Villainess

Prologue

It wasn't all bad, but it felt a bit lonely.

Walking to her locker, she punched in the code, unlocking it with a click! Lumbering steps approached her, and the girl instinctively turned her head in their direction.

"Hey babe," he greets, kissing the girl on the lips. He tasted like peppermint, and were semi-soft; albeit, a bit chapped. Smiling softly to herself, she kissed him back softly, before pulling away. "Hey, Lance."

"Want to go get some Fro-yo after school today?" He asks, and the girl nods. "That'd be great, sure."

"I'll meet you 20 minutes after school ends, at our usual spot. I have to give back some notes back to a friend from baseball," he states, and she shrugs. "Alright, see you there, then."

"Cool, I'll see you later," he lumbers off, and the girl closes her locker after grabbing their books. Lance wasn't in any of her classes this quarter, but the two still hung out when they had the chance. She heads off to class, and the day proceeds like normal.

At the end of the day, the bell rings, and everyone quickly leaves the classroom, footsteps overlapping with the rain as they charge towards the door.

"Ms. Eman," the teacher calls out, and the girl looks up in her teacher's direction. "Yes?"

"Can you please give this folder to Mr. Gingler on the third floor? I have to go to a parent-teacher conference right away, and this folder has the test copies he needs for his AP Euro class that he left behind earlier."

"Of course, I'll go right away." The girl takes the folder and tucks it under her arm. The pathway to the third floor was the one she used to get from AP World to Calculus, so she was fairly used to it. Mr. Gingler's room was just the one right across from AP World.

Not bothering to use her cane, since the second-floor hallways were empty after school, she began up the stairwell to the third floor. Quickly walking to his room, she placed the folders on his desk, walking to the stairwell again.

"Shh...someone will hear us..." a voice mutters, and the girl turns her head. How peculiar, all teenagers bolted for the door at the sound of the bell.

"Everyone's left, don't worry," a giggle responds, and the girl quietly pads towards their voices. It sounded like it was coming from a classroom at the end of the hall...

"Still..."

"If you're so concerned about doing this while you have a girlfriend, why not break up with her?" her voice grows louder as the girl draws closer, careful to not make any sound.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Rain was softly pouring outside, but it did not dilute his voice when he responded. "It's guilt. We all feel guilty."

"If you felt guilty, you wouldn't be doing this," her voice quips.

The girl's breath caught in her throat as she stood by the doorframe, heart pounding as trickles of Victoria's Secret perfume flooded her nose.

"I'm gonna break up with her after graduation," his voice rings out. "I'll make something up about... going to different colleges. She'll understand, and she'll never have to find out about this."

The girl had enough, fully knowing who it was.

"Too late," she laughs dryly, now standing in front of the doorway as lightning crackles outside the window. The two cheaters faintly gasp, caught in the act.

"Babe! We're just...studying. It's not what it looks like-"

"I know what it looks like, idiot, I'm not deaf," the girl laughs dryly, feeling tears prick her eyes. "God, you're such a douche." She turns to leave, bursting into a sprint down the corridor.

"Wait, babe!"

"Don't go after her-"

"God, I'm such an idiot!" His voice bellows through the halls, chasing after the very girl he just betrayed. She goes faster, finally making it to the first floor. Breathing heavily, her heartbeat pounds in her ears as she bursts through the doors, torrents of rain pouring down.

"Come back, let's talk it out!"

"Stay away!" she shouts back. "Let this be done with!"

"Come on, babe! Please!" He catches up, grabbing her by the left wrist. His large hands tightened like a viper, and without thinking, she raises her stick in her right hand and thwacks him in the neck. He stumbles back, grabbing the cane and wrenching it out of her hands since she didn't loop the rope around her wrist.

"You have to come back now...please, we can talk this out..." his footsteps splashed as he drew nearer, but the girl kept stepping back.

"Please! You're-"

"Shut up and leave me alone!" she yells, backing up further. Her feet slipped on the wet pavement, and she tripped off the curb, stumbling into traffic.

"Babe, no!" his other words were washed out with the rain, and the sound of the car impacting her body.

Pain crushed through her bones as she felt her head slam into the car glass, then the hood. Thick droplets of blood and rain mixed and diluted when she finally landed on the concrete, life fading.

There was no bright light that appeared, just the same blackness she had felt for three years. She supposed it was peaceful since she no longer would have to deal with any of the pain in this world...

"Call 911!" A voice screams, before fading.

There was nothing at first, other than the sense of floating above.

'Greetings, I am System 00008. Welcome to the Afterlife V.I Program.'

Huh?

'You have been lucky enough to be selected to participate this. Upon collecting 10,000,000 points, you shall be reincarnated to your design, or simply move on to Nirvana.'

What?

'So, I'm not going to heaven or hell?' she responds, somehow, without moving her lips. Did I even have lips right now? Everything was just so...numb.

'Depends on how you acted as a human, but you're not going to either. Would you like me to explain the rules?'

'I guess...'

'You will be transmigrated into different bodies in different universes. You shall be given a mission objective. Depending on the world level, you can gain anywhere from 1,000 points to 1,000,000 points.'

She quickly does the math in her head, an angry feeling bubbling in their chest. 'That means I'll go through 1,000 worlds!'

'That's just the flat rate. Side quests can add up generally add up to 50,000 points if completed decently. You'll also get conquest points added on for benefiting the world you're in, but these tasks are hidden from view. However, your first world has no side quests available, only titles.'

She huffs. 'Fine. How do I know what to do in a different body? Am I reborn as a child?'

'Not usually, the being tends to be reborn at least a little before the main plot.'

'I see...any important rules I should know?'

'Do your best and you shall accumulate points quickly. Also...do not let anyone know you're in a system. To these people, this universe is the only reality.'

'Are there other systems then?'

'Yes.'

'Will they be in game with me?'

The voice pauses. 'You should be the only V.I system in your route. Are you ready to go?'

She pauses. 'Do I have a choice?'

'Not really.'

'Then, let's go.'

The system pauses and leaves her to assume it was booting up. Suddenly, a pain spreads from her heart across her body, making her eyes feel like they're melting. Clenching her eyes shut, she let out a guttural scream of pain as she transmigrated to another world.