《Dwelling Souls - Story Of A Forgotten Wanderer》 Prologue & Chapter 1 - Dream Life gives you the lemons, but you¡¯d make some lemonade out of it sometimes. Nonetheless, I had my own serving cup for that. There were quite the many lessons I¡¯ve learned throughout my living days, but there was one particular lesson I came across by during the days when I was considered dead. What¡¯s the lesson, you asked? Appreciating whatever you had and not ask for more. Because greed¡­¡­ takes even more of your dearest things away from you when you went too far in an attempt to own it all. I tend to remember what was left of my fragmented memories, now further shattered down to just little bits of grain. All of which because I was greedily hoarding over two simple choices at once. That at last will become the worst decision to haunt me over the rest of my days for the rest of my life. That said, whenever you think about life, you probably thought about death. That¡¯s a good thing however; accepting it to be a part of living shown you¡¯ve grown wiser. Whenever you think about reality, you¡¯d also probably thought about fantasy. That too, is a good thing, for it told you that you¡¯re still young and will have many greater things waiting for you in the future. Imagination¡¯s that special key to it. And whenever you think about the most cherished times in your life, it¡¯s sometimes a bad thing to pop into your head, as the opposite of this factor was no doubt a potential tragedy. It¡¯s still nice to think of that however, granted that it taught you the journey will have its ups and downs. In my case, each and every one of those thoughts brought me to how I am today. A boy to be recognized and known by all. Life itself was never ever an easy road to walk on. All of the stones on that very pavement served either as your obstacle or a literal stepping stone in progress. It all depended on your will to bend them to your way, by hook or by crook. Anyway is still considered a way, regardless of process. People cared naught but results. I used to have plenty of questions to ask on a philosophical level. Seeing that I learned my own life will not be the same as before, I could spend as much time as I wished to uncover all of the secrets that were yet to be unveiled. On the day I was resurrected; to be reincarnated into my own world and my own body, learning multiple horrible truths all in my absence made me questioned my existence within an instant. Currently stuck to one such question that made me pondered for more than just a moment, I asked myself, only to have more questions taking its place. What do I live for, when I¡¯ve got everything but had lost my everything? Does that considered to be a profitable sacrifice, or a really lamenting loss? Am I able to recover what destiny had taken from me, or continue to live as a boy who everyone knew but seen as dead? Was all of this necessary, to obtain the power that could rule over an entire universe? Then what¡¯s the use of having it when you can¡¯t protect, moreover save the people you loved? It¡¯s all because of that kid¡­¡­ All because I gave in to entertain and satisfy his peers in exchange for some fantastical junk, I was broken. All of it began since the day of my death. And then a whole year of slumber as a deceased. After that, the birth of a little town¡¯s doom came along. That would be me being the cause. But are you willing to listen to my story?
¡°Freedom comes at a price, and so will it be for other things. That¡¯s why, if you want to have something, you need to give one of your belongings of equal value in exchange. So it¡¯s without a doubt that, if you want to have everything, you must first give away your everything. That however doesn¡¯t mean you can get it back.¡± Where am I¡­¡­ My eyes tried hard to fight back the unusually comfortable drowsiness. It was fading as we speak, so I knew sleeping again was practically not a choice anymore. My five senses were gradually recovering from their own slumber, making me tasting a wave of unnerving cold from my unknown surroundings. And because of that, I stretched myself, then painfully regretted it. Argh¡­¡­ pins and needles all over my body¡­¡­ Not cool. My hands felt fully numb, as if I had just let them endured a full day in the midst of a heavy snowstorm to have them suffer a final stage of frostbite. The fingers I have refused to move, and it was only I did focus hard enough before they stiffly wriggled under my command, my pair of eyes still shut tight as I did it. The two legs were straightened by my stretch earlier, screaming with agony when I made a decision to move an inch out of their original position, but I didn¡¯t take the hint, or feel it anyway. Now, I had my condition made worse when I did it again, this time I felt the full force when my whole body jolted up to create an electrifying chain reaction that eventually woke me up and got rid of that drowsy feeling once and for all. My dry mouth ended up mustering the strength to say ¡°I¡¯m up¡­¡±, in a quick and soft succession, it being totally out of my personal control. I managed to relax my body after the shock, not wishing to take in another jolt from my newly awakened nerves. Mentally making a note in my head to not perform this feat with cramped muscles, I blinked with my now widely opened eyes, moisturizing them as I began taking in the seemingly blurry view. It¡¯s a little later until I completely regained my full consciousness a few seconds after waking up, with my vision now functioning properly and a natural instinct telling me to scan the area I was in as fast as I could. That¡¯s where the nightmare began. Where exactly am I? A cold sweat flowed down from my neck to my spine. My whole body unwillingly froze on its own upon witnessing something you might see when you¡¯re dead. And by that, I knew I wasn¡¯t alive anymore. There were hundreds of thousands of people floating in the air, all of them facing a general direction similar to mine; assuming it¡¯s floating ahead towards our final destination, that is. There were cries and wails of the dead all over the place. And from my two eyes was what I saw as a sea of the damned. Black hands flooded the so-called ¡®ocean¡¯, trying to drag us down to have us drowned. Too bad for them, we¡¯re kept a steady distance from the two swirling seas located above and below us. There were some that unwillingly strayed close to either of them, but was quickly repelled back to the safe perimeter by an unseen force. Magic perhaps? The area was devoid of light and hope, but everything in sight was crystal clear, as if darkness was the light? I¡¯m not sure. My head was in circles; dizzying thoughts entered and escaped through my mind rapidly, disallowing me to digest the information. So I¡¯m not alive anymore, yet am I really dead? Was this how my soul looked like? I thought the afterlife would be colder? Why do I felt like I¡¯m not even done with my previous life? ¡­¡­ Well, I¡¯m physically dead so as to say, waiting for my chance to live as another person was my sole choice. Clinging to my previous life will help nothing to bring me back. I should be forgetting what has to be forgotten. That¡¯s all in the past now. But there stood my first challenge once it came to me a bad truth to swallow. I couldn¡¯t do it. I just can¡¯t. It¡¯s like¡­¡­ I¡¯ll feel hollow if I lose all of my memories, good or bad. It¡¯s like I won¡¯t feel whole no matter what took its place. I¡¯ll become an empty shell in another empty vessel of a different cycle. I¡¯m a nobody now. I can¡¯t lose more of myself when I¡¯ve got nothing to lose. Was this how it feels to part with what you cherished so badly? ¡°Ah¡­¡­¡± A shimmering golden light flashed over my eyes, appearing out of nowhere while displaying its radiance directly a few hundred meters ahead of me. I was momentarily stunned by its beauty, like there¡¯s a new world waiting for me to go in. That luminous shine reflected into my eyes. Then a conclusion came to me when I heard it calling for me. ¡°Come here¡­¡­¡± It¡¯s time. With no full control over any of my body parts, my eyes simply hovered on several people; slowly making their way into a beautiful marigold colored void with me. The light was practically begging us to come, and I couldn¡¯t resist my curiosity to take a peek on what¡¯s on the other side. It¡¯ll just be like a new hole to venture in and discover what it has to offer, only this particular hole looked very bright to not be amiss. Hundreds of more lost souls also followed our tracks and hovered themselves to the great ball of gold light; similar to luring moths with flames, and I was one of the petty ones dumbly dragging myself to it. There¡¯s no turning back anymore, I thought to myself, letting the light absorb me as I embraced it. Although that feeling was still gripping the roots inside my heart, I started to pay no attention to any remnants of my past self. I listened to the sounds of the dead crying, as they mourn for neither no one nor themselves. It formed a depressing melody, yet it soothed my ears, calming my already sad spirit. That non-existing heart within me was beating faintly; I began to understand how hard could it be to put down something¡­¡­ someone you loved¡­¡­ ¡°¡­¡­Hey¡­¡­¡± Eh? Was somebody talking to me? ¡°......Don¡¯t go¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­Huh?¡± I responded, my own voice close to an inaudible tone. I swore there was a girl calling for me just a little while ago. ¡°¡­¡­Don¡¯t wander off away from me¡­¡­¡± What¡¯s going on¡­¡­? The tumbling, noisy seas in between me became silent. The voice earlier¡­¡­ it¡¯s assaulting my¡­¡­ Argh! My head! Why does it hurt so much!? That¡¯s not supposed to happen, right? Why am I feeling so determined to stay elsewhere? ¡°¡­¡­Don¡¯t leave me here¡­¡­¡± No! I can¡¯t give up now! I felt my body reenergized when that voice called for me. With no experience of swimming passing over my mind, I cared less but tumbled in a zero-gravity zone, flailing as I attempted to swim my way out of the golden void. I swung my limbs all over the place, shaking off my fatigue, but didn¡¯t stop. As if the bright void knew what I was up to, it began to draw in the air, with me altogether. Finally, I faced against the light and did a quick dog paddle, spinning my arms and legs over and over, refusing to accept my former death was certain. ¡°No, big gold void! I must get back to where I should be!¡± I continued my struggle for several more seconds, as I felt the light not only pulling me in, but also draining my strength at the same time. Realizing those mere seconds will decide whether I¡¯ll live to see another day in me or someone else, I pushed myself further beyond what otherworldly means to get out of its clutches. I felt its pull getting stronger, and yet so did my will to come back to life in an alternative way. Regardless if I turned into something else that¡¯ll have every living thing in the world to fear me, I could not concern more than the pleading girl¡¯s voice to tell me to stay.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Guilt struck my conscious when I thought of what mistakes I had done to her to the point that I left her in pain, until realization struck me faster to let me understand that¡­¡­ I¡¯d lost already. The light¡­¡­ It got me. Somebody help me¡­¡­I can¡¯t do this alone¡­¡­Not with just a cheer or call. Please, I need a helping hand. I¡¯m really a nobody¡­¡­ Only she cared about me. Maybe my family cared me too. I was in the middle of the bright void, ready to be disintegrated into who knows where. There was no one capable of lending a hand to pull me out. I felt that the darkness was more like my home. The light¡¯s like the abyss to me. If only something - anything resembling a long piece of string could come, I¡¯ll just grab it, and pull myself out. I don¡¯t care if it snaps in two, my two hands will firmly cling onto it. Well, it¡¯s best if it doesn¡¯t. I just wish for a rope, or a chain¡­¡­ Yeah, a very, very long chain. Maybe specifically those two coming my way, clattering a glass-crashing rhythm altogether. With an extremely sharp blade each attached to their ends. ¡­¡­ Wait, what? ¡°¡­¡­Oh no, you don¡¯t!¡± Eh? Before I knew, the chains flew to my general direction, it¡¯s ends like spinning sawblades ready to turn me to minced meat. Then I panicked. To which I was not a bit surprised when I screamed like a girl as if I wanted to let everyone know I¡¯m about to be murdered¡­¡­ ¡°Get me out of here, Mr. Void, I don¡¯t care! Take me in! I don¡¯t wanna die a second time before my next rebirth!¡± I shut my eyes while the dark invaded my personal mind, but it did little to comfort me. My head braced for impact, fearing the incoming pain once the daggers dug through my flesh. ¡°AHHH!!!¡± Clang! Then silence smashed the air. The rattling of chains stopped instantly. And a breeze went pass my head. ¡°Pant¡­¡­ Pant¡­¡­ Sigh¡­¡­¡± ¡­¡­What just happened to me? My eyes winced a little when I opened them, my front view meeting face to face with the two black oceans up and below. I looked everywhere, wondering what had become of me. The thought of me already in a different world was discarded into the bin. But for one fact I am sure to understand, I was pulled out of the void. The light was nowhere to be seen. My adrenaline-rushed energy returned late to my body in all of a sudden, the view temporarily turning into a blur. I shook my head, remembering what had occurred to me a matter of seconds ago. I got saved by a mysterious person. One who liked using chained blades to wrap people up. My torso was completely twirled by the long chains, with my arms trapped in it as well. The chain ends with the blades were felt behind me. On the other hand, the other two respective ends were directly in my front side, stretching itself to near endless boundaries, because I could see something in the vicinity besides dying souls. There was a tiny rock ahead, gradually growing in size, so my guess that¡¯s solid land I¡¯ll be dragged onto soon. Still, all of this quick action; while I did almost nothing other than thinking, I¡¯m getting that drowsy feeling again¡­¡­ That girl, the one to wake me up from this dreadful place¡­¡­ will she whom I answered back still know me? Will I be able to meet her¡­¡­? Yawn¡­¡­ I¡¯m not sure. But for one thing that¡¯s been confirmed, I need some sleep¡­¡­ Zzzz¡­¡­ A little rest won¡¯t hurt anyone, especially me. ¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ Clink. ¡°Ah¡­¡­ Poor lil¡¯ guy. Already sleeping before he hit land. ¡­¡­ Hmph, well then. Land aboard, matey¡­¡­ Hupp¡­¡­ Get some rest, lil¡¯ one. You¡¯ll need it.¡± Just as I¡¯m going to lose full consciousness, I could feel a pair of hands catching me, while I was carried on the person¡¯s back. The chains clanged softly, creating a rejuvenating lullaby for a young soul to rest peacefully. Presumably, does it mean I¡¯m heading back to my world? Maybe. Then who¡¯s taking me to there? Someone who knew me, I guess. Too bad I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a he or she. Sorry to bother you while I drift back to sleep, Mr. or Ms. Mystery¡­¡­ But then, thanks. Maybe I¡¯ll repay you when I had the chance. Yawn¡­¡­ Zzzz¡­¡­
¡­¡­ Ah¡­¡­ A comfy bed to rest my head on¡­¡­ It¡¯s literally like heaven. The weaving of this bedding; was this completely made of cotton? Or was it made with clouds? It¡¯s so cool to the touch, nicely done to not send a frilling chill to you throughout your beauty sleep. So that¡¯s how you feel when you finally got some good rest, huh? The pillow, it¡¯s neither too hard nor too soft. The feeling to enjoy it couldn¡¯t be concealed. It¡¯s like hugging your most favorite plush toy or another soft pillow in your two arms. I tossed myself around the bed a little while as I subconsciously savored the fluffiness of the bed¡¯s design. This could go on forever and ever and I won¡¯t get tired of it¡­¡­ Now what was I thinking for a moment there¡­¡­? Oh, right! I¡¯ve got things to settle back at my world! I need to head back¡­¡­ As soon as I get on the fact that I¡¯m dead. ¡­¡­ It hurts to think of it though. ¡°Ugh¡­¡­¡± I tossed myself again, moaning a little to know this was reality, not your typical dream that¡¯ll span for miles and miles away from the former. That call which made me fought back a life cycle, it was all in my head I guess. Mostly a reaction to not accept such an early death. It¡¯s all just a dream. Those dreams were a blanket that¡¯ll cover me from despair. Only when I¡¯ve opened those eyes, then it¡¯ll be taken away, waiting for my next moment to sleep and let my pain slip down a bottomless pit I¡¯ll never know where it¡¯ll be. I gave a little smile to myself. My memory could suddenly yet scarcely remember the ways I woke up back when I¡¯m still breathing; getting called by my parents, pranked by certain friends while I dozed off without realizing. And sometimes, just sometimes. Waking up from the ending of a delightful dream. ¡°Mm¡­¡­¡± How I hoped to see another sweet moment, because I had a quick flashback on one dream that tempted me the most to think of again. A kiss with the mysterious girl whose voice moved and motivated me to live, even after I passed the line between life and death. Her looks were of a blur behind a semi-transparent glass layer, but despite that, I only had a simple thought about her by only looking at her silhouette. She¡¯s beautiful, like an angel in the white clouds. ¡°What a daydreaming fool I¡¯ve got here.¡± Currently, I¡¯ve gotta put these thoughts to a stop and dump them to the back of my mind. Daydreaming can wait. Not the sudden fall to the ground flat in a sleeping stance. Snap. Snapping fingers¡­? Whoa! Thud. Augh! My butt! What the hell? Now where am I now? ¡­¡­ No idea. As far as I could do to explain my location, only one word suited to mention said place. Darkness. Everything¡¯s currently pitch-black as we speak. There was not even a speck of light to actually see things. It was darker than the black oceans I encountered, granted that the place was lit up magically. This was not the case. I could feel my ass hurt badly; it throbbed and yelled from underneath to exclaim its dissatisfaction. A voice circled around my head like an irritating bee buzzing on a flower. ¡°So you¡¯re finally awake¡­¡­¡± And as it turned out, my savior particularly, had rescued me from the grasp of the reincarnation cycle for a conversation. ¡°Shall we have a talk, then?¡± Snap. The area immediately brightened after hearing the sound of fingers snapping. A candle light was present on a small coffee table in front of me, dimly doing its best to shine. The scent of a pleasant and sweet drink filled the surrounding air. I lightly sniffed it that permeated a lingering aroma. It was tickling my nose, playing with me. But I know that smell anywhere¡­¡­ It¡¯s a cup of delicious cappuccino. ¡°Would you want a cup too, mister?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I glanced at the source, for it sounded very close to me. Still, within a moment, I firstly captured the view around myself; and so far there was nothing outside of the unseen other than the three furniture which was clearly visible with the help of the light. There was that adorable coffee table holding that delicately designed candlestick. The candle had its wick gradually burned away by the tiny flame, its spirit vigorously chipping away the poor string to nothing. The candlewax was definitely not in a good shape either, having to be melted by a relatively weak heat force, dripping drop after drop of hot wax down to the table surface. Aside from that, there were two elegant tea cups, only one was filled to the brim with tasty cappuccino, still puffing bits of smoke to show that it was newly brewed; the best time to drink it. The tasty scent itself was tough to not go and take a sip from that cup. So the offer to have a seemingly free serving sounded less intimidating when such an offer was given by a person that I clearly never knew in my life. ¡°Uh¡­ Sure, why not?¡± And from there was where I should describe the other two furniture, which were both chairs. Surprisingly, they¡¯re a kind of giant bean bags instead of the royal chairs with polished armoires. Apparently, one of the seats was unoccupied; probably for me to sit on and rest my slightly sore bottom. Usually, I would just go and literally throw myself a seat to rest once I had the opportunity, and it was more likely to happen seeing that the giant bean bag was about as soft as the bed I was in less than a minute ago. However, somebody was watching me. That would be the other bean bag chair that was unfortunately¡­¡­ occupied by said person. Taking a look at the stranger, it was a boy that took the spot. He was almost wearing a full set of blue as his garments. If I remembered the names of these clothes, he had a dark blue zip-up hoodie, the zipper pulled fully down to reveal a clean white shirt underneath. He wore jeans that were a shade lighter than the hoodie, wrinkle-free to tell how its wearer appreciated his clothing. He¡¯s got a pair of black sneakers, its laces nicely tied to match with the pair of black socks he wore inside the sneakers. Now pouring the same drink into the empty cup with a teapot, he hummed an unknown tune to himself, showing off a smile under his hood that was pulled over his head. It was not too obvious to catch your attention. And by that, I meant it made me looked into him. I shivered badly when he looked back. His eyes, blue as the sky, glowed and glared at my face. ¡°All right, here¡¯s your cappuccino, young man.¡± He said, pushing the steaming cup to near the edge of the coffee table while he sat on the massive blue bean bag, crossing his legs as well as crossing his arms. ¡°Err¡­¡­¡± I hesitated, fearing the presence of a stranger interacting with me. Although my conscious told me that he was in fact, the one who brought me out of the golden hole of reincarnation, I still took the whole truth hard to believe. ¡°It¡¯s okay, take a seat. Let¡¯s chat for a small bit. I¡¯ve heard this is your favorite warm beverage? Bear in mind it¡¯s still hot; the drink¡¯s prepared in less than two minutes ago.¡± He said, motioning me to use the empty bean bag chair. He held the teapot in one hand and his cup in the other, refilling it to have a second serving of his own. I, while suspicion controlled my brain, went to make myself comfortable on the next giant bean bag, which came with a shade of dark purple. It was actually a shocking fact too that, it¡¯s a favorable color in my personal opinion. Or it¡¯s easy to say, it¡¯s my favorite color. At least I got the permission to sit, not that anyone cared though. ¡°So, about your cappuccino?¡± The stranger asked, reminding me of my drink that¡¯s becoming colder every second, the smoke no longer fuming out of the cup. ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± I replied. Both of my hands rushed to grab the cup on the table, trying hard not to screw up in front of the person who rescued me. Peeking into the cup¡¯s contents, the cappuccino released a scent of happiness, attracting me to figure out its flavor when it hits my taste buds. With much of a long consideration, I slowly closed in the distance of my mouth to the tea cup rim. I was hoping to break the ice with a simple greeting afterwards, it was easier said than done when eventually, I drank the entire cup. And gulped it down my throat with no further thinking. ¡­¡­ Hmm¡­¡­ Not bad. ¡°You like it?¡± The stranger asked, curious of my response, maybe to comment on how well he made the drink. I had to admit, this was impressive. ¡°It¡¯s great. I like the cappuccino.¡± ¡°Thanks, I knew you will.¡± To think it would get better in this ice-breaking session, having a chat while taking a decent drink was totally a great idea. Yeah, it seemed to be that way. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have some questions to ask me, right?¡± Said Mr. Mystery, deciding to commence our talk through a topic I would certainly and gladly chat about. ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve got plenty of things I wanted to know, but may I know your name, mister?¡± First of all, an introduction to see who am I up against. The boy placed his cup of tea down and stood up. He slowly paced his way around the table, as he blocked out part of the candlelight from me before coming to a stop. Putting out a hand, he opened his mouth to speak. ¡°The name¡¯s¡­¡­ Anonymous.¡± I blinked, realizing that he was greeting me. Thus, I held out my hand to shake his. ¡°Oh, nice to meet you, Anonymous. My name¡¯s¡­¡­¡± Seconds later, a bad thought just reminded me of something crucial for the self-intro. I¡¯ve forgotten my name. ¡°It¡¯s all right. That¡¯s part of your memory loss after your death. There is no need to be concerned. We¡¯ll catch up with that soon.¡± Anonymous replied, turning back to get to his seat. I felt a little rushed to consider that our talk was rather fast to cope with. Still, one cup of delicious cappuccino tended to make things normal. Even if we¡¯re in a space that I do not recognize. And it¡¯s all for discussing regarding whatever I did to get his attention.
¡°So¡­¡­ why am I here? Why did you save me?¡± ¡°To entertain myself. As an immortal¡­¡­¡± ¡°Wait, you meant someone that lives forever?¡± ¡°Yep. And as I mentioned, I¡¯m feeling quite bored recently. So I decided to perform what I do best.¡± ¡°And what would that be?¡± ¡°Breaking rules.¡± ¡°Say what now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to give you a chance to reincarnate back to your world. I¡¯ll reanimate your old body but you will not turn into an undead or any kind of monster. However, there will be one small condition you need to fulfill.¡± ¡°What is it, then?¡± ¡°You will have to give me one answer for my question. In exchange, you will be an immortal too.¡± ¡°Wait, you serious?¡± ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m joking? Then perhaps I¡¯ll take back the offer¡­¡± ¡°Ah? No! You¡¯re not joking! Definitely not!¡± ¡°Good. Prepare yourself in a bit, we¡¯ll be heading off to refresh your memories.¡± Sigh. I hate to make so many lies in one go on a person I barely knew, but this was an opportunity that comes once and just once. If I missed it or screwed it, then my efforts will be wasted, again. I thought I would be the only one. But as it turned out for me, fate had plenty of surprises. And not so surprisingly, I was not shocked by the news. This wasn¡¯t the first time it happened. The lies will be unveiled one day, so I must make the best out of my time to bend him to my will. Or at least, make him be on my side. With fate itself, this posed a challenge. Yet, I laughed at it. ¡°Bring it on, fate! Give me your best shot! Let¡¯s see who gets the last laugh! Ha! Ha!¡± ¡­¡­ I¡¯d better make sure to let him learn it, the easy way or hard way. It has to work¡­ No, it must work. Otherwise¡­¡­ chaos will reign. History will repeat. It can¡¯t happen a second time. Finishing off my third cup of warm cappuccino which was added with seven cubes of sugar, I got up and called him to follow me. Despite the boy¡¯s looks, a glance into the future with a unique Clairvoyance spell proved he was not to be underestimated. In the near future, he could even spar with me and possess a good chance to win. Granted, if he planned it well. I may not be a close friend with the deities or being in part of their kin. Still, I prayed that my own plan worked smoothly. Chapter 2 - Half Asleep It was an awfully weird surprise for me to have a chat with a boy called Anonymous like we¡¯re close friends, where truth to be told that we just met less than five minutes. And he was the one doing most of the talking, with me answering back anyway. Instantly knowing that his name was merely a cover, I expected that he had no intention to reveal his real name. And I for one, definitely respected his privacy. As for me with my amnesia, Anonymous had to quickly explain that memories could be separated into two categories. One of them was intellect, while the other would be identity. Obviously during your death, you can bring your knowledge part with you where it¡¯ll be removed before your next life. However, your identity part will stay with the body by all means, hence my current state. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s an impressive explanation, Anon. And it¡¯s just done right before you brought me out of here. And to think, it¡¯ll be a long lecture to begin with!¡± ¡°I assure you, I try to keep my talks brief. For some reason, all of my explanations suck badly.¡± ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t screw it this time.¡± ¡°Huh, thanks for the compliment. Too bad this will be the first and last time it¡¯ll happen.¡± He replied, muttering the next sentence to himself. Technically speaking, we were on our way to the exit of the so called Underworld, or Soul Plane as mentioned by Anonymous. He was holding the candlelight while leading the exiting pathway. He insisted to let me call him Anon for short, as even for the immortal, masking his actual name sounded and felt irritating if he wanted to use such a word all the time. Back at the spot where I woke up, I was very wary of calling him that over more than a hundred times. You just hadn¡¯t watched how long we chatted. We had a discussion of various things like personal favorites and hobbies after leaving our seats. Anon intended to extend the ice breaking session as a way to kill our boring walking time. Contrary to my expectations, the identity memories only consisted of your name and whoever had a relation with you in your life. Your personality and likings belonged to the deeper part of your intellect, and was also the sole piece of your memory that will remain inside you throughout the reincarnation cycle. That¡¯s right, all of those days that I got involved in my favorite activities just popped into my head the moment we spoke of it, the depressing downside was unable to tell who¡¯d been with me at that time. However, because of that, it took a good amount of time before we caught up with the topic of my reincarnation back to my world. This conversation turned out to be as entertaining as it should be, given that Anon and I had more than just common favorites, although we couldn¡¯t keep it going for more than ten seconds because of me. There was still an exception, and I got a chance to speak more than him, though he didn¡¯t had much of an intention to reply back either. ¡°What do you enjoy the most, Anon?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ that would be travelling.¡± ¡°Really? I actually loved that!¡± ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Yeah! I mean; who doesn¡¯t want to venture out for an adventure of their life, and go through countless dangers but came out unharmed? I always wanted to do that, and yet knowing that I¡¯m just a measly human discouraged me to go around my world.¡± ¡°Uh huh. Is that so?¡± ¡°Plus, I¡¯m a home lover at heart.¡± ¡°Same thing here.¡± ¡°Whoa! Are you serious?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And I though immortals often have free time?¡± ¡°Not this immortal. I¡¯ve done travelling a long time ago, and I¡¯m bored again.¡± ¡°So you wanted to use me as entertainment?¡± ¡°Go figure it out yourself.¡± That talk only lasted a few seconds longer than the rest, but nevertheless perked up my interest to travel with all of the free time I¡¯ll get soon. Maybe once I settled my issues back at my world I could start thinking about it. Friends and family comes first after all. ¡°Here we are. At the god damn exit that¡¯s so far away.¡± Anon grumbled, muttering a few words in silence. He and I arrived at a dark wall of the pocket dimension we were standing in, apparently said dimension had to be explained to me when I gave him an eye of curiosity. So to make it understandable, he just blatantly said five words. ¡®A space created outta nowhere¡¯. The walls itself was practically blending in with the ground and the ceiling with seemingly no boundaries, making it like there¡¯s still a distance till you reached the end. I was kinda shocked when Anon went into the wall like a ghost, but as it turned out for the Soul Plane, you can simply head into pocket dimensions by just going off the main road of the Plane, granted, these pockets now were no bigger than a couple of football fields, and it¡¯s just a matter of time before you got out on the other side. Or for a more reasonable word in the Soul Plane, you got out of the tiny dimension from where you first set your foot into. There was only one main road that connected the Plane to my world, so it made sense why it happened. Nothing¡¯s confusing me so far. Under Anon¡¯s guidance, I followed him out to proceed with our objective. My eyes again, got blinded by a bright light. This time, it was the exit being the cause. It¡¯s getting on my nerves. As white as a newly polished mirror that got exposed to radiance, the Soul Plane¡¯s doorway shone proudly with its light, standing several meters from us. With the sides decorated by white marble pillars, the door was like a stairway to heaven. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s awesome looking.¡± I commented. ¡°I know, right? Yet, something just doesn¡¯t ever looked right.¡± Said Anon, adding in some questioning to the talk. ¡°Yeah, I think¡­? What do you think is that problem?¡± I asked him. For a certainly mysterious reason, I was probably wondering if Anon and I had the same thought. ¡°Well, you know. This door looked like it should¡¯ve belonged to the Divine Plane, aka Heaven, not the Underworld.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± ¡­¡­ We kept silent together, Anon was tucking his hands in the hoodie pockets while I lightly tapped at the ground with my well-laced sneakers that also coming in a shade of black. It was a fortunate fact to know that you¡¯ve got clothes to wear after death. I was wearing a black tuxedo as we speak; another full black outfit, excluding the white button-up shirt that came with it. Nope, no nude angels or demons I presumed. Huh, and I felt so nervous all of a sudden. Maybe it¡¯s the surroundings. Or thinking of nudity. ¡°So, young man¡­ Are you ready?¡± Or making my preparations to go pass an otherworldly door. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure. Where will it take me to?¡± ¡°Back to your body. From there I¡¯ll help to refresh your memory back. Then the rest is up to you.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s it? All up to me?¡± ¡°Remember what you¡¯re going to promise me.¡± ¡°Ah, right. Got it.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I almost forgot the deal we made a while back. ¡°So it¡¯s just an answer? It¡¯s that simple?¡± ¡°Not just an answer, but a choice.¡± He glared, and I quickly averted my gaze away. ¡°A choice you say? Then I¡¯m sure I can¡¯t make empty promises for that.¡± I anxiously chuckled. ¡°Neither can I,¡± Anon added back, ¡°Just to let you know, once you give into my offer, there¡¯s no turning back¡­ I show only your memories related to my question, and you must provide an answer. Only one.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°You will search and uncover the remnants of your sleeping memories yourself. I hold no responsibility if it¡¯s your loss. Am I clear?¡± ¡°Y-y-yes, sir!¡± ¡°Good.¡± Anonymous went to approach the gate, ready to leave the Underworld ahead of me. I on the other hand stood like a statue, terrified of the face he made when he¡­ commanded me. Yeah, commanding sounded appropriate for the situation. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Oh dear, I wasn¡¯t paying attention for just a second, was I? ¡°Are you listening, man?¡± ¡°Y-yes, I am!¡± ¡°You¡¯d better be listening ¡®cause this is your chance, not mine. You¡¯ve got one minute to reconsider this, for like I said, it¡¯s a one way trip. If you accept it¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡± ¡°¡­Now that¡¯s a wise choice, but you better not regret it. Come, we¡¯re heading out of this gloomy place.¡± The boy mentioned to me as he went into the light. I woke up and shook my head, realizing the time has come. Since I said yes, I couldn¡¯t say no when he already left, so my final decision was to¡­¡­ ¡°You coming or not?¡± Anon yelled from the other side. ¡°Ah, coming!¡± ¡­¡­Get in the portal. Taking a courageous step to move against the flow of nature was ridiculously difficult for me to advance. My whole body was like it got frozen in a block of ice. It took a little more time than I expected, but I was able to shake off the feeling this was something really wrong to do. I ran into the door and felt a strike of cold hit me, noticing that I was beginning to float while my conscious slipped away. And from there, drowsiness took over. Man, that¡¯s how sleepy I am in the real world huh? Closing my eyes, I recalled back how I ended up here in the first place. Let¡¯s see¡­ I was dead. I was about to be reincarnated when I rejected it, then got bailed out. I got an offer by an immortal who wished to be entertained, and I accepted it. Now, I¡¯m kinda hovering upside down in a portal gate of some sort. That¡¯s it. Only that¡­ there¡¯s something I clearly do not understand, and it¡¯s completely unrelated to Anon¡¯s explaining. I agreed to be resurrected while letting him satisfy his peers, all because I wanted to remember who was that girl that called me back and made me struggled against nature¡¯s cycle. I also wanted to remember who and where my parents were, maybe friends too.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Speaking of friends, my gut told me I had almost no friends. They¡¯re most likely boys and learn in the same school as me. As far as it gave early info to me, I had instant doubts. I felt that Anon and I had met for more than just a couple of minutes. Otherwise, I could have hesitated longer besides my first reason. It couldn¡¯t be right? Maybe it was my soul playing with my hollow mind. Or maybe it¡¯s at some graveyard or treehouse did we seen each other. I don¡¯t know why, but it felt like it. Yawn¡­¡­ Well, I had to ignore it; the trip to my world naturally felt bothersome. Just a little nap would do while waiting to reach my body. Zzzz¡­¡­
¡­¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ Zzzz¡­¡­ ¡­¡­ ¡­ ¡°WAKE UP.¡± ¡°Gah! What in the¡­¡­?¡± Where am I? It¡¯s all dark in here. I can barely see a thing. Or at least, I could see one thing. Whatever this thing was occupying my sights. Ugh, I feel cramped. Who stuffed me into a box¡­? Wait a sec. This isn¡¯t a box. It¡¯s a coffin. Why am I in a coffin? ¡°Damnit! Who the hell put me in this place?¡± I scowled, annoyed if I knew that this was a prank. They were lucky there¡¯s air to breathe here! Once I found the culprit, I¡¯m going to make him or her pay dearly! Oh, wait. Now I remembered. I was dead. But I earned a deal that made it like it never did. ¡­¡­ Alright! First things first, I gotta get out¡­ Argh! Pins and needles all over me! Not again! ¡°Hrgg! Oof!¡± BAM! Gee, how much dirt did they put over my coffin? It¡¯s not like I intended them to bury me in the center of the earth! BAM! Not even making space for my legs to kick seemed to be effective! This coffin space¡¯s so cramped! BAM! BAM! Ah! Just a little more¡­ BANG! There! Using both my arms and legs simultaneously did the trick, granted, I realized how dumb I was for a while. The coffin cover flew high up in the sky upon receiving a very strong blow, landing somewhere nearby with a heavy thud. In an instant, I had to get up in a sitting position myself; the overfilling dirt just outside the coffin was ready to pour in and stuff my mouth with it. I may possibly be an immortal now, but I¡¯m not gonna try something this foolish. Well, at first, taking a glance at the scenery was what my mind proposed. Surely, I couldn¡¯t expect much of a tranquil view in the middle of a cemetery, but at least there should be a beautiful blue sky out there with some birds chirping, although it doesn¡¯t match up with the place. KRAA-KROOMMMM!!!!! Or at usual terms, there¡¯s a huge, dark grey cloud cluster blocking out the sun for a very dramatic effect of a deceased crawling out of his grave. ¡°Huff¡­ Puff¡­¡± Really, I can¡¯t simply anticipate something nice to wait for me after such trouble¡­ ¡°Interesting. You¡¯re probably worth my attention after all¡­¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Who¡¯s there?¡± Instinctively looking to the left and right, I found nobody in sight other than myself. That is until¡­ ¡°Behind you, man.¡± ¡­Said voice was at said direction. ¡°Gah! It¡¯s you, Anon! What gives?¡± With my lower body still half asleep, I strained my neck and hips to turn around and look at his direction. Apparently, the immortal was sitting on a gravestone, staring no more than five inches away from me. The very difference when we met in the Underworld and made me freaked out was his face. He had his hood pulled over just enough to let me look at his still glowing blue eyes and his eerie smile. His face however had darkened, shaded by his hood and the weather altogether, whereas his front hair grew just enough to cover his forehead, but was swaying to and fro thanks to the winds. Needless to say, he looked more like a Grim Reaper in human form rather than an immortal. My reactions were not far too vigorous, since an introduction to a Soul Plane made me understand that things will get a lot more weirder in a distant future. Monster were gonna be making a common appearance. No doubt even in this situation could get worse besides a bizarre wake up call. ¡°Watching you kicking your way out of the coffin sounded oddly satisfying. So I sat quietly.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Well, I guess that can make a good explanation¡­ WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?¡± ¡°Entertainment.¡± Frustration caused me to yell at the gloomy sky, to which the thunder crackled back in response. If in the later days, I was told I need to live with him under the same roof, forgive me, but I would prefer dying over the first choice. The boy doesn¡¯t had much in mind other than having fun, which to me sounded less promising for my years to come. Because I would be the fun that will be played, if you get what I mean. ¡­¡­ ¡°So this is my grave?¡± ¡°One hundred percent- No, make that two hundred percent sure.¡± Somehow, while waiting for me to kick my way out of the dirt, Anon ¡®unintentionally¡¯ stood on top of the coffin, and only got off several BAM!s later, all because he said he felt a tremor coming from below. Despite his appearance, I gotta admit, never judge a book by its cover. The little boy was as heavy as hell. *PINCH* ¡°Ow!¡± Also, he reads people¡¯s minds, whether they cared or not. Clearly, I was marked as a lifelong target. And by that, he was invading my head the second I was still sleeping. Because if you were to ask why he was pinching me that badly, I had the evidence that he was an immortal who kept grudges. All before this happened, I had plenty of bad thoughts on him hidden away from my words. To think it would go off that easily, he actually took it seriously. And mainly, he¡¯s mangling my nose. ¡°Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! All right! All right! I¡¯m sorry, okay?¡± My poor little nose. ¡°Well, now since that¡¯s over¡­ Would you want to double check the tomb again?¡± ¡°Argh¡­ mind if I do.¡± After being pleased of trapping me underground, the immortal himself coincidentally sat on my gravestone, which was half a rectangle with round corners jutted into the damp soil. The chiseling had been bad; The words were of a blur and had been poorly maintained, but they were still visible. On it, the slab etched- HERE LIES THE GRAVE OF ZACK WINSTON BORN ON 24TH OF NOVEMBER 2002 RESTED IN PEACE SINCE 23RD NOVEMBER 2018 ¡­¡­ So my name¡¯s Zack Winston? ¡°Yes, and like most babies you were born healthy, having an average life and an average family in an average life. And of course, you got an average ticket to death.¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m dead because of¡­¡­¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you see for yourself? I did promise to refresh that noggin of yours, didn¡¯t I?¡± Anon drilled his knuckle at my skull, and I swiftly evaded it. ¡°Please, just show me. No more distractions!¡± I felt like getting away from this guy the sooner we get this over with. I wasn¡¯t sure why, but surely the spiteful feeling was setting in. ¡°I¡¯m just easing the tension, Winston. There¡¯s no harm in doing that.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Well, fine. Tell me. Why am I here, other than becoming your toy?¡± ¡°I have a question for you. And you promised to answer that so you can be an immortal.¡± ¡°And would you kindly inform me what is it so I can focus on my stuff?¡± All of this was just providing a sentence that ended with a question mark and required me to justify so I can finally get on my way. Fortunately for me, the question came briefly like Anon¡¯s explanations. Unfortunately for me, it was tricky, because it actually had a relation with my life, or precisely, me. ¡°Let¡¯s say I give you two choices, but you will lose either once you made your decision. Between your love for your family and vengeance for your life, which will you pick, Zack?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°W-what¡­ What? I don¡¯t get it.¡± This was baffling. ¡°Hah¡­ Just as I expected. I said- If you picked your family, you won¡¯t be able to exact revenge on the person that killed you, ever. The same goes for the other way around. And my question was; which choice would you pick, if this situation happens?¡± Anon¡¯s words and eyes were cold at this moment, showing that he now decided to put serious matter into his business. The wind was beginning to blow violently over the area, and I discovered a terrifying truth within the second. With the immortal¡¯s sudden switch of emotions, the condition was made worse. ¡°I was murdered? Then what about my family? Are they alright? A-are they safe? Are they d-d¡­¡­¡± I stammered. ¡°Think of it yourself.¡± Anon answered with a lifeless glare. ¡°You didn¡¯t even care about it, don¡¯t you?! You cared only about yourself-¡± My argue got abruptly cut short when Anon swiftly placed a hand on my forehead. He shushed me before I opened my angry mouth to speak, so I kept it shut. ¡°Being rash to jump to conclusions is a very bad habit. I suggest you get rid of it the next time we meet.¡± Apparently, he was just getting ready to warm up my brain, because he whispered in ¡®This might hurt.¡¯ as I felt a foreign energy pouring in. Accustomed to the voices that circled in my head, it wasn¡¯t as painful as he describe, since I got mentally prepared when he said so. It was on the contrary, soothing, like I went back to my childhood and enjoyed it a second time. Literally. ¡°Feels similar to a melody, doesn¡¯t it?¡± He asked. ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s good¡­¡± ¡°Open your eyes, then.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± As it turned out, I unconsciously closed my eyes when comfort hit me, my mind retreated back to the one and only place I feel the safest. But if it were to be more surprising for me when I got out of mental cover, it was standing at yet another location in the middle of nowhere. Still, I gotta admit an extra fact. Anon¡¯s good at bringing people to places. This particular one had a decent reason for me to stay. It¡¯s strangely familiar¡­ Like it¡¯s¡­ ¡°......Come on, Zack!¡± Where I could relearn the word called joy.
The wind was blowing furiously this very morning. Although the continent had four seasons where late autumn was predicted to have more frequent and stronger air flows this year, people weren¡¯t expecting a mild cyclone coming by at a speed of 70 kilometers an hour while causing certain havocs at certain places. Unleashing a not so violent vandalism act on the some of the city fragile structures, it lasted for approximately three seconds, a duration enough for the wind to draw everyone¡¯s attention, then came to a halt as if it never existed. Most of the people living at said unknown continent were made of those who had high superstition. Additionally, given that the city was one that housed many who believed in fantasy, it was an excellent zone for tourists to unwind and indulge in a ¡®magic¡¯ festival held annually. However, this year¡¯s event was already done during the summer. All of the enthusiastic travellers had went back to their respective countries, finally leaving the local residents to savor their peaceful and quiet lives, waiting for next year to bother them once more. Nobody has ever correctly guessed what empty air can speak. It can¡¯t show a sign, it can¡¯t hint what it is nor can it inform if it¡¯s good or bad. On this year, specifically this day of 23rd November 2019, the wind was anything but empty. It blew vastly over the place, sending chills down peoples¡¯ spines at areas where it was highly unlikely to occur. It reeked of danger and fear in cataclysmic proportions. The wind was literally screaming at everybody¡¯s face. Something bad was coming. And it¡¯s not because the city mayor decided to have the festival running twice next year. In a school, located just near the edge of town, the students also felt the unusual breeze, which broke nothing but the mentality of a few scaredy cats and some unlucky ones that had items smashed to their heads. At one part of the compound, where a group of boys were gathered under a large oak tree, one of them was froze in place by this phenomenon. He was terrified. Unlike the rest, he could clearly hear the bad news the wind wanted to inform all that stood on the continent. He¡¯s here. And he¡¯s doing it. For a first, the boy was an otherworldly being. Based on the details he obtained, this place was indeed a non-supernatural world, which to his delight, met his favored working standards while he learned as a student. And clearly, the wind was now proof to make it a false statement. With him around¡­ This was gonna be a rough month. As a subordinate of the Grim Reaper, the boy¡¯s guess was that his boss would probably felt it already, and would be calling forth a meeting for further discussion. Speaking of him loud in the public was sure to raise some ears of his fellow colleagues, but as one of the members that was closer to their boss, he wished he could have advice him to take a smarter path. Provoking him was the least bright thing to do. Just as I knew, karma is a bad thing to play with. ¡°Dude, wake up!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The Reaper¡¯s subordinate was woken up by his human friends who ignored the strong breeze. The boy¡¯s attitude of having his non-physical mind dozing elsewhere was well known among his close buddies. ¡°Sorry, guys! I spaced out again, didn¡¯t I?¡± He said. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s okay.¡± One of them answered. A sudden ring of the bell abruptly cut their conversation short, but this bell was just a way of the school to make a quick announcement, as implied through the music made by said bell. Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So~ ¡°Attention to all members of the Fantasy Club, please gather at the school¡¯s Herbal Garden right now. Thank you.¡± The girl speaking through the microphone briefly spoke before the mic got hung up, for the subordinate knew she was also a member of the mentioned club, like him, quickly making her way to their short destination. It was a way for the Reaper Society assigned to this world to get sufficient privacy for their gathering. Most of all, because their group consisted of teenagers only. ¡°Whelp, sounds like you¡¯re running out of time, man.¡± ¡°I get that¡­ Later, guys!¡± All of the students know the boss was a responsible person and was not a fan of waiting, so the sooner he gets there the better. He just hoped he¡¯s not the late one again. But after unknowingly hearing that he will be the main topic, this will be one hell of a time besides taking after school missions. Well, it¡¯s a talk of him and the boss altogether. The current matter was not as surprising as it looked, or sounded. Still, working for barely a year for the Underworld, this will be the most hazardous mission he has to endure in all of his Reaperhood. Everyone had became a witness between a game participated by him and the boss, it was thus a lower hand for his superior. Not to mention, on a certain day at the start of the year, he accidentally overheard a chat with him and his boss. Promptly to describe how fate was pulling the strings behind the scenes, he was very displeased. And it was bound to get ugly, when things are personally handled by a boy who defied chaotic odds. Crazy. Mad. Lunatic. That was indefinitely him in the question. Chapter 3 - Illusions ¡°Oh my God! OH MY GOD! Can you please walk faster with those two legs of yours, man?¡± A boy in his early teen age wearing a plain T-shirt and pants shouted at a particular boy whom was pacing towards them slowly. He was walking with a speed which presumably mocked the rest of the group he was accompanying. ¡°Hey, you told me to slow down, man. Anything wrong about that?¡± The boy, wearing trousers instead of pants argued back since he was emphasizing the term ¡®slowing down¡¯ and insisted to do so at an extremely horrible speed. Even the grandma next to him was actually faster than the slow coach that acted on purpose. They were supposed to stay together while going on this trip, and if one of them was left going astray, it¡¯ll be the group¡¯s fault for leaving anybody behind. The punishments were¡­ agonizing. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s damn slow!¡± Not though everyone in this group knew, the boy finally had a chance to follow them on joining an annual event. So a typical person to express his excitement in a childish way was a sign to hint the guys that he does not know how to act when the opportunity arrived. ¡°Oh, okay¡­ Race you first!¡± Although this was one of the weirdest way to tell people what you were thinking or feeling. ¡°Not again!¡± I chuckled to myself as I watched the scenery, the boys chasing after a overly hyperactive freak. I could do nothing but laughed at my own childishness. Anon too, snickered underneath his hood, unable to bear the first dramatic scene when he was done channeling energy to perform a spectacular feat. It sounded impossible at first. But with magic, anything can happen. He brought us to my sea of memories, uncovering the sleeping dreams that I had once encountered in my life. This part of the memory I owned was where I first entered the festival held every year. It came with a plain name, but it delivered whatever you needed to know when you enter. The Fantasy Festival. A plain name with capital letters for the words, but it was enough to explain what it has to offer. I¡¯ve heard from many people that went into the place came out with a big smile on their faces. It was a dream come true to see hundreds of mystical creatures appearing despite that all of them were fakes. We could all just get mesmerized by such a view, enjoying our delusional thoughts while we could. ¡°This does refresh my memories nicely.¡± I said. ¡°I knew it will. But cherish it while you can do so. Nothing in this world lasts forever anyway.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡­¡± I was able to recognize some of the faces in the all-boys group. I am sure that one guy in the red T-shirt was called Philip. And there should be a boy called George¡­ Yeah, he¡¯s there. Shying away from the larger crowd as usual. Oh, Carl¡¯s here too. I¡¯m surprised that he grew taller than the rest from my last thought of him. The fact that he must had hit a growth spurt came a little while later on to fill in the memory gap. Ah, there¡¯s Fred. He¡¯s always on the lookout for snacks to chow on¡­ Hmm? Hey, that¡¯s Billy! He¡¯s getting chubby; thanks to Fred pointing out all of the high content calorie consumables at the same time. I could tell the boys were fairly more than just feeling annoyed, but soon my past self also got tired of playing like that and chose to obey them without further complains. That was indeed a very immature act for me to pull on them, whereas I should be grateful. Well, as how I assumed in my past, being the youngest in the group became a good excuse to stay like a kid. It didn¡¯t help them to explain the issue though. ¡°So this is how you will act in front of me the next time I show you something interesting? That¡¯s gonna be a keeper then.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I can film some of these and show it to the whole world. That¡¯ll be really fascinating to figure out what will happen next.¡± ¡°No!¡± I screamed at Anon, who took out a portable camera from his magical pockets and aimed at the suddenly paused scenery. To expect that he could actually project my sleeping memories into the surroundings, I am sure that he was capable of doing things out of the normal. *Click**Click**Click* And I¡¯ve got neither the supernatural strength nor the flexibility to stop him. *Vrmm**Ka-chak* ¡°Mm. This is a nice one. I¡¯m keeping it.¡± He said in front of me that was on all fours, while he placed the newly printed photo into his right pocket. I had gave up on preventing him from taking candid shots of my past goofy self that was not aware of it happening. *Click* And of course, taking a photo of me falling awkwardly onto the floor. ¡°Can¡¯t forget you too, man! You make a good clown of the century!¡± Fuck that hoodie boy. ¡°Now, now. Mind your tongue, Winston. Lest you want a pinch on somewhere else.¡± ¡°¡­Yes, Anon.¡± ¡°Alright, you remembered this area. Anything special over here to be highlighted?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, getting up and brushing the dust off my sleeves. ¡°Is there anything worth recalling in the festival?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe. A couple of friends or so, and the many, many activities we get to participate in.¡± The festival held every year had the wonderful creativity to make more and more things to appear to appeal us and the tourists that often bugged the cosplaying residents. It¡¯s not that it concerned any of the group members, though it was worth remembering how dressing up as an otherworldly being was surely bringing in a lot of attention. Take my memories for example, there was a person who cosplayed as a Grim Reaper wielding a large scythe got bulldozed by the people thanks to its realism. The robe. The weapon. Everything looked so real, so it depicted how much effort he wasted on only to have it left in a cloud of dust. Another cosplayer, dressing up as one of the famous game characters who had quite a very real, bulky and heavy arsenal got dragged along by the similar group of tourist that assaulted the former mercilessly. For a certain reason, I recognized him and I forgot who was that, but he was the only one to survive with half of his outfit intact. The rest of the victims had them torn to shreds. My friends and I went in to bail the poor guy out, before he got drowned by a sea of flesh and camera flashes. The tourists and travellers fought over for a picture of him, you see. He was at first delighted, then traumatized after Tourist Wave No. 50, which involved thirteen of them armed with phones, curious faces and a very deadly smile. The additional weaponry included the hands that fought over to immobilize his movements, or for a better word, pinning him down for a pose. He was a brave man to face that alone, whereas the others did that in groups of three and four. The festival itself lasted for fourteen hours, and it¡¯s unlikely that the courageous cosplayers could stand their ground for more than one. So I assume he was depending on the plastic swords, daggers and one large hammer to fight back. ¡°Alright, guys! Let¡¯s head for the stalls over there!¡± ¡°Way ahead of you, man!¡± The leader of the group shouted directions as my past self ran off before the guy pointed at an obvious row of snacks, candies, beverages and souvenirs. My mouth drooled on seeing so much processed sugar arranged neatly in one big stall, which promptly caused me to look into my pockets for some money. That was the real me doing that idiotic action. And when I realize that, Anon was probably filming me. ¡°¡­Right. I¡¯m in my memories, not reality.¡± ¡°Good for you to remember that. Here.¡± ¡°What the heck?¡± Much to my surprise, he didn¡¯t. While I wasn¡¯t looking at him, Anon was personally chowing on a large piece of fluffy cotton candy, and was handing out a second serving of that edible sugary cloud to me. ¡°What¡¯s your prank this time?¡± I grunted. ¡°Not a prank, but a breather for you to rest for a moment before I pull more of those things.¡± ¡°Wha¡­?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that I don¡¯t know the word mercy. You are going to be my apprentice soon, no?¡± ¡°Ah, right.¡± Back at the Underworld, we had come to terms to sign a proper contract so that Anon doesn¡¯t screw me over or me screwing him over. One of the conditions was that I¡¯ll be under his care, which meant fun for him, and torture for me. I would be forgiven to think that my resurrection would be an easy price to pay off. Perhaps I needed to give away my soul, or something like that, but this was no devil so as to say. This guy wanted amusement as his payment, and he¡¯d gave a fair reason for that. When you¡¯ve got all the time in the world, 24 hours worth of boredom was sufficient to drive somebody insane. ¡°Alright, then. I feel the need to look around and see what is so interesting over here so that I¡¯ll consider participating the next time this event is available. Mind you follow me and point them out before we move on?¡± Anon asked calmly with a neutral look. ¡°Well, sure. Why not?¡± I said, taking a bite of the cotton candy that almost made my tongue retract to my throat. Anon chuckled at the sight when he forgot to remind me of a particular catch on the sugar we¡¯re eating. This sweet cloud we¡¯re scoffing on was about four times more sugary than the usual ones, and raises a high concern over going down with a case of diabetes mellitus if you are not an immortal. I could sigh in relief that I am one right now. Right? ¡°So what¡¯s that cosplayer over there?¡± ¡°Oh, that? I think it¡¯s what they call a Realm Ripper. Don¡¯t know who named that, but it sounded cool.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± ¡­¡­ ¡­
It was about a week ago back at the secondary school of the city having a miniature version of a small Reaper¡¯s gathering in the gardens concerning a very crucial and fatal topic of the era. There was plenty of strong-worded swearing against each other among themselves, due to the fact that they were fighting over for ideas to handle what was known to be the toughest, hardest and most fucked up issue in the Underworld. It was after all, the first time he declared such an order at them, which in turn became a crisis. ¡°For fucking sake, this is him we¡¯re talking about, so I suggest that we should take my idea!¡± ¡°No!! It¡¯s too risky! That idea is completely bullshit! We should take my idea!¡± ¡°The both of your of suggestions suck like hell, man! We¡¯re using mine!¡± ¡°No, mine!¡± ¡°Mine!!¡± ¡°MINE!!!¡± *BAM* ¡°SILENCE! This is him we¡¯re speaking, so we are definitely not fucking this up! Lest you want to repeat the Neverwill, you are welcome to try!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± On that day, the bang on the stone table placed in the garden¡¯s gazebo emitted a very dangerous sound and at the same time a very dangerous crack was visibly seen growing on the top and was splitting the thing into two neatly halved sections. The subordinates blinked for a moment before it fell into two pieces under the impact, frightening them as a result of their leader¡¯s intimidating aura.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°This is something that we should¡­ we must work together to overcome! So I will not accept the sight of this going off in front of me!¡± The Reaper roared. ¡°Then should we inform the council instead¡­?¡± ¡°NO!!!¡± A subordinate in the crowd timidly suggested what could be the best idea for them to take and face the problem, though with everyone rejecting it in unison, that idea was probably going to be dumped into the mental bin at record speed. ¡°Mister, even if this is a big problem, it does not need to be informed to worry the council.¡± ¡°¡­That would be the dumbest mistake to be done there, I know that.¡± ¡°Gah!!¡± ¡°WAHH!!!!¡± On the other hand, when it was not the former that answered the scolding, the sudden appearance of their current topic had arrived and was hanging next to the head of the Reapers, sending his workers into a quick scream, squeal or piss-in-the-pants all at once. This in return surprisingly made the boy tilt his head in confusion, wondering why they had to react so badly at his presence. ¡°So what¡¯s this about the council? I haven¡¯t been hearing from the since last year during my visit.¡± He jokingly said. ¡°Oh yeah, and that went so well, huh?!¡± ¡°Well, for me, it did.¡± ¡°Argh!! You scared the shit out of all of us you asshole!¡± ¡°Oh, I did? That¡¯s cool!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Admittedly, during the previous year when the immortal went to the council and asked for his request, the whole Underworld was in an uproar and would want to look for an excuse to reject, yet for some reason, he never takes anything that sounded like a ¡®no¡¯ for an answer. Not a single person had tried saying that, but everyone was sure that not a single living being had actually got out alive if they said it either. The boy¡¯s request was rather simple, and would¡¯ve been approved as it was a common practice especially in other worlds, given that permit to reach the Soul Realm was done. Even if this was the first time this act was pulled in a non-magic zone, it won¡¯t bring too much of a headache to the Underworld other than some thick paperwork. His reason to do so though, was more than just requiring a bunch of extra paperwork. ¡°Dude, I beg you. Can you take back your papers?¡± ¡°No can do, Reaper. I had to do this.¡± ¡°Oh come on! Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s enough Chaos already?¡± ¡°Look, this is why I ask you to keep an eye on him for abnormalities, and not use the way you assume is correct to take care of it. Now thanks to you, you just made my job harder.¡± ¡°Do you even have a job?¡± ¡°I thought everyone consider my existence as a job.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± The group of Lil¡¯ Reapers stood in silence, or to be precise sitting in silence when they lost their balance in their run. They weren¡¯t too worried of exposing the whole commotion to mortals, not because of the fact that the garden was an isolated part of the school, but they had preemptively placed a sound proof barrier around the area. This was an important step before the dwellers of the Underworld perform secret talks in the Overworld. The Chaos immortal innocently looked at the Reaper, who was in a lost for words to reply some of the coldest facts that this boy could spontaneously come up with. He could only fidget in his seat, while a pair of chaotic eyes stare at him to squeeze an answer out of the otherworlder. ¡°Look, man. I appreciate that you helped me during Neverwill, and I¡¯m grateful that you did. But that¡¯s literal history, and it¡¯s hard for me to trust you when you¡¯re putting petty grudges in a favor I gave you one full year ago.¡± ¡°And you want to¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simply like my request. Leave him to me. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°No.¡± In the wave of a hand, an enchanted force strangled the Grim Reaper in an instant, followed by the others that tried to save him. The leader himself knelt in agony, grasping for the invisible energy crushing his throat. And a shadow loomed over him, which made him look up at the boy. ¡°Sigh¡­ I had enough of your rejects, dude. I hate it when everybody explains so much just to say no at me. Well, I¡¯ll tell you this. I don¡¯t care. Because of your emotions, it was difficult to keep him under control after he knew the truth, and thus leading to you-know-what-it-was. You know that I chose him, and I will take full responsibility to make sure it does not happen again. Perhaps I could give him a freewill period¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re choking. Sorry about that, and to you guys too. I almost forgot that you¡¯re in mortal form. My bad.¡± The immortal said before releasing his magical grip. Everyone rapidly inhaled a lungful of air when the restriction disappeared. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s all settled, time for me to go.¡± ¡°W-what? No! It¡¯s¡­ Huff¡­ not!¡± The leader yelled hoarsely, letting out unstable squeaks as his voice recovered. ¡°You don¡¯t make the rules here Reaper, and neither do I. Let me take over this matter and you can go on with your normal life. Though, let¡¯s hope that he doesn¡¯t come here and cause a ruckus, eh?¡± ¡°I said¡­ Huff¡­ no!¡± ¡°For the last time, I¡¯m not taking no for an answer, at least if you didn¡¯t protest so much earlier. Also, I won¡¯t let you interfere with his path. If he insisted to come here, let him be and allow him to finish whatever debt he did not accomplish, regardless of the severity.¡± ¡°You are not going to do that.¡± Physically clutching his school uniform collar, the immortal spoke grimly with his signature smile, revealing a set of human-sized beastly teeth. ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try¡­ I¡¯ll be back in a week with his ripped soul, thanks to you. And let me remind you all, if anyone of you wanted to stop me, don¡¯t say that I did not warn you of the dangers in the first place. Get in my way, and I can make your life the most miserable one in all of life, in all of history, and in all of the realms. Nobody wants to take that title, and I¡¯m sure none of you wanted that either.¡± ¡°Mister, we won¡¯t be obeying you. We will stop you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for that moment, buddy. See ya.¡± *Snap* A powerful gust of wind was blown at the otherworlders, and had their eyes taking cover from its sheer strength alone. Some that stood up were temporarily caught up in the cyclone and was thrown into the man-made lake with a splash or into a prickly bush with pain. When it died down, the immortal was gone, and only the remains of his giggling echo boomed over the herbal garden, bringing in more silence in the aftermath. The Reaper looked into the sky, as their sound barrier was broken and fading like a popped bubble. He was still rubbing his red skinned neck, the pain throbbing his and all of the subordinates¡¯ throat as if they just directly consumed a full tube of super duper spicy sauce. To fate¡¯s surprise, that did happen when an otherworldly delivery guy sent the wrong topping to the wrong place. That was supposed to be sent to the local hot realms and a couple of Mexican restaurants, not a plane that favored cold toppings. ¡°So, boss¡­ Cough. You¡¯re surely not going to do something this crazy, right?¡± The same boy in the crowd asked again. ¡°¡­When I made friends with that psycho in Neverwill, it was the craziest thing I¡¯ve ever done.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°Did you know that he¡¯s the one that gave me my job? He even personally went to the council for a recommendation through their suggestion box. That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll let that pass, not that it will become a hazard to my life. He shall not get through¡­ One of you!¡± He pointed at the group, ¡°Inform the council about this after school and tell them to send some of the best elites to me.¡± ¡°Sir, yes, sir!¡± ¡°Also, have someone to think of an excuse of why the stone table¡¯s split into two.¡± ¡°¡­Sir, yes, sir!¡± As the day went by, the Reaper was forced to proceed on with his studies in his mortal identity, having to let his superiors handle the situation, although he was the first to insist that he should take it on without them. That is, until the date 23rd November 2019 came into the calendar, being the final day before the holidays arrive. The wind blew at him and pierced straight into his spine to make him shiver in fright and frustration, because it caused his aim to go off in his basketball training while the crowd asked to see his legendary trick shot, ¡®Over the Black Rainbow¡¯. With a *Thunk* and a loud THUD, the ball slammed onto the board and ricocheted itself to hit an admirer¡¯s head that requested to witness the trick. ¡°Hey!! What gives, man?! I thought you say it never misses??!!¡± The curious admirer scowled and rubbed his sore cranial. He could feel a small harmless crack appearing in his noggin, and prayed it did not cause any future amnesia. ¡°It definitely didn¡¯t miss, and sorry!¡± He apologized, running to the direction of the bouncing ball. Picking it up, he gazed at the cloud and watched them move at a ridiculous speed for a while before it slowed to a crawl again. ¡°Gee, the wind is a bit¡­ awfully cold today.¡± He muttered, heading back to the field for an attempt of a second shot, to which the fan played with his words for payback. ¡°Heh, the ¡®Autumn¡¯s Kiss¡¯ made you shudder, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No, it did not!¡± He knew that his Chaos friend was often serious. But today, it was intimidating. He raised his guard, in case a meteor came flying his way. It was possible. By all impossible means.
¡°Hey, what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Hmm, if I¡¯m not wrong, then that is what the current cosplayer name it as a Worldcrusher.¡± ¡°Worldcrusher?¡± ¡°Yeah, the effects made by the guy was cool. Unless I¡¯m mistaken, he got the first prize in the festival.¡± ¡°Impressive¡­¡± The tour around the place went well for me and Anon, as we were entertained with tons of activities enough to keep the immortal pleasantly happy. With him pointing out the imaginative characters for me to recall, it became a win-win situation, helping the both of us to satisfy our requests. He wanted to know what the name of the clothing heap was, I wanted to refresh my hazy head. Processing useless info gradually woke up my formerly dead brain cells. The feeling¡¯s rather mutual, and bothersome. ¡°I know. And for the last time, keep the feeling of aweing everywhere to yourself.¡± For some reason, I kept agreeing on whatever that the boy recognized as ¡®cool¡¯ and said it out loud. Because of that, I decided to tell him to shut his mouth, and I don¡¯t care if he wanted to pinch me for that. ¡°Look, Anon. I really know that you¡¯re curious and wanted to state your satisfaction with their naming, but¡­¡± I tried to say, but was cut off again. ¡°Dude, I¡¯ve got my rights to express verbally, and so do you. Be grateful that I didn¡¯t restrict that.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°No buts. You were actually the one who responded in that manner.¡± ¡°Who says so?¡± ¡°¡­Hmm, that group of tourists looked awesome.¡± ¡°I know¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°I told you so.¡± The boy was right somehow to back up my hypothesis. That group of people Anon mentioned was right behind me, and my memories later registered them properly to tell me that they were not related to my life. I suddenly spoke up to support that statement as if it was normal for us. Not to mention, despite what Anon said just now, was false. Those tourists were nightmares with legs. Flashes of light kept coming from that and several other sides of me, while Anon pulled out the fifth batch of cotton candy from behind him, scoffing them down at remarkable speed. ¡°Well, *Om Nom Nom*, there is no need to be worried of that, at most you just pick a fight with someone,¡± He persuaded, grabbing a sixth helping with his free hand, ¡°Until then in the near future, picking a fight with you would be a new thing for them to worry.¡± ¡°I guess¡­¡± ¡°Alright, no need to be so gloomy. We¡¯ve got all of the time we need to run through all of your memories. Just make sure there¡¯s something to keep me mesmerized, and I¡¯ll let you hang around a little longer.¡± ¡°Um, sure.¡± ¡°So, which way?¡± He asked, gesturing me at the junction in the area we¡¯re in. ¡°Mm, to the right. We¡¯re following my friends this time.¡± I responded, my feet taking me away to the direction I stated. The constant chattering, yelling and photo taking had dampened the sound of my footsteps, whereas I clearly remembered Anon¡¯s walking was absolutely silent during the Underworld stroll. To which I pointlessy glared at him for a while for no reason upon pondering the fact, as he read my mind. ¡°¡­What? I¡¯ve been an assassin before. Anything wrong?¡± ¡°Nah. It¡¯s just creepy. Even with all of the noise here, your presence, it scares me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve scared a lot of people in my travels. There¡¯s nothing to be concerned about that. Ignore it, or get used to it. You¡¯ll be seeing me very often soon this way.¡± ¡°I can see why.¡± ¡°Ice cream! Ice cream! Get your ice cream!¡± A familiar voice interrupted our talk with a nostalgic call of a particular treat being sold, and I watched me and the group eagerly running to the source to order cold treats from a man they knew. ¡°Who¡¯s that? You seem to know him very well.¡± Anon tilted his head in curiosity and crossed his arms, staring at the guys that already pulled out a handful of money. I instantly recognized that friendly face and his smile that warms cold hearts. ¡°It¡¯s dear old Uncle Joe. He¡¯s the famous local seller of sweet delicacies. Every year, he sets up his stall at that exact spot to sell the ice cream he specially imported for the occasion.¡± ¡°Oh, I may have heard of him?¡± ¡°I bet you do if you did visit my town. He owns a candy store located near the outskirts of the zone. His assortment supply never fails to appeal any of us.¡± ¡°How are you so sure that the Uncle Joe I¡¯m mentioning is the same Joe?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a bit perceptive. And I believe that you¡¯re a traveller, am I right?¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re not wrong, but not right either. So you¡¯ve been there, then would you want to refresh your memories with him?¡± ¡°Maybe next time. Let¡¯s go.¡± With the boys in the memories completing their purchases, I appraised the many flavors that they held in their cones. By confidence alone, I am sure my favorite flavor was Choco-mint, as seen from the fresh minty green texture from my ice cream topped with chocolate flakes. Some of my friends also chose that flavor, some others picked Villa-vanilla, and some decided against fruity Berry Mix or soda flavored Fizzy Frills. For fat Billy, his order ended up with him holding a bowl instead of a cone when he picked every type of ice cream available in Uncle Joe¡¯s portable freezer, much to our dismay. ¡°I am really impressed with that boy¡¯s ability to eat that much junk food.¡± The immortal scoffed, who was now licking a Choco-mint himself to probably have me beg him to give me a scoop of it. I rolled my eyes in vain and resisted the temptation to do that. We continued to follow the teens and came across some more activities that we sadly couldn¡¯t enter. The prizes alone was more tempting than the ice cream. Someday, I¡¯ll be paying the uncle a visit to buy his treats, and then I¡¯ll head into the festival to get the generous hampers with my immortality. Someday. It got rather boring walking here and there, while me and Anon were given with only the choice to stand aside and watch my past self play happily. Thus, after fully confirming the names of all of my friends present in the festival, I felt it was almost time to leave and move on to another memory. Completing a lap around the entire area that was the size of two football stadiums, I took the initiative to speak up. Anon unfortunately, caught up with my thoughts. ¡°So you wanna leave this place, am I right?¡± ¡°Yes, mister mind-reader.¡± ¡°Good, I¡¯m also losing my mood to watch anymore of the same shit for the umpteenth time. And I almost thought you wanted to be trapped in the time loop.¡± ¡°Say what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Follow me.¡± ¡°Where are we heading to?¡± We made a turn to the left, which was the opposite pathway of what the group chose to take at the same junction. But when Anon said about being trapped in a time loop, it was then I realized the scene of my past suddenly reverted back to what it was two hours ago without me realizing. The moment where my past self began walking at the speed of a snail unfolded itself, followed by the boys yelling at me. ¡°Wait a sec, if I did not suggest leaving, you¡¯ll just let me be imprisoned in my memories?¡± I abruptly blurted with shock, and the immortal nodded. A cold sweat dripped from my forehead to hear his answer, cold and was not a prank to screw me. ¡°Yes, I would. It¡¯s actually fun to see the loop of time repeating what was known as the past. It¡¯s beautiful.¡± ¡°Err, can we go now?¡± I decided to not ponder over this creepy thought and increased my walking pace way faster than my one step per second record. Admittedly, it¡¯s not a feat to be proud of. And admittedly, it turned out running had its own benefits, like redirecting my focus to not listen to Anon¡¯s opinion on looping time over and over again. It scared me for some reason. ¡°Hey, Winston, wait up!¡± ¡°Then shut the fuck up with your tick-tock antics!¡± ¡°What the hell does that mean?¡± The boy voiced his confusion. And technically speaking¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± I really have no idea what did I just said. I just hope the trip to the next memory section¡¯s short. Again, because staying near Anon was to put it simply, a rage and fear inducing madness. ¡­¡­ Wait a minute. Did I just say fear inducing? ¡°Yes, you did, Zack.¡± Shit. More things to worry about when I¡¯m living with the psycho soon. Hope he¡¯s giving me a freewill period. Apology For Temporal Discontinue I''m sorry guys, but this novel is on a guaranteed hiatus due to posting issues ever since last time. With my only laptop now on it''s RAM limits, I can''t push it any further if it were to risk ruining the chapters. But don''t worry me, I''ll find an opportunity to post it. For the time being, I''ll try stacking chapters to make amends in the future.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. I just hope I got the inspiration... I can''t think of a good plot! Oh, also, my inspiration got me sidetracked to make other minor novels instead of this one. So what fo you think? Should I prioritize Dwelling Souls, or a GB novel?