The machine next to the bed beeped with a rhythm that had long ago ceased to be annoying. Now, it was just the background track of Ren's life. Or rather, the end of it.
Ren scrolled down on his tablet with a thumb that felt too heavy for his hand. The screen was the only source of light in the private room, illuminating a face pale enough to match the sheets.
"Damian Solace raised his blade, the runic inscriptions glowing with the fury of a thousand suns. With a single, fluid motion, he cleaved the Abyssal Titan in two. The world held its breath as the hero sheathed his weapon, his dual cores humming in perfect harmony."
Ren let out a breath that rattled in his chest. "Show off," he whispered.
He was reading Chronicles of the Beast God, a webnovel that had been his only escape for the last one year. While his own body wasted away, eating itself from the inside out, he lived through Damian. He climbed mountains, slew dragons, and courted princesses. He lived a thousand lives while his own was stuck on pause.
And now, he had reached the latest update. Chapter 51.
The comment section was already exploding.
'Damian is too OP! Dual cores are broken!'
'Author, when is the next update?'
'F in the chat for the Titan.'
Ren wanted to type a comment, maybe a theory about the Abyssal Sea, but his fingers wouldn't cooperate. The numbness that had started in his toes yesterday had crept up past his waist. It was a cold, indifferent tide. The doctors had been polite about it, using words like "transition" and "comfort," but Ren knew the code.
Game Over.
He turned off the screen. The room plunged into a soft, grey darkness.
"Ren?"
The voice came from the chair in the corner. His mother. She sounded wrecked, her voice thick with hours of crying. His father was standing by the window, a silhouette against the city lights, his shoulders shaking silently.
Ren swallowed. His throat tasted like copper and antiseptic. "Hey, Mom."
"Are you... are you in pain?" She moved to the bedside instantly, her hand hovering over his, afraid to touch him, afraid to break him.
"No," Ren lied. The pain was there, a dull, grinding ache in his marrow, but it felt distant now. Like it was happening to someone else. "I'm just tired. I think I want to sleep."
His father turned from the window. "We can stay up. We can watch that show you like. Or I can read to you?"
Ren looked at them. They were good people. They had spent their life savings, their youth, and their happiness trying to fix a glitch that couldn't be patched. He hated seeing them like this. He hated that his death would be the worst thing that ever happened to them, while for him, it just felt like relief.
He couldn't let them watch the light go out. That was too cruel.
"No, Dad," Ren said, forcing the corners of his mouth up. "I really just need to rest. Maybe... maybe go get some coffee? I'll be here when you get back."
It was a clumsy lie. They probably knew it. But they were desperate for any instruction, any way to be useful.
"Okay," his father choked out. "Okay, son. We'll be right back. Five minutes."
His mother kissed his forehead. Her lips were trembling. "I love you, Ren. So much."
"Love you too," he whispered.
They left the room. The heavy door clicked shut, sealing out the noise of the corridor.
Ren was alone.
He looked at the tablet one last time. The battery icon was red. Fitting.
He closed his eyes. He didn't think about the things he would miss. He didn't have a girlfriend, a career, or a legacy. He had a save file with a thousand hours on it, and a library of read novels.
'I wonder what happens in Chapter 52,' he thought. 'Does Damian reach the Northern Continent? Does he figure out the secret of the Beast God?'
It was a stupid thing to regret. But it was his regret.
The cold reached his chest. The beeping of the monitor slowed down. Beep... Beep... Beep.
It didn't hurt. It felt like sinking into a warm bath after a long, freezing day. The tension in his muscles unspooled. The weight of his sickness evaporated.
Ren smiled.
"Next time," he thought, his consciousness fraying at the edges, "I want a body that works. And maybe... maybe a dragon."
The darkness rose up to meet him.
Beep.
And then, silence.