Free and Unfettered 158 Side Story Valerius and Zenith

He felt like strangling a particular person.

He knew it! He had a strange feeling yesterday after their conversation, and that idiot really did it!

Ah, he felt like screaming.

Idiot! That man that he called his best friend was an idiot!

Valerius took another look at his phone, showing him the chat bubble that had been sent to him at an ungodly hour of four in the morning.

The bubble read 'Valerius! Buddy, I'll be testing our theory first! Come to the game to check out if it worked, won't you?'

Reading it again, he punched the wall. The stinging pain in his fists reminded him this was real. He was in no way dreaming right now.

The possibilities ate away at him. Terror was a close shadow. He should've known better! What if it didn't work? What if he never saw that idiot's goofy, energetic smile again? What if they would never again have any chats, never go hunting in the game again, never be able to visit their group of friends again?

What would he tell his mother? His mother, who loved Zenith just as dearly as she loved him?

Valerius shook inside at the sheer terror that threatened to engulf him whole.

His heart was beating a steady stream of terror, his thoughts screaming at him that this shouldn't have happened. He should never have encouraged the rather flighty man with their flights of fancy.

Even if the world of 'Pride and Honour' was so startling real to the two of them, did that mean that the world really existed?

Valerius didn't know, and that was what ate away at him the most. He didn't know. How? He just couldn't understand how the man managed to have such sheer courage to pull it off without any hesitation whatsoever.

Had it been Valerius, he would have eventually put it aside, laughing at himself.

Valerius knew that he should go and check and see whether his friend's… body was truly dead, but he couldn't. He was weak, and he was cowardly.

Valerius sank down as his breaths came in short pants. He put his head between his knees, feeling his blood rush to his head.

He gripped trembling hands tight, stumbling over to the gaming pod that would allow him to connect to 'Pride and Honour'.

As the world swirled in a familiar way, Valerius logged back into the game. He shut his eyes, not sure if he wanted to know the truth.

Just as he was about to open them, his body was tackled to the ground, shocking the life out of him.

"Hey, buddy! You made it!"

Valerius blanked out.

He stared at his best friend's familiar face in a daze. The leaf in his hair from where they had engaged in a stint rolling on the ground pushed a hysterical laugh out of him.

Zenith patted his friend on the head. "I'm fine. Look!" the man jumped up from where he had been previously crushing his friend, twirling around and causing a bunch of purple leaves to fly around them. "Perfectly fine! I guess this proves our theory, huh?"

Valerius silently climbed up from the ground, and then, with all his strength, punched his friend in the face.

Zenith crumbled to the ground, wailing as he clutched his face dramatically. "Ow! Alright, I deserved that. But! I'm right! We're right! This is real! Magic! Is! Real!"

Valerius made an angry sound, causing Zenith to hold his hands up in surrender. "Wait, don't punch me! I'll die if my HP drops to zero. At least, I think so. I have no intention of testing that one out."

That caused Valerius to stop in his tracks, his anger long gone. The only thing he had left was the sheer relief that flooded through his body, causing tears to appear. "Stupid idiot! Don't you *ever* do that to me again!"

Zenith drew his friend into a hug, thumping him hard on the back, completely lacking any sense of delicacy. It was a move so characteristic of his friend that Valerius let out a watery laugh.

He didn't know how long it was that they embraced, but Zenith got a little fidgety so Valerius let go, whacking him on the head.

"Ow!"

"Damn it, what are we going to do about your body??"

Zenith scratched his head, not having thought about that. "Well, just leave it? Doesn't matter, does it? After all, I'm still alive."

Valeius whacked him again. "No!"

"Alright, alright. Do what you see fit then. Are you going to join me here, or what?"

Valerius hesitated. Honestly, there was a part of him that really wanted to, but he didn't know if he would. Mainly because… well. "I do want to, but what about my mother? I can't just leave her behind!"

Zenith rolled his eyes, making an expression like he was particularly dense. "Of course not! Have some faith. I already told her about all this."

"What??? And she didn't stop you???"

"Obviously, she would! Which was why I left her a text message!"

Valerius made a strangled sound. "I'm going offline now! You… go hang out in the city or something. Where you won't accidentally kill yourself!"

Zenith made a few shooing motions. "Go on, then! Leave your wife behind! I'll just be here with my powerpuff girls. All alone. Without company."

Valerius snorted, logging off.

-

"Are you sure, dear?" his mother said.

Valerius gave a firm nod and squeezed her hand. "Mother, I know this is a lot to take in, but… I do want to live there. In the other world. But I'll understand if you don't want to go as well. If you don't want to, then I won't do it either."

His mother pinched his cheek, causing him to rub it.

"Silly boy. I trust you. I trust Zenith too. Go on, then. Connect us."

Valerius handed his mother a pill and popped the one he had for himself inside his mouth, ingesting it.

Then, he lay back inside the gaming pod, just as his mother did. The two closed their eyes, and within a flash, were inside 'Pride and Honour'.

Time ticked by, and slowly, the bodies that had been inside the gaming pod started to fail, their heartbeats growing slower by the minute, before eventually stopping.

-

Valerius rushed towards the beginner village to look for his mother. Zenith had already been camping there a few days ago, but still. It didn't feel right to take his time when she could have been swept away by something whilst she was still Level 1!

By the time he reached, he spotted his mother's back, jogging next to Zenith as they headed back into the beginner village.

"Mother! Zenith!"

The two turned around to look at him.

"Son!"

Valerius paused, feeling a fission of shock. "Wow!" he blurted. "You're already Level 7?"

"Sure am," she said proudly, patting Zenith's arm. "It's all thanks to Zenith. I feel great! In fact, I feel better than I ever have. I don't regret anything, so don't worry your pretty little head about it."

Watching as his mother charged into the beginner village full of zeal, his mouth dropped. He had never seen his mother so energetic nor lively. Maybe this really was the best decision. He had been feeling guilt over it, as if his mother had only come because of him, but she really seemed to be enjoying herself.

Zenith chuckled. "Look at her go! She's having the time of her life. Though, we'll have to teach her about what to look out for."

Snapping out of his worries at Zenith's word, he gave his friend a deeply judging side eye. "Excuse me? Who's going to tell her what? You? My mother is higher level than you right now!"

Zenith made an offended sound. "Just you wait! I'll catch up soon enough!"

As Valerius spotted his mother run out of the village with a gleeful expression on her face, carrying a gleaming dagger, he sincerely doubted that. "Yeah… I don't think so."

Valerius and Zenith exchanged a look and started to laugh without any reason. They were just so happy and thankful.

This world was real. It was beautiful, stunning, and made them feel alive in a way they never did back on Earth.

There were no regrets.

Chapter end