Soulless Players

Two days earlier.

On a stormy night, with lightning flashing in the sky, a small figure of a child was seen fluttering mid-air.

The child's eyes were opened as he looked up at the dark sky in surrender. His left leg and right hand were gone, on them was red liquid drifting upward instead.

He was Philip. This was the very night he rolled himself down from the cliff.

Philip expected his death to be fast, but strangely, his fall was so slow that his mind could not help but wander around the past.

He recalled the cruel torture he experienced during his training as a secret agent.

Yes, Philip's story was about a government spy who invades the enemy's encampment.

This job might be great in children's imagination but in reality? It was filled with hardships and blood.

Moreover, with a sadistic author controlling his life, this job was created even more difficult.

Philip could only laugh at his misfortune and asked, 'Why did I gain a consciousness if I could only remain as a character in the book?'

Philip had a lot of questions regarding the mystery of his life but had no avenue to ask.

In the end, he could only remain curiously ignorant of how a life blossoms from an imaginary character like him.

Philip was forced to end his mulling as extreme pain coursed through his body, specifically, from his leg and hand.

"Ahh…" Philip took a deep breath. He wished for the fall to stop and quickly end his suffering.

However the more he became conscious about his near end, the more he struggled internally.

"It's unfair," Philip grumbled, finally acting like the age of his physical body.

'If only I was taller or bigger, none of these would have happened.'

It was then his mind wandered to the body he owned in his past world.

'I wish I had a strong body like in the past...'

'Skinny but muscular… taller than average… black hair, black eyes… has a knife scar on the left thigh… a gunshot wound on the right shoulder….'

Philip knew his body the most that even he remembered the smallest detail it had.

'Huge calluses on the left-hand middle finger… mole on the left side of his neck…. mole on the left wrist, red birthmark on his back slightly above his waistline….'

Philip continued his rumbling. He didn't know why but he just did it. It was like his instinct was telling him to recall everything that his past adult body had.

AHHHHHH!

Suddenly, Philip wailed out loud in pain. It was as if his bones were crushed into fine dust, his skin stretched into a mile, and his internals were squirming as if hundreds of worms cocooned deep within.

It was so painful that Philip felt as if his heart stopped beating.

He thought he had finally reached the surface, but when he felt the air slamming him rearwards, he realized that he was still floating.

RIPPPP!

While Philip's whole mind was dreaded by pain, his ears felt it heard his clothes ripped and his arms and chest felt his clothes become tighter.

Later, he felt his left leg move and his right hand started to wiggle its fingers.

Soon, the scene of a falling child disappeared, transforming into an almost naked man with a red birthmark on his back.

When the pain stopped, Philip sensed his body became heavier and the fall became even faster.

Out of instinct, before Philip reached the ground, his hands stretched onward, grabbing whatever item they touched.

His hand reached the tree branch slanted with its roots embedded in the vertical rock formation.

Philip put more force in his grip as he set his hands in a more comfortable and less slippery position.

He gritted his teeth as he hung on the tree trunk. While he successfully saved himself from the fall, his eyes were still in a daze, not believing what had transpired to him.

'What happened? Why am I feeling as if...' He stopped as he knew whatever thought he had right now was impossible.

After feeling his arms went numb, he then pulled himself up.

'Ha… ha… ha… ha…'

Now sitting on the tree trunk, Philip breathlessly observed his body, starting with his long fingers to his large quadriceps.

"Unbelievable," Philip muttered in disbelief. This was not his eight-year-old body, but rather, his twenty-five-year-old body in the past.

Philip immediately groped his face, feeling his cheeks and nose.

"Hahaha…" Philip laughed hysterically. Although he couldn't see his reflection, he still knew it was his past face.

How could he not? He had it for almost thirty years!

"How could this happen…" Philip asked himself. For a person who has been living in a magicless world, this transformation was truly a sight to behold.

'I know this world isn't as normal as it looks,' Philip brooded, his mind brought towards the image of his Auntie Marissa brewing a pot of medicine.

'But what I didn't expect is for me to have this kind of ability.'

Philip mulled over, searching for clues about this mysterious power.

"Oh right!" It was then he recalled the white space and Osuda's rules about the game.

'If it's the magic word, I am sure it will help me…' Philip contemplated. He recalled that he was supposed to say the word after he came to life.

'But I don't know the magic word," Philip frustratedly shook his hair. He never had a thought of joining the game and didn't even bother to listen to Osuda's rumbling.

Moreover, it has been eight years since the game started, and even if he initially knew it, he would soon forget about it.

If it wasn't for this sudden supernatural transformation, he would have never recalled its existence!

Philip tried hard to remember it but after turning his head around, he still couldn't.

'Then I have no choice but to look for someone who knows about it,' Philip decided, his eyes burning in anger.

The only person he knew about it was Steve.

'This is perfect. Now that I have this body, I can finally seek my revenge,' He thought while his head raised, looking at the smoke coming above.

Seeing this sight, Philip frowned in disappointment. Now that he was finally involved with the survival game, his life would be treading in a way he didn't want to.

'I have no choice but to fight.'

After a short while, he climbed up, bringing with him a strong determination to win.

***

A few hours later, the fire had finally been extinguished, leaving charred woods and fire debris behind.

Philip stood in front of a small house, frozen. The rain had already left but his face was still wet.

After a deep breath, he opened the door and entered through it.

However, what he expected to see wasn't inside. The house was so bare that he thought everything that happened earlier was only a dream.

"Where are they?" Philip asked in a panic. He rummaged around, hoping to find a clue about his adoptive parents' presence.

But after turning the house around, he still couldn't. Not their lifeless bodies, not even a speck of blood.

It was as if they disappeared, leaving only their clothes as proof that his memories of them were real.

Philip was dumbfounded. This was so unreal to him.

'Did that child bring my parents with him?' This was the first thought that Philip had come up with.

But after some thought, he quickly denied this, 'No. It's impossible…'

Immediately, Philip crouched and touched the wooden floor with his finger.

Sensing only dust particles on his thumb, Philip quickly stood up, his hands rolled tightly.

'This is not normal,' Philip's eyes brimmed with hope. If what he thought was true, then there was a chance that his parents were still alive.

Without hesitation, after changing into his father's clothes, he dashed towards the sole person who could give light to his worries.

***

When Philip arrived at the location, what he saw wasn't a house, instead only bushes and trees were seen around.

'What happened?' Philip asked, his disbelief was evident on his face.

'Where is Auntie Marissa's house?!'

The person Philip wanted to ask about his parents' whereabouts was the mysterious Auntie Marissa. She was the only person he knew who could answer his query.

But seeing her house disappear, Philip shuddered about its abnormality.

'First, it's my parents, now it's her house…' Philip halted, his eyes caught something glimmering on one of the bushes.

Curious, Philip made his way toward it and when he was close enough, he carefully scanned it.

Ahead of him laid a box hidden in the grass. Its location was perfectly placed in the center where Marissa's house was built.

The box is embellished with shiny precious stone and delicate wood carving. "A jewelry box?" Philip murmured and gave it a weak kick.

After confirming that it was safe to touch, Philip bent his body to pick it up.

"This!" Philip exclaimed when he opened the box.

Attached inside the box is a rectangular mirror big enough to see Philip's face.

But the mirror wasn't the thing that made Philip surprised, rather it was the bottle that was quietly placed inside.

Philip grabbed the bottle with familiarity. He knew what it was. It was the medicine that was thrown at the cliff.

'Why is it here?'

However, upon noticing the three envelopes inside, Philip was forced to take his focus off from the bottle.

Because written on the envelopes was his name and the names of the people he cared about the most in this world…

[From Marissa]

…

[From Mom]

…

[From Dad]