From the depths of his slumber, Kaihe gentle caress of his cheek and smelt the familiar st of rosemary and mint. It was Mariam… her preseen carried the fragrance of herbs, a testament to her loving care of the garden.

  WHOOH.

  Kai his sciousness ignite like a dlewick. When his eyes fluttered open, he found himself sprawled on the surface of a serene, crystal-clear pond. Below, the aquatic life remained motionless, as if caught in a state of suspended animation.

  But Kaine’s observation of this was uedly brief; what truly captivated his attention was the enting woman kneeling beside him. She wore a warm smile, her touch as soft as velvet, and her appearance was youthful.

  “…Mariam?” Kaine whispered the name in disbelief, his trembling fingers reag for the woman’s snow-white skin. “Sweet pea… is it really you?”

  His hand stilled when he realized his own skin was no longer loose and wrinkled. “…Is this real?” he muttered, eyes wide. “Did I get done in by that monster in the end?”

  Mariam shook her head with a smile, extending a hand to help him to his feet. The momeood up, Kaine pulled her into his arms and buried his nose in her curly hair, her small body molding perfectly into his own.

  “I’ve missed you,” he whispered in her ear.

  “I’ve missed you more,” she whispered back.

  As she pulled away and began guiding him toward a nearby garden, Kaiook a moment to survey their surroundings. The mist-den world enveloped them in swirling fog that exteo the ceiling. It was an awe-inspiring and enigmatic spectacle that reminded Kaine of the profound, seemingly insignifit nature of his own life.

  “I really did die, didn’t I?” he murmured softly as he approached his wife, who k before a small gardeled among the trees. “Could this be… heaven?”

  Mariam offered a wan smile and shook her head, her fingers brushing the leaf of a basil pnt. “This isn’t heaven…”

  Kaine arched an eyebrow iion. “Then—”

  “Honey, it’s still far too early for you to be here…”

  “No,” he asserted, his eyes wide as he spun her around and pulled her into the hard wall of his chest. “I ’t… I ’t lose you again!”

  “Kaine… you mean more to me than our farm and the tranquilids,” whispered Mariam, her arms gently embrag him. “If you really want to make me happy, put your health and safety first.”

  Kaine’s eyes quivered as she pulled away and reached out to gently caress his cheek, her youthful appearanow repced by her actual age. Reflected in her own eyes, he could also see the regression of his own youth.

  heless, his wife’s warm smile remained a bea of radiance. “If you want to preserve my memory,” she spoke gently, “then live on, and cherish the love and happiness we shared.”

  Before Kaine could utter a word, he felt his wife and the surreal world around them swiftly slipping away, leaving him engulfed in pitch-bck darkness. Suddenly, he was falling, a roar esg his throat as he filed. In the instant, he jolted upright, finding himself ba the f familiarity of his bed.

  Kaine looked around frantically, but Mariam and the mysterious realm had vanished from sight. Without a word, he stared down at his trembling hands, now devoid of the woman who had felt more than just a dream, and hugged himself tightly.

  Mariam…

  As he took a moment to secure the dark threads unraveling around his broke, Kaine envisioned his wife’s loving face. He imagined her frowning aly chiding him for sulking.

  She had urged him to prioritize his own livelihood over the farm. Somehow, he knew she would be much happier if he honored her wishes by sharing what they had created with others. And that’s exactly what he would strive to do.

  “That cheeky brat,” he murmured wheuro the tranquilid enclosure and noticed Daisuke was gone. “He didn’t even give me a ce to thank him.”

  ***

  A gloved figure sat around a crude wooden desk, the light from a mana mp barely reag the delicate features of his face. With a smile, he rested his cheek in his palm, his free hand skipping through the pages of a small dairy.

  Averting his sharp gaze, he peered across the dark room toward a metallic cage. Inside were imprisoned several children. They were huddled together, battered and bruised from seemingly endless instances of torture and abuse.

  Their grumbling bellies and ashen faces were evidently amusing to the man, but their suffering couldn’t pare to the misfortune he was eager to unleash upon a particur individual.

  ***

  A small town stood eerily quiet i Virginia. It was ohriving unity—now it lies barren, with seemingly no hope of revival. Crumbling buildings lihe streets, heavy with grime and . The air reeked of lost jobs and fading hope, with misery seeping from the low-rent apartments.

  Inside one of the dingy, poorly maintained units, a morbidly obese man sat hunched over a puter desk that groaned uhe weight of empty soda s and crumpled snack ers.

  The room pressively hot, the flickering light from a rundown window fan barely stirring the stale air. The man-child, a flimsy tank top and a pair of staihreadbare briefs, was oblivious to the sweat that trickled down his bloated body. His scruffy beard, matted and u, g to his double , framing a face that was etched with a perma scowl.

  With a grunt, he reached freasy bag of potato chips, stuffing a handful into his mouth. Crumbs cascaded onto his rge belly, which strained against the fines of his underwear. His pudgy fingers, slick with oil and salt, fumbled with the mouse as he navigated through Sehrei Online’s unity boards.

  His eyes narrowed as he scoured the threads, searg for any topic that challenged his narrow-minded views. Finally, he stumbled upon a post that won his undivided attention. It was a crude sshot of a silver-haired boy with butterscotch eyes and a desding fir. Beh the image was an iing description by the author:

  [King_Osten: Bro, I literally just got ambushed and killed by this bastard called Haxks! He’s a filthy scammer with no sense of sportsmanship! He’s even threateo spawn-kill me and my friends. He’s a lowlife that deserves to experience a huimes the misery he’s made me feel. I’m just an ho guy trying to enjoy SO, but it’s PKers like him who sullies the iy of the game!]

  After angrily downing aire of soda and then chug it aside, the man-child pulled closer to his monitor, more ied in the tents of the eion rather than the post itself.

  [Bald_Crusader: Dem PK bastards! ??

  Kentucky-Fried-Fish: Mmm… sounds like low-key gaslighting to me ?

  SoggyWonton: Where was he st seen? You wanna tag team the sh!t out of him?

  Shane2024: I swear, all PKers should get banned!

  Hayday101: Well I prefer PKers than bots any day!

  Pinapple_Pizza: Wait a minute. Is it just me, or is this Haxks guy still rog level one gear? You sure he's the one who took you down?

  South-Fme: This retard seriously allowed himself to get celed by a noob and then posted about it? What a moron! ???

  Mighty_Saiyajin: Brah ?

  SugerRUSH: Dude’s rallying the troops for his revenge ??

  MemeGod: I’m game. Let’s go ahis sucker a new one!

  GottaCatchEmAll: Sounds like fun! t me in!]

  “So his name’s Haxks, huh?” scoffed the man-child with a heavy lisp tongue. “I’ve been sc both the game and the i for you, dirtbag!”

  Aggressively, he reached for his grimy keyboard after navigating to his Disc0rd server that was titled “Men of Culture”, and began typing a message in the annous el:

  [Found him?]

  ***

  Glistening droplets of sweat slowly trickled de biceps and hard abs. Impressive muscles rippled beh smooth jungle green skin as a familiar Honey Orc performed a series of croug exercises, its massive bulge shifting in its furred loincloth with every movement.

  “Din-ki-doo! Din-ki-doo! Din-ki-doo!”

  The heated words escaped the creature’s thick lips in a hoarse t as it tis daily regime, steam shooting from its fring nostrils. It had been humbled by the human it absolutely adored and almost killed by another who wasn’t nearly as attractive.

  In order to stay alive and protect its silver-haired soul mate, it o bee stronger, faster, and more flexible and agile than anyone else.

  With a deep grunt, the creature removed its massive hands from its head and dropped them to the ground as it transitioned into the posture for push-ups. Its ivory tusk reflected the sunlight and its accessories flickered and chimed as its rge frame moved up and down in an effort to craft a physique that would please his idol.