The moment it ended, I just fell into the invisible floor and passed out. It was not ideal, since there was barely enough oxygen up there, but given the circumstances, it just happened.

  ''Ethan, wake up; time to go to school.''

  This is a voice I haven't heard for a while.

  ''MOM!''

  As I ran downstairs, I saw her standing in the kitchen, wearing her favorite apron, humming a tune, and preparing breakfast.

  Her beautiful blonde hair and bright blue eyes shone in the morning light.

  Dad was reading his morning journal and drinking coffee. He looked up and smiled at me, asking how I slept last night.

  ''Really good. I was feeling so tired for some reason…''

  ''Tired of what? Back in my days, I-''

  ''Needed to go to school on foot uphill both ways.''

  I heard Mom laugh in the kitchen; even Dad gave it a chuckle.

  That filled me with happiness.

  ''Eth-''

  -cogh, cog…-

  That happiness didn't last long. Mom's face started to get frail, fast, really fast and she collapsed to the ground.

  I run into her desperate, just like my dad.

  ''Ethan, grab the medical supplies upstairs, quick. ''

  I went to Mom and Dad's room and grabbed the big white box next to the bed.

  When I went down again, the scenery changed, it was a hospital, and Dad was already in his work clothes. I heard the sound of a heart monitor beeping steadily in the background.

  And I didn't have the box in my hands anymore.

  ''Ethan, What are you doing here? Get out and wait outside; I need to focus.''

  He was very serious; I could see from his expression.

  The moment I stepped outside the room, I found myself in the hospital hall.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Dad came out of the room, crying.

  ''DAD!''

  ''Ethan, your mom is, your mom is—''

  I hugged him, not understanding the full situation just yet.

  A commotion started on the other side of the hall; I turned my head to see it.

  A thug, shouting something about entering the hospital for someone.

  My dad, who was just crying on my shoulders a few moments ago, was confronting the man. I had a terrible feeling watching the scene.

  ''Dad, DAD!''

  He didn't listen; I continued to argue with the thug.

  ''DAD!''

  The thug pushed my dad; he fought back and punched him in the face.

  The thug fell to the ground, looked up, gave a creepy smile, and pulled out a gun.

  -Bang-

  ''!''

  ''DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!''

  *waaaaaah

  Everything went black like an abyss.

  -MEWO-

  ''A cat… !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!''

  THIS IS A DREAM.

  I regained rationality while still sleeping, a phenomenon I experienced very few times in my life.

  'Heh, Mom and Dad didn't die on the same day… There was a year of difference.'

  I walked near the cat… he stood still.

  I knew this cat.

  'Let me guess… You are going to run, and a truck will come, right? Yeah, I remember reading about dreams being the subconscious reflection of life experiences or something…'

  And sure enough, when I got closer, the cat ran away; after that, I looked behind.

  …

  -nothing-

  '?'

  I turned again and tried to see the cat, but… it was… gone.

  From the deep darkness, something I didn't wish to see again came… the huge creepy hand that almost ended me not long ago.

  ''FUCK!''

  I ran away.

  ''Leave me alone!''

  At some point, I started limping.

  The hand got closer, and I tripped onto something.

  Falling to the "ground," I looked into what I'd stumble upon.

  The corpses, more specifically the massacred corpses of the slave caravan.

  -WhY, wHY DiD YOu do ThiS TO Us?!-

  They looked at me in pain.

  'FUCK! Did I get cursed by the banshee back then!?'

  'No, if I did, I would be dead by now; this is probably my own guilt for using the corpses.'

  ''I DID IT TO SURVIVE!!!''

  The hand got really close, but before it grabbed me, a huge flash of light descended, evaporating, cleansing everything in its path, be it the darkness, the hand, the corpses, or even me.

  The moment I woke up, I knew I had screwed it up.

  *huff, HUff, huf…

  *PIIIIIIIIIIIING

  I felt like I wasn't breathing even though I was pushing a lot of air into my lungs; it was suffocating. I also felt like my ears were going to burst, and last but not least, nausea, like I had never felt before.

  I tried to get up, but my entire body screamed in pain, protesting every injury I had gotten till now; every time I pushed through my limits, it was finally catching up to me.

  'I can't stay here for long; there's not enough oxygen.'

  So I crawled my way back through the invisible path, like a worm.

  It was hard, very hard, not only because of the state of my body but also because I was crawling; it was difficult to know exactly which step I was in. I had a few close calls and almost fell to my death, but ultimately I've made it back.

  The moment the elevator returned to the peak, I went close to the dead tree and fell asleep again.

  …

  …

  When the sun rose again, I woke up, or at least that was what I thought since I didn't know how long I'd actually slept.

  *argh

  My body was still injured and sore, but it was more bearable.

  What was not bearable was the hunger I felt before even trying to get up; turns out running and walking a few miles nonstop in the middle of a forest is quite energy-consuming.

  *GRUMBLING

  'Oh, yeah… the rations… DAMN IT!'

  I got up with some difficulties and started planning my next steps.

  'I'm closer to the river than to the wrecked caravan.'

  'There's fish and drinkable water there; I can try to make a small camp alongside it and rest for a day or two at most; I can't go on in this state.'

  *deep breath

  ''Alright, now for the good stuff!''

  I cleared my throat.

  ''EQUIP!''

  I shouted with both hands in the air.

  -nothing happens-

  '?'

  ''How the fuck do I use it!''

  ''YYYYYYYYYYEEEEE YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!''

  -nothing happens-

  'Yeah, that was weird. Why did I try that?… But… What about—'

  ''KA BooooM!!!''

  -nothing-

  Even though there was no one watching, I almost hid in shame.

  For the next hour or so, I proceed to try a bunch of different poses and shouts I remember from the game and even try some stuff I remember from movies and animations to see if something works, but… it was of no success.

  *huff, huff, puff…

  I was starting to get tired and without ideas, but that was when…

  -vuuuu-

  A cold breeze passed me, touching not only the forbidden crack but also my family jewel.

  '!!!! What the… I'm naked!!!!'

  I tried to cover myself from the wind, but my nose got iffy.

  *aaah, aa, tch- BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

  Along with my sneeze came the power of the crugdel, and it destroyed almost half the peak.

  ''HOLLLY SHIT!''

  I struggle to keep my balance and not fall on the ground. There were cracks on the ground, dirt and grass flying everywhere, and half of the pond was gone.

  I felt a creepy tingling feeling going from my head to my spine and finally all the way to the rest of my body.

  I focused on it, and sure enough, a few moments later

  *crack, crack, crack