As Second, aka Heavien touched her new embossed tattoo, her eyes were still teary. After the shackles loosened and the pain in her neck was completely gone, she saw others sweating, bewildered, and stunned, too. Their memories had come back as well. Moments later, they heard Author's voice. They were out of the glass tubes.
"The battle 12, for your next game, the Health Level: Stage 1, you will be playing as a pair:
First (1st) and Second (2nd)
Third (3rd) and Fourth (4th)
Fifth (5th) and Aeizen (18th)
Thirtwen (23rd) and Aeith (8th)
Ninth (9th) and Sixzen (16th)
Ninezen (19th) and Sectwen (22nd)"
Second was paired with her classmate, First. Not all of them were partnered with their original pair and classmates because some did not make it to this stage.
"The next game is a virtual reality game. As a pair, you will play as one. One will be the player—the one who controls the character inside the game. And of course, the other one is the character itself, who will be transformed into the real settings of the game."
She gasped. Another game she was not familiar with, but from the sound of it, this would be another challenging one.
"The reason all of you entered the capsule before the virtual reality player and character selection is to give a gist of what it will feel like to be the character lying inside the capsule. You will communicate with your partner while inside your room to decide who's who. Two minutes will be given... Now!"
She turned to her right, where First was, because their glass rooms were just next door. She would have approached him, but there was a cubicle made of glass separating them.
She stood up and went near him. "First, what are we going to do?" Her palms stuck to the glass as she called out to him.
There was a trace of concern in his eyes. "Are you alright?" Even with the glass between them, she heard what he said.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You don't have to worry... What are we going to do?"
This time, she really depends on him because she was clueless about what was happening. She wanted to take her time recovering her memories, but they needed to play right away.
First was silent for a moment. "Okay, you'll control me, so I'll be the character inside the game."
"Huh? Does that mean we're going to play a real game?"
She didn't quite understand what Author mentioned earlier because she was still agitated with her memories and how to separate this matter from the game they had to play next.
"I think that's what it means. One will be the controller outside of the game, and one will be the puppet in the game. A virtual reality, that is."
"If it's really a game between partners, shouldn't we take it seriously?" Now, she was asking nonsensical questions. But she wanted to hear him answer to clarify and ease her mind.
"All levels and stages that we play must be taken seriously because this game is no child's play." What he quoted made her reflect for a minute. All games here should be taken seriously.
"Are you sure about what you said?"
"It is a better choice for you."
For her? Just for her? They should both benefit from their decision.
"No, First," she disagreed with him. "You should be the one who will control me because you know more than I do. And I'm going to be your follower."
"That can't be!" She was startled by his reaction. He was still calm before, but instantly his eyebrows came closer.
"But-" He cut her off.
"I'm being serious here, Second. I regret it about a thousand times for not protecting you." He sounded too serious.
What? Was this what concerned him? He was worried too much about her.
"This game is not like it used to be. Now it's just the two of us and… There's a chance that they will be our enemies."
This was no longer a team-based game. It lowered the number and would go into pairs. There was a high possibility that since they'd be playing as pairs, First and she would fight against them.
"Not that I care if I'll be in trouble. I'll see to it that there'll be no harm coming to you."
"Think hard, First. There's little to no chance we'll win if you're not the player. Besides, I don't know anything about games. I don't want you to lose because of me, because..." She paused for a bit. "I can see in your eyes that you're willing to win till the end." She averted her eyes for a moment because of what she said at the end.
"Well…"
"You said it yourself that this is not a joke game. If you are the player and I'm the character, we have a chance to win, and I'm sure that no harm will come to me if it's you." She replied to assure him that this would be a better decision.
"I-I won't let you... I already told you. Why are you being so defiant?" he insisted. This might be the first time that they argued.
She smiled at him sparingly. "I trust you, First."
"Second."
"First, please."
They were both silent. She could not see his face or expression when he turned his back.
"Time's up! Now, for the game players, please proceed to the control room, while the characters will remain."
Second noticed that First was looking at her, so she looked at him. He was already out of his room.
She smiled secretly. Others had also left. They went straight and entered the said control room. Before he could finally enter, First approached her. He pressed his palms to her glass room and stared at her. She also pressed her palms, so their palms met the glass in between.
"Good luck," she mouthed with no voice coming out of her mouth.
First was speechless. He glued his forehead to the glass, so she glued hers too. She noticed that he had raised his head so that his forehead was no longer touching the glass. She lifted her forehead as well. She would have smiled at him and said goodbye, but her gaze was fixed on his blinking eyes.
He stood up straight. Her eyes blinked immediately when he mouthed something. She was distracted when he said something, but she couldn't hear him. 'Please… come… back… safe.' Please come back safe. He then gave her a reassuring smile. When he turned his back on her and before finally entering the control room, she saw the letter L on his nape—probably the first letter of his real name. Just like hers, she had the letter H.