The Ancients World

We enter the tent, and it's a small one like always—barely enough room for two people. I lay down and relax as I contemplate more strategies to take on this heist quest. Sally snuggles up next to me and uses my body as a pillow. I don't mind it. She isn't going to try anything more than that. I close my eyes in the silent comfort that has been given to us. I won't be allowed to have such private moments other than being far away from church-aligned cities. Now that my identity is revealed, I'm going to have a lot of attention on me. I wonder who got all the rewards for revealing who I am. There never was an announcement. I envy such a thing. Having billions know about isn't something I like. The future is full of new and interesting situations.

Bellvia is not somewhere I went in my old future. Gaia is huge, and the majority of it is unexplored. The places I did go in those five years were not even close to Bellvia. The main problem with my old future is the amount of time it took to travel. I didn't have the convenience of flight, now that I do, I'm able to get to places I couldn't before. Nothing is off-limits now. Gaia is a huge place. It works differently than other worlds, thanks to literal gods directly affecting it. "Zern... Can you tell me where you new people come from... I'd like to know where your origins are..." I slowly open my eyes and look at the top of the tent. The truth about where I come from, huh... That would be bringing a whole bunch of new problems to the table if I told her.

If Sally knew, I know she wouldn't see me any differently. She isn't shallow like that. That information is special, though. I don't know the repercussions of telling her something like that. I can tell her a little bit, but what should it be. I know she won't like a vague answer. Women hate that. So giving the best answer is one closest to the whole truth. I feel like I'm lying by doing this. In a way, I am. "New people come from a world called Earth... It was our home, now Gaia is our home... Many of us died getting here, so in truth, we are aliens." She might question my connection to Michael, and I'm not sure how to answer that. The whole truth about all of this isn't easy to explain. Throw in that this wasn't actually a game and a real-world, I know I'm not qualified to.

Sally raises her head and looks at me in confusion. I give her a sincere look telling her I'm truthful. "How is that even possible? From the little rumors I heard, new people are gifts from the gods in Overworld." In a sense, that true. The Almighty Father brought us here to Gaia, and I can see that being the truth to the people of Ancients World. "How are you Michael's son if you aren't from this world?" I knew she was too smart not to see that. I don't know how to explain it to her without revealing the truth to the players and the system that is now a part of her world's deity powerbase. She and all people of Gaia don't even know the system exists. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to... That was a pretty unfair question to ask, considering I haven't really told you much about my childhood." Sally drops the question, and I breathe a small sigh of relief.

I close my eyes again and think back to earth. I wonder what it's starting to look like without humans anymore. The animals are rearranging the food chain now that we are gone. It makes me wonder if there will ever be a way back. In honesty, the only reason to go back is for the advanced technology and fortune my family never got to spend. Gaia is a much healthier world. Earth only had a century or two before it couldn't support life anymore. Earth was doomed to die, but with us gone. Maybe it has a chance to crawl out of the clutches of death. "My world was dying, Sally... In my opinion, I'm glad we were taken from it. It saved us from extinction. I'll always miss it, though. It was the home that took care of me the best it could despite our treatment of it." Earth's health is our fault, and we have no one to blame other than ourselves.

Sally runs her hand across my chest and hums ever so slightly. "On the nights I was the most scared, I'd hum to myself to pass the time. They only treated me like a toy and a thing to play with. When it was over, I could only pray that I escape or die one day. Lucky for me, I fooled them into thinking I was domesticated. They allowed a small amount of freedom, and that when I learned how to fight. A little while after that I escaped and I promised myself I slit my own neck before getting sucked into that slide again." I hug her after sharing the whole story of how she became free. She told me a little bit at the beginning of our travels. Now I know a little more about her. "I convinced myself I'd never let anyone even touch me again, but it's different with you, Zern." I feel a slight pang in my heart. She doesn't even know my real name.

The feelings she has shared only come along once in a while. Sally is even rarer than that. Someone with so much good in them is hard to find. Put that together with what she has been through, and I see an impossibility. Yet here she is, not impossible. "I don't know how to respond to that Sally... I've never had such an impact on someone's life other than my family members... I can't lie, I've grown very fond of you... You've made your interests in me pretty clear, and I'm sorry for shutting you down so much. In my own way, I was protecting both of us from something we weren't ready for..." She looks up at me and has eager happiness, mostly from the selection of my words. "Once we are done in Bellvia, I want to discuss a possible future together. Until that time, I want to spend time getting to know you more and vice versa." I want my first relationship to be my last.

My father once told me that if you can enjoy each other's company without being physical, then that's the person you're meant to be with. "I like that a lot, Zern. I'll hold you to those words." She crawls up and kisses my cheek. She goes back to her original spot and snuggles back in. My sister would be making jokes at my expense right now, and they would be zingers too. "I know that you want to take time with this situation we are in, and I want to say thank you. If it moved as fast as I wanted it to. I might not feel the way I do right now. I was really scared that night I jumped at you in the tub. I was testing you to see if you were different, and you passed with flying colors." How about that. I'm usually the one testing people and their intentions. It feels strange to have it happen to me. Not bad though, I'm glad I passed.

She starts to fully hum a melody in the silence of the wilderness we are sleeping in. It really is soothing, to tell the truth. She has a lovely voice. Sally is a beautiful girl and just needed someone she could rely on. When I look are her long braided blonde hair and colorful blue-green eyes, I see a strong warrior with a clean soul. I find myself falling asleep and dozing in and out of consciousness. I shouldn't try and fight sleep, but it's something I developed chasing after the world item that got me here. Chasing after the man that took everything from me. I'm sure he is alive and running around Gaia just like the rest of the players are. I fall into a deep sleep, no longer fighting the desperate instinct to stay awake. The night passes, and the early sun shines all around us, warming up the tent.

I take a deep breath, and I feel some hair tickle my nose. I open my eyes to see that Sally has her head buried in my neck and is sleeping herself. I lean up fully and sit crisscross. Sally sits in my lap, still sleeping. I'm honored she trusts me enough to sleep so intimately. I pick her up in my arms and carry her out of the tent. The fire is out cold, but I still sit in front of the pit and hold her until she wakes up. I enjoy the perfect temperature f the early morning and savor this precious memory. This isn't going to be something I forget for the rest of my life. "Mmm..." Someone is waking up it seems. I watch as Sally opens her eyes and looks at me. She gives me a smile and I give one back. "What a nice way to wake up." I chuckle at her words and she does too. Who knew growing close to someone could feel so good.