[Final Game]
"I'm sorry."
How many times had he heard her say it?
"I'm really sorry…" Her reddish-brown eyes were filling with tears. Even though her avatar was that of a male elf, he could visualize the player beneath.
"Don't." He raised a hand to wipe away the tears, but then changed his mind and placed a hand on her blade. A different blade, he noted, from the growing-type Black Sabre that he had gifted her. This blade belonged to one of the players who had died at one of the self-aware NPCs hands; one of his comrades.
His bluish-grey eyes met her reddish-brown ones as he lifted the blade higher, not caring that her hands were still holding on to the handle of the blade. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he wanted her hands to be on that blade.
He wanted her to kill him, and her face was the one thing that he wanted to see in his final moments. He would have liked it if she had used Black Sabre, but that sword was his and it would never so much as scratch him.
"Here is my weak point." The tip of her blade was now resting directly in the centre of his forehead. Normally, he wouldn't have revealed his weak point with so many players around, albeit all save the one before him gaping at the doorway (with the exception of that hidden GM thief, who was a few paces before the other players), but his level was too high. Absurdly high, to be exact. Even if she fought him for the entire day, she had no hope of beating him.
"Do it." He whispered. His bluish-grey eyes filled with emotion as he looked at the girl standing before him. Once a girl who thought of nothing but proving her brother wrong in this game, she had grown to become a leader; feared, respected and admired by all. She wasPrince, the Blood Elf; Captain of the Odd Squad, Warlord of Infinite City and Overlord of the Central Continent.
"…kill me, and end this." His voice had lowered till it was barely audible by now. But he knew the girl before him caught every word.
A tear rolled down her face, followed soon by another. Then another, followed by yet another…until she was crying before everyone present. "How could I…how could I kill you?" She sobbed, shaking her head. "You, who understands the meaning of life better than anyone else…you, who did so much for me despite not even knowing who I am!"
Her words reopened the guilt tearing away at his heart. He didn't want to leave…but he had to. "But I do." He pulled her into an embrace. "The first player who logged into the game and requested the one thing that no-one has ever requested for. That very same player caught my attention, and even though I'm an NPC with self-awareness, I'd like to say that I knew the real you." He could feel her grabbing onto him, not willing to let go; closing his eyes, he slowly pushed himself away from her. "The Prince that has grown into a leader…show me how far you've come. Kill me for the sake of protecting your friends, and everyone – not just in the Central Continent, but for everyone in this game of Second Life."
Her grip tightened around the handle of the blade as tears kept falling. "At least…tell me why." She looked up, determination flaring in her reddish-brown eyes. The white hair of her avatar was matted with blood, but he didn't think that the player behind was any less remarkable. For that courage, determination and charisma could only have come from her.
"If you don't kill me…" He let the words hang, before deciding to reply honestly. "I'm afraid I will kill you." Releasing a deep breath, he made his wish one final time. "Do it, Prince…kill me."
The second that passed seemed like an eternity, before Prince finally nodded. With a swift, fluid motion, the blade was thrust into his weak spot as she murmured the words that would end his life.
"ND Ultimate Programme, activate!"
Even as his vision turned black, the last thing he saw was a peaceful yet sad smile on her face, mouthing the word "farewell". Her avatar vanished into shimmering digital polygons before vanishing, while he was consumed by flames that died down soon enough, with not a single trace of the both of them left there.
A minute passed, soon followed by another as the remaining players stared in shock. With the Dictator of Life gone, all the NPCs could no longer function, with the exception of those with self-awareness.
Another minute passed, followed by yet another as a thin column of light flared where the Dictator of Life and the Prince once stood. Slowly, it expanded, then more quickly as it soon covered all five continents in Second Life.
When it cleared, everything was reset to the way it was before the invasion of the NPCs, with the exception of a single thing. It was as if the player named Prince never existed.