Shady Hybrids AU

BOOK 5 CH 1: A Server Of Violence To A Server Of Lies

She's saying something about a secret tunnel. I can't hear her over my heart beat. I can't hear her above the ticking in my ears, above the timer ticking down. I can't hear her over my heartbeat going faster by the second. I can't hear her over the voices, over the screams in my mind telling me to just do it.

"Cleo..I'm very sorry for this."

I slash her a few times with my axe before she reacts.

"You- You ABSOLUTE- NO- No, you are not doing this!"
The haze clouds my vision. I can't control it. It takes over my mind, my voice, my hands, and I just keep running after her.

"Cleo! Cleo!"
"NO!"
"CLEO! CLEO!"

My axe swings directly into her skull. The blood splashes across my face, as her items scatter across the ground. The ping of a death message comes on my communicator as the death is announced in chat. It feels good. The curse is finally gone, I don't have to worry about the constant bloodlust, those horrid feelings anymore.

But I feel terrible. I just killed Cleo, killed the first person I made an alliance with - I've broken everything.

"I-I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry..." The strain is unmistakable in my voice, and my vision clouds again, this time with tears.

"BigB! BigB, what happened?! What did you do?!"

"I- I killed her- I feel terrible-"
I didn't just kill her. I betrayed her.
I betrayed the person who took me in. The person who let me into her alliance. Into her home, with her items.

I can hear her voice in my head.
Traitor.

I just killed my best friend.
~~~
I wake up in a cold sweat. The feeling of arrows all over me hasn't left, just yet. Is this the afterlife? I heard of an afterlife last time. I was there. Am I back there now?
I hear pinging noises. I pull out my communicator, fumbling with it a bit as I look at the messages.

<DanTDM> Ayyyy, BigB's back!

<ThnxCya> bro we haven't seen you since you joined the server haha, welcome back!

<Thinknoodles> Dude, what took you so long?!

<iBalliisticSquid> BIGBBBBB

Well, this surely isn't the afterlife. This isn't even Last Life.

I think back to before this whole thing. Before I fell asleep and suddenly woke up in a completely different world. What was I doing? Where was I?
Oh, right, this is Shady Oaks. The server I joined for fun, before being snatched away.

I decide to respond to them.

<iHasCupquake> Welcome back, BigB :D

<BigBStatz> hey everyone!

<BigBStatz> sorry for the months of absence, i've been busy

They don't need to know. They don't need to know what I've done.
Their next lines confuse me.

<Thinknoodles> Months? It's only been a few weeks

<DanTDM> Yeah...

<BigBStatz> oh. uhm. whoops?

<Thinknoodles> That ain't normal. Do you want to meet at spawn?

<BigBStatz> let's.

I sigh, pick up my things and head over to the spawn they're referring to. I can find it by myself, probably, it can't be too far.

It isn't, thankfully, and upon following a path of cobblestone, I make it to the plaza, with the decorated retirement home to the right. I remember this place now. I remember coming here, I remember being mildly concerned as I toured around. It feels so long ago now.