Haunted King

FORTY | my bell

Melody sat in Gabriel's room with Crystal. "I feel so useless right now," she sighed. Crystal held her cousin's hand and hugged it to her chest. "Maybe, but at least you are alive. I would rather have you idle but safe than fighting and in danger." Melody only stared at her feet.

"But Gabriel is in danger," she kicked her feet over the side of the bed and began to pace the room. Crystal watched this with growing agitation. "He is a swordsman and a magician Melody. He knows how to fight, you don't!" Melody pivoted to Crystal, "I know that! Okay? I just wish I didn't need to put him in danger for my own problems. It is something I should be dealing with, not him!"

Crystal leaned against the pillow and sighed. "What makes you think you should be dealing with this alone?" Melody paused her pacing. "What do you mean?" Crystal's eyebrows scrunched. "I'm asking why you feel like you can't ask for help? I'd be failing as your friend and your cousin if I couldn't even help you during your time of need. I'm sure Gabriel feels the same. Your not alone in this Melody."

They both sat in comfortable silence. Melody gave a small smile, "thank you." Crystal only nodded in response. Melody looked down to hands and flexed her fingers. "How about I show you some magic? Maybe you can do it too!" Crystal chipped up, "oh! Yes please!"

•••

To say he wasn't afraid would be a lie. He was up against the strongest foes he had ever faced and as he flew to the menacing dark energy in the distance he knew he might not make it out of this alive. But Melody had faced three of these men and won every time. If he couldn't protect her then what good would he be to her?

When the giant red scaled dragon came into view Gabriel's chest tightened. "Oh my god." A loud roar reverberated through the air, flocks of birds rushed from their trees as they sensed the danger. He could hear his soldiers marching towards the forest and the echo of the cities bells that warned of danger. The sky was blood red. The ground was dark and laced with curse magic. "Holt!" Gabriel ordered to his men. "If you cross into the forest you will all die! The ground is seeping with curse magic!"

He clicked his tongue as he searched his mind for a solution. "All magicians who can use levitation magic will come withe me. All knights secure the cities and make sure every citizen is in a protected zone, do I make myself clear!"

The army bellowed in unison, "YES SIR!"

Barely a hundred magicians floated up and met Gabriel in the sky. They bowed in greeting which Gabriel reciprocated with a smile. Levitation magic was a taxing spell so he wasn't surprised very few mages could use it. "Let's move forward," he ordered.

Then they were gone.

•••

Melody showed Crystal a few spells but they sadly learned that Crystal did not have an affinity for magic. "It's okay. If I had a taste of magic I don't think I would ever want to go back to my world." Melody snickered, "you mean our world?" Crystal didn't answer.

Melody paused and turned to her cousin. "What? You've got that face like your are unsure of to tell me something." Crystal shrugged, "maybe because I am unsure if I should tell you something." Melody made an 'oh' with her mouth.

Crystal sat down at one of the library tables and crossed her legs. She motioned for Melody to follow lead. So she did.

"The thing is," she began. "While I was looking for you I learned some crazy thing." Melody raised an eyebrow, "like?" Crystal straightened out her bangs and pushed them out of her eyes. "Like the fact that the creators of the game Fallen Angel don't exist." Melody frowned, "yeah they do. I've met a few at fan events."

Crystal shook her head. "Those people were employees of the franchise, yes, but not the creators. The game was made in China under the game company Constellation. A non-profit organization that works with upcoming story writers and artists to create unique and playful stories with cute but lovable characters. No game or character is designed the same. That's why the stories are so intriguing for fans, because it is a never ending line of new ideas and plot points."

Crystal nervously twirled her thumbs together. "But the creators of the game are under alias names and have no background information. I couldn't find anything on them. Even their photos are fake. They were created by AI models that you can find online."

Melody rubbed her temple. "Okay, and why is all this important." Crystal took in a deep breath, "because this game is made of literal magic. Let's not forget that we are in a actual fantasy world with real magic and scary towers and fancily dressed kings. It doesn't make any sense!"

Crystal took a moment to lower her voice, "the fact we are in a video game right now is pure crazy and I have been trying to find the reason why since the moment you told me about this world." She stared Melody in the eyes. "I might not have found anything on the creators but I sure did find some things about you." Melody's eyes widened. Crystal searched her pocket and grabbed Melody's phone. She entered in the password and opened the phone up to Fallen Angel 2. The settings screen was still open so she tapped on profile and scrolled.

"See," she pointed to the screen. Melody leaned forward to read the small black words on the page. "It says my ethnicity is... what is that?"

"It's Greek. It basically translates to demigod."
Melody's jaw dropped, "what the fuck." Crystal laughed. "Yeah, my words exactly. Now look at this." Crystal tapped on Melody's profile photo. It was a character drawn with similar features as her. Long black hair, but green eyes. Pale skin that had small beauty marks scattered throughout her body. Green roses bordered the photo and danced as the loading music played.