Versatile System Online

The sensation of logging out of the game was still as mysterious as ever. The world fades away into darkness while one's consciousness would fade into reality.

Ray really could not get used to this feeling, making him rather astonished over the whole process.

He would often wonder about System Online. As to what sort of a being was capable of sending millions of humans from one-dimensional plane to another, and that too through virtual reality.

Moreover, humans gaining systems, having superpowers and all these sorts of things made him wonder if there was some sort of god doing all of this.

However, he would always shake his head and leave behind the thought, shrugging it off as nothing but the beliefs of different people.

After all, in the era of technology, people's belief in gods and supernatural beings decreased. However, the descent of System Online changed it all.

Not only were people able to gain mysterious supernatural abilities through the systems but were also able to transcend mortal reigns.

This made many people believe the system was a blessing from gods and System Online was a sanctuary of Gods, This led to many factions appearing whose belief in gods was even stronger than before technology advanced so much.

However, Ray was never one to believe such things as he was one of those people who would at least require evidence of some sort to believe in something. While System Online, though looked to be a creation of gods, there was no concrete evidence for that.

....

Ray stepped out of the gaming capsule and stood there for quite some time.

This time, when he had logged in to the game he never believed in finding so much trouble or knowing so much about the game.

Furthermore, the fact that System Online would merge with the real world, though real or not, was enough to make one worry.

Ray stood rooted in his place for a good minute, sorting out his thoughts. Then, sighing he left the room and went downstairs, to see his mother and sister so that he could tell them he was completely fine and they did not have to worry.

After that, Ray would focus back on his goals while he also planned to have a stern and serious talk with Aurora.

…

"Mom, when will brother come back, it's been soo long since he went inside 'System Online', did anything happen to him? mom, is brother safe?", asked Ray's little sister, Katie, in a worried tone, clearly concerned about her brother's well-being.

"Don't worry honey, your brother is a strong person, he will make it back very soon and I am sure he suffered no harm", said Ray's mother. All the words she had said were to convince and assure Ray's little sister of his safety.

However, these words also worked as an assurance for Ray's mother herself as even she, as a mother could not help but feel worried for Ray. After all, it had been two whole weeks since Ray entered System Online.

As the mother and daughter talked to each other,

"Creaak",

The voice of the door opening came to their ears and judging by the direction the voice came from, both knew it was from Ray's room.

The mother and daughter's faces lit up, their eyes sparkling due to overwhelming emotions ready to burst out in form of tears.

"Brother's back", Katie who was hardly ten years old shouted with happiness as she ran upstairs to meet Ray.

Meanwhile, Ray's mother stayed downstairs and silently used her sleeves to wipe the tears in her eyes that threatened to fall out like a river.

On the other hand, Katie ran upstairs and upon seeing Ray, she hugged him tightly. Refusing to let him go while tears fell down her cheeks.

"I thought you. you would also lea.. leave us like father and ne… never come back", she said amid tears.

While Ray, who had been hugged tightly by his sister felt like the worst brother after she heard what his sister had to say.

He felt a rope seize his heart and tighten while his throat parched dry due to the emotions he felt. He felt different emotions, at one hand was the happiness he felt after being able to see his family once again and that too in a good shape,

While on the other hand the sadness and extreme disappointment he felt for himself after knowing how much his sister missed him and how much of a challenge it would have been for her to spend her days while him not returning would make her more anxious about his safety.

With his sister in his embrace, Ray strode downstairs and headed to the kitchen, for he felt the presence of his mother in the kitchen.

As he strode downstairs, his resolve for helping his family and protecting them deepened further, while his mind worked endlessly to find a way for him to protect his family in his absence.

Ray reached downstairs and headed to the kitchen where his mother was currently putting down the cutlery on the table, seemingly getting the table ready for dinner.

Ray looked at her mother and realized how much she had suffered, for even she was trying her best to hold her tears while a tear silently slid down her cheeks.

She hurriedly wiped it and said to bring down the gloomy atmosphere and also hide her emotions,

"Must be the pollen, these allergies are not going to let me live in peace. I will go and check the air filter",

As his mother hurriedly left the kitchen, Ray sat on the chair and let out a long sigh as he berated himself,

"How careless of me, to let my mother and sister suffer so much",

"You shouldn't be so harsh on yourself, you know you were injured and no one would have been able to recover so fast, I say it's your will to meet your family that accelerated your body's recovery",

Said Aurora as she could no longer force herself to watch Ray drown himself in a pit of self-depression.

Listening to Aurora's encouraging words, Ray's emotions calmed down to quite an extent.

Not long after, his mother came back and seemed to be in much better condition.

"Mom, I'm back, sorry for troubling you. I'm sure you would have been worried",

Said Ray to his mom.

"It's my duty as a mother to worry about my child and aren't you back all well?, so why should I worry now that I know you are all safe and sound, let's have dinner. And Katie, act like a good girl and let go of your brother",

Said Ray's mother in a single breath, and even managing to make Katie, who clung to Ray and refused to let him go a moment ago, leave his embrace and sit down on a chair.

Ray knew that though his mother looked to be well and had calmed down considerably, her emotions were still a mess.

Yet he did not say anything and quietly remained seated while dinner was served. During the dinner, the whole family happily talked to each other and eased each other's worries while everyone had a smile on their faces.

No one asked Ray about what happened in System Online, and why it took so long for him to log out, for they knew it was Ray's matter to tell and he would do so when ready.

Sure enough, Ray was not yet ready to tell his family of what he went through in System Online, for he was worried that the atmosphere would become gloomier than before.

…

After having dinner, Ray retired to his room to rest.

Ray entered his room and sat on his bed as he asked Aurora the question he had been waiting to ask for a long long time,

"Now that I am back on Earth, could you please tell me why and how I got sudden strength while my body got drained of every bit of energy and strength I had", Asked Ray,

"You should sit tight for this one as it's not that easy to digest", Aurora said,

"What do you mean?", asked Ray in confusion,

"So how do I tell it to you, you have a strange energy in yourself or better say, a primal power that radiates immense strength and superiority",

Said Aurora while she was not sure of what she was saying.

"What strange energy, and what power, could you please be a little more clear about it?", asked Ray once more, while he was surprised by how even Aurora was unable to describe something and stated it as strange.

While Aurora finally replied after some moments of silence,

"How do I say it, it feels like you have a very strong bloodline",

"Bloodline?", Ray muttered in confusion.

*********

[A/N:-

Bonus chapter up, have fun you guys.