He awoke in an unfamiliar bed, the dim light of the room casting gentle shadows on the walls. Breathing was still laboured, and his body felt heavy beneath the bandages. Yet, he was alive. As he tried to sit up, a soft voice broke through the stillness.

  "Whoa, whoa, take it easy! You were barely hanging on when you arrived!"

  Turning his head, he saw a woman with vibrant green hair, her eyes sparkling behind round glasses. She wore a flowing purple robe, adorned with intricate embroidery, and a staff leaned against the bed.

  "Who are you?" he asked, his voice raspy and rough.

  "Sena, The village healer. And the one responsible for your miraculous recovery." she said, a hint of pride shining through her concern.

  He tried to laugh, but it came out as a hacking cough. "Well, I guess there are some normal people around here after all," he remarked, thinking back to the unpleasant NPCs he had encountered.

  Sena tilted her head, puzzled by his comment. "Normal? What do you mean?"

  "Just that... the others weren't very welcoming," he admitted.

  Sena answered his comment with a confident smirk and swiftly moved on.

  "What were you doing in such a state?" she asked, her tone colored by genuine curiosity.

  He looked away, a wave of anxiety washing over him. "I was gathering bark in the Crystalline Forest."

  Sena's expression shifted from curiosity to disbelief. "The Crystalline Forest? That's classified as an amber zone! Do you understand how dangerous that is for someone at your level?"

  His brow furrowed. "My level huh?." he said, looking back at the zero displayed on his XP bar.

  "I didn't think it would be that bad; it was just tree bark; I thought I could handle it" he responded to her question barely believing it himself

  "You thought you could handle it?" she exclaimed, incredulous. "You ventured into an amber zone as a level 1? That's... that's reckless!"

  "I didn't have a choice. I needed the money, and out of the quest available to me, that seemed like the easiest," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper, the weight of responsibility heavy on his shoulders.

  "What happened to the rest of your group?" she pressed, concern etching her features.

  "I didn't have a group," he said, the truth hanging heavily in the air.

  Sena studied him, her disbelief giving way to admiration. "You really went into the Crystalline Forest alone and made it back alive? That's extraordinary!"

  "I wouldn't say coming back half-dead is all that impressive," he murmured, his gaze distant as he replayed the events in his mind.

  "You know, most adventurers wouldn't dare set foot in there without a full party," she said, shaking her head. "You completed a quest meant for higher levels and survived. That's a feat, but you need to be more careful in the future."

  "I know," he replied, a hint of remorse in his tone. "I honestly didn't think it would be that bad."

  "Next time, take a moment to assess the risks," she advised gently. "You might be brave, but bravery without caution can lead to disaster."

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  He nodded slowly, absorbing her words. "I'll try to remember that."

  Sena smiled softly, her expression calming. "Good. Just promise me you'll think twice before diving headfirst into danger again."

  "I promise," he said, the calm settling in as he felt the weight of the storm begin to lift.

  "By the way," Shu asked, slowly sitting up again, wincing as a sharp pain shot through his side. "How long was I out?"

  Sena tilted her head, her finger tracing a thoughtful line on her chin. "Mmm, about two days, I'd say."

  Shu's eyes flew open wide with alarm. "Shit! I gotta get back quickly!"

  Sena started to protest, but the desperation in his eyes stopped her. "Hey! Make sure you take it easy for a while!"

  He nodded, a frantic smile twisting his lips. "Will do!"

  He bolted out the door, the innkeeper's worried shouts echoing behind him. He hadn't left enough money for more than two days, and panic clawed at him. He rushed back to the inn, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest.

  "Is my sister still here?" he demanded, bursting through the door.

  The receptionist, with a bored expression, barely glanced up from her book. "Mmhmm," she mumbled.

  Shu didn't wait for another word. He raced up the stairs, his injured leg protesting with every step. He threw open the door to his room, his breath catching in his throat.

  Hana still standing at the window, her back to him. She hadn't moved, not an inch, since he'd left her. The sight of her, so still, so lifeless, sent a wave of icy dread through him.

  "Hana..." he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.

  "Hello, brother." Her voice was flat, devoid of warmth, like the wind whistling through a barren field.

  "Are... are you feeling okay today?" he asked, his voice trembling. He desperately wanted to hear a flicker of life in her voice, a hint of her old self.

  "Does it matter?" she replied, her gaze still fixed on the street below. "We'll be gone soon anyway."

  His heart sank. Each word she spoke was a blow to his already wounded soul. He walked over to the bed, his injured leg throbbing with pain. He sat down beside her, saying nothing, and dared not touch her. He simply stared out the window with her, trying to see what she saw, to understand the emptiness that had taken hold of her.

  "What is it you keep looking at?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. He was afraid of the answer, afraid of the truth that her silence held.

  "Nothing," she replied.

  At first, he thought she meant it figuratively. But as he looked out the window, his own eyes began to see the emptiness she saw. The streets, once filled with desperation and fear, were deserted. The people rocking on the ground, friends holding each other, and the cries of the other players that echoed throughout the streets were all gone. Vanished.

  "Where did everybody go?" he asked, his voice filled with a growing sense of dread.

  "They left," Hana said, her voice still as cold as the winter wind. "Together."

  Shu's mind raced as she tried to make sense of her words.

  "You mean... they left the village?" he asked, his voice choked with worry.

  Hana nodded, her eyes still fixed on the empty town square.

  Concern etched deep lines on Shu's face. He couldn't stay here, couldn't let his sister sit in this silence, this emptiness. He had to find out what had happened and know why they had left. He had to find them.

  He scrambled to his feet, his injured leg screaming in protest. He ran, as fast as his body would allow, towards the village gate, towards the empty meadow that held the answers to his fears.

  When he reached the village gate leading to the Peaceful Meadow, he stopped, his heart pounding in his chest. He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the fields.

  His body was wracked with a sob that escaped his lips. The silence of the meadow mirrored the silence in his sister's heart, the same silence that echoed the fear gnawing at his own.

  The Peaceful Meadow, once a riot of vibrant hues, was now a crimson sea. The bodies of his fellow players, their dreams extinguished, lay scattered like fallen petals.

  Staring at the macabre tableau, felt a cold dread seep into his bones.

  "Why... why is this happening to us?" he whispered, the question echoing in the suffocating silence.

  His heart pounded with a desperate fear. This world, promised to be a shared adventure, had morphed into a living nightmare. He was trapped.

  "It's... just us..." he choked out, the words rasping against his dry throat. His voice trembled with terror.

  "We're the only ones left." He sank to his knees, the weight of their isolation crushing him.

  He looked at the lifeless faces around him, his own reflection a mask of despair. The tears had dried, leaving behind a hollow ache. He was becoming numb, a chilling echo of his sister's icy detachment.

  "Oh..." he breathed, the realization hitting him like a physical blow.

  "So this is how she feels." He remembered Hana's sudden change in personality; once vibrant and full of life, she was now a shell of her former self. The game had stolen her joy, leaving behind a cold emptiness.

  The weight of their shared despair pressed down on him, a suffocating blanket of grief and isolation. He was alone, adrift in a sea of red.