Chapter 270: Distant Memory
Void— where nothing existed.
Zach's eyes were open, at least he thought so. But he couldn't see anything. Everything was dark. He could feel he was standing on a hard surface, but he couldn't walk forward.
His body was stuck in one place with nothing else to do. He started to doubt if his eyes were truly open, or had he become blind.
Suddenly, a bright light enveloped Zach and blinded him for real.
The episode reminded Zach of what happened when he logged into Gods' Impact for the first time.
He was confused, but he eventually gathered his thoughts and remembered the last thing he was doing; sleeping on the bed and waiting for the night to end.
CRACK!
Zach felt something break inside him, but that made him able to move his body freely. He touched his face and chest before moving his hand between his legs to confirm something.
Zach's eyes were still closed, and he was afraid to open them, as he didn't know what he would see. Sure, it could have just been a dream, but Zach didn't want to wake up in a dream either.
He wanted to hear Aurora's voice, maybe Aria's too, and perhaps, Victoria also.
"Zach," a female voice called Zach's name.
Zach couldn't help but open his eyes after hearing that voice as it sounded awfully familiar.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Erza standing in front of him, staring at him with a judging look on her face.
"Mother…"
"Zach," she called Zach again.
"Yes, mother?"
"Zach! Listen to me!" she yelled.
"I am listening, mother."
Erza frowned her face and said, "Zach, this is your last warning. Don't cry if I scold you later."
"What are you talking about—"
Erza walked forward and passed through Zach's body.
"…!" That's when the full scenery came into Zach's sight.
He was standing in his house, but not the one he currently lived in before the Gods' impact occurred.
Zach turned around to see what Erza was doing, and his eyes widened in surprise after seeing the kid version of himself.
"What's happening?" Zach asked himself.
Zach turned 8 that day, and he was playing a game on his PX69.
Erza has been calling him for minutes, but he was so immersed in playing the game that he didn't respond to her. Naturally, that got her furious and caused her to snatch the controller from Zach's hand.
Zach immediately jumped on Erza and tried to get his controller back, but Erza easily pushed him away by flicking her finger on his forehead.
"Stop playing games all day!" she yelled. "And I have been calling you for minutes!"
However, Zach didn't care about the pain he experienced after getting his forehead flicked, nor did he care what Erza just said. He simply wanted his controller back.
"Be glad that I only took the controller. You can resume playing anytime I want. If you keep this up, then I will pull the cord, and you will never be able to play again. I will also sell the console," Erza warned.
'This was the last time I ever played a game, after that, I started hating them. Rather than memories, it's bringing back my traumas.'
"Give it back!" he said as he jumped on Erza again.
"What's all this commotion about?" a hoarse voice asked.
Zach's face immediately turned pale after hearing that voice, and he pulled the power cord before dropping to his knees in front of Erza.
"…" Erza shook her head in disbelief after seeing that.
"Hmm?" the voice walked into the living room.
It was a man who looked in his late twenties, wearing casual clothes and a cool hairstyle. He was carrying a one-year-old girl in his arms, who was Zoe.
"Deus, look at Zach. He was—"
Erza stopped when Zach suddenly grabbed Erza's leg, seemingly trying to beg her to not tell Deus about Zach's behavior.
"Hmm? What did he do?" the man asked as he looked at Zach. "And why are you on the ground again?"
Zach gulped down in fear and slowly looked up at Deus, but he couldn't make eye contact with him.
"I was helping mother sweep the floor," Zach uttered in a low voice.
Deus glanced at Erza, whose face told him everything, even though Erza didn't speak a word.
SIGH!
Deus let out a weary sigh and handed Zoe to Erza. Then, he slowly moved his hand towards Zach.
Zach closed his eyes in fear, thinking he would get punished, but instead, he received a pat on his head.
"Get up, my son. It's your birthday today. You can do whatever you want today," Deus said with a gentle smile on his face.
Zach's face cheered up after hearing that. He immediately looked into Deus' eyes and said, "I want to play the game with you."
"Uhh… why a game? I don't mind playing outdoor games, but video games are not exactly my expertise…" Deus stopped when he saw Zach pouting.
"Why do you want me to play video games with you? You know I am bad at them and I will simply hinder your progress, nothing else," Deus said in a calm voice.
"Everyone in my class talks about how they play games with their parents. I also want to do that…" Zach uttered in a low voice.
"But we are different from them, Zach. We are not meant to be part of human society," Deus stated.
Zach bit his lips and said, "Even though you promised you would do anything."
"Okay, fine, sheesh~" Deus groaned. "You are just like your mother— Lilith when it comes to being stubborn."
"Uhhh…" Erza judged Deus with a troubled look on her face.
Deus didn't get it at first, but then he realized what he had done.
Zach sniffed and wiped tears from his eyes, but more tears just kept rolling down.
"Even though it's my birthday, she didn't come. She doesn't care about me!" After saying that, Zach ran out of the room.
SIGH!
Erza shook her head in disbelief and said, "You had to say that, huh?"
"I forgot about it, okay."
"Can't you do something, though? I am sure you can pull some moves and bring her here," Erza wondered. "Even for 5 minutes."
"I can't. I closed all the gates between hell and the mortal realm. No one can enter or leave hell to enter the mortal realm. And besides, I went to visit her a few days ago, she is busy ruling hell," Deus stated.
"…" Zach, who watched all that from a new perspective, listened to their conversion and muttered, "Why am I seeing this? What's happening?"