Silence.

The soft rain outside couldn't ease up or wash away the pain I am currently feeling. Emptiness, frustration, sadness, anger; everything is mixed together that I couldn't even do anything about it. It's probably my excuses, it could probably be gone if I actually put an effort into driving it away. But I couldn't. No matter how many times I tried to erase all these negative emotions, I couldn't.

Sitting down on the floor by the messy bed, I looked down on a picture that rests peacefully on my palms. The faces of the people that I loved, the people that once with me throughout ups and downs, the blinding and happy smile that they wore, it's gone.

They're gone.

We were in the special force team together for years. We didn't really get along pretty well on our first footing due to the differences in personality, but we made a bond with each other as the time passed by. It's always have been my dream to work as the special force agent, and they were the best special force team that I've could ever asked for.

One week ago

"Ophelia!" I could hear someone called my name from behind. That soft, yet loud voice that echoes through the space would be no other than my childhood friend, Aya. I turned my heels to face the direction that she came from. As my eyes landed on her petite figure, she dropped her hands on her waist, giving me her biggest smile.

"Have you heard about the compliments from our leader?" She asked, full of excitement. She has always adored our leader; he has good looks, and he has big brain. He's a strict person but also considerate of his team. His figure alone is beaming is leadership aura.

"Yeah, I've heard. It's from the past mission, right?"

"Yeah! It's always feels great to receives compliment from our leader!" She exclaimed. "Yeah, because you adore him so much" I laughed at her. She didn't shrug it off when I that way, that just show how much she adores him. We went into different missions together, only the special force team is given most of the top tier mission, hardest among the hardest. People would think that it's because we have great skills, but when you look clearly inside, it's the team that makes the mission works.

Our team doesn't consist of a lot of agents. In fact, we only have six members in the team. There are different special force teams that have almost the same mission as we do, we would sometimes work together to get one mission done. And each team consists of their own unique agents; with their own individual skills that are combined.

"Ah, are you going to the office?" Aya asked. I nodded my head in reply. "Then let's go together! I heard we are given another mission this time. Leader is going to brief it to us" She spoke, her voice sounds excited but also nervous.

We walked towards the building where our office is located. The crow building, second floor near the stairs; that's where our office is located. But the building is shared with the other special force teams' offices too, so sometimes the atmosphere is a little bit lively.

"Hi, hi!" Aya shouted as she swings the door open, entering the office as I followed suit. "Whoa, Aya looked extra happy today" one of my team members spoke as he landed his eyes on us. His name is Noah, he's the big brain guy in our team. He has top tier data analysis on certain conditions, he can come up with insane theories and strategies.

"She got complimented by the leader, that's why" I replied, grabbing the nearest seat and sit down. Before Aya could strikes another conversation, another one entered the office, bringing tons of drinks with her, canned drinks in fact.

"I bought these for us to endure the long, boring briefing!" She smiles, raising one of the canned drinks in the air before handing it out to us. She's our spy named Anastasia; we call her by kitty. Despite her cheerful personality, she could transform into any kind of characters when she goes out to collect information. She did most of the data collections and gives it to Noah.

"Ah, that's what we are thinking! Thank you, kitty" Noah takes the drinks that she handed out, getting a big smile from her in return. Anastasia puts the plastic bag with the remaining drinks on the table at the front and moves to an empty seat near Noah. Kitty and Noah had the worse chemistry when they first met. Anastasia is an easy-going person while Noah is the strict, intense person. They didn't really go well in the beginning due to the huge gap. But somehow, going through different missions together, they could sync to each other and have a good chemistry.

"I guess the leader will be a little bit late", Anastasia speaks up, her finger fiddled with canned drinks before she proceeds to open it. "He's probably dealing with the bosses from higher ups for the mission, I don't think I can be leader" I joked at the last part. "But maybe if you try, you could be one" A voice came from outside as the door swings open again.

A girl with fit yet sturdy body entered the room, giving me a smile before walking towards the plastic bag that's placed on the table and taking out one of the drinks. She's Ruby; our weapon specialist and defence. She could eliminate whoever in her way no matter what the distance, and she could buy us time effectively in any situation too.

"If a person who handles the weapon well said I have the potential, then maybe I should open up my mind a little about it" I laughed. She gives another soft, quiet smile under her breath and grabbed the empty seat next to Aya.

"The leader is so bad. He asked us to be here early but he's coming late" Anastasia said after taking a sip of her drink. As if her comment did a summoning chant, our leader entered the room, bringing tons of paper in his hand. "Speak of the devil" she added.

"What a lively statement that you made there, kitty" Our leader smile as he puts down the paper on the table, not even minding it or take it to heart.

His name is Adam Rogers. He's the leader, also the brain of the team. He supervises us and encourages us in missions, he raised our confidence when we are starting to feel down. He always has his way of putting us back on our ground. A respectable leader.

"I swear the meeting with the higher ups is never fun" He sat down, leaning against the chair afterwards. "I know you're drained from the meeting, so have that" Anastasia pointed her finger on the plastic bag in front of him. "You're welcome", she said before the leader could even thanked her. Adam didn't say anything. He smiles, took the drinks out of the plastic bag and took a sip.

"I guess we couldn't even get a proper rest before another mission comes" He said, sounded half joking. "Well, whatever it is. I know we can do well on this one too" He puts down his drinks on the table, giving us a smile before he starts the briefing.

Present time

But what do I know back then? I couldn't predict what will happen to us, I couldn't even see what's coming at us. I let out a heavy sigh. My heart feels as heavy as the sigh that I let out. I feel as if I'm sinking into the ground. "That's bad", I mumbled. "I recalled the good memories of us but," I stopped. I bite my lower lip to stop it from shivering, to stop the tears that are about to come out.

"It's still so painful" I let out a cry. As if biting my lips is a good way to stop me from crying, it didn't. The more I tried to recall the good memories, the more pain I feel. It's as if I am stabbed through the chest with a knife with immeasurable pain. It's torturing. How many days have it been since the day I lost them all? It hasn't even been a week, but all this pain that I carry is just too much.

"You're the only survivor in the team" the higher ups' voice echoes in my head, louder than any microphones. "You have two option left in front of you; join another team or-" they don't even have to finish the sentence; I knew exactly what's the second option is. But I was overwhelmed, and I am still overwhelmed. "I quit. I'll hand in my retire letter as soon as possible" was my answer. In my head, what's the point of continuing if all my comrades are not here? I lost all of them at the same time. It's overwhelming, it's crushing me down.

Now what does a former special force agent supposed to do to live a normal life? Should I start a bakery? Should I become a martial art coach? But at this moment, I don't want to think any of it. I just want to stay here; I just want to remember their faces before it starts to fade away. "It's damn painful" I gritted my teeth. To lost everything in such a short period of time, it hurts.

I know I have to get up on my feet, staying in this state won't help me anyway. I look over the table nearby. One of the agents from the other team gave something to me before I left the office. "I hope this helps", she said as she handed it to me. I put all my strength into my feet and stand up, walking to the table and grab the box. It writes 'Virtual World' on it with big flashy font.

'It looked like a toy', I thought to myself.

"When you wear this over your head, you'll get into the virtual world that you've chose here. You won't be able to make your own virtual world, but you could play as a character in it as if you're in virtual novel", she explained to me, neat and simple. "You could choose the start and end button once you wear it. You'll see the option in the screen" she added.

I opened the box slowly and take out the inside. It looks like headphone but with transparent big glasses. I bet there is where the option will be popped out. After reading the guide in the guidebook, I let out another sigh and walks to the bed. "I guess I'll give it a try. Here comes long, long sleep"

I wore it on my head, and I choose the knight story that appears on the screen. I didn't think much when I was choosing the stories. All I have in mind is how nice it is to be able to play as a strong character again in there.

Without second guess and hesitation, I clicked the start button.

Suddenly, my vision is filled with purple stripes that are running in parallel lines, surrounding me with its blinding lights, as if it's creating a pathway for me to go into the Virtual World. I looked down; I'm not standing on the ground. I am floating.

"This is fun" I said to myself, the voice slightly echoes across the space. "I guess I'll just fly down this way" I said, flying towards the other end. The end is getting closer and closer as I approached it. Just when I was about to reach the exit, the whole area shakes, making me lost my momentum in the air. It's only happened slightly, so I managed to quickly regain my composure.

"What was that about?" I asked to no one in particular. Brushing it off, I reached out for the exit, and a blinding light came into my vision; forcing me to strain my eyes.

I opened my eyes slowly. It's blurry, my eyes couldn't focus on the things that I'm looking at. Even so, I still tried my best to bring my sight into focus, and slowly, my vision is not blurry anymore.

Green and blue. The first thing that I have my eyes on are the trees and the sky. 'That's a very bright sky', I thought.

'Am I lying down?' I questioned myself. I ran my hands around as it feels something familiar like grass. I looked to my right hand. "Yeah, I am lying down,"

"On the grass" I added. Questioning why is that the first thing that I'll do after entering the Virtual Reality is lying down on the grass, I took a deep breath. But this sure feels nice; the air is fresh; I could feel the wind against my cheeks. The sun is out yet it's not scorching hot. I took another deep breath of fresh air.

"Okay, I wouldn't want to be seen as a suspicious person who's lying down on the ground like this, do I?" I chuckled and forced myself to sit up. I looked down on my hands, checking it as if I would have different hands in virtual world as I move them; I clenched my fists, and opened it back. Everything about this virtual world is making me question everything.

I'm wearing a fit pants, with white blouse on top; a ribbon is tied around the collar, and a high boot. "I like this attire" I mumbled to myself in satisfaction. "Now, how do I look at my face?"

Before I could even think of a way to look at myself, I heard noises from a distance away. Voices, footsteps, and it's plenty of them. It's getting louder and louder, signalling that they are coming towards my direction. Quickly get up on my feet, I ran towards one of the trees and hide myself. I slightly peeked at the people. They are wearing heavy gears, bringing what looks like a sword.

They didn't seem to notice my presence, but they are looking around the area I am in quite some time. It's starting to get on my nervous system. Will they be able to see me? Will they be able to interact with me? All sorts of questions came into mind as I have no experience with this thing.

I could feel my fingers slightly shivering. I have no idea that being in a virtual world would feel as real as I am feeling right now. After some time; as if my small prayers are heard, the people left the scene. I let out a soft sigh of relief.

But my relief was cut short when I heard footsteps from behind. "Who are you?"

I turned around in panic, one of the people found me hiding behind the tree. He looked at me with a stern face, not even trying to look less intimidating. He looked down at me with that sharp eyes, not uttering anything after throwing me that question.

Who am I? How was I supposed to answer that? Someone from another world? That sounds just as suspicious and ridiculous.

And more importantly, I have found out that both my suspicions are correct. They can see me and able to interact with me. "Who are you?" He repeated his question. "Ophelia" I muttered my name.

"Well, what are you doing here?" The guy remains wearing his cold expression. I would really appreciate it if he tries to at least look friendly. "I was taking a walk" I replied, half right and half wrong. I did enter the virtual world to have a break from the painful reality I was in, but I'm definitely not talking a walk here. I woke up lying down on the grass.

His eyes slightly shifted towards the back of my hand. His gaze remains there for a couple of seconds. "You're not from here, do you?" His calm, yet strict voice speaks, stabbing me right on spot in making me panic.

Calm down, Lia. Panicking won't bring you any benefits.

"Why do you say so?"

"If you're from around here, you know why I asked that" He answered, not taking his eyes off me. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to take his words in. I move my eyes slightly to his back of the hand. There's a medium size symbol craved on it.

Shoot, I don't have that symbol on neither one of my hands.

"You've failed to prove your identity," He slightly raised the sword that he has been holding on. "then I have to arrest you" he pointed the eye of the sword towards my face, not even hesitating.

"I refused" I answered back. For a moment I thought saying that out loud looks cool, but then the weight of my words came crushing on my shoulders right afterwards. Not even his breathing could be heard, not even any words are being said, he mercilessly swings his sword at me. Thank god being in the special force team taught me to have a fast reflex, I managed to dodge his attack. Barely.

Flipping sideway from my original position, I quickly landed on my feet after I've escaped the attack.

I was about to say something, anything to this intimidating man that's standing in front of me when someone else approached us. His figure slowly came into sight as he walks towards us. He has black hair, his eyes are as stern as the man in front of me; but less intimidating, his skin glows even with only a slight exposure from the lights and his facial features stand out a lot.

I could say he has the definition of outstanding visual. Not to mention that he's pretty tall, as well. Another soldier, I thought to myself. He looked at me, not even muttering anything.

"Yo, Yoongi. Why are you acting so mercilessly towards a woman like that?" He speaks to the first man. I consider that the intimidating man is called Yoongi. The Yoongi guy didn't lowered his sword despite being throw a question.

"She's not from here" He answered. The dark hair guy raised his eyebrow and proceed to look at my hands. "Back down" He muttered.

"But-"

"Back down" He repeated his words. The Yoongi guy clicked on his tongue before backing away from me. "How are you here?" The man asked me, his left-hand rests on his waist. "It's complicated" I answered, fixing my gaze on him.

He hummed under his breath upon hearing my reply. Something about it doesn't gives me any good feelings. "I won't be as cruel as that guy over there," he pointed his finger at Yoongi. "However," he turned his eyes back on me. "I have to keep you in the prison until I could confirm your identity" he said strictly. Something about the tone of his voice screams 'my words are definite', it's horrifying.

Crap.

I didn't look away from the man that is standing tall in front of me. One part is because I wouldn't just in case, he comes attacking me and a part of it is because I couldn't. I feel like as if my whole body is nailed on the ground merely by just his words.

Crap, what do I do now?

After a few minutes of intense, tiring staring, he opened his mouth. "Miss, you are under arrest"