CHAPTER 1: REGRETS

Scarlet stood by the side, watching as her family cried over her corpse. She stared at her body, which was about to be cremated, and her heart clenched. 

She had been dead for two weeks, and in those two weeks, she had been forced to watch her family cry daily over her, her best friend breaking down every time she saw anything related to her, and even the people she rarely communicated with were all shedding tears when they heard about her death. 

She had been feeling conflicted ever since then. Her mind wouldn't stop imagining scenarios of change. What if she hadn't died? What if she had fought with her parents when it all happened, if she had run away from home, if she had tried to be stronger... What if, what if, countless what ifs had been running through her mind, but it only annoyed her even more. 

She hated to see her family cry over her. She hated the fact that she was the source of their sorrow when everything she ever wanted was to put a smile on their faces despite everything she'd gone through. She felt saddened when she watched her father faint and was unable to stop crying when he heard about her death...

This was the family she hated so much but loved just as much. 

The same family that ruined her___, yet she loved so much. 

"Hey, Scarlet!" 

A round, fluffy creature nudged Scarlet, scaring her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay?" The creature asked. 

Scarlet lowered her eyes to see the fluffy creature talking to her, and for a moment, she thought she was hallucinating. She stretched forth her hand and gently touched the creature only to rush back in fear. "What, what are you?" She stuttered, her eyes wide open. 

The fluffy ball stared at Scarlet and rolled its eyes. "You look like you've just seen a ghost when you're a ghost yourself." It hissed. "Call me Fate Ball. I'm here for you." Fate Ball introduced itself. 

Scarlet stared at the fluffy ball for a very long time without saying a word. Surprisingly, her mind was calm, and her earlier fear was nowhere to be found, but she just couldn't find a reason to converse with a strange creature. She returned to stand beside her younger brother, who had red eyes from crying, totally ignoring the fluffy ball. 

Fate Ball rolled toward her in the air and watched with her, not saying a word for a moment. "Scarlet,'" it called. 

Scarlet turned her head to look at it, not saying anything, but it was obvious she was listening. "Do you want to see something?" It asked. 

Scarlet returned her gaze to her body, her arms wrapped around her chest as she ignored the Fate Ball. 

"There's something you would like to see. It's my gift to you." Said the Fate Ball. 

Scarlet ignored it. 

"Really? Then, come see." It got excited. 

Scarlet's heart skipped a beat, and she finally turned to look at the rolling ball again. "I'm not..." But she wasn't able to finish her sentence when she was pulled into a void. 

Opening her eyes again, Scarlet realized her environment had changed. She looked around, perceiving the dusty smell of the new place while taking in the desolate aura that surrounded the place...

"Scarlet!" Fluffy ball shouted. 

Scarlet calmly looked around, inwardly wondering why Fateball had brought her to this sort of place, but her wandering eyes soon fell on a figure at the center of the abandoned-like room. "Isn't that Carlos?" She asked with disbelief. 

Fateball rolled over to the figure's side and nudged him, but the person remained sitting without batting an eye. "That's him." It replied. 

Scarlet frowned, shaking her head. "He used to be very happy..." She trailed off. 

She used to be envious of him. She used to wonder how someone could smile so much, laugh so much, and radiate so much joy. So why?

"What happened to him?" She couldn't help but ask the only 'person' that could hear her at the moment. "Why is he so haggard? Why, why does he look so lifeless? Why... what's that thing he's holding?" She had a bad feeling in her heart. 

Fateball stared at Carlos, who had pills clenched in one hand, water in the other as his soulless eyes looked into space. He seemed to be deep in thought, but he also looked like he was barely holding on. Fateball sighed heavily. "He's like this because of you." It suddenly said. 

Scarlet's brows twitched. "What do you mean?" 

"He became like this after Silvesta, your best friend gave him your diary after your death. He felt bitter that he couldn't be there for you when you needed someone the most." 

"Why..." Scarlet was perplexed. Why would someone do so much for her? Her parents didn't even break this much because of her death...

"Why?" Fateball seemed to have heard a crude joke. "He's in love!" It shouted. "It was love at first sight for him."

Scarlet slumped on the ground, the word 'love' triggering something within her. She gripped her collar so tight she felt choked and she let out a scream. "Why? I wasn't worth it. He shouldn't have gone this far for me..." She shook her head. "No one ever loved me. My parents never did. My siblings never did... none of my friends ever saw me as someone significant. I don't even know him... He wasn't anyone important to me. So why?!" She screamed with a mixture of anger, hatred, and sadness. 

She lowered her eyes, unable to keep looking at the shining figure that used to brighten her world. This was her idol, the only person she ever looked up to in her life. She was a little fan of his. A smile from him could keep her going for days--- So, how did it turn out this way? 

"You can help him." Fateball's crispy voice resounded in Scarlet's ears. "Do you want to?" It asked. 

Scarlet raised her head. Her red eyes mirror the fluffy ball rolling around her, and she nods her head. "I will do anything to save him." This was her responsibility. 

Fateball nodded. "Then, come with me." It rolled on Scarlet's head, and the next moment, she felt like the world was spinning. 

DING!

"Welcome to the first mission world!"

"Wait--- What?!"