Afterlife Dream

It was clear as soon as we entered the restaurant that Sheila was not any other high school student who just so happened to make it big with a small cafe in a small town such as St. Louis.

As our little group marched across the huge dining hall, we came across restaurant staff who addressed her with the title "Young Miss". All of us sucked in our breath once we realized that Cecilia was actually the daughter of the restaurant owner. She was a rich young lady!

Sheila led us upstairs and we landed in the most lavish apartment that I had ever seen. The French-style furniture seemed to be delivered directly from the same shop that sold to the Palace of Versailles. Roses of various colors were stuffed inside giant vases that were placed at the corners of the rooms, giving the air a fresh note of the rose fragrance.

Huge oil paintings of possibly Sheila's ancestors were hung neatly on the wall. They all looked haughty and proud. Their eyes seemed to follow us as we walked past their frames, possibly wondering what commoners like us were doing there.

The carpet beneath our feet bore an intricate design that looked more expensive than my whole house altogether. I felt sinful just stepping on it with my dirty shoes. Maybe we should have taken our shoes off at the staircase?

Cecilia, or Sheila, lived in a completely different world than we did.

Sheila stopped in front of a double door and pushed it open. Behind the door was a lavish living room with a lot of fluffy sofas and big pillows. Sheila turned on the light and pressed a button at the furnace wall. Fire appeared magically inside the furnace, startling all of us.

"Please, make yourself at home," Sheila said. "I am going to get some snacks and drinks delivered here. I will be back soon."

She said that we should make ourselves at home, but how could we?

None of us dared to sit on the snow-white, elegant-looking couches that only rich people sat on. If things went wrong, we might have to pay a sum of money to clean the whole couch.

So that's why when Sheila came back with a tray of Danish bite-sized pastries and a huge pot of milk tea, we were still standing awkwardly around the living room.

"Oh, just take a seat," Sheila encouraged us. "Go on. Don't worry, the couch is not made of cotton candies. They won't break or anything."

As if to demonstrate to us, she plopped down on the couch after setting the tray on top of the table.

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We all swallowed hard and finally took our seats on the couch with much awkwardness.

The couch was indeed very soft. It was almost like sinking into a cloud. I could just close my eyes and fall asleep in an instant if I did not pay close attention.

Sheila poured the milk tea from the pot into the individual tea cups and distributed them silently.

"Thanks," I murmured.

She nodded and leaned back on the couch. Staring at us one by one, she let out a heavy sigh and addressed the elephant in the room.

"You must think that I am being an ass for not answering any of your messages."

"Noo, I am sure you have your reasons," Livina said.

ZhaoYun, Theo, and I merely mumbled something incoherent.

"Kinda, yes," HellWitch admitted. Livina gaped at her in disbelief. She mouthed a "HellWitch, what are you saying?" but HellWitch did not pay her any attention.

HellWitch had been very insistent upon not leaving Cecilia behind. They were close in Afterlife Dream too. Her harsh words were quite a shock.

HellWitch frowned at Sheila.

"Tell us the truth. You logged into Afterlife Dream, we know that already. Did you find your memory scroll?"

Sheila lowered her head and looked at her folded hands instead.

"It has been a while. You must have," HellWitch answered for her.

There was no point in denying it, so Sheila eventually confirmed, "Yes, I found it."

All of us sucked in deep breaths inadvertently. After finding the memory scroll, typically the person would be out for a whole twenty-four hours or more. In our cases, we were most likely out for two days and awoke after another repetition of the day. But then we remembered everything about our past life, about our current life in Afterlife Dream, and about the reason for our arrival in this world.

So what did that mean?

That meant that Sheila ignored us deliberately.

"Then why are you not responding to any of us? What are you trying to do?"

Sheila looked distressed. I had never seen her this way during the time we spent together in the game. Suddenly I did not care anymore why she didn't respond to us. If she was not ready, maybe we should not push it. I wanted to tell HellWitch to stop putting pressure on Sheila and let him be, but then Sheila threw her hands into the air and confessed on her own, "This. This is what I am trying to do."

Confusion and hurt were seen on everyone's faces. Sheila buried her face into her hands and heaved a heavy sigh.

"This life is all I have ever dreamed of. I don't want to leave. Why do I have to leave?" she asked pitifully.

"Because... Cecilia, didn't we want to save everyone?" ZhaoYun said, hoping that Sheila would change her mind. But she must have thought about it too while she avoided us.

"I do, but I... Look. It's not like they are suffering or anything. They are just trapped in a time loop with the best day of their life repeating again and again. So what is the point of this rescue mission? Do they even need rescuing?"

"What if they do?" HellWitch asked, staring at Sheila. "Are you going to come with us if they need rescuing?"

Sheila opened her mouth a few times but nothing spilled from her throat.

I got it.

She did not want to.

She would not come with us.

Sheila, no, Cecilia remembered everything, but she could not bear to part with her current life. She just liked it so much and did not mind repeating the day again and again for all eternity.

Honestly, the day that I was repeating over and over was also the most beautiful day I could imagine happening to me. What else could I hope for? Nothing. I was the happiest fourteen-year-old boy in this world of mine.

But then why would I want to repeat the same day again and again with no progress? I wanted to grow. I wanted to move on.

Whether or not the life proved to be an illusion, I still chose to get out of the time loop.

After remembering about Afterlife Dream and realizing that we were all still within the level 150 raid, it made even less sense to stay. It was not the real world. The real world was out there.

"Cecil, this world is not real," I tried to coax her. "You know what happened. You..."

"I don't want to hear it!" Cecilia snapped at me. I shut up immediately.

She did not want to acknowledge her death. She did not want to be dead. If she did not die, she might have been the little star that she was today.

After hearing everything that Cecilia said just now, HellWitch was completely fed up.

"Thanks for the invitation," she said, her tone as cold as the harshest winter wind. She looked so disappointed in Cecilia that she could not even stand breathing the air in the same room with her anymore.

"Let's go, guys," she rose to her feet.

Cecilia looked up at HellWitch. "HellWitch, are you upset with me?"

HellWitch slung her bag on her shoulder and gave Cecilia a look. "Upset? No. This is your choice. I just wished that you cared to openly tell us what your choice was. We had been wasting so much time waiting for you."

Cecilia's lips parted slightly, but she had nothing to say. Hurt was reflected in her glassy eyes.

"Cecil," I turned to Cecilia. "It's fine. You don't need to justify why you want to stay. If you are happy this way, then we are also happy for you. We were worried that you would be left out once we go after the Dimensional Master. So really. If you want to stay, just stay."

After I was done with my speech, I too rose to my feet to leave.

Livina, Allen, and Theo stood up one by one and followed me and HellWitch toward the door.

The tea and Danish pastries were left untouched. Cecilia remained sitting on the couch while we all were leaving.

When HellWitch had her hand on top of the doorknob, Cecilia stopped us.

"Wait!" she shouted. "I know how to find the Dimensional Master."