284 The Girl Who Died

After Gio's meeting with Fred which was naturally peppered with fights, both physical, and through words, only Gio came out scathed. Fred still looked the same as when he first appeared before them. But strangely, his face did not look too good. It was way darker and gloomier than before, contrasting his lack of wounds or even dirt in his pristine white lab coat.

On the other hand, it was Gio who had a gloating grin on his face.

The two men parted after some time and Fred did not pursue him. Conrad shrugged at the sullen and half-angry, half-depressed system user then drove his nephew away. Only they knew what they talked about, but those who saw their reactions immediately concluded it was Gio's small victory.

Fred who had been left there standing outside of the tall walls of the place kept looking at the direction the car took.

"... What if I tell you that I have talked with the Seer... and she already has a prediction regarding your experiment?" Earlier, these words were said gloatingly and with derision by Gio.

Pain gripped his heart as he looked up. Weariness could be seen from the corner of his eyes. He suddenly felt tired. But this expression did not last long. A moment later, he vanished from his position, reappearing inside his laboratory and greeted by Leo Jones and Samuel Lim.

He walked further in and saw lying on the bed on one side was the non-host who got planted with another soul inside her.

On another side was the mother of the girl his daughter adopted as her sister. That Stefany, could she be considered his daughter now?

Upon thinking the last one, his face darkened so much. The connotation was so gross, it made him almost vomit. Sofony was his only daughter, his daughter from the woman she loved! One of these days, he would make sure this fact would be etched into that girl's mind.

Inhaling deeply but still with his cold expression donned, he thought, 'I don't believe in predictions. Bathory never won against me because I could always counter her moves. So what if she can predict a future event? In the end, it's just one of the many possible conclusions and endpoints. The keyword is 'possible'. Possible means not predetermined! Nothing is set on stones until it's both said and done!'

...

A few hours ago...

Sofony did not meet up with Gio after work but went to a nearby cemetery upon being reminded of today's date. With a flower in hands, she trotted on her high heels along the narrow road cutting through a seemingly endless patch of green and tombstones. The destination was deep within the memorial park, a place where stand-alone chapels and pavilions could be found. She entered the one on the left turn, with the humblest of size but lavishly decorated inside.

She was the one who had this mini-chapel built like this two years ago. It was for her other best friend who helped her stepped into Level 5.

Apparently, according to the system AI, the last mission of level 4 would always be about taking the life of somebody the immoral host in question valued. The target could be a family, or a lover, a very important friend. It depends on the individual on who he or she placed dear in her heart.

That time, Sofony had no one. Her father, Gio, Wendy, Steffany, everyone else was missing. Chris and Sofia were not people she considered with great importance to her back then. And even if they already were, as allies, she was smart enough to realize they were not people she could afford to lose.

As a result, she resorted to creating one, a best friend she found in one of the hospitals under the Ever Victorious Group.

After placing the bouquet of flowers in front of urn placed on the elaborate altar there, Sofony clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, silently offering a prayer to the girl who had passed away two years ago at this same day.

Old Gil who came with her and was only three steps behind her was silent too, but since she didn't know who the person who owned the place this was, he only roamed his gaze around, waiting for his lady boss to finish her prayer.

Once she was done and was only sitting on the pew bench there, absentmindedly staring at the cross in front, the assistant curiously asked, "Miss Silver, may I know who is the owner of this place?"

The girl's eyes turned glaze for a couple of moments before she looked down and answered, "A very good friend of mine. However, two years ago, she died of breast cancer."

Her listener widened his eyes and then said. "I see. My deep condolences, Miss."

The man whose tone turned softer and sadder lowered his head, yet his eyes were still wandering. It was already late afternoon, yet there was no other offerings or flowers, except the ones Miss Sofony brought? Wasn't it a bit sad?

"Is she an orphan?"

"Yeah." Sofony nodded, recalling in her mind the deceased's identity. "Her name is Amalu Hiller. Before getting confined, she's a web writer and has little to no interaction with people outside. Since she has neither no family nor friends apart from me, it's normal that only I visited the place on her death anniversary."

'That's really sad,' thought Old Gil.

Sofony by then closed her eyes again and reminisced that year which was full of loneliness, anger, and despair. The first time she approached that person was when she was looking for a target for her new mission.

The girl was the first one of interesting and safe background she encountered so she pretended to have mistakenly entered her room while she was 'looking for her relative,'

Amalu, twenty-seven years old, had long ago become a closed-off individual but may be due to knowing she was already in her last days, she entertained the girl who barged into her life and indulged in the feeling of having a friend frequently visiting her and telling her stories.

Sofony was a great actress at the time so she was able to fool the woman of interesting stories and stuff which didn't really happen to her. The lies were very easy to reinforce since she had the system.

However, as time passed by, since the goal was to make the dying patient somebody closed to her, Sofony let herself become attached to Amalu. Yet she had quite underestimated how friendship could also be as deep as that between loves.

When the woman couldn't hold on anymore because the warmth of interaction with Sofony could no longer dull the pain and make her look forward to tomorrow, she asked for euthanasia, to be given release. God knows how painful it had been for Sofony to administer it by herself. But she had to do so not only for her mission, but to give the woman her deserved rest.

After Amalu's death, Sofony completed her quest and became a level 5 system user. However, the rewards and privileges gotten from it couldn't cover up the truth that she once again lost somebody important to her.

"I can say," subconsciously, Sofony blurted out, "Her death has quite the influence on me. I became what I am now, strong and powerful, not only because I was separated from Gio and the rest for years, but also because I lost this good friend of mine."

"No matter where she is, I'm sure it's a better place, Miss, and she is glad that you are doing well on your own." Old Gil commented, trying his best to comfort the woman.

The Silver's princess chuckled. Not long after, she elegantly stood up and started walking down the aisle leading to the exit.

Before completely disappearing there, she looked back once, wishing she could take a glimpse of her friend's ghost or spirit. However, a few seconds later, the notion was thrown off of the back of her mind upon remembering that ghostly beings were afraid of system users like her.

Her steps could only resume, heading steadily towards the exit of the memorial garden.

'May you rest in peace, my beloved friend,' she silently prayed before her car left the parking lot and sped along the unusually quiet road.