Jay approached the staircase, preparing to descend, when he felt a strange sensation like a buzzing in his mind. He stopped for a moment, trying to figure out where it was coming from, but before he could, it vanished. He checked his system, but didn’t find anything that explained the sensation. With a shrug, he stepped onto the staircase and made his way into the next dungeon he would conquer.
He got five steps down when the buzzing started again. He looked around, and, after a moment, finally found the origin. Something was vibrating in his storage space. He looked around until he finally found the culprit and stopped hesitating on what to do. It was his old phone.
How the hell does it have service? he wondered.
He had assumed his parents would have stopped paying for it, but it seemed like he was wrong, which left two terrifying questions in his mind. Why would they leave it, and who was messaging him? He wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to either, and began pulling away when he stopped. A part of him wouldn’t let him back off. It wouldn’t let him not find out the answer. He sighed, pulled the item from his inventory, and opened it. The world seemed to freeze as he read the message at the top of a stack of notifications.
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From Dad: I don’t know who this is or how you got a hold of my son’s phone. My husband was holding out hope that he was still alive, but I doubt that is the case. I know he had given up. I know he was just living day to day, waiting for his life to end. I’m not sure if you did him that courtesy or just found his apartment and took this phone for some reason. Either way, I have honored my husband’s last wish and sent the message he had composed before entering that dungeon. The one that was only meant to be sent if he didn’t come out. If, by some miracle, this is my worthless son reading this, congratulations. Your dad is dead, and for some God damn reason, even though you charged that phone of yours after we kept it running all these years, you couldn’t even respond to him trying to reconnect one last time. He really loved you, and now he’s gone. I hope you feel good about yourself. And in the far more likely case that this is my son’s killer, or a robber, or any other godforsaken criminal that would have this phone? I’m coming for you. I’m going to make sure that you join my family in their rest. I’ve lost everything. EVERYTHING. All that matters to me now is making sure everyone who brought me to this point suffers. Enjoy your last days alive. I hope it was worth it.
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A lump formed in Jay’s throat as he got halfway through, his eyes glued to one word. Dead. He had half-expected that to be the case, if the fighting was anything to go by. The rest of the world probably wasn’t any better, but the reality burned. Staring at the phone, Jay couldn’t help but wonder. Why hadn’t he opened it sooner? What was he scared to find? Would it have been any worse than this? Nothing could be worse than this.
He stumbled, leaning against the stone wall of the staircase as he slowly lowered himself to a sitting position. His eyes were still locked on his phone, and his finger trembled as he hovered over the stack of messages. Part of him wanted just to ignore it, to pretend it had never happened--but that was what had gotten him into this mess. Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes and opened the phone to the messaging app. It took Jay several moments before he finally worked up the courage to open his eyes. Part of him wished he hadn’t as he read the first line, but he pushed that away. He needed to do this. He should have done it weeks ago. He shook his head. Not just weeks, but years ago. He could have gotten over that embarrassment, he could have--
It didn’t matter anymore. He could have done so many things differently, but he hadn’t. Now, the consequences of his actions were staring him in the eyes, and he didn’t want to keep running. That wasn’t who he was anymore. That wasn’t who he would ever be again.
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From Dad: Son, if you're reading this, that probably means I’m dead. I hope you know that I don’t blame you for leaving. I know things might not have gone your way, and that you made mistakes, but I should have been on your side. I should have been there for you. I love you so much. Even if we had our fights, and I said some things that I couldn’t take back, I hope you know I never stopped caring for you. I never stopped loving you. I know this new world may be strange now, but I know you're just as bull-headed and stubborn as your old man. If there’s anyone I have faith in to make it through this, it’s you. Well, and your mother, of course, but still. I’m sorry I couldn’t have said this in person. I’m sorryI never got to apologize for that night. I know you won’t let me down. I know you will keep fighting. Live well, live long, and leave me behind. Take every step in this new reality knowing that I am proud of you, and that I believe in you. Make it out of this for me. And for your mother.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
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Jay let his head fall into his hands, and his chest began heaving as he laughed. He dragged his fingers across the smile carved into his lips and considered trying to rip his face off, for a second. His dad was dead. The man he’d tried to convince himself so many times that he didn’t care about, only to fail every time, was dead--and because of the mistakes he had tried to warn him about. Jay couldn’t even cry. He couldn’t frown. All he was allowed to do was laugh. He read message after message, only to feel his heart sink further.
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From Dad: Hey, Son, crazy shit’s going on right now, huh? Well, anyway, if you see this, I hope you know I still care about you, and that I’m sorry. If you get a chance, I would really like to talk to you again. Maybe we could meet up and get through this crazy shit together. I hope you know me, your mother, and I still care for you so much. Anyway, give me a call, let's talk! Love, Dad.
From Dad: Hey, Son, don’t know if you saw my first message, but just in case, I wanted to send you another. Let me know how you're doing, or give me a ring if you get a chance. Anyway, I hope you are doing well!
From Dad: Jay! Guessing you're probably busy, but I wanted to send you another note on how everything's going. Your mother has been helping me level. (She got to be one of those fancy candidate things). With the recent announcement, our current plan is to get me some levels so I can take one of those dungeons on and get my own status. She seems to be pretty worried about it, but I think it will be fine.
From Dad: Hey! Just saw your phone got powered on for the first time in, what, years? Didn’t know your mother could see that, but I guess she can. I don’t know if you have seen any of my other messages, but give them a read, and, if you have a chance, call me! I love you, and I’m so sorry about everything.
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Jay closed the phone, his hands shaking. He had already seen the two messages below that last one, and everything above that was more attempts to reconnect that he had unknowingly missed.
He's dead. That was all that went through his mind over and over again.
He had ignored so many attempts by his old man to reconnect, and now he would never get the chance to try again. He opened the phone once more and typed out a message of his own before hitting send.’
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From Jay: Hey, Mom, not sure if you’ll see this, but I’m sorry. I’ve been a terrible son. I powered the phone back on days ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to check it. I was so scared of what I might find. So unwilling to compare myself to the person that I used to be. I ignored it, telling myself you both were probably already dead, even if I knew better. And now dad is… I can’t even tell him how much I loved him. I regretted not talking to you two for years. I should have bit back my pride and asked for your help. But I didn’t, and now he is gone, and I don’t know what to do. I’m so sorry.
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Jay watched as three dots appeared, indicating someone was typing, before they disappeared once more. He sighed and deposited his phone back into his inventory, closing his eyes. His imagination sparked to life as he pictured himself, but instead of the heaves of laughter that still echoed from him, they were sobs instead. For a second, he imagined the feeling of tears rolling down his face. It may not have been real, but in that moment, it was the only thing that felt right. Another figure appeared, standing next to his mental image of himself. It was a woman dressed in thick armor made from the hide of some blue-furred beast. A pair of purple wings tucked themselves behind her, and a set of horns curling like those of a ram sprouted from her forehead. She sat next to the mental image of Jay, gently rubbing his back.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered in tandem with Lan’s voice in his mind.
Lan? He asked. How are you doing that?
“Your emotions were overwhelming you to such a degree that I could feel them through our link. As for the me in your mind, that’s a simple bit of illusion magic. It’ll only work because of the connection we currently share.”
He paused for a moment, watching the image of the dragon woman rubbing the back of his still-sobbing self. Thank you.
Lan didn’t respond, but the image of her nodded before returning to look at the mental version of himself.
For a long moment, they sat like that, just watching fake versions of themselves doing what they couldn’t. Jay wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he finally felt okay enough to get up once more. It hurt, and all he wanted to do was continue sitting on that step, but that wouldn’t be what his dad had wanted. His final message was clear. He thought Jay could survive this, and Jay was going to do everything in his power to prove him right. Even if his dad couldn’t make it through this bullshit, he would make sure his memory would, and when they finally met again, he would apologize properly. He checked his phone one last time and sighed as he saw no new messages before depositing it again and walking down the staircase.
“Keep moving forward. A better me and a better tomorrow,” Jay muttered to himself, step by step, until he finally reached the bottom of the stairway and disappeared into the dungeon.
