After a few seconds of sitting in a box that resembled heaven itself, he woke up in his bed.

He still had his eyes closed but he couldn’t see the words visualized in his head anymore, now that he was back on Earth.

—What’s this?

He felt something heavy on top of him and before opening his eyes, he grabbed at what was in front of him, trying to get it off.

“EEEKKK! What’re you doing?!”

Ace opened his eyes to see his hand gripped around something soft.

“What is thi--”

*SLAP*

“OW! What was that for?!”

He looked up from the ground to see who had just smacked him.

It was a girl standing with her arms around her chest, her face beet red with a face of anger and embarrassment attached to it.

Before he could get a good look at her face, he noticed...

A blue gem underneath her chin.

“ALIZA?!”

“WHY’RE YOU HERE?!”

“Who cares about that right now?! Apologize!”

Ace realized what he grabbed after looking in the direction of her arms.

“AHH! I’m sorry!”

He bowed down on the ground with his face red in reaction to his realization.

“Good! You better be! Pervert!”

Ace stood up after apologizing a few more times.

“No, but for real, why’re you here!?”

“I don’t know either, it must have been because I touched your hand as you left.”

She said with her arms still around her chest and her face still covered in red. Her tone was still on the angry side.

“Oh, ok... makes sense.”

He turned away from her, feeling embarrassed, but also apologetic.

“—!”

He was distracted from the sudden reunion but...

He was back.

He was back in his room.

There were basketball posters on the wall.

His phone was on his night table.

His clothes in his closet.

His game console set up in front of his monitor.

This was the room that he’s missed for what’s felt like an eternity but in reality, it’s only been 24 hours.

“I’m really back...”

He knew he could only stay here for a day, but it was still an amazing feeling, seeing all his stuff again.

He felt like breaking down in tears once again to the reunion with his world but, before he could...

“What is this place?! It looks like a room, but I’ve never seen this stuff before!”

This was the first time Aliza has seen stuff like this.

For a traveler, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

She couldn’t contain her excitement and looked over to Ace, expecting a response to her question.

“This is my room... We’re on the planet called Earth I told you about...”

He didn’t respond with the same amount of excitement that Aliza had, which was to be expected.

This was an important time for him, but she completely forgot because of her curiosity taking over.

“Oh.. I’m sorry... you were having a moment... I shouldn’t have stepped in.”

“No, it’s fine, I probably would’ve started crying if you didn’t talk.”

“There’s nothing wrong with crying sometimes. It shows how close you were with the thing your crying is directed at.”

“Haha, I guess, but... I’m still a man so I can’t just cry at everything.”

“Gender has nothing to do with crying. Cry whenever you feel like letting it out.”

Ace smiled back at her honesty and kindness.

He looked around once again...

He was really back.

It’s only for 24 hours but...

At least he can give a proper goodbye before leaving.

“I’m going to wake up my parents... I’ve gotta explain everything right away.”

Aliza nodded back in response.

Ace exited his room and walked towards his parents’ room.

Once he reached their door, he hesitated before grabbing the handle.

—365 days without them...

Once he opened this door, he would have to explain everything to them.

They probably wouldn’t believe him because of how crazy it is but...

He had to.

He’s going to be gone for a whole year and he can’t talk to them for even one minute in that time.

This was his only chance.

One last day with them...

24 hours.

He had to.

He grabbed the handle and burst the door open.

He looked inside the dark filled room and looked in the direction of the bed.

“—?!”

“There’s no one here... Why isn’t anyone here...”

The room was filled with the usual bed, dresser, and night tables, but...

There were no people.

His memories of being transported to Felona filled his mind and he thought that if it could happen to him... it could happen to them.

He started to panic, and his mind was going crazy.

He wasn’t talking out loud, but the voice in his head sounded desperate.

—Something must’ve happened to them!

—Why?! Why?! Why my family?! Why does it only happen to my family?!

—Take someone else... anyone else! Just leave my family alone! Please!

He dropped to the ground and put his hand to his face.

Tears were starting to well up again.

His mind couldn’t keep up with his thoughts.

He was imagining all the different things that could’ve happened to them.

First him, and now his parents were pulled into some crazy situation.

—Why?!

—Just leave them alone, please!

—Just take me! Why do you have to take them too!

—They never asked for thi--

Before he could finish that thought...

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Calm down... they probably just went looking for you.”

“You said you were gone for one day, any parent would be worried.”

Aliza was the one who was reassuring him, trying to get him to think positively, instead of the worst-case scenario.

But Ace’s mind couldn’t accept that right now.

“No way! Something definitely happened to them...!”

How could he believe her when he was pulled into some crazy situation yesterday morning? There’s no way something didn’t happen to them. They had to be in some other world right now. One of his parents could be dead right now. One of his parents could be crying, holding the other in their arms.

No, it wasn’t “could be happening:”, it’s definitely happening to them.

If it happened to him, it’s guaranteed to have happened to his parents also.

He started to cry even more, kneeled down on the ground.

“They’re gone.”

“I’ll never see them again.”

His voice was pleading, asking to see them again.

“That god? Why? Does he find enjoyment in making me and my family suffer...?”

His voice still sounding depressed, he now pointed his sadness towards this “god” of his.

“All I want is to see them again... and I would’ve went along with his plans… why did he have to take them too?”.

“Just one more time...”

“I wanted to see them again...”

Tears streaming from his face, he felt like it was over.

He was never going to see them again.

He was going to leave this world in 24 hours and die in the other one just as fast.

His life was over.

All because of some god who decided to sen--

*SLAP*

“CALM DOWN!”