"And so... I wanted to get stronger, I don't know where I got one book by chance, though considering that this world is a game. Then maybe it wasn't an accident." 

Her voice went from horse to doubt for a moment, though there was still the presence of her being in a bad mood. 

"I forgot where that book was, but what the book looks like, I remember well, when you get out of here you search my memory so you find it... And so, after reading the book, the content of which I do not remember, I found myself in a bad situation, and then you saved me."

Speaking, she stood up again, placed the photo on the cabinet, and then approached me. 

"But staying in this place for a long time and watching you, I realized some things. And now it's time for me to go." 

She stopped in front of me. 

"I'm sorry for not showing you all my memories... but I don't want you to see all the bad things I thought about my sister... Also, please, I want you to protect her." 

She lifted her head and looked into my eyes, and all the while I was in shock. But seeing her weeping eyes and expectations, I hesitated for a moment. 

"I know it's a selfish request." 

I thought to myself.

"What have I been going through all this time? Now it turns out it's even more confusing, I didn't want to agree, but I think I have enough problems as it is to change one more."

As I was about to say yes, all of a sudden she came very close to me very quickly. And afterwards, I felt a soft touch on my lips. I stopped thinking and looked into her dark blue eyes with surprise. 

Her eyes were full of joy and peace. A few seconds later, she pulled away and smiled at me. Her eyes turned crescent-shaped. When I was still standing still in a daze, she spoke. 

"I knew you would agree. After all, I know all about you." 

Coming to my senses, I wanted to speak, but she continued. 

"Don't worry, all those memories you saw are genuine, I only hid those bad feelings for her. Everything else is true. There's also one last thing I'd like to tell you."

As she spoke, she walked slowly toward the door. 

"This door cannot be opened from the inside, but only from the outside. But also, if you open it, my soul can't stay here and can't go back.>> 

Speaking, she was already near the door, and I watched her as she looked at me too.

"You know, watching your memory is like living a second life, hehe, and I'm glad I did." A blinding smile bloomed on her face. 

"And so, I have to go, although I want to chat with you more, but it seems that something is already rejecting me..."

She turned toward the door. 

"You shouldn't be afraid to change, open your heart to people. And always be strong, there are many experience points waiting for you hehe... goodbye."

Saying the last words, she stepped out the door. The soul, clear as a picture, quickly faded and gradually disappeared. I stood there staring blankly, and for some reason, I felt sad. I didn't know what to think about, continuing to stare to where she was gone. It lasted almost a minute before I felt a vibration. 

After that, a trail of cracks went through the wall, gradually collapsing everything. When I wanted to leave the room, it was as if it exploded, and everything flew in different directions, gradually disappearing. Multicolored shimmering colors reappeared around me.

<<It seems that because she left, this place also collapsed.>>

[ppfdg..sdlfs..frrtt...ereeerrt.........]

Watching around, I heard that sound again. Turning in that direction, I saw an object. It was a sphere. 

[gglker....frrtt...ereeerrt.........] 

What was strange was that it vaguely reminded me of a sphere of despair. I wanted to get close to it. 

<<According to what Amber said, I'm still inside my body, so this orb is inside her, too?>>

But as I took a step, a warning caught my eye, which made my body freeze. 

[24% => 25%↑]

 The reaction was quick, taking a few steps back, I began to observe this sphere.

The sphere floated smoothly above the ground and didn't seem to be doing anything. Looking along the side, I tried to figure out what was next. I do not know how I got here and how to get out, but one thing was clear, the sphere was somehow connected to this. I looked at the orb again, and there was still no change. 

There is nothing around, except for the multi-colored flowers. The only thing is a sphere, but as the indicator begins to rise, what do I do? There was nothing left but to sit and think about what to do next. I don't know how much time has passed since I got here, but nothing has changed.

Remembering the conversation, or rather Amber's story, I feel that this world is getting even crazier, or so do I. Finally realizing that nothing will change, I stood up and tried to get closer to the sphere. 

[25% => 26%↑] 

As before, the indicator appeared, reminding me of all the feelings I had experienced last time. Pulling away again, I tried to calm my emotions. Suddenly a thought occurred to me,

<<Maybe I should just get as far away from here as possible, maybe we can get out.>> 

I turned to the opposite side of the sphere and started walking in quick strides.

But before 10 meters had passed, I ran into an invisible wall. Holding on to that wall, I twisted around the sphere, which was in the center. And came to the conclusion that there is no way to get out except to approach the sphere, and that cannot be wrong. As this sphere causes the skill indicator to go up, but my emotions are fine. This could also mean that it affects it in some other way. 

Soon another thought occurred to me, whether the percentage would increase if I stood near the orb for a long period of time. Stepping towards the sphere again. 

[26% => 27%↑] 

After checking as it turned out no, I could stand at this distance as long as I wanted and nothing would happen.

As I was thinking about whether I should step up to the sphere after all, a girl's back appeared in my mind, telling me not to be afraid to change. 

<<Easy to say, but taking a step toward it is pretty hard. Or maybe I'll become that emotionless machine again? Though I know it will probably be temporary this time too, but that's not reassuring.>>

My gaze stayed focused on the orb. 

<<...and maybe still do, I'll come back to myself after a while... maybe.>>

Quickly shaking my head, I turned my attention to something. 

<<Maybe if I wait a little longer, the percentage of the indicator will drop, and I will be able to approach it safely.>> 

After waiting for a while, nothing happened.

<<"You shouldn't be afraid to change">> 

"Okay..." Speaking, I stood up and took successive steps toward the sphere without delay. 

[27% => 28%↑] [Warnings] 

[28% => 29%↑] [Warnings] 

Without paying attention, I quickly grabbed the orb. At the same time, I felt something push me away. I fell backward with my arms open, and everything in front of my eyes began to distort. I tried to get up but found that I was motionless, as if something was holding me back. But I could clearly see that the sphere was moving. All the confidence I had built up before grabbing the sphere was gone.

A strong sense of panic and fear was growing inside me. I didn't pay attention to the indicator clues as I thought about what was about to happen. The sphere stopped in mid-air above my chest, and then began to slowly descend. My fear grew as the orb approached me. Finally, under my gaze of the distorted world, the orb touched my chest.

At the same moment, a hellish pain I'd never felt before made my eyes widen and my whole body tremble. I couldn't scream or do anything, something was holding me back. The pain I'd tried so hard to stay away from had reached me. Every part of my soul ached. It was not a simple pain, but rather an intense and stabbing one.

I felt something forcibly trying to change me from the inside out. In that moment, I wanted to just cease to exist. Just disappear and forget everything. 

[....dsfsdk....rtyh...pelr...]

Again the voice, but this time something with a touch of joy. 

[...dsfsdk....qwepr...dfl...]

My mind went into a daze, and the strange thing was that I was still conscious. 

[....dsfsdk.....krlkkel koriwl...]

The pain was gradually getting worse, but my mind was alert. At first I thought it might be status activation again, but it was nothing like before.

[....dsfsdk.....krlkkel koriwl...] 

And the more this happened, I noticed that gradually I was able to coexist with the pain. This time I heard a note of surprise in that mysterious voice. Until finally, a window appeared before my eyes.

 [Temporary status effect activated: {Limitless Will}] 

7:13

7:12 

7:11 

I can certainly help you with that. Here is the corrected and formatted text:

I just stared at the window, not knowing what to think. My eyes moved upward, looking up at the sky.

The pain wasn't gone yet, but it wasn't getting worse either. I thought of one thing: "I hate..."

My thoughts became chaotic.

"I hate this world."

Enduring the pain, I stubbornly tried to open my mouth. Something inside me gave me strength, and something in my mind seemed to get away from me. But I still persisted, the pain from my soul transmitted into my mind.

[....dsfsdk....rtyh...pelr...]

I ignored the voice that wondered. Finally, I was able to open my mouth.

"Aaaaaaaaaa"

Screaming, I tried to fight the pain.

Gradually I increased my voice until I shouted.

"I hate this world!"

When I said that, something inside me fractured.

"Ha...ha..."

I thought the situation was funny, which made me laugh.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha."

As I laughed, the sphere that had already plunged into my chest flew back out.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha."

I couldn't stop laughing. The sphere whirled around, after which it rushed toward me again. But suddenly something changed.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha."

[....dsfsdk....rtyh...pelr!!...]

To my laughter and an angry voice, something glowed from my chest. The sphere was immediately enveloped in light, and pulled into my chest.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha."

This time I felt no pain. I felt very comfortable, and the darkness began to blur in front of my eyes.

....

"I hate..."

Chapter end