Cherreads

Chapter 4 - Let's play

Congratulations! You have won: "Frisbee"

Item Description: Play item. Can be thrown to whatever distance wished. Direction can be controlled.

Note: Let's play fetch!

Ren saw this and froze instinctively. Looking at the Frisbee and the poodle "Petite" galloping toward him, Ren put his fingers in his mouth and held the frenulum below the tongue.

Pulling in as much air as he could, he finally whistled with all his might, making the poodle come to a stop just before it could pounce on him, making a "Ren" meat patty.

Shaking and playfully waving the Frisbee, Ren tried babying the monstrous poodle. Looking over the top of its head,  sent a shiver from his heels to the top of his head.

Still shaking and trying to play with Petite, Ren made feints of throwing the Frisbee to see if the poodle would be fooled and run away. It just ran around in circles and fidgeted, with the bloody red tongue still hanging down its maw, the teeth looking more sparkling red than ever.

Seeing this not going anywhere and the poodle getting tired and ready to pounce on him, Ren shouted, "Fetch!" and threw it toward the blazing sky that was now taking a shade of deep burning orange and yellow, like hell's descent.

Petite shot out like a bullet, trying to catch it before it could touch the ground. It left the ground shaking like an earthquake, making Ren disoriented and trying to maintain balance.

Finally seeing the poodle leave, Ren felt a bit lonely; however, he finally had a chance to revive Ophelia. Ren remembered the commotion he and the poodle must have caused, attracting whatever was in the area.

So he started to run toward the fallen, ripped-apart apartment building, while also keeping a lookout for any stragglers and on the points of the Unlucky Roulette, which showed 15 points.

Knowing what he knew about the Unlucky Roulette—as little as it was—he wanted to get it over with before anything else happened.

Finally reaching the fallen building, Ren got the Pickaxe out of the Unlucky Roulette's storage. Raising the Pickaxe and bringing it down with all his might, Ren cleared a huge chunk of rubble, concrete, and stones. Uses dropped down to 3. Seeing that it was not the progress he wanted, Ren planned to use 2 uses in a single blow to clear a larger area.

Raising the Pickaxe again and willing the Pickaxe use to reduce by 2, Ren swung it with all his strength, like it would clear the whole area.

Looking at the newly cleared area, his breath hitched. His bed—or some part of it he recognized—lay to waste. He carried the Pickaxe with one hand and used the other to move the rubble himself to search for any body or blood that might be there.

However, even after using the remaining use of the Pickaxe—making it disintegrate into ashes—there was not even a clue of the nightdress she was wearing, or any blood that should have been there.

It was like Ophelia was an illusion. He could believe what was happening now to be an illusion; however, Ophelia was certainly real—that was the only thing holding him together until now.

However, finding no clue of her after what he had gone through, it was almost breaking his composure—or whatever was left of it.

Black spots started to dance in Ren's vision, and he started wheezing, like air was being sucked out from his lungs instead of going inside them.

Falling to his knees, Ren started to feel pain in his heart, and his left hand started to hurt. Feeling all of it clearly, he had a thought: "Am I getting a heart attack?"

Not taking any chances, looking at the 15 points and the revival potion*, Ren bought it.

Revival Potion*: Experimental Version, created by mad scientist Dr. Woohoo. Has unknown effects, but sure to revive you as well.

Note: Nirvana!

Reading this, Ren did not even have the strength left to curse. He pulled the cap and downed it before closing his eyes, feeling his strength leave his body along with the heart attack and the liquid going down his throat.

Time stood still for Ren. It felt like an instant but also like an eternity for him. A heat emerged from his heart, slowly overtaking his viscera and extending outward toward his limbs, head, all over his body down to the tiniest cells.

From within the heat, a chill emerged, rising from the end of the spine, rushing toward the brain, taking over the heat that was making it a mush—but now settling it and slowly molding it to be something of limitless potential.

The muscles, bones, veins, nerves, and every other system were slowly morphing into something more complex and developed than ever witnessed by humans.

His heart felt like it had changed. It felt that the flesh itself and every part of it had been made uniquely to support the complex system that had been birthed inside him, hammering with every beat.

After 5 minutes of Ren's collapse, his body was enveloped in a bloody cocoon with the blood that came out of every pore of his body, bleeding to remove the older version of himself and nurturing and providing the nutrition and energy to support the transformation of what was to rise out of the cocoon.

Slowly, the cocoon buried itself by sinking into the earth to protect the life form growing within.

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