Chapter 814

Chapter 814

In a dark, silent arcade.

All the other machines had stopped, their screens off, surrounded by stillness.

In the center of the arcade, a single, massive game machine buzzed with rough noise, radiating the unique warmth of machinery.

The only machine still powered on in the entire arcade had a small child sitting in front of it.

The boy was dressed in a baggy hospital gown that didn’t fit his small frame, his head covered by a beanie, his skin pale from lack of sunlight.

“...”

The boy stared at the large game screen.

On the screen, marred with static, a single phrase flickered:

— CONTINUE?

Would you like to continue?

Next to that phrase, the number ticked back and forth between 1 and 0, also distorted by static.

It wasn’t clear, but it seemed to be slowly dropping from 1 to 0.

And when it finally hit 0... the game would be over forever.

“...”

Watching the slowly ticking numbers, the boy felt a strange sense of peace. Perhaps it was a kind of resignation, or maybe he had simply lost interest.

He just stared at the screen with empty eyes.

As if hoping the number would reach 0 soon.

As if waiting for the words “GAME OVER” to flash across the large screen.

At that moment,

“Not going to play anymore?”

A young man’s voice echoed from the entrance of the arcade.

Then, the young man walked into the arcade, his footsteps echoing in the quiet space.

“It’d be a shame to stop now, after getting this far. Why not give it one more try?”

“...”

The boy, who had been waiting for the game to end, reluctantly responded.

“I’m sick of this game.”

The boy’s eyes, still fixed on the screen, held a hint of resentment.

“It’s hard. It’s painful. And it’s not even fun.”

“...”

“I’m done.”

Step. Step.

The approaching footsteps stopped behind the boy.

The boy glanced back, blinking in surprise.

“Wait, Retro?”

The man resembled the famous streamer RetroAddict that the boy often watched on TV.

...Or so he thought, but upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn’t him.

The man’s appearance was completely different. Plus, he was dressed in a unique uniform the boy had never seen before.

Why did I mistake him for someone else? The boy tilted his head in confusion.

“Sorry. You just reminded me of someone I know... But who are you?”

The man hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully before replying,

“A friend.”

He gave a sheepish smile.

“An old friend of RetroAddict’s.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

The boy scratched his head, still covered by the beanie.

“You don’t look anything like Retro, but your vibe is similar. That’s why I got confused.”

“Haha. I get that a lot. People say Retro and I are quite similar.”

The man laughed as he pulled a chair from a nearby game machine and sat next to the boy.

“So, you know a lot about RetroAddict?”

“More or less? After all, I was his first viewer.”

“How did you end up watching his stream?”

The boy smiled faintly, recalling the past.

“Retro’s a pretty popular game streamer now.”

“That’s true.”

“But back when he first started, he was a total newbie. His stream setup was a mess, and he only played really old games. Because of that, no one watched his stream.”

Talking about his favorite streamer seemed to cheer the boy up a bit.

“I was stuck in the hospital, bored out of my mind, so I started wandering around different streams... And that’s when I stumbled upon Retro’s. A stream with 0 viewers, broadcasting some ancient game that nobody even knew existed.”

The boy paused for a moment.

After a brief silence, he continued.

“That was the day I was thinking about dying.”

“...”

“Treatment was tough, surgery was scary, I kept throwing up the meds, and I felt so guilty towards my parents... Everything was just so exhausting, I thought maybe it was time to just give up.”

The man listened quietly.

“I entered that stream that no one else was watching, and the game looked incredibly difficult. His life bar was almost empty, down to the last sliver, and monsters were closing in from all sides. And I thought to myself...”

The boy lowered his gaze.

“If this guy loses, I’ll give up too.”

His small, worn-out hands, bruised from countless injections, clenched into fists.

“I decided that I would die that day.”

“...”

“But... he beat it.”

A faint excitement crept into the boy’s voice.

“He actually did it. He was literally on the verge of a game over. But he gritted his teeth and fought desperately... He kept pushing forward, refusing to give up, until he finally reached the final boss and won. He saw the ending.”

“...”

“Seeing that... somehow, I didn’t want to die anymore.”

The boy repeated softly,

“I wanted to live.”

The man recalled it all.

“Do you know why he did that?”

“...No.”

“Because you saved him from hell.”

The boy froze.

The man spoke with conviction.

“You reached out to him, introduced yourself, when he was isolated and dying in his own personal hell.”

In this hellish world, all that ordinary people who aren’t iron men can do is reach out to one another.

And sometimes, that’s enough.

The man believed that.

“I know. It’s irresponsible. We can’t live your life for you. We struggle just to face our own personal hells. We’re barely managing to endure the hardest games we’ve ever faced.”

“...”

“But just like you gained courage from that friend.”

With all his sincerity,

“That friend gained courage from you.”

Hoping that even a little bit of this would reach him.

“We want you to live.”

The man said.

“We want you to keep challenging your life, keep trying to conquer your world, and not give up.”

“...”

The boy bit his lip.

The man continued.

“Life will still be hard for you. Treatment will still be tough, and continuing to live will still be painful. Even if you overcome one challenge, unimaginable difficulties will keep coming.”

“...”

“But still, just one more time. Just one last time.”

The man reached into his pocket, pulling something out...

He flicked his fingers and tossed it to the boy.

“Fight again.”

The boy caught the object out of reflex.

What the man had thrown him... was an old coin.

As the boy stared down at the coin in his hand, the man smiled warmly.

“It’s your choice.”

The man turned around.

Then, striding away, he left the arcade.

“...Wait.”

The boy hesitated, then shouted urgently.

“Hey, mister! Wait a second!”

The man stopped at the arcade’s entrance.

The boy called out to him, his voice trembling.

“How do I repay you for this coin?”

The man chuckled softly,

Then slowly turned around.

“You’re not the one who needs to pay it back.”

He pointed a finger at the boy.

Then, he raised his thumb, pointing it at himself.

“I’m the one who paid it back.”

Leaving the boy with words he couldn’t quite understand,

The man opened the arcade door and vanished outside.

“...”

Standing there, the boy stared at the entrance where the man had disappeared for a long time.

Finally... he slowly turned around.

— CONTINUE?

The same old phrase still flickered on the screen, on that infuriating game machine.

The boy walked over to it and plopped back into the seat.

He stared silently at the coin in his hand.

“...One more time.”

With the coin clutched in his fist,

“Just one last time.”

— Insert A Coin

The boy pushed the coin into the machine’s slot.

Clink...

As the coin clattered down, the number that had been so close to 0 suddenly shot back up. A new phrase flashed across the static-filled screen in bright, clear letters.

— Here Comes A New Challenger!

— Get Ready For The Next STAGE

A new challenger has appeared.

Prepare for the next stage.

“...Phew.”

Taking a deep breath,

Opening his eyes wide,

The boy’s small, dry hand gripped the game’s joystick...

— PRESS START

And he pressed the start button with all his might.

–TL Notes–

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading

Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt