Chapter 5: Volume I - 4: Changed Brother

Chapter 5: Volume I - Chapter 4: Changed Brother

I was lying on my bed thinking about what had just occurred to me. On the other hand, my brow was furrowed, and I had a dull expression on my face.

Yes, I may have a deep knowledge of this universe, but there's one big thing I'm missing.

In The Lands of The Lunerra, the main character we control has his own name, appearance, and past.

Yes, these things 'exist', but the player actually determines the character's true personality through the decisions they make. In other words, whether the character is a compassionate fairy godmother or an evil man who destroys everything in his path depends on the person controlling him.

Likewise, which weapon the character uses, and which stats they focus on is completely up to the player, and since I'm not the main character right now, I have literally zero information about him.

Considering that I'm already in the second part of the story, he must have already made the decisions that will slightly lay the foundations of his personality and his development... He must have absorbed that annoying old man too. What I mean is if he's heading toward the bad ending, there's a good chance he's going to throw the world into chaos.

Honestly... I think it's more likely that he's a bad guy than a good guy, because as players, even though people see the past of the character they play, they can't empathize with him very much. They do whatever they want at that moment, whatever will satisfy them.

The main character's parents are murdered by someone. After his parents die, he falls on hard times, lives the life of a beggar, grows up being bullied by countless kids and even adults, and finally finds the remains of a very powerful person absorbed into his body due to a chance incident.

Then he finds out that he can communicate with this person and as if that wasn't enough, this old man says that he can take him to the top of the world as long as he helps him get his revenge.

Now, if I drop the fact that I'm the main character with all this and what I've been through in the past... My parents were murdered and I grew up being bullied until this age.

As a human being who can really think, shouldn't I hate the world for making me suffer? Could someone who actually experienced what happened to the main character be a compassionate fairy godmother? I don't think so, and neither would anyone who can think rationally.

That's exactly what worries me. If the main character is heading toward a bad ending, then it might be hard to stop him, even for me, who knows the game inside and out. Because as much as I know about this universe, that damned old man knows almost as much, if not more, and as long as he gets a new body, he's not going to think much about what's happening to the world.

~beep!

I was deep in my thoughts, but then I looked up at the sound of a notification echoing around the room.

Oh, really... I had an 'acquaintance' texting me.

I picked up my phone, which I had forgotten to put away, and then logged into the messaging app.

Just like me, the boy named Aiden didn't seem to have many friends. Because the messaging app was empty except for a person named 'Clara'. Though it's not impossible that he deleted everything before committing suicide.

<<------------------------------

Clara: Don't make me come to that damn academy!

------------------------------>>

When I looked at Clara's last text message, I couldn't help but sigh. If, as the producers say, the old Aiden was someone who hated his family and acquaintances, this girl must really love him to still be able to write to him...

<<------------------------------

Clara: You finally looked at your phone! You've already been ignoring me, now you're still going to act like a punk when you've left your sister all alone?

------------------------------>>

When I looked at the word 'sister', I raised my eyebrows involuntarily.

This 'Clara' is my sister huh... And judging from the messages she sent, it seems like she really cares about me.

So, this is what it means to be cared for...

After the old me, the real 'me' who lived in the real world, was sent to the orphanage by my parents, I never saw them again. I know neither their names nor their faces because I never wanted to meet the people who abandoned me.

They never came to see me anyway, but I always envied those children when I saw them walking down the road holding their parents' hands. So, it feels a bit strange to think that I have a sister now.

As I continued to read Clara's incessant texts, I couldn't help but swear at Aiden.

You had a family but you treated them like assholes? Don't worry punk... I'll take good care of your body and your family.

While Clara was busy getting angry with me about why I didn't write her anything, I briefly thought about what I should write to her and finally wrote her a reply.

<<------------------------------

You: Sorry, I was nauseous and had trouble waking up.

------------------------------>>

For a few seconds after sending the message, the conversation did not progress at all. It was as if time had stopped, yet after a while Clara started writing again.

<<------------------------------

Clara: Did you just apologize?

You: Yes?

Clara: Well... Um, anyway... You missed the first day of the academy, be nicer to your body.

You: Okay, I'll try.

------------------------------>>

To think that the presence of someone who is worried about me would feel so good in a strange way... It's like there are really many things in life that I haven't experienced.

<<------------------------------

Clara: Brother? Are you okay?

------------------------------>>

Huh? Where did this come from... Did I do something wrong?

<<------------------------------

You: Yes? Is there a problem?

Clara: Why are you writing me back?

------------------------------>>

I frowned when I got that last text.

Aiden... You really are an asshole... Even your own sister thinks there's something wrong with you for texting her.

<<------------------------------

You: Let's say I decided to be a better person.

Clara: Who the fuck are you?

You: Aiden Tenebra, I'm eighteen and I'm going to CDA. I thought about it a lot and then decided that it's stupid to ignore my sister, so you don't need to text me in the hopes that you won't get a reply anymore. I want to change, Clara, and I will start by fixing the bad relationship between us.

------------------------------>>

Clara didn't write anything for a long time. I think she was reading what I had written over and over again, I could swear she was screaming in disbelief, but I couldn't prove it.

I had been waiting for her to reply for a while, but then, out of the blue, a notification appeared on the screen and the phone started vibrating.

When I saw that Clara was 'video' calling me, I panicked a little at first, because I didn't know what to do, but then I quickly pulled myself together.

I couldn't become a new 'Aiden' by running away from my sister, so I answered the call with trembling fingers.

The small notification box on the top of the phone expanded as I answered the call, covering the entire screen. My own face appeared first and then shrunk to the bottom left of the screen, giving way to a bewildered girl with a frown.

As far as I could tell, Clara had brown hair, not too long for a girl, but not short either. Her eyes, like mine, were a colorless gray. I could tell they were a little brighter, though, and she was about fifteen with a face that could definitely be called cute.

After making sure that there was nothing wrong with my appearance, I forced myself to smile. Even though I gave Clara a rather clumsy smile out of over-excitement, the shock on her face made it clear that I had never done that before.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you, Clara. Forget the old asshole you used to know; I will do what I have to do as a big brother from now on."

This was the first time I had ever said anything long out loud and the change in my voice with my new body had a strange effect on me, but I tried to ignore it and focused on Clara's puzzled face.

Even if I feel bad that I am not her real brother, I cannot say to her, "Hello! The world you lived in was a game and I was a player, but I died and your brother committed suicide, so now I'm living in his body!"

Aiden is the one who chose to leave this world by committing suicide in the first place and I am the one who inhabited his body. So I have to take all his responsibilities on myself.

Though, that might be a selfish excuse I made up, but I still wholeheartedly embrace it.

"You... You've really changed."

I smiled slightly, but Clara was even more surprised to see it. Seriously... I guess Aiden never used to smile. Well, I can't say anything to Aiden about that, after all, I wasn't much of a smiler myself.

"I don't know if something happened to you, but if you're fooling me and this is a joke, I will never talk to you again."

It was a bit of a childish threat, but I nodded in agreement, so Clara let out a deep sigh and then her expression turned serious.

"Their death anniversary is next weekend, so if you've decided to change, at least visit them."

I froze in place with those words in my ears.

Anniversaries of death...

I felt a deep ache in my heart at the thought that Aiden's parents were dead.

So I don't have a family here either. I am alone in this world too...

Well, at least I have a sister. Who knows, maybe we have a relative or something, but for some reason, I'm pretty sure there is no such thing.

"Okay, I'll be there."

Clara looked even more surprised than before at the expression I gave her. Even though I told her I was going to change, she must not have expected this.

"All right! I'm sure they will be happy with the son they will see in seven years."

And so my gloomy expression became even gloomier, even though I tried not to show it.

You are wrong, Clara. Unfortunately, I am not their son.

If they can actually see and hear me when I visit them, then they will be nothing but angry at me for taking the place of their real son, Aiden.

Of course, even if they can't hear me, I have to talk to them at least once, and one of my responsibilities as the new user of the body I will inhabit from now on is to apologize to the family of the person whose body I took, no matter how much of a jerk he was.

"You will answer everything I write from now on, won't you?"

Clara's eyes sparkled and I smiled in response. As I thought, this girl was just like me, hungry for love.

"Yes, and I'll even come to visit you in your free time. We can go for a walk or something."

Clara was a bit petite. She could have been at least fifteen, maybe sixteen at the most, but she was as excited as an eight-year-old at what I said. n0velusb.c0m

"Don't you dare forget this!"

I couldn't take her exaggerated reaction any longer and burst into laughter. Clara was a little startled at first, but then a smile appeared on her face too.

"That's the first time I've ever seen you laugh like that."

Clara had a smile on her face that showed she was really happy. She must be really fond of Aiden if just seeing her brother laugh made her so happy. I wonder why she was so obsessed with him...

There's a good chance that it's because Aiden is the only family she has left, but that doesn't mean that the smile she's showing me right now is fake. So she really loves Aiden as her 'big brother', not as her only remaining relative.

"I'm sorry... I'll try to smile more from now on, but I have to go now. I have things to do."

Actually, I want to talk to her more. I want to chat with my newfound sister, and I want to have fun joking with her, but I really have things to do.

"Okay, take care of yourself."

Clara didn't reject me, but she must have been thinking the same as me because her smile dropped a little.

"Bye."

And with that, the call ended. I was alone again in this quiet room surrounded by walls on all four sides.

*(A/N: I'll post chapters every day until the first volume is finished. I'll think about what happens after that when that time comes.)*