Awakened: Evolving to Godhood

The imaginary world vanished. Wine Lord, the pill Emperor, and the picturesque scenery disappeared in Elliot's field of vision. Replacing it was a magnificent but empty hall with no one but him and the queen.

He found himself back in reality, but the cup from which he was drinking wine was still in his hand. The memories of the time he had spent in that dream came springing towards his heart and head, making him remember the nights that came and went, the days that ended in happiness, the people he had met.

What was the use of remembering that?

It's not like he could ever return to that environment!

It's not like he could meet them again!

Elliot felt like his heart was on fire, but he couldn't do anything to extinguish the flame. He could only remain silent and let the fire burn his heart.

A single tear left his eyes and fell on the wine cup, bursting into multiple speckles after it clashed with the cup's edge.

The queen saw that and realized that he must be feeling extremely sentimental. The cause of that was easy for her to determine. He must have formed good relationships in the illusion, and the moment it all came to an end, he lost them all forever, leading to his sadness today.

'What a fool!'

'Even after knowing that the world was merely an illusion, he still went on to connect emotionally with others. A fool indeed.'

The queen looked at Elliot and saw that he was drowning his soul in the wine. Even though Elliot knew it was wrong, he was still doing it because he wanted to intoxicate himself. Maybe it was to curb the sorrow selling in his eyes that had made his eyes shed a tear; Maybe it was because he wanted to forget the past three years; Maybe because he knew in his heart that the moment clarity returns to him, he will make the most rational decision and no longer hold on to the dream-like memories.

The queen chuckled and said, "So even a man like you who kills with a smile can cry."

After hearing her words, Elliot realized that his cheeks were somewhat wet. He touched them and felt his dry tears. An unknown moment ago, he had started crying like a little girl.

"What a revelation! So even I can cry."

Elliot couldn't help but laugh out loud. The last time he cried was when his parents died. After that, no matter how badly he got his ass handed to him, no matter how worse other people treated him, no matter how much his bullies thrashed him, he didn't cry like this.

So, he had all rights to believe that he had lost his ability to cry.

The thing was, he didn't.

He just hadn't felt what it meant to lose everything once again.

Once his world was his parents. However, they died in the line of duty, leaving him all alone with the feeling that his world had crumbled apart.

And today, he had unconsciously submerged in an illusion and made it his world. Since it crumbled apart like his previous world, he was bound to feel hurt.

There was an emotional wound on his heart, but he wanted it to stay.

"That's why you should have never made it personal. Why did you indulge in the warmth that you knew was going to leave you eventually?" The queen sighed.

Elliot had nothing to say.

What could he even say?

He just went with the flow and got emotionally attached to an illusion.

He chucked the cup of wine and placed it down on the table. When that happened, his gaze lowered and landed on the rings in his hands. There were eight of them, seven he got from one of the seven lords and one he got from the pill emperor after he completed their training and surpassed them.

"How is this possible?" Elliot looked at the queen in bewilderment. His voice sounded hoarse and full of emotions and hope.

The queen knew what he was thinking but whatever it was wasn't the truth.

She had no reason to leave him hanging on to a pipe dream, so she explained, "What is real and fake, there is a clear distinction between the two. The memories are yours to cherish. The legacies are yours to use as you wish. But the people who you bonded with, whether they remember you or not, is another matter. And I believe that in your heart, you already have the answer to it."

"In my heart, heh."

She didn't need to say more than that.

Elliot was well aware of the meaning behind her words.

The things in that world were real.

The places he went to were also not fake.

The pills he had made there and the things he had created were with him, inside of his inter-spatial rings.

The personalities and emotions of the people he had interacted with were also genuine.

The memory he shared with them was real too.

The only thing wrong with this situation was that no one in that dream knew him in reality.

For example, If his teacher and wine lord were alive and he came across them, then he would know their name, their likes, and dislikes, but they wouldn't know a single thing about him.

To explain what had happened to him in a simpler term. Then, he was in a life-like role-playing game where the creator based each NPC after real people. The game had ended. The simulation that was able to get to him emotionally had shattered apart. The people he knew were real, but they shared a bond no longer.

They exist as strangers to him, nothing more, nothing less.

The queen lifted her eyelids to get a full view of the youth that had been sighing like an old man for the past few minutes. "You've to move on; you know that, right?"

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