Chapter 1
The day I died, Ethan Ford was marrying his first love, Emily Lane.
The system's mechanical voice counted down inside my head. "Mission failed. Host will be permanently erased."
Through the livestream, I watched Ethan slip the ring onto Emily's finger, then closed my eyes with a smile.
My body dissolved into specks of light in that rented room. Not a single trace remained.
The next second, mid-vow, Ethan's face drained of color. He clutched his chest and crumpled to the floor.
For a decade-late notification finally chimed inside his mind.
"Affection level detected exceeding 100%. Congratulations, Host. Host?"
He fled the church like a madman, only to find every trace of me vanishing from the world at a terrifying speed.
Even my name on our marriage certificate faded to nothing.
*****
Ethan was down on the chapel's red carpet, his expensive custom suit soaked in cold sweat.
He gripped his chest, feeling as if an invisible hand had ripped a chunk out of his heart. It was like a cold wind was rushing through the empty space left behind, the pain making him shudder uncontrollably.
A second ago, he was slipping that pink diamond ring, the symbol of eternal love, onto Emily's finger.
Next, the system that had been silent in his mind for ten years suddenly blared a sharp, piercing alarm. "Scanning affection level.
"Data correction complete.
"Current target Ethan Ford's affection for host Grace Miller: 100%.
"Congratulations, host. Mission accomplished... No vital signs detected for the host.
"Error. Error. Host has been erased."
Ethan's eyes widened in shock. That name was like a rusty knife, sawing mercilessly through his thoughts. It had been ages since he'd last heard that name.
Ever since Emily returned to the country, Ethan had cut Grace out of his life completely.
He threw her out of the villa, blocked her number, and even today at his wedding, he'd told the security guards that if they saw a woman who wouldn't let go, they should toss her out without hesitation.
But now, the system was telling Ethan that Grace was dead. Worse still, she'd been erased.
"Ethan, what's wrong?" Emily asked, her voice trembling as she reached out to help him up. "Is it low blood sugar? Someone, call a doctor!"
Ethan shoved her hand away with such force that Emily stumbled back and landed on the floor.
The guests around them gasped in shock.
"Where's Grace?" Ethan's eyes were bloodshot as he forced the name out, his voice raw with desperation. "Where is she?"
Emily froze, a flicker of annoyance flashed in her eyes, but she quickly covered it up with a pouty, hurt expression. "It's our wedding day. Why are you even talking about that woman?
"She's probably hiding in some corner, waiting to see us make fools of, "
"Shut up!" Ethan snapped.
He staggered to his feet, the mechanical voice in his mind still echoing, like a death knell ringing in his ears. "Erasing all traces of the host, program initiated. Countdown: 10, 9, 8..."
'Erasing all traces?' Ethan thought, his mind spinning.
Ethan didn't care about the shocked stares around him. He rushed toward the vow book by the altar in a frenzy, like a man possessed.
Inside, their marriage certificate was tucked between the pages.
He'd gotten it yesterday, all to make Emily feel secure. There was a strange emptiness inside him he couldn't explain, but he kept telling himself it was his way of letting go of the past.
With trembling hands, Ethan flipped open the marriage certificate.
The spot where Grace's name should have been was fading away, the letters dissolving right in front of him.
The ink melted into nothing, as if some unseen force was erasing her from existence, slowly, relentlessly, until not a single trace remained.
"No!" Ethan let out a raw, animalistic howl. He clawed at the disappearing name, desperate to hold onto it, as if he could drag it back from oblivion.
But when his fingers touched the paper, all he felt was a cold, empty space.
In the picture, Grace with the gentle smile and tears in her eyes was fading fast, her face was blurring, her features melting away right in front of him.
Until all that remained was a shapeless white silhouette, impossible to recognize anymore.
"Grace!" Ethan cried out. He pressed the marriage certificate hard against his chest, then stormed out of the chapel in a frenzy.
Behind him, Emily was screaming her lungs out, her cries mixing with the bewildered murmurs of the guests.
But Ethan was deaf to it all. The only thing echoing in his mind was that icy, mechanical voice. "Erasing: 10% complete."