Spoiler :

Even though I was chained down, I was still able to convulse and twist as my mind was assaulted yet again by memories, knowledge, thoughts and experiences. I could feel each neuron of my brain be burnt beyond recovery and then miraculously come back, reinvigorated and much stronger, only to be set aflame once again. My sole relief were the tears descending from my eyes all the way across my cheeks, sometimes reaching even my chin or neck. They were so fresh.

Even as I tossed and turned, I could feel them, the chains, trying to pull me down on the ground. I didn't yield. Hours seemed to pass and when I was about to give up, I was finally released. Like as if a cold, wet blanket had been thrown on me, my mind went blank. My brain stopped, trying to asses my situation, it began drawing information from each and every life I experienced and soon enough I was calm and composed, with no hint of stress. Or sweat. It had been a surprise when I saw that that torture I had just experienced didn't make me sweat.

Well, to be honest, it had been a surprise every time. One of the very few things I find amusing, despite knowing that it's just a feature of this planet. Looking around, I saw that nothing had changed since my last time here. I closed my eyes, reviewing the memories of my latest life. Sighing, I began to talk to no one in particular..

"I hadn't expect'd to die to let someone becometh the favor'd of the gods."

As I always did, I willed for the control panel to appear. Deep blue rectangular window appeared in front of me, indicating the various fixes to the system I had to make. I moved my right hand over the window, as if the chains weren't there, and considering everything, they could very well not be here at all. The only thing able to restrain me here was the chain on my soul. I tapped around on the invisible keyboard I made appear and sent a message to Eve, saying I had come back from my break.

I passed the time by scrolling through the seemingly limitless lines of code I needed to check while I waited for Eve to connect with her work-account and pay me a visit. She arrived while I was checking the third problem out, surprising me for her earliness.

"Thou art early. Usually, thou waitest until I have finish'd fixing everything before logging in."

Eve forced a smile. As always, she wore her lab coat over her white sweater and light blue jeans. Behind her black-rimmed glasses you could spot amber eyes full of life and cheerfulness despite her old age. Wrinkles adorned her face in a way that made her face always have a "serene smile" type of look which was complimented by her waist-long gray hair, all braided behind her back. In the last 20 years, or 5, depending on the prospective, Eve barely changed, but changed nonetheless. Unlike me, who, after reaching adulthood, stopped aging.

"How was your last incarnation, Yuki?"

Brushing off the fact that Eve just changed the subject of the conversation on purpose, I recall my depressing life before I frown and reply

"Terrible. I have been the slave of a pig and the sacrifice to a vermin."

Eve sighed, a curious action that made me doubt whether it was because her "tactic" succeeded or because she pitied me. Even though she was technically my mother, I wondered if she, as a human, really felt something toward me, an A.I. . Eve cleared her throat, perhaps noticing the curious look I had been giving her, and firmly looked into my eyes. She spoke with a serious face

"Yuki, I know you like to experience new and different lives, so we came up with an idea."

I nodded my head, signaling her to continue speaking as the subject interested me.

"We thought maybe you could live as a player next."

I closed my eyes. I considered participating in their experiment while I mentally run a simulation of my possible next life. I shook my head while I answered.

"How would thou resolveth the part about my life on the other side?"

A warm smile appeared on her face, to which I replied by tilting my head.

"Don't worry, I've already taken care of that part. When you die, you are going to come back before either going back into the game or go 'home.'"

"Home?"

"Crathos created a world similar to ours some time ago, it was made mostly for the poor people who can't move from their bed and their families. It's not like everyone wanted to play around with magic, swords and other stuff, and they also couldn't play around all day long until death. Anyway, it's got a school and many other things so you'll be given an house in there. Time flows the same as in our world and there's even access to the internet, so you'll be able to know what is happening in my world and everything else."

"I see.. Then, like always, I shalt create a new persona, one who doeth not know about me."

"Wait, Yuki."

I looked up at her after she stopped me from typing on the blue ethereal keyboard.

"In that world, your name is gonna be 'Qinxi Hwa-Ryun.'"

She happily smiled as I gave her a questioning look

"Isn't 'Qinxi' thy surname?"

She readily nodded and said

"Exactly, my cute little daughter~"

I remained stunned in silence as Eve casually strolled through the chains holding me, she arrived in front of me and hugged me so strongly she'd have cracked my ribs, if only I had them.

'This.. doeth this mean that mom really feeleth something toward me.. ?'

End of Volume 2.

And that's it guys, next chapter Lia and Abby will finally come back for some action!