《Relinquish》


 Chapter 000: "If Not Out of Pity"

    This is where it will all come from¡­ A place of origin, one might say.


    A world for all that is within, will become nothing but curse and falsehood to the world to come. The one that will soon be blamed for something it has denied¡­ A sin that the world has proudly held above its own heads.


    But, at least, the world was once solely admired for its beauty, for such magnificent natural greenery vistas it has to offer¡­ And for all of the trees and grasses, a number of little wooden shrines, as well as civilization products; smooth stone pile walls beyond reason yet mossy lofty structures. While of course it can¡¯t be denied that the vast majority of them have crashed to the ground, still, all actually added to nothing other than to its own beauty.


    Where the ears could tell that it was a calm and desolate atmosphere with just the subtle sound of ornate strands flapping someplace as the wind was bold¡­


    That from a distance it appears to be a world whose time was eternally frozen in its ancient medieval age; but a lot more astonishing, as everything in it is the work of nothing but witchcraft. Other than that so much of the exterior wall is covered in pure white handmade shawls¡­ Something the residents there used to consider as a sign of sanctity of the building wherein they dwell, something they used to put a value on what was hidden behind it.


    ~~~~~


    Though there was no meaning for a world that would forever perish to still have a name, the place itself was once called Slythia.


    A dimension¡­ Which has the full aspect of a universe apart from there¡¯s only a single planet, sun, and moon in one set. Where it¡¯s fully created, stood firm by magic for no one can harm it¡­ Or so they themselves claimed.


    Alas, after more or less being created for a thousand years it appeared like everything was already on the verge of collapsing, all of which happened in just a month.


    With every tiny settlement that had been demolished had had all of its dust drenched and joined to the soil, while the remainder of the major cities can still be seen from a distance; billowing black smoke amidst the crimson sky as a portent of a fresh death¡­


    And should eyes approach the dead city''s core, the clean sheet shawls will begin to alter to one stained scarlet with blood and byproduct of the fire; nearing the previous battleground that is still heated even after the combat has long ended¡­ But sadly, it is also the only place where one can hear the voice of the living among the dead, although it may not be for long.


    Because the only thing that could be heard was truly nothing but someone''s sigh of anguish, that filled the silence at the onset¡­ For it was a man in his perforated silver armor, who slowly retreating away from something he was confronting.


    As blood drops from the gaps; he cautiously peered up, sighing more heavily. Maybe because there he saw the tragic sight of crows encircling the corpses ready to feast, along with the sky after the fight that was truly red at the world¡¯s twilight.


    Or perhaps because he realized that he would be the last one to die¡­ Following millions of his comrades, all throughout the world, where his gods and goddesses had died in the same land as them also.


    But if that was indeed the reason, then perhaps he may have been humiliated¡­ Be the final person to die.


    After all, his face showed it so¡­ That it was with such sentiment that he began to kneel. The sound of his pained breathing had also vanished.


    The one he fought against had now won.


    The one Primordial God¡­


    A towering shabby-clothed man, wrapped in an old gray cloak that fluttered with the wind and gold as its ornament. As his body appeared to be radiating a distorted aura that negated the presence of the surroundings; in its shadow, the magical gold blade he carried in his right hand looked to be producing friction within reality.


    Where the figure stood silent far ahead, waiting until the last person to confront him was no longer moving after death had overtaken him.


    ¡°At the very least, you know you died for a reason.¡±


    He turned his body around with such a gentle voice¡­ Walked towards a little wooden shrine, letting his blade slowly disappear into the shade of countless gold butterflies.


    Along the way, the primordial god reminded himself that this would be the last shrine he examined throughout Slythia''s entire surface.


    That he has lived an incomparably monotonous existence for trillions of years, only to not miss a single one of the millions of wooden temples built in that small world. As he was certain that one of the aforementioned temples must have kept the hidden key or at least a weapon that those who claimed to be gods had; to escape from him once and for all.


    But even though he was doubtless of his own telepathic capability, now it appears that the millions of thoughts he read from some of those people he killed were just nothing but mere decoys¡­ Because the wooden crates were all empty, as there might be no one knows which of their own plans is the actual deal.


    What everyone was thinking before they died was that they needed to protect each one of the shrines and not allow anyone to touch anything inside and all other similar notions. All of those memories appear to have been altered; even inside the mind of the person who cast the spell itself.


    Yet, to him, the primeval deity, it was merely a little oversight which he admitted. As he always knew what to do when one of his hundreds of plans yielded an answer regardless of the outcome¡­


    That was the reason he glanced off into the distance.


    He knows just where to go¡­


    ~~~~~


    Abode of Dog:


    BOOK ONE - RELINQUISH


    Chapter Prelude: ¡°If Not Out of Pity¡±


    There when those eyes of hers slowly opened¡­ Of a little girl who just woke up in such a dark place.


    While judging on how tenaciously she maintained her position and knees which she was uncomfortably hugging, it appeared that the space was quite small but still enough for someone her own size to hide in.


    Where there was only dimness other than a tiny vertical glimmer from the gap between the two wooden doors she peered through, hoping that out of the door would be someone waiting for her, but she knew that would be impossible.


    As the only reason she awoke from her deep slumber was that there were no other living beings in her whole world but her¡­ Or at least, it was the oath she consciously took from the same spell that had put her to sleep.


    And by recalling how she realized that the demise of the last of his kind was linked to how her eyes opened; another light grabbed her attention from something she grasped in both hands¡­ The two glass bottles are similar in appearance; except that one is blue in the right hand and the other is yellow.


    ~~~~~


    Realizing such, the girl should have rushed off starting minutes earlier. But when she closed her eyes once more, it appeared like understanding her goal was something that needed to be done¡­


    After all, it had been a long time since she last heard of those commands.


    So she repeated their voices once more¡­


    ¡°Get in and do as we said before, but fear not¡­¡±


    ¡°Because just as many of these wooden boxes we''ve put across the world, you will find the same number of those small wooden shrines dotting the plains."


    "All of which is connected into one by a cursed bond that you will whisper to yourself."


    ¡°So that the moment you fall asleep, you will no longer be here; nor in any house''s wardrobe¡­¡±


    ¡°You will become someone who both exists and does not exist¡­ Someone who presents everywhere but nowhere, all at the same time.¡±


    ¡°No one will be able to foresee which wooden box you will wake up in the minute you fall asleep. And then you will keep these two vessels together for the rest of your life¡­¡±


    ¡°As both are needed to save the world, justify any means to reach whichever shrine is closest to your sight when you wake up.¡±


    ¡°Reach for the offering box inside the shrine, pour both and pray fervently.¡±


    ~~~~~


    She cited the echoes of the remembrance to be instilled in her heart, until the little girl then nodded as she realized she was ready to open the thin wooden door, crawled out and took a few steps forward.


    Yet she cast a peek back¡­


    Observing the wooden box gradually transforming into bright white shards from the edge until it vanishes altogether; generally occurs after the usage of spell in an object has been exhausted or terminated¡­ But from the remnants of the magic shards, something solid dropped to the ground.


    What appeared to be a black dagger featuring claw-like serrations on the spine and a small circular hole in its body covered with a tiny, somewhat red translucent glass ball.


    There the little girl''s face pale in surprise when she reaches for it¡­ Something she feared she couldn''t be forgiven for if she forgot.


    The only gift from someone who¡¯s the purpose for which she is willing to make sacrifices for a world that despises her.


    Something that was said by the boy before they parted ways in such an impermanent doom¡­ Words that sent shivers down her spine.


    A whisper that seeks to defy everyone''s plan, sympathy from someone who dared to battle the world for her own sake; so she should also do the same.


    Remembering the reasons for her battle; the little girl then prayed while holding the dagger as many streaks of light began to circle around her body. Just enough to tell that a spell had been successfully cast on herself.


    Shortly after, the faint rhythm of rushing feet filled a broad prairie at dusk and yet there''s no one there, nothing except the sound of grass being trod on; while the wind whistles as if it''s colliding with something unseen¡­ Unfortunately the feeling she had was not.


    It caused someone to be amazed from elsewhere.


    Though he wasn¡¯t actually but somehow presently standing there, waiting as he believes he must battle for the umpteenth time; but instead senses a vulnerable being trembling.


    And surely enough, slowly, the invisible girl¡¯s steps dropped from the one before. Till the sound of those weak strokes on grass finally decided to just stroll carefully, revealing her appearance out of the magic she borrowed from the dagger; directly in front of the wooden offering box within the shrine. As hand reached forward, only to discover that her finger had touched a fissure in reality; which gradually spread until it ruined his whole vision of the actual surroundings¡­ And it was dark then she saw, standing in the middle of the emptiness, an old wardrobe made of wood; a similar box that had been in which she had slept and woke up in just moments ago. But the girl realized that everything she saw, including the darkness and everything in front of her, was just an illusion.


    Yet still¡­ That didn''t make her the least bit calmer. Just as when from the shadow around, the echoing voice came to her.


    ¡°Tell me¡­ How does it feel like?¡± It asked. ¡°For thousands of years, they locked you up¡­ Alone in such a paradox.¡±


    The girl followed her instincts to ignore the wooden box in front¡­ Then turned around to see how the darkness slowly grew deeper in her eyes. For the only thing left she could do was to hear the darkness speaking¡­


    ¡°As They took a one-sided decision to erase everything about you off this damned world, completely as if you had never existed as one of them¡­ As a friend¡­ Even for that one specific boy¡­ As a lover¡­ Tell me, how do you accept that reality?¡±


    ¡°Of how they sacrificed your own whole existence, just for them to gamble¡­ To get away from me¡­¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    One figure of a towering guy gradually emerged from the gloom.


    He moved lightly towards her, yet each of his steps seemed to shatter reality.


    Where his eyes shone somewhat crimson, looking downwards¡­


    Staring at the little girl below him.


    ¡°Their abomination.¡±


    That low voice he conveyed¡­ But still with so much amazement for nothing more than the courage the little one had; that he still kept in his heart, yet his remarks were a far way from all of those emotions.


    As the distance between them was neither too far nor too close, and a few seconds passed in silence as if they were waiting for something¡­ For the illusion of the domain to eventually fade away, returning both to reality where the girl was before.


    Just became the reason for the two of them''s long hair, which had previously stayed undisturbed, suddenly waved in the chilly breeze of the green meadow, with fire and destruction in the backdrop.


    Only then did the little girl''s expression become dismal and sorrowful, as if her playing time had come to an end right in front of her eyes¡­ Who then lowered her head, but not to cry at what had happened.


    She was well aware of how immense the power before her was¡­


    She knew the probability she had of winning if that weak body of hers didn''t turn around and run, but¡­ If she really could escape so easily, what would that be for?


    No matter how far and fast she runs, how much time will she have before the monster in front of her finally manages to find her a second time?


    Even if that logic alone wasn''t enough, the little girl should have understood that giving up right away would be much better than anything she didn''t have time to consider¡­


    Yet there she is¡­ Not even thinking about those matters above that a weakling like her should worry about, instead slowly raising her right hand to the side of her neck, as if she was reaching for something that wasn''t hanging on her back; but slowly it actually appeared¡­


    ~~~~~


    At first, only a few blue sparks broke out slowly¡­


    With their light crept to form the outlines of a magical armament, a one-handed sword that is almost translucent but blue in color. Thin, straight, slightly resembling a katana. Just the blade and hilt are one without borders¡­


    But this one primeval deity, was the one who had seen the same thing for over billions of times... Who had also killed humans and gods in precisely the same number, who just knew that it wouldn''t offer anybody the tiniest chance of prevailing against him.


    Yet the sharp thing that five seconds earlier couldn''t even be found anywhere, was now magically held up by the girl towards the primordial god.


    Where he could clearly see how the tip of the sword trembled either because of fear, or because the thin hand holding it was out of sync with the weight of the magical artifact itself.


    Then he asked, ¡°Where does it come from, I wonder¡­¡±


    ¡°Your hope¡­¡±


    Still the girl kept her voice to no one. Which instead of providing herself an edge, the primordial god appeared to plunge even further into inquiry¡­ Just become a reason for why he¡¯s not going to stop her by force; as he tries to convince himself that what he saw was wrong.


    That¡¯s when he waves an assertion to trouble the little girl''s heart instead, all from things he had just learnt after peering into the girl''s memories.


    So the primordial god asked, ¡°You know what will happen if you do that, don''t you?¡±


    Yet far ahead the little one disregarded his question, despite the fact that both of her hands actually trembled¡­


    ¡°Ah, yes! Yes, you know it very well¡­ That the spell in the two bottles is only for those who have died before you pray.¡± He said.


    And the girl comprehended everything the monster uttered¡­ "Perhaps he read my mind," she reasoned. As she had much better causes to be agitated, but she said only those words to herself as if she was trying to fool her own fears.


    ¡°Meaning you will be left alone in this world as its spellcaster. With that in mind, I¡¯m pretty sure that you are¡­¡±


    The man''s thoughts abruptly came to a halt; that made the frail one¡¯s eyes suddenly look frightened by what the man realized when he saw the dagger hanging from her waist, just next to the two magic bottles that had been his target since the very beginning.


    There in such a short period of time, his heart changes color.


    As his mind throws up so many views none of which were meant to be understood by anyone, by any existence below his own level; there he appears to be both dissatisfied and relieved while remaining on no one''s side. Not even his own¡­


    Nonetheless, he wondered as though he was not straining himself just then he asked, ¡°You actually get it, don¡¯t you? That everyone wants you to vanish from the world''s rules¡­ To not be one of them. That all of this; the plans they have prepared, each futile sacrifice of them... Compared to the annihilation of your existence is nothing but just a small part of it!¡±


    While it makes no difference assuming what the primordial god said was truthful or not, seeing the little girl start to shake her head trying to deny reality, only made the primordial god even more convinced that this was the right path for him to take.


    That''s why he then continued, ¡°Now you should understand that the dagger and everything the boy has done to you, will only fuel everyone''s hatred¡­ Not only towards yourself but also towards that one innocent little boy of yours. Though such will only happen if you can win against me, so¡­ I''m sorry, my lady. Because anything the boy has said to you¡­¡±


    The man halted for a while.


    Recognizing that something he didn''t like was about to happen right in front of his eyes; but in the end he spoke to complete what he had begun.


    ¡°None of that will ever come true¡­ Ever. So why don¡¯t we just-¡±


    As expected, the girl was not someone who could just hear and do nothing about words that was an insult to her and her companions. That''s when she began rushing, trying to shut the beast''s mouth and compel him to retract what he''d spoken¡­


    But the man, on the other hand, was more than ready to prove that he was in fact on the right path¡­ As he summoned the reality-rending, white and gold sword in his hand, he then let out a breath as he said, ¡°Fine¡­ I don¡¯t mind the rough way.¡±


    ~~~~~


    Not even ten seconds had passed.


    They weren''t even gotten that close either¡­


    But she who started the spark had fallen, tripped over her own feet. Rolled and lay prone on the grass and dirt around her cheeks.


    Even the bringer of the apocalypse, who had killed everyone in that whole universe with a cold gaze; the one primordial god, had to stop walking for a brief moment¡­ Feeling like something was stinging somewhere around his heart.


    A feeling of pity¡­


    But the pledge, however, remains in place.


    That to himself, even though he knew the human body he borrowed would reject it, the Primordial God swore to put an end to his duty. So he began to take another step closer to the girl, accompanied by the sound of thoughts floating in the air; voices without echo that seemed to tremble more and even more with emotions every time he stepped on his feet.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    But it wasn''t fear that the primordial god saw when he probed her thoughts.


    Instead he found the little girl to be self-loathing¡­


    Pounding herself with obscenities and contempt, wondering how she could be so weak and reckless in front of someone who would decide her fate.


    But in the end, the girl attempts to compel her own body back to rise. Hoping for an excuse to forgive herself; to strive again¡­


    Until she came upon the correct sentences to say to herself.


    [¡°Do it for him¡­¡±]


    [¡°I need to get back up, and give it a go¡­¡±]


    [¡°At least that¡¯s all I can do for him¡­¡±]


    [¡°For everyone!¡±]


    ~~~~~


    ¡°For everyone?¡±


    The primordial god echoed the voiceless girl''s words¡­ As it seemed he was quite offended by what the weak being was thinking, up to the point where he had to validate whether or not he had truly heard that correct.


    ¡°You mean for the sake of those who aim to abandon you, so they might save themself? Who claims that the world would be a better place without your existence. This sacrifice of yours¡­ You really mean it for them?¡±


    Annoyed voice sounded just as close as his shadow; which had now concealed part of the blade laying on the grass and the girl¡¯s hand that was holding the hilt of it. So close that it felt like there was enough space between them to put a stop to this conflict¡­


    Yet paradoxically, the primordial god chose to win himself back through another speech.


    ¡°No.¡± He emphasized.


    ¡°They hate you, and you know it. So tell me¡­¡±


    Words came to a halt.


    Despite him being a wise figure, but only after showing his ego, by pressing his foot against the girl''s blade on the ground did he want to finish his sentence.


    ¡°Tell me the real reason why you¡¯re still trying¡­¡± He asked.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°The reason¡­?¡± The little girl felt confused about something that seemed to her to be quite obvious to the point where she never gave it any attention.


    Yet she continued, ¡°As long as my sole purpose is for them, then I will-¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡± A man¡¯s voice quickly refuted.


    ¡°Stop talking like you know me!¡±


    ¡°But I do know who you are.¡±


    Primordial god accepted her challenge with a smile slowly starting to form.


    ¡°Oh you''d be surprised how much I know you better than I know anyone else¡­ Yet why can¡¯t you understand?¡±


    The little girl, in fact, refused to understand anything the man was trying to convey; so she then looked away. Seemingly believing the possibilities she had for herself no more, giving the primordial god ample opportunity to keep suppressing.


    That this time he inquired what puzzled him the most.


    ¡°Because you know that it is impossible for you to win in a fight against a real god, yet back there before you slip on your own feet¡­ Why did you run with that sword leveled towards me?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Is it really too hard for you to answer that one question?¡±


    ¡°I cannot give up! Everyone puts their life in my hands, thus I''d rather die while trying¡­¡±


    [¡°Yes¡­ That''s it. That¡¯s the only reason I have. I¡¯m not lying!¡±]


    ¡°I know you¡¯re not lying¡­¡± The primordial god answered once again to the words that echoed only in the girl''s mind. ¡°Yet you''re just giving me the wrong answer.¡± He clarified.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    After making it clear to her, the man stretched his hand out as he finished his remarks¡­ Intending not to touch the girl at all, instead he ordered the grass to get the tiny body of her up only for his sake.


    Then he offered, ¡°Let me help you a bit with finding the real answer¡­¡±


    Whether the meaning of what he just said was good or bad, the green tendrils that moved with consciousness still appeared to frighten the girl as the harder she battled, the quicker they rushed to wrap around her body.


    Yet she knew that the thing isn''t all that powerful¡­ Because every time the girl stretched her hand, many of the plant''s vines were easily cut off.


    She was indeed miraculously lifted and forced to stand by it, but it had absolutely no intention of strangling her, let alone scratching her skin.


    As the man seemed to just want the girl to hear him state a fact, ¡°That you little girl, wasn''t meant to feel happiness.¡±


    ¡°That every single one of you embodies every rule which governs this world. And each name means absolutely what is destined for them. So no, you have no right to dream of a good happy life.¡± He added.


    The girl eventually seemed to have decided to stop struggling due to exhaustion.


    Vines of the plant were also thick enough to prevent her from doing anything anyway; however, her hand, which was straight to the side of her thigh, managed to contact the black dagger''s blade which slightly sliced her finger.


    Whether it was impossible or not, she meant to do something only without thinking about any of it for no one to read¡­ And it wasn''t an easy thing, if the girl had to keep hearing what the primordial god had to say about herself.


    Furthermore, opposing him will also prove pointless because she has no evidence that what he stated was incorrect.


    She even hoped that she would be able to hear without having to really interpret anything the man said, but the place was just very quiet and there was only one echo, one source of sound that resonated over the prairie''s vastness, the primordial god''s raving remained scathing.


    As how he told the girl, ¡°Even about friendship, about passion and the yearning to be loved? No¡­ The only reason you live is to make people lose hope.¡±


    ¡°That your life will always go on as how you know it. No happiness or even anything. Either you choose to suffer alone, or to make people you love suffer alongside you¡­ As that is your destiny, as that is what you truly are. Nothing but the manifestation of suffering itself.¡±


    ~~~~~


    She swallowed the words whole. As her gaze diverted away from the primordial god; a man who was well aware of any disparity in their respective powers, who appeared content with what he himself had uttered.


    Not like before but what the primordial god had done and would do to the little girl implies more to him than just siding with her¡­ Even in his opinion, the words he used were something quite gentle that he still wanted to add to with other words that were even more calming remarks.


    ¡°So¡­ All I wanted to say to you, my lady¡­¡±


    For a moment he hesitated to tell.


    But then he felt that it was a must to remind her again.


    ¡°You are not meant to save anyone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you need to give up¡­ You need to understand all of it, so that you know at the very least, this failure of yours is nothing but only for your own sake.¡± The primordial god spoke in such a sad tone.


    Took another brief moment to breathe then he continued, ¡°Just because you¡¯re doing something good, doesn¡¯t mean that-¡±


    ¡°I don''t really get your point, but¡­ I''ve been living the way I''ve always wanted to.¡±


    A quick remark from the girl that nearly sounded like a lie¡­ But able to silence the beast to the point of sobbing within.


    ¡°So far I think being with them is a joy¡­ And I¡¯m fine with it. As long as I¡¯m with that boy, I feel like my days are at their best. That¡¯s why¡­¡±


    Something was gleaming someplace about the girl''s waist. It turned out she wasn''t just spouting nonsense, as the dagger she was clutching seemed to have comprehended the instructions to take an act against the current circumstances.


    Where it would indeed take some time; but assessing the primordial god''s expression, it didn''t seem like it would be a problem.


    He remained shocked by what he had just heard from the girl¡­ And what he had yet to hear as the girl stated, "If you think that the thousand years I spent with him were suffering¡­ If you think that the time I spent was something I didn''t deserve¡­"


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take a hundred times more of it¡­¡±


    [¡°Just to be with them¡­¡±]


    [¡°To be with him!¡±]


    The voice slowly sounded calmer and quieter, and she pretty much used up all of her chances only to let the primordial god understand a bit of her side. But it was just right in time after she vented her emotions, that she disappeared with a flash of white and blue light.


    Leaving the primordial god alone¡­ Wondering about his own misgivings, where his face seemed to say, "I should have guessed so." Yet he opted not to complain and fell deep in silence instead.


    Long enough until the wind carried the rest of the sound away from the desolate field; the man then touched his chest as though he was in pain.


    ¡°Didn''t expect her to say such stupid thing with such honesty,¡± He confessed.


    ¡°Yet why does it hurt, I wonder¡­¡±


    ¡°I only tried to make the girl understand that she was actually just being used by everyone, that the world itself was trying to erase her. I just don¡¯t want her to die with regrets about how she couldn¡¯t save those vile people and that¡¯s just all.¡±


    [¡°But why is that the longer I go on with that purpose, the more I want her to prove me wrong?¡±]


    [¡°As if she was trying to make this self believe that she could change those rulers to be a better person.¡±]


    [¡°That she can set the world right¡­ Even if she is on the wrong side of the coin.¡±]


    [¡°Am I¡­ Actually¡­ Wrong?¡±]


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    He answered his own question, right after finally coming to a conclusion from all of his solo debates¡­ Staring ahead, towards his outstretched hand when he drew a breath.


    Where his fingers spread like he was reaching for something invisible in front; through a crack in reality, with pitch black in the gaps¡­ But calmly he continued his final decision.


    As he said, ¡°This isn¡¯t wrong...¡±


    ¡°I should be the one who understands it better than any being¡­ That doing something impossible only because it feels right, is nothing but mere poison.¡±


    Right when he was talking to himself, an anomaly beyond human senses began to strain his fingers. Perhaps that ¡®something¡¯ within the dark fracture in front of his hand was the same thing that was causing the distortion all around the primordial god, or just the other way around instead¡­ Still, what drew the most notice was how they seemed to be pulling each other.


    As if he were in a tug-of-war with whatever it was on the other side of the crack; but not too long passed, his hand seemed to jolt and then stiffen. Leaving no doubt that he had managed to completely grasp the whole being.


    And then she appeared¡­


    ~~~~~


    A little girl resurfaced from the midst of an empty dark space once the primordial god pulled his grip quite hard, eliminating distortions and illusions of the fissures in reality throughout the process. Where then she was thrown roughly, and rolled several times after hitting the ground with her scream of sorrow standing out in the silent setting.


    Then her gaze wandered to the grass and dirt she shouldn''t have seen at the location where she had previously teleported; appearing perplexed until a shadow approached, drawing her attention to look up ahead¡­ Only to get a kick right in the face, gasping while still trying to understand what just happened.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°All of it¡­¡±


    ¡°The joy you feel¡­ Is a mistake!¡±


    The sound was so familiar to the little girl; that she even had to draw the magical sword again from her back, aiming it at the source of the echoes as it said, ¡°You are supposed to be the downside of their coin! The one to be feared¡­¡±


    There¡¯s a sight of a blue magical sword being meaninglessly drawn by its owner, for its blade was trembling chaotically¡­


    ¡°But look at you!¡±


    Sparks erupted; two armaments collided violently, one of which ended up flying away from the user¡¯s tiny hand¡­ Laying on the ground and then slowly disintegrating into fading white luminous fragments. With a nosebleed while her breathing sounds puffed; an expression of terror was clearly visible on her face, yet the monster still hadn''t finished shouting.


    ¡°You look pathetic¡­! Weak¡­! Coward¡­!¡±


    The girl frantically reached for another thing about her waist¡­


    While panting and perspiration trickling down her palms as her black dagger suddenly emitted a blue light with a cloud of chilly vapor surrounding it, then she shouted with fear that could no longer be any greater.


    ¡°Stay away!!!¡±


    An icicle suddenly appeared out of thin air with a pointy end aimed at the primordial god.


    Yet when she raised the tip of the dagger, the primordial god''s palm rose as well; which caused the floating icicle to vibrate since two commands from two different entities collided in the process of forming it.


    And as predicted, the huge disparity in their authority forced the icicle''s form to crack and shattered and then formed again with its sharp tip slowly forming towards the little girl instead.


    That not even a second after, he then commanded the chunk of ice to blast forth at rapid speed without any hesitation¡­


    ~~~~~


    The cold wind that froze the atmosphere, as the dusk faded away. Accompanied by the rustling of grass on every slope¡­ Where some of them were covered with the dead bodies of silver-armored soldiers, others were only covered in blood but without flesh.


    There, in the midst of it all, in the most deserted area, the girl''s ears seemed to be dripping with blood as several strands of her hair on the side appeared to have been cut slightly.


    Her jaw was firmly closed, visibly traumatized.


    Eyes remained wide open until they filled with tears a few seconds later, at which point she dropped her face to try to hide her emotions.


    But the icicle didn''t miss at all¡­


    Only the primordial god himself did not intend to kill the girl in such a way.


    That he only wanted to feel relieved when he inevitably had to kill the girl, no matter how unreasonable the methods he would use to achieve the said goal.


    Or if it were to be probed, then one would immediately understand that he was trying to achieve it through words and only words.


    Being the reason for the primordial god said to the little girl, ¡°It is your fault, for how they believe that daring to defy God bears no consequences¡­ Not even a bit.¡±


    ¡°Because you cannot instill dread of suffering within them.¡± He added.


    Yet the weak one was seen again with a trembling hand; slowly bringing up the dagger back, intending to take on him. Forcing the primordial god reluctantly had to use his sword to smack the dagger out of the girl''s grasp, only to be able to clutch her neck without opposition¡­


    The girl was lifted high then.


    ¡°Just give up¡­¡±


    She was clearly battling with her breath just to have someone encourage her to accept defeat¡­ Until she became even more terrified as so many illusions obscured her vision.


    Whether all was created by the primordial god, or indeed it was just her own fear that was devouring her own mind¡­ Yet blood splashing from those who had died, echoes of the screams of pain from those who had no sound, made her feel like she had to do something¡­


    [¡°Let me go¡­¡±]


    ¡°Then say you¡¯re giving up!¡±


    Still, the girl shook her head¡­


    ¡°Why¡­? Why can¡¯t you give up on them!? Why can¡¯t you admit¡­ That those bastards are deserving of death!?¡± The primordial god wondered while stretching his arms higher with every syllable he shouted.


    [¡°I¡­ Will¡­ Not¡­!¡±]


    ¡°Then just tell me¡­!¡±


    He appeared to have run out of patience as his tone became increasingly stern; until finally came his final threat to the girl¡­


    ¡°Tell me¡­ How to crush your hopes!¡±


    ~~~~~


    The primordial god was aware that the girl writhing in his hands would be unable to answer his rhetorical inquiry as he then remained motionless, glancing only at her pained gaze.


    Probably because that was not the first time the primordial god had seen such an occurrence, much to his amazement.


    As he seemed to recall something about the girl''s face; her swollen eyes that were concealing the tightness that took him to a different place; a whole different vision¡­ A girl with her white hair stood staring out the open window into emptiness, blinding white with nothing outside; but there was still wind flowing from who knows where.


    Closest possibility, an illusion from another reality¡­


    ~~~~~


    And if someone were to assert, would they explain that the place was formerly referred to as a dimension beyond the main current, a small universe where the primordial god once awakened for the only and for the very first time¡­ As it was a small chamber that only exists outside the concept of time and space itself; or more precisely, a place where time and space are like nothing more than just some origami paper on top of a wooden table.


    Where the primordial god imagined the white-haired girl looking back slightly towards him, recognizing the man was daydreaming and then smiling warmly at him¡­ As all the joy passed by just for the second the man blinked his eyes, everything in his own vision was filled with red.


    The girl and her white hair was also seen now with eyes weeping blood. Until the primordial god''s hands caressed the frail body of her, she then forced a smile¡­ Just when he realized something was about to end, her final words to him reverberated.


    "Save them."


    ~~~~~


    Back to the meadows consumed by the colors of twilight¡­


    While the primordial god was still silent with his vacant gaze, the little girl began to breathe a little lighter as the grip of the man''s hand was now getting weaker.


    There both the girl and the crows flying high circled around them, holding back the feeling of curiosity in their chests¡­ Of why would the primordial god prolong his struggle?


    As killing the girl in an instant was not impossible, so why did the primordial god spend his last seconds in the twilight for nothing but to torment her?


    However, the girl''s thoughts snapped¡­


    Realizing this was not a moment for comprehension, but rather an opportunity for her to sacrifice everything for an unknown outcome.


    That''s when she stopped her body''s thrashing, fell silent trying not to make any suspicious movements as she embraced her own existence as a manifestation of suffering¡­ Then she closed her eyes as if she was preparing for the pain.


    ~~~~~


    At first, there was only a black dot on her left palm. Then it suddenly covered her whole hand, like a living ink spread and crawled all over her body, including her face, even almost touching her own eyes.


    As if she had simply paid to obtain; or had received a burden commensurate with what she wanted to manifest, just as his title as ruler is not just a status of ownership, but also a right to exploit the power itself¡­ And just at the same time while the beast was still in his grief, an explosion emerged from the girl''s body.


    A very small radius yet effective magical energy blast; it was a jet of black light that sucked in all the colors around¡­ An anomaly in the form of an explosion with the sound like nothing but anguish screams of many, till they both were flung apart from each other by barely a short. Above all the grass and all living things that have now been reduced to dust and ashes they reside. Still the primordial god remained silent despite something that he felt around his whole flesh¡­


    Indeed, he had returned from his absence of consciousness.


    But he also returned to a body that was no longer the same.


    A body that had been shattered into tiny black pieces floated intact to its original position. It was as if the few bits of his own body part that had vanished were no reason for whatever was left from him to continue acting as if nothing had occurred.


    And sure enough, the only reason for such absurdity was none other than because he was the one true primordial god, the only being capable of feeling sorrow and misery to a degree, any humans are not designed to be capable of.


    As the same goes for how strong his flesh actually is.


    That even if there were any other beings who managed to survive the explosion in a probability almost close to zero, still no one would be able to bear even more than a few seconds with the suffering that followed¡­ Considering the primordial god himself realized his mortal body was on the verge of its own death, all only because of the blast itself.


    ~~~~~


    At the very least, regardless of the outcome, the girl did not spend even a bit of time extending her fate. As she forced herself to drag that small body full of curses closer to the front of the wooden temple¡­ Reaching for the small box kept within.


    Where she gently took out both, the two blue and orange shining vials that had been dangling about her waist from before. The little girl then poured one bottle at a time as if spilling even one drop of the liquid from the little box would result in her own death.


    But unlike what she feared, the blue bottle was safely poured in eventually emptied to the bottom. And the yellow bottle was what was supposed to be the next to go, yet the girl''s motions abruptly ceased.


    Something made her shiver; as slowly behind her, a dim light appeared¡­


    ~~~~~


    Accompanied by some small vibrations on the ground, it was a powerful bolt of lightning that struck right next to where the girl was sitting¡­ Surprisingly collided with a strange defensive barrier surrounding the wooden temple, just a few inches from the little girl''s shoulder at the moment of the impact.


    Clearly implying that even though the high-voltage flash of light missed its intended target, the girl is not part of what is being protected by the aforementioned layer of magic.


    Which appears to be a retroactive, non-physical wall that is open to the naked eye only after a magical type of attack, damaging the invisible spell that hides the protective spell right behind it; a white floating barrier, partially translucent with a hexagonal pattern all over the surface. Yet there were still faint remains of smoke and some of the pattern on the wall which was shaking slightly like a glitch¡­


    A trace of a previous strike from none other than the primordial god himself, far in the distance beyond the dust and ashes; he who had run out of excuses for how his aim had completely missed his one and only target.


    ?


    He even looked uneasy about it, as his right hand that was extended forward seemed to be shaking violently, so he struggled to bring it back close to his chest by pulling it with his left hand¡­ Staring unsure which part of it was to blame for, but even a child would be able to understand, if only one could look directly into the eyes of the primordial god, of how it was plainly just a mortal''s face filled with hesitation he was showing to himself.


    ~~~~~


    Yet it was just sad because the girl couldn''t see the man''s expression through the cloud of dust and ash around the site of her own cursed explosion from before¡­ As the only thing the girl felt from something she couldn''t see clearly was nothing but fear and horror. And even the sweat on her palms had slipped the yellow bottle to the ground, making her even more frantic¡­ Still with the same trembling hands she managed to pick up the fallen bottle.


    Hurriedly tried to open the lid; though before that happened, her right hand was pulled back and up by something invisible that made her scream in confusion. Just right at the same time when the primordial god seemed to stretch out his terrifying-looking hand as if he was grabbing something in the empty air¡­ Possibly using some kind of telekinetic ability or something else similar that could impose his own will on objects he wasn''t actually touching.


    But whatever it was, it seemed like his grip was strong enough to make the girl''s hand quite painful, as evidenced by the way she cried and begged for the primordial god to stop with anything he was doing. To the point where she couldn''t even get the vial out of her own grasp; instead, a cracking sound could be heard from around the object¡­


    Then the glass exploded as its contents spilled into the ground.


    ~~~~~


    [¡°That way it should all be over now¡­¡±]


    [¡°Your hope¡­ Along with your vain effort¡­¡±]


    The primordial god babbled in his own mind, yet his smile when he showed his satisfaction did not match any of his increasingly deteriorating condition; about how his very existence was starting to lose its whole miracle, as more and more pieces of his own limbs were falling off and crumbling to ashes. Just the same way his steps looked limping while he struggled to approach the poor weeping girl; who glanced at her own right palms which were covered in cuts from glass fragments and the blood was flowing quickly¡­ That only made the primordial god feel annoyed, so he forced himself to beg the little girl.


    He said, "Don''t you cry now."


    ¡°Haven¡¯t I done all of this just for you? To end the world you have ruined with your hopes¡­ So don¡¯t you cry for It¡¯s all over now, my lady.¡±


    Some steps he made, till the primordial god could hear the little girl''s sobs more clearly as he pleased at such a very close distance¡­ Who was on his knees, trying to reach out his finger to wipe tears from the little girl''s face, though it was a shame because the shape of his floating piece of hand had now fallen off. Turned into ashes and was blown away by the wind, even before it managed to touch the cheek of that being in front of him.


    Still he looked for another way to console the little girl by saying, ¡°Things will be much better from now on, so worry not. Because, you see, I¡¯ll use another avatar¡­ In this world that I have purified, without anyone getting in the way, I¡¯ll teach you how to become a true goddess. Not like what you are now, but better!¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ Just give me twenty or maybe fifty years at most to find a new body. Then I¡¯ll come back to you, bringing order this time¡­ And of course, you will be the chaos.¡± Said the man with the girl simply remaining silent, taking all of those thorny fruit in as if the primordial god thought that his words just now would make things any better for anyone.


    But surely instead¡­ Still in her own sorrow, the little girl¡¯s eyes were just vacantly staring at how the dazzling yellow liquid slowly vanished between the dust and dirt below her feet.


    Where there she looked like she wasn''t thinking about anything¡­


    Not expecting to be able to do anything¡­


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a very beautiful world, if I must say¡­ So just you wait here, and-¡±


    ¡°Now just shut up already¡­¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    It¡¯s the first time in millions of centuries, to be fair¡­


    So it¡¯s just normal for him; the one true primordial god, to feel confused by those words he had just heard from a being¡­ Especially from such a tiny human like the girl in front of him. Or probably more than that, he even felt like his pride had been violated.


    To which he proudly corrected, saying, "That¡­ Was hardly a proper thing for someone who just lost to say to anyone, don¡¯t you think?"


    ¡°Yeah. Right. And for someone who hasn''t even won the game yet, you have no right to say anything to me either¡­¡± The little girl arrogantly defied him by saying such.


    That even if it seemed like her mind remained blank as to whatever she meant to do, following her insult to the primordial god, it actually happened out of nowhere¡­ When immediately she clapped her hands all together.


    As she prays to open the gate of the world; unleashing the spell that had previously been engraved all over the temple''s wooden surfaces, despite her being fully aware that half of the requirements were not even present in its initiation¡­ Even if the ritual should never be done in such circumstances.


    But incandescent blasts of light still erupted from all around the little shrine¡­ And the resulting gale propelled by the currents, still created a vortex while the world''s ceiling split then fractured; leaving a massive hole with all red, right in the middle of the night sky.


    Causing the primordial god to appear both angry and terrified of what he himself had allowed to happen; so then he pulled his reality-rending blade, using anything that remained in his left hand and sought to demolish the little temple with its raw power¡­ Yet they were both blasted away by the residual excess energy of the spell cast within the ritual, even before his intentions could ever become real.


    As it already seemed like that was the only chance he had, since the primordial god subsequently resolved to stop doing anything.


    Except, there for just a moment he took a gaze at the girl''s unfazed expression. Then glanced back to the sky; where he returned to his own terror, accompanied by all the horrific roaring sounds that were created solely by the ritual itself¡­ Until at some point the primordial god thought about shouting at her; but it wouldn''t be heard, he assured himself.


    So instead, the man walked towards the little girl with his thunderous steps which frightened even the grass. But he was also mistaken if he assumed it would scare the girl.


    Because in front of him, there she stood, giving the primordial god her side eye with an attitude that said she didn''t care at all for what consequences she would get.


    For his anger won''t change a thing¡­


    And her fear won''t make things any better.


    Considering those facts, the primordial god then fell silent as the roaring sound from the sky and the burst of light around the shrine had also reached its end¡­ Irritated by how the girl showed her solemn expression; the one who didn''t want to make the man to feel any sense of victory over her¡­ Showing that she really is nothing but just an infant who doesn''t want the other infant to have things that she can''t have herself.


    ~~~~~


    And then in the end, out of nowhere, the primordial god conceded a draw¡­


    He didn''t win but at least neither did the girl. However, exactly as the primordial god had determined previously, man didn''t harbor even the slightest bit of anger in that world that was nearing its end. That there was no grudge in him as it would normally be if a human being were in his own position as the losing side.


    And there he just sat, staring at the girl who was dragging herself away from where he was... As he calmly mentioned, ¡°Not only did you fail to save your friends, but you just triggered the end of the entire universe beyond.¡±


    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s an imperfect ritual, after all¡­ I guess you know it already, so why should I bother explaining? But still¡­ Sending all of those mindless souls into a world where such enormous power should not be wielded¡­¡±


    The primordial god let go of his sword while he expressed his displeasure to the girl. As he silently watched her going here and there, scratching piles of dust in many places, intending to look for something buried somewhere.


    Then she found it¡­


    The dagger in the girl''s hand, one that caused the primordial god''s eyes to enlarge slightly; as if he was scared of what he was about to witness, where the man then started to get desperate. Trying so hard to find a cause for the girl to abandon her intentions; he then persuaded her by saying, ¡°You know you failed, so you already know what''s waiting for you on the other side, right? There will be nothing¡­ You will be the only one who remembers everything!¡± As they both agreed that it would be the most agonizing end for her.


    And the worst fate the girl would ever have.


    Nonetheless, she readied the black dagger she had just recovered, with the pointed tip aiming directly at her own chest¡­ Intends to stab herself; only after reciting some spells as part of a secret ceremonial procedure that she must carry out without anybody knowing it but her¡­ Or perhaps it wasn''t actually as secret as the girl still imagined, because no one else still alive in that world could witness what she was about to do to herself. Where the primordial god, of course, was an exception¡­ Though the man still seemed to be trying to interfere, saying, "I''ll still be there, you know?"


    ¡°The place you¡¯re going¡­ Just give me fifty years, or maybe even sooner. Then I¡¯ll take what was wrongly given to all of you! Only then will my vow be finally fulfilled, and after that¡­ Only then¡­ You¡­ And I will¡­¡±


    The primordial god didn''t have time to complete his sentence; since without any warning, the girl stabbed her own chest using the black dagger to carry out the spell¡­ Transferring her soul and consciousness to the next realm, where unexpectedly, the primordial god looked like he was in mourning. Nearly sobbing as he bit his own lip, keeping back the anguish.


    Only then did he speak inside his own heart with complete honesty, using no other deceptive intentions as he had no reason to share it with anyone¡­


    There he said, [¡°I will set you free, Eligos¡­¡±]


    [¡°I will not let these eyes¡­ Witness the world sacrificing yourself for the third time¡­ No¡­ Not for those rotten humans!¡±]


    [¡°Just¡­ Wait¡­¡±]


    [¡°For me¡­ To save you¡­¡±]


    [¡°Eligos¡­¡±]


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 001: Just An Impudent Idiot

    There was some kind of strange, ugly device that made a whole wooden table rattle along with many things scattered on the top¡­ The majority of which were just pencils, markers, and stacks of paper filled with goofy images, drawn without any serious intention in any of them. So one will not actually suffer too much of a loss if something does fall off the table''s surface.


    But despite such distressing physical conditions, the thing that has been the source of the vibration for quite some time now is most likely nothing dangerous, for it¡¯s probably just a smartphone facing downwards¡­ And perhaps it was none other than the age-worn appearance, which practically made it almost unrecognizable when seen from behind.


    Well¡­ At least someone just recently flipped it around, face up, for crying out loud. Only to show what''s much worse than the condition of its back case.


    [¡°Sis¡±]


    Briefly written on the screen that had so many cracks in every possible place it could be cracked. As one can only fathom how a smartphone in such bad shape may still operate correctly; which it actually does¡­ Or at least most of the time it does.


    Yet there is no indication that the incoming call will be answered at any time by whoever owns the smartphone.


    Also, after the vibration stopped, the notification actually showed that there had been five missed calls from the same number in the last few hours, all of which had gone entirely ignored by this impudent idiot.


    Matter of fact, if only the phone vibrates for even just one more time, one of the drawing pencils that has reached the edge of the table surface will definitely fall straight away to the floor¡­ However, it wasn''t the smartphone that made it; but instead, a loud thump that¡¯s crashing against the same poor wooden table did. As it was a pair of drab black sneakers with scuffs and creases in many places that belonged to the same person as the one who owned the terrible looking smartphone.


    Just the impoliteness and lack of good manners that exist in such a person, is simply astounding. And that''s all there is to it¡­


    ~~~~~


    As the adolescent boy climbs on the table; where he takes his phone and sneakers, and a bedroom window opens just right near him standing¡­ He plans to go out of his room, not through the door.


    But while he was putting on his shoes, his phone vibrated yet again. Same number, this time he gave up and picked it up with a few grunts in the air.


    ¡°Hello, good afternoon¡­ How are you? I¡¯m fine, thank you for asking. Have you watched the video I sent you last night?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Great! Now let me explain why this video is so interesting¡­¡±


    ¡°No, no I haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Even that very last video I sent you? Oh, well¡­ Then I''ll just have to explain it from the start, I guess?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    The boy''s expression was reassured, knowing that the person on the other end of the phone line did not sound angry, for he had previously ignored her call multiple times already. But still he sighed instead as if he was the victim and not the other way around, then spoke as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°Fine! Just tell me the only video you want us to talk about! I mean, I''ve watched everything, but I just lost track of the order and it¡¯s all your fault! You shared too many conspiracy theories from those boring ass youtubers you call as gurus.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me!? Conspiracy theories!? This is not a conspiracy, stop saying that everything I tell you is nothing but a conspiracy theory! And look at you! You even think that Jeffrey Dahmer is a fiction, you fool!¡±


    ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s not that deep¡­ Anyway, could you please stop sending me that one suspicious link once every five minutes? That''s called spam, college girl. You know I can block you for that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, whatever¡­ But that''s the one I want to talk to you about! The one that I spammed your message box with, the one that my favorite YouTuber posted just yesterday!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ That yet another serial killer tale? Sis, please¡­ I¡¯m not into that thing and you know that I won''t understand anything you''ll talk about, so just give up already.¡±


    Getting to this point, it was evident that this brat was only looking to annoy the other person and felt it would be a perfect reason to get her to end the conversation they were having¡­ But deep down, even if he denied it, he was actually enjoying the time spent on the line and he wouldn''t be able to stop the girl from keeping herself talking anyway. So he just let the words from the other side echo.


    ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ I know you¡¯re not that smart¡­¡± As the voice from the cell phone continued, ¡°But bear with me, okay? At least, just let me tell you this one story¡­ I mean, it¡¯s about THAT one crazy criminal who will face the death penalty, that I''m going to tell you about! But before that, Daniel¡­ I just heard the sound of your bedroom window closing. Are you trying to run away from home again?¡±


    A question that does not have a response, suggesting that the girl guessed correctly.


    ¡°You know you can start trying to ask them permission, right? It''s not like what it used to be¡­ By that I mean our family.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    For the second time the boy did not give any answer¡­ As he merely sat there still, embracing his knees on the window ledge while rubbing his shoe with his finger.


    ¡°I see¡­ But I think you¡¯re fine! They will only add to your troubles, that''s for sure! Just make sure you don''t slip on the tile there, you hear lil bro?¡±


    With a little smile on his face, the boy then stood up straight outside the window, as if what the girl just said to him was nothing but a benediction for his own departure, yet up there he froze for another moment¡­


    ¡°Don''t ever call me lil bro again. That¡¯s annoying.¡±


    Just as a small talk without meaning it seriously, the boy said it plainly before then he took steps to move down from the roof. Get to the rear of the house, hop over some fences, and walk casually while still holding the smartphone to his ear.


    ~~~~~


    During his walk, he seemed to not really care to see or recognize anyone around.


    He wanders above his own world, despite the fact that people occasionally turn their eyes towards him.


    Where the outfits are quite plain with a heavy emphasis on black¡­ It¡¯s a short sleeve hoodie and knee-length pants that he¡¯s wearing. As the left wrist is adorned with black bracelets, pierced ears and some other black ornaments.


    And he also has clear skin, quite dark hair¡­ Apart from that, only his eyes were keen, yet they appeared pleasant.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°I''m just baffled on how such a horrible human being could exist in this world¡­ I mean like, I know bad people exist, but he''s in another category! You know what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    After ten minutes had gone, the boy could still hear his big sister on the other end of the phone, talking nonstop about one issue that hadn''t even changed as she resumed, ¡°Sometimes when I read a story, I think to myself, ¡®This antagonist''s intentions are so heinous that they don''t even make any sense.¡¯¡±


    ¡°But such vile people do make sense to exist.¡±


    ¡°Well yes. But think about it¡­ Who in their right mind would believe that a motive of pure evil without any other motive would make sense to be in any TV show?!¡±


    ¡°Anyone but some idiot being like you? And why are we suddenly talking about any TV shows right here? What kind of TV show? Wait¡­ So what we were talking about earlier wasn''t actually a real case?¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°No! This is a real case! I was just saying, you know?¡±


    Twenty minutes have gone¡­


    A tiny bridge was crossed¡­


    Even if he sometimes replies to the story as if irritated, it appears that his expression does not reflect boredom. He continued listening till he came to a stop in front of a building filled with electronic trinkets.


    His destination¡­ A tight, stifling internet cafe that had the brands and titles of various online games displayed on a board. The boy, Daniel, looked at himself from the reflection of the glass door, just as their chat seemed to have stopped for a moment¡­ Then before taking his first step forward, he peered up into the sky, as if something was raining down on him from above. But it was just a normal clear afternoon sky, with no reason for him to suspect anything, so he immediately went back on his way.


    ¡°I hope that one day you will make friends in your college and no longer have to tell me your stupid stories like this one ever again.¡±


    Their talk appeared to be continuing, with Daniel starting it first. Though his comments just now felt more like a final line to the discourse, still anyone would be angry if they heard someone say such a thing about themselves. That it felt more like Daniel was just deliberately provoking her to feel annoyed.


    Until his big sister then replied, ¡°I have a lot of friends here, you know! I''m just afraid they''re not interested in¡­ Come on! Can''t you see me happy for just a moment? Anyway, I''ve got class in a bit, I will contact you again at another time. See ya!¡±


    She who talks the most, becomes the same person who ends the conversation.


    But at the very least, Daniel may now sit in peace on his gaming chair, with a sigh of relief he lets out in front of a large monitor with a blinding brightness level, next to someone¡­ Another boy who was silently waiting for Daniel to stop staring at his phone screen, till he felt the time was finally right to ask.


    ¡°Saskia?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Daniel confirmed the curiosity of the man beside him.


    ¡°Hop into the game then¡­ What took you so long-¡±


    The two boys could be heard sighing, as not even ten seconds had passed, Daniel''s smartphone vibrated again. However, the name that displayed on the screen this time was different from the one that appeared before.


    Since it says¡­


    ¡°Panya¡­?¡±


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Hehe¡­ It¡¯s Panya¡­ Hey you hear? Daniel saved your name as Panya with a P in his phone!¡± Again he remarked, mockingly laughing as soon as Daniel picked up the call¡­ The person who had previously uttered the same name in such a skeptical tone, who went back trying to confirm what kind of stupid typo he had just seen from his own friend¡¯s phone screen.


    ¡°Eh¡­ Who¡¯s this?¡±


    Daniel managed to activate the speaker button right before someone on the other end of the call turned to ask, which sounded like a girl''s voice. Just to be immediately answered by Deo who leaned his mouth towards the microphone.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Hey¡­ I mean, Deo. Deo¡¯s here.¡± The boy even coughed a little on purpose, making sure his voice was heard clearly by those on the other end of the line.


    ¡°Deo? Then where the hell is Daniel? Why are you carrying his phone?!¡±


    ¡°We''re both here, you genius¡­ The call¡¯s in speaker mode.¡± Daniel''s late clarification came without remorse.


    ¡°Ow well¡­ Whatever. I don¡¯t really care, though. Panya is fine¡­ It does sound cute!¡±


    In response to that, the boy at the side, whose name turned out to be Deo, looked expressionless for a while as if he had just seen a demon. And as if he was considering so many possibilities, his decision was firm on something while he said, ¡°Daniel. This is absolutely not the Fanya we know¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    ¡°Just stop with your shenanigans now¡­ Anyway, Daniel. Have you packed your stuff?¡±


    ¡°Later.¡± The answer came only in a split second after Fanya finished asking.


    ¡°See? I knew it. You''re no longer in high school, Daniel! Haven''t I told you since yesterday to pack up all your clothes? Only two days left before our flight!¡±


    ¡°I only have less than ten¡­ Or even five sets of clothes. And if I forget a shirt, so what? The world will not end because of it.¡±


    ¡°but I might end yours if you continue to be tough to advise. After all, why do you still come to that one dark stuffy place? I''ve heard that internet caf¨¦s are hangouts for criminals¡­ And losers.¡±


    ¡°Putting aside your biased perceptions, how did you know we were at an internet cafe?¡±


    ¡°Really? The only reason you two are together is because you''re visiting that place. It can''t be for any other reason.¡±


    Deo had remained silent throughout the other two¡¯s conversation, seemingly recalling something Fanya had mentioned earlier... And as if it would always bother him if he didn''t confirm the thing, he then tried to insert it between Daniel and Fanya''s argument.


    ¡°Did you just say criminals? Guys, have you heard about that one psychotic criminal from overseas? I''m not sure where he came from, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah! Stop! I don''t want to hear any more of those stupid stories¡­ I''ve heard too much!¡±


    As if covering his ears would help, but Daniel had actually managed to restrain Deo from repeating the same scenario he previously had to go through with his own big sister¡­ That it actually seemed like he just couldn¡¯t be blamed for all the suffering he felt from what the girl named Saskia forced him to hear earlier.


    Where Fanya on the other end of the phone could only giggle; completely comprehending what had occurred to Daniel¡­ To which she responded with condolences.


    ~~~~~


    So if something is to be judged, their dialogue had a really friendly tone to it... Since they are well acquainted after all. And that''s just Daniel''s take on what he picked up from Deo and Fanya¡­ A triad. A friendship between three people in a world that lies right on the line of normalcy. A universe in which everything, without exception, is placed where they should be placed¡­ Without any miracles to offer anybody hope, but also without any curses to cause anyone despair. A world where chaos befriends order.


    Or at least, that''s something that''s coming to an end¡­


    Because these are the final seconds before everything turns upside down.


    ~~~~~


    The snaps on the many keyboards in the place were louder than the voices of those around them. At the very least, this may explain why Fanya hasn''t ended the call even after an hour of the two lads focused on their monitors and not on her.


    They still chatted about small things for some moments though. But this time Daniel felt like his words were really being ignored by the girl, so he felt compelled to clarify something.


    ¡°Fanya?¡±


    In a brief period, Daniel looked at his smartphone screen which revealed that the call had actually been cut off. Then immediately returned to the monitor in front of him, but abruptly displayed a sign indicating that the internet on the computer had also failed as well as the others on the left and the right.¡­ And as a result, everyone in the room barked in outrage nearly simultaneously, spinning around to find someone to blame for this occurrence. Whereas Deo behaved similarly to the others, Daniel was able to show his displeasure just by tapping the table rhythmically without actually making any sound.


    But it''s more like testing the boy''s composure, of how the sudden cacophony of people outside the building is now able to shut everyone''s lips in that dimly illuminated room. Causing Deo to stand up, adjusting his head left and right.


    ¡°Something¡¯s going on out there?¡±


    It wasn''t only Deo''s thought, but the same query could be heard from many other mouths surrounding them. So he looked for a space to see out of the building from where he was at, only to be able to know more than anyone else¡­ Yet after a few seconds had passed, now the power in the whole place took its turn to go out.


    ~~~~~


    Outside, the noise was becoming harder to ignore. Screaming can sometimes be heard either purposely or because someone is truly terrified.


    ¡°It shouldn''t be this dark outside.¡±


    ¡°What? I''m more worried about those disturbing screams we had just heard, but anyway¡­ You know I never take my smartphone out of the house, right? So can we use yours for its flashlight instead?¡±


    Deo''s voice is heard even if his body is obscured by the darkness, where Daniel also nodded in response, though he knew it was pointless.


    Unfortunately, Daniel''s cracked smartphone screen failed to function when it was most needed, since his fingers swiped here and there, yet his response was the opposite of his own intention. While at the same time, some people around the boy preferred more to take the initiative, to try as calmly as they could to find their way out of the room, though the remainder were obviously loud¡­ Running and bumping into several chairs till they toppled over, causing the others to fear even more.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Daniel?! Where¡¯s your fucking flashlight, dude?!¡±


    Deo sounded even increasingly agitated as he waited for his friend to do something, anything that would allow him to see properly once more¡­ Until he noticed a faint light from the exit, a phone flashlight belonging to someone else who had escaped the building before them, then he decided to run in that direction.


    Though the flashlight on Daniel''s battered smartphone eventually turned on just five seconds after Deo ran away, when the boy also noticed that his surroundings were already empty and he was left alone. But he chose not to voice his fear and instead carefully strolled out¡­ Tracing the source of the sound of thousands of people crowding the roadway, as there was only a little light from several spots; which let Daniel know just how many people had already piled up in the place, then he glanced up where he witnessed the world''s daytime at the moment was completely obscured by darkness¡­ As the sky is devoid of any light, clouds, or stars, truly like looking into nothingness.


    And the barking dog sounded just as terrified as the crowds, who had no idea what was happening or what would happen to them, but not until they heard the rumble.


    The rip in the sky that sounded just like a mountain collapsing to the seafloor, frightening people with the roaring noise it produced while the crack above their heads actually grew bigger and continuously spread out with its blurry blood-red light radiating from within.


    As the world''s ceiling had fallen apart¡­ Revealing the fiery horror, hell¡¯s dawn of the world beyond.


    But whatever the reason was, suddenly all at the same time, all of the voices¡­ The sky¡¯s roar, the bark and sobs, everything went quiet. The tears from the one big cut in the sky also stopped growing, and people''s screams died away as the rumble in the void vanished¡­


    All of that just for the moment when so many lightning bolts suddenly flashed yet the sound was delayed¡­ Followed by sequential vibrations and brattles, as well as the heat which can be felt on the skin.


    That it is just apparent, how those deadly blasts from the lightning bolts struck so many people, along the terrifying screech deafened all ears and everyone scattered¡­ Blindly racing for cover, using a little help of the blood red light from the sky above.


    So as the time passed, a growing number of people succumbed as a result of the lightning strikes, while the rest were pushed down and trampled by people who were still able to run¡­ Fortunately, with quite a bit of effort, Daniel managed to touch the wall of a building.


    He leaned his back against it, attempting to shield himself from the people pressing into his chest, those who were still looking for a safer spot than what the boy had at his own feet.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Deo¡­? Deo¡­!¡±


    It was the right choice, of how he tried to shout for the only person he knew in that place. However, no outcome would be feasible and Daniel eventually began to run out of his own breath¡­ As his legs were also slowly losing strength, while he covered his ears from the sound of terrified cries and unceasing lightning strikes that threatened to drive him insane, that it felt as if the hammering and tearing sounds were growing closer to him by each second, while his heart was beating harder and faster following the pace.


    All, till the moment comes¡­


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 002: A Lot... A Lot of Them...

    ¡°You okay?¡±


    Daniel seemed to be trying so hard to open his eyes while someone patted his shoulder. He inquired about The boy''s condition after observing that he was responding to the taps, where Daniel recognized the man''s face; though he wasn''t sure who he truly was¡­ So Daniel said nothing in response.


    At least the man realized and understood that Daniel was slowly reassembling his consciousness, thus he waited and even sat next to Daniel until he was able to give a positive response, anything to make him feel more relieved¡­


    ¡°So you''re not freaking out at all, huh?¡±


    The man asked again but with another question.


    ¡°I was¡­¡±


    And Daniel''s honest reply made him chuckle¡­ That, or perhaps it was simply his own incredulity at what they had witnessed back there and how they had somehow survived which had been the reason behind the man''s smile.


    While at the time, the two of them sat on the side of the road; resting against the wall of a building around those who were strolling back and forth, assisting people who appeared to be still unconscious¡­ As the void in the sky along with the crimson crack was also gone now.


    It seemed as though the world had completely returned to the way it had been before, simply just like that, giving everyone a sense of unease and distrust.


    Yet there was little they could do but aid the rest; or it was at least for the sake of distracting themselves from the dreadful tragedy that had just happened not so long ago. All was just something that Daniel could deduce as he turned his head looking around, including at the man beside him¡­ Of how everyone tried to stay calm and pretend everything was going to be okay. So Daniel also took part to play pretend.


    ¡°By the way¡­ just like me, you''re a regular at that internet cafe, right? Because I think I see you a lot around here.¡±


    ¡°Ow¡­ So that¡¯s why¡­¡±


    Daniel quickly realized why the stranger¡¯s face was so familiar to his eyes, which made him feel comforted enough to take the hand that was offered for him to get up.


    ¡°Did you also happen to get struck by the lightning?¡±


    Daniel shook his head in response.


    ¡°Well I did¡­¡±


    ¡°You did!?¡±


    Seeing how surprised Daniel was, it seems that he perceived this as a competition¡­ Or perhaps he really just appropriately thought that anyone who was hit by the lightning strike earlier would definitely die and nothing less, which means this guy must be messing with him.


    But all that he got was the man nodding with his serious face, as the boy decided not to doubt it any further and instead asked the man about his condition first before thinking about the oddity, so he conveyed, "Are you okay then?"


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I can''t say what happened earlier wasn¡¯t scary at all, but I didn''t even feel a thing from the lightning. It¡¯s weird, but¡­ Now I actually feel¡­ Better?¡±


    [¡°Well¡­ That sounds evil as hell¡­¡±]


    Those were the words he whispered to himself, who had forgotten the very question he had just asked the man a few seconds ago, since he suddenly felt way more concerned about something else¡­ Therefore he pulled his smartphone that was almost at the end of its life, out from his pocket; only to discover that the signal bar indicated that he would be unable to make any call for an uncertain amount of time¡­ Thus he looked around for once more.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Right. Anyway, did you happen to see my friend? The fat one, probably this tall¡­ I''m always with him at the internet cafe, you see¡­¡±


    Daniel inquired about something that was on his priority list, with one of his hands raised slightly above his head, at the same time when there was the sound of gasps and clamor from the people who were in many places, all at once. Which caused the boy to become concerned about what may happen to his one and only best pal, aside from Fanya¡­ So Daniel followed his intuition and pursued one of the sources of the commotion while the man who assisted him trailed after, where there appeared to be a mob gathered around someone.


    But as for Daniel who was not quite a tall person in the first place, he only understood that it would be useless if he got closer to the crowd, however, there is more than one bustling point around the place. And several others appeared to have walked from some location to another, with their faces contorted as though they had witnessed two identical events.


    So Daniel approached one who had recently left the throng and questioned as to what was going on up there.


    ¡°It¡¯s a sword.¡± They replied.


    ¡°Hah?¡±


    Daniel was completely perplexed by the straightforward answer. But unlike the man next to him, something appeared to be ringing in his thoughts.


    He stroked his chin at first as if he had forgotten something.


    A few moments later, his right hand appeared to be reaching for whatever he thought was behind his neck, or maybe around his back¡­ And when Daniel turned to face him, there was already a sword in his hand, swinging around as if it were normal to have one.


    But aside from his shock, Daniel was at the same time amazed by the shape of the blade¡­ For it¡¯s a slender one-handed sword that appeared to be composed of a whole nearly translucent blue glass, as the blade is one piece with the unprotected hilt... Also the basic curves are stunning and complement the model''s slim and sleek appearance.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Where did you get that from?!¡±


    ¡°From the lightning¡­? I think?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean, but¡­ Hah?¡±


    Even though Daniel had not yet received any comprehensive explanation, the people around him suddenly flocked to the man. Pushing Daniel farther and farther away from him, until he backed up against the front wall of the internet cafe, where the clamor of people increased as more and more people drew swords that were identical to one another from somewhere on their backs¡­ Somewhere invisible, that would only reveal the blade if its owner brought their hands behind their shoulders.


    ~~~~~


    I think that dude just now was so sure that the sword appeared since he got hit by the lightning¡­ ¡°Yeah, sure, I get it now. But why sword?¡±


    The boy racked his brain to find the connection between a lightning bolt and a sword, as he merely stood there, trying to persuade himself that it wasn''t all just a dream. Whether it was magic, science, or whatever, he felt compelled to accept it as his own new reality¡­ And he did look like he was trying, until a voice brought him back to the surface.


    ¡°Yo¡­¡±


    It was Deo, waving his hand next to Daniel.


    And with his pride high, the boy hid his surprise and acted as if he had noticed from afar that Deo had appeared beside him¡­ So he played cool and checked on his best friend''s condition by asking, ¡°Thank goodness you''re fine. Did you get hit by the lightning?¡±


    ¡°Nope¡­ You?¡±


    Daniel shook his head without making any sound out of his mouth for a while¡­ But curiosity recurred as again he asked Deo, ¡°Is that unlucky for you?¡±


    ¡°Nah¡­ You can''t make me believe, everything would be okay after what happened back there¡­ A hell beyond the sky? Even if the magical blade were the prize, it was all from hell... Nothing good can come from such things.¡±


    ¡°A hell¡­ Beyond the sky¡­ Yeah, I nearly forgot you''re a nerd who obsesses over conspiracy theories. Much like my sister, but she still considers it as a secret pastime. while you, my friend¡­¡± Daniel said words with full awareness that there was no way he didn''t expect the boy would be insulted and would instantly refute his statements.


    And sure enough, Deo''s face grew bright crimson.


    He was going to spew out everything he had read on the internet directly into his friend¡¯s face, yet before anything happened, for the second time Daniel became curious about something else and inquired as if what he said previously wasn''t important enough to be remembered.


    ¡°But why sword tho?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    Daniel questioned the rhetoric which left Deo at a loss for words, while other irate voices emerged, sounding quite close to their spot actually.


    That from afar it looks like the A-board of some kind of coffee shop has been split in two, the work of one of the sword owners who didn''t even hesitate to immediately test the sharpness of his magical weapon on people''s goods and it infuriated others.


    ¡°What a troublemaker¡­¡± Deo raved to his friend.


    And precisely predicted, Deo''s grumble appeared to Daniel as a sign of ill luck, as chaos broke out in several areas all at once, caused by those who were a bit too reckless with their impromptu gift.


    ¡°Hey¡­ Dude¡­ Stop staring at ¡®em. Let¡¯s just go home now.¡±


    That¡¯s when Deo preceded Daniel to step away from the crowd. ¡°This place would just become even more chaotic than what it already is¡­ Let''s go before we get involved in it.¡±


    Thus the two walked in silence until they reached the middle of a small wooden footbridge¡­ Only there Deo then turned around to face Daniel.


    ¡°Have you contacted Fanya yet?¡± He asked.


    But Daniel, on the other hand, shook his head and checked his smartphone once again.


    ¡°Still no signal,¡± was something the boy showed to Deo to understand why.


    ¡°Well then, that''s all for today, I guess? Just make sure you ask her how she''s doing okay? Pray that she doesn''t have that magical sword either, or else¡­ You don''t want to know how she''ll torture us.¡±


    Deo slowly walked backwards, leaving his best friend in the middle of the wooden bridge where his hands waved for a moment, while Daniel was still processing what the boy had just said to him.


    [¡°If you care that much, why don''t you just call her then? Why does it always have to be me?¡±] He muttered softly once Deo was well out of sight. Yet proceeded to unwind in the middle of the river, recalling all that had just happened.


    About how ludicrous a story is when the sky becomes hell just for a few minutes¡­ When lightning strikes people and they get those magical swords hidden somewhere on their back as a result. And the strangest thing is, it all stops there¡­ Nothing more nothing less, suddenly everything seemed to revert to normal.


    So his sentiment was quite understandable, to be fair¡­ Just a boy who questioned too many things, with this odd normality being the limit. And apart from that, there¡¯s the possibilities that would soon happen because of the insanity component. Such as how he heard the news on television about the inmates who had just escaped down the prison¡¯s septic tank drain¡­ Begs the question, what else would they be willing to do now that they had that weapon in the hands of not just one, but so many of them?


    About so many people who are under so much stress and strife¡­ And the only reason why they haven''t hurt anyone else is simply because there was nothing in their hands at the time?


    ¡°People will die¡­ A lot¡­ A lot of them¡­¡±


    Daniel pondered his own thoughts with an empty look on his face.


    Not without any reason, but because he realized that the water beneath his feet was slowly starting to turn a deep red color like blood¡­ And only after the floating corpse passed over the bridge, Daniel sighed as he realized that his own words had come true; faster than he had ever expected¡­ At least the phone signal seemed to have been restored, so he decided to call someone with the contact name "Sis" on his smartphone screen.


    But before even pressing the call button, the same number appears to be attempting to connect to his phone first¡­ So he relented and answered the call.


    ~~~~~


    There were more than ten questions that he got from the voice on the other side of the phone. For even if Daniel dared to cut her off just to answer one before another, she who was worried would not cease till Daniel waited and sought to soothe his elder sister down.


    ¡°So it happened everywhere?¡± The tone that was much calmer now than five minutes earlier, was heard by Daniel while leaning his arm against the railing of the bridge.


    ¡°I don''t know¡­ If it also happened there, then it probably happened everywhere. You''re the nerd one, so you should be the one looking into that.¡± Daniel answered.


    ¡°Nerd? Me? Why? Well¡­ At least I know you''re fine. But you better go straight home, you hear? You don''t have to think about it. Everything will be alright. I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    ¡°Now hold on¡­ I never said I was worried about any of this. Why the hell are you telling that to me right now?¡±


    With a wry smile, Daniel counter-accused that it was the young college girl who thought too much of everything. But the two of them refused to appear weaker than the other, throwing insults at each other until suddenly Daniel fell silent for some reason¡­ He turned to the side and yet he saw no one, but his heart was racing as if he''d just seen a ghost.


    ¡°Daniel? Something happens?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing. But¡­ Maybe I should go home for now.¡±


    Turning off the phone and sighing for the umpteenth time, the boy then left the place at the same time as the sun was setting behind the hill, where he walked for quite a while before realizing his phone was buzzing again, as he had guessed correctly, that it was Fanya who wanted to check on the situation¡­ So he repeatedly pressed the smartphone screen, but nothing happened.


    Again the bug of the barely usable thing recurred, and Daniel could only watch the call go by without him even being able to answer.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 003: Deo Swear to God

    Three full days after the incident.


    All schools are closed, the freshmen lecture date has also been rescheduled¡­ So the boy and his two pals had yet to wait a little bit longer to experience life as college students outside of the city. That''s why Daniel can only be found daydreaming alone in his room.


    It''s not that he can''t go out, but most people do prefer to stay indoors for some obvious reasons¡­ Simply put, people just think of it as if there is another pandemic that must be avoided by just doing nothing¡­ Or realistically, they are just terrified of all the horrible things that are now considerably more probable to happen to anyone out there.


    The same goes for the boy as he lay with his eyes wide and his ears echoing the constant stream of news from his smartphone¡­


    News that sounds just like a fictitious narrative which appears frightening, as most of it tends to be negative rather than the other way around¡­ About how approximately half of the world''s population has received gifts from hell. And it seems like the number is slowly increasing; because it turns out that the lightning still sometimes strikes at random times, at random locations. And it wasn''t just the sword they got from that incident, but their bodies'' average physical ability surprisingly appears to have grown, yet only a little.


    Unfortunately it is hard to say exactly how much of an increase there was that could be observed¡­ But the easiest thing to notice, of course, is from no one but the athletes; whose talents were always documented numerically. It is said that all those who were struck by the lightning, had an average rise of 5% from their prior records.


    And lastly, is how the wounds that the people who had been chosen by the same lightning, have seem to be able to heal a little bit faster than the average human being and even leave no marks whatsoever; or rather to say, they can heal wounds perfectly to the point of not leaving any scars. Where it was quite hotly discussed, thus opening up speculation that those people might even be able to regenerate their own missing or damaged organs and limbs.


    All of that information was clogging Daniel''s brain, making him a little fed up. But he didn''t want to disguise his envy for those who had been chosen, at least not from himself.


    Whether it was indeed a gift from the devil, or it was a sign of the end of the world itself, one thing he understood was that those who were chosen were now far much cooler than he could ever be. ¡°And those dudes'' swords are insanely beautiful, I just want it!¡± Daniel mopes to himself while envisioning the blade in his hand, which he hoists into the air.


    Until slowly the arm began to lose its balance, bobbing and then giving up; as Daniel fell asleep soundly with the news broadcast on his smartphone still running.


    Yet the previous day''s issue becomes the topic of tomorrow.


    One thing about the thunderstorm stacked on top of another newer fact, just how time flies as the days grow into weeks¡­


    ~~~~~


    There was a noise that began to obstruct one''s dream¡­


    It sounded like a doorbell at first. But a few seconds later, the entrance was firmly banged many times; accompanied by even more sound of the bell¡­


    Blonde hair, towering body, blue eyes in his forties¡­ On a bed decked with colorful hawk and octopus knick-knacks, the guy awoke with his arms around a tiny girl. As the size of the bed itself was quite small for the man to fit in, he just sat on the floor with his head resting on his arm on top of the adorable little girl¡¯s bed.


    Then the man squeezed his brow to regain full awareness before his gaze dropped on his sleeping daughter''s face¡­ He smiled, stroking the long hair of her before then stood up, leaving the room closed.


    ~~~~~


    The front house door was slightly ajar¡­


    He looked around to see who had awakened him up. But his expression showed that he already knew who he was about to meet outside.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°I''m sorry to hear of your daughter''s death.¡±


    The white-haired old guy in his old-fashioned black suit was standing right in front of the dining room''s glass wall¡­ He offered his sympathies to the man who was facing away from him. Who was sitting casually, staring into his coffee cup waiting for the guest to begin a phrase that would explain why he had come to his private residence¡­ As the lack of time he seemed to commit to a pointless topic, was the reason he did not respond to the condolences he had just received.


    ¡°Alright then¡­¡±


    The old guy could be heard sighing, having given up on chatting to him in the manner of an old friend¡­ So he had no other choice but to act as a colleague. As he continued his words, where he said, ¡°I assume you already know about what happened to the head of the PEB two days ago¡­¡±


    ¡°Did they put me in charge of the investigation?¡±


    ¡°Investigation? No¡­ Aubert, was found dead in a car accident¡­ that''s all there is to it. But this tends to be more related to his position. They''re having a meeting, and apparently you were invited.¡±


    ¡°Why all of the sudden? Is it because of this stupid magic power in my hand?¡±


    The homeowner appeared to be dissatisfied; he remained silent after that question he just gave for only a minute before finally continuing to complain as if he wasn''t afraid of his own words, where he said, ¡°Just a few days ago they even seemed serious about the excommunication, or even making me a research subject for the same stupid reason¡­ So what is their purpose now?¡±


    ¡°The big table members wanted to try something new¡­ Someone gave them an idea. And in my personal opinion, I believe you will agree with their decision at least just this one. Even better, you''ve been assigned to a key position, my friend. So why don''t you try attending the meeting first? Find what fascinates you and most importantly, avoid making enemies of people like them. I mean, you know it better than me, so¡­¡± The old man''s wrinkled hands thrust a large envelope onto the dining table as he finished his words. Walked for a while, away from the man with his coffee cup, where he Silently sighed; anxious about what he had done to his own friend.


    So even though he knew that what he was about to say was not allowed to be said, the words still came out of the old guy¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Edward. Of all the people I know, and with all the terrible things we''ve done to fix this cruel world¡­ You''ve suffered enough, my friend. So don''t be afraid to do what you need to do for yourself. You deserve not to feel guilty.¡±


    The man he was referring to, Edward, appeared to be deep in contemplation as his guest closed the front door so silently that it made no sound. Leaving him with wishful thinking and some kind of glimmer¡­ Perhaps a hope for something he may actually get from the hands of those who arbitrarily controlled his life and death, the ones who may have planned something even more detrimental to himself. But even a glimpse of hope was more than enough for a guy like him to prove whether a second chance is indeed something he truly deserves.


    So he then decided to make a bold decision.


    ~~~~~~


    ¡°No, you just don¡¯t get it! I''ve even heard that some of them can emit fire from their palms and there''s this video! Wait a minute¡­ I''ll send the link.¡±


    ¡°Deo, control yourself, you freak¡­ Could you please ask your friend to be quiet for a moment, Daniel? Unless you two have stories that are a little more interesting for a girl like me to hear¡­ Something that is not related to anime, games and Deo¡¯s stupid conspiracies.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I''ve also heard the exact same gossip from my sister already, so the topic doesn''t interest me that much anymore. And I''ve seen the video, Deo. It''s all just CGI, I¡¯m telling you.¡± Daniel''s half-conscious reply was made¡­ Whose hand at the moment was also swiping a pencil over the paper, features a drawing of a magical sword that remains popular after a month has passed.


    While near the same hand, lying on the table, was his beloved smartphone on the screen of which there was an app showing three boxes with their names written on, as well as three little circles to the left of each, One of which has a picture of a cute red butterfly made out of fire. Meanwhile the other two respectively contain a drawing of an antique pocket watch; and a black cross which is Daniel¡¯s own profile picture.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    It was a group voice chat app that the three of them had recently been using to communicate from their own different places¡­ Though in reality, the majority of the time they spend on the app is just for listening to news whose truth is still unknown, as well as conspiracy theories which is not unexpected, given that they all emanate from who else but Deo, the all-hearing wanna be.


    ~~~~~


    Whether it is human nature to change the details of a story after having it from one mouth to another, whether all of those stories have been made up from the start to attract people''s attention, it seems that Daniel and Fanya are just the type of people who are immune to believing anything straight away. Or maybe they''re just used to their friend, Deo, who is always talking about hoaxes and conspiracies¡­ Or they actually believe to some extent, but are just trying to play calm for their own sanity. Leaving Deo alone who struggled to convince the two others to express their own concerns about the world and the future.


    ¡°But seriously, how can you not be worried by that stuff!? Okay¡­ Then how about the news of the PEB bureau being disbanded the day after its chairman died mysteriously? You know that it''s the world¡¯s emergency bureau that''s supposed to be in charge of securing the entire world after the thunderstorm, right? Which they failed miserably! Have you ever asked yourself why? I''m telling you, man¡­ There is something bigger than just a magic sword that they are facing and no other explanation other than that!¡±


    ¡°I don''t even want to lie, but I have zero knowledge about politics, buddy¡­ I don''t even know who WHO is, and what''s a bureau to begin with. And are you sure, Deo? If you reveal too much to us, the Illuminati will come after you and we don''t want that to happen, do we? You are our beloved friend after all.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you shut up¡­ We don''t even have to go far to discuss something international, take Our City Jail on Top of the Hill as an example. I''m sure you''ve heard at least once, that up until now, not even a single inmate who escaped from there has been brought back to their cells! Matter of fact, even the police were still unsure whether risking their lives just to look for them would be worthwhile or not.¡±


    And Deo eventually succeeded¡­


    The sound of the pencil scratching came to a halt as Daniel appeared to be interested in what the boy was talking. ¡°Like all of them escaped?¡± He tried to confirm.


    ¡°Wait. So you really never heard of it? Well¡­ I mean not all of them. But those who remained in prison were mostly those who were not carriers anyway.¡±


    ¡°Carrier? They have a title now?¡±


    ¡°Dude! That''s something I''ve mentioned three times already!¡±


    ¡°Nah¡­ You simply sound boring.¡± Fanya cut the two of them off in their talk as if she believed that Daniel and her were on the same side all along. But what she discovered was only the boy who remained silent long enough to cause her concern, so then she called his name.


    ¡°Daniel?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Yeah, I¡¯m here¡­ I just suddenly felt a bit sleepy, thanks to you, Deo.¡±


    Daniel''s response came as if he didn''t even care about what his friend had just confirmed about the jailbreak, yet the boy¡¯s palms were wet with sweat.


    Forcing him to close the sketching book, then he threw it on the table as he daydreamed; attempting to shift his focus away from what was bothering his own peace of mind.


    Until the echoes from the past, a woman''s voice returned the boy to discomfort¡­


    ~~~~~


    ¡°I know how unjust that feels to you, Daniel¡­ But your father, like everyone else, is only a human being and nothing more.¡±


    ¡°So don''t hold it against him, or anyone for everything terrible that happens to you¡­¡±


    ¡°After all, you have no idea how devastated we are over such a cruel incident.¡±


    ¡°You just have to accept that you are the result of suffering.¡±


    ¡°And take my advice¡­ Live with it, get used to it. I don''t really care how, but if you don''t want to suffer even more, that''s the only way to go.¡±


    His eyes seemed to be starting to open with the twilight color covering his skin. Perhaps he awoke due to the sound of his phone dropping to the floor from above his wooden study table, but he knew it wasn''t because of any spirit being''s malicious acts. Instead, it¡¯s simply caused by the vibrations of numerous incoming calls that happened for a very long time, to the point of being able to move the object itself even past the edge of the table surface.


    So he then propped himself up from the bed, grabbed his smartphone, watching how the night slowly approached as he managed to correctly guess the name of the person who had been trying to contact him while he was fast asleep.


    ¡°Sorry sis¡­¡± Daniel sighed as he realized a new crack was appearing on his smartphone screen, which may also explain why he couldn''t contact his elder sister back with the thing that was unresponsive to his own finger''s touch, whatsoever.


    ¡°But why am I still sticking with this damned smartphone, anyway¡­ I mean, this thing can only bring me pain, now that I''m aware of it.¡±


    The boy complained to who knows who, which somehow reminded him of the reason why he fell asleep in the first place. When he realized that the voices in his head had ceased plaguing him, moments after waking up, indeed... Yet he didn''t appear relieved, not even a bit, since he still wanted something to help make him forget. As well as to make the boy feel somewhat less terrible for not contacting his elder sister back, because the circumstances actually prevented him from using the smartphone.


    And this, only resulted in a hasty choice that he would make, where he said, ¡°Fine. Maybe a problem or two won''t hurt.¡±


    Nevertheless it wasn''t that hard for anyone to guess, for he surely went nowhere but to the internet caf¨¦ he hadn''t visited in a month at the time.


    ~~~~~


    Probably about eight o''clock in the evening¡­ As supposedly, the streets were silent since the little town''s neighborhood had been subjected to a curfew.


    ¡°I recall hearing on the news that this city had been classified as a safe zone.¡±


    Unfortunately, what Daniel stated in his head did not match everything he had just missed while walking¡­ Specifically multiple deep scratch marks on the building''s walls and walkway flooring. No blood or even traces of a fight, but more towards people who are always amazed by the prowess of their own magical sword, to the point that destroying something with it becomes unbearable.


    ¡°Compared to what I''ve heard about the neighboring cities, I mean what''s the worst that could happen to me?¡±


    His idiotic thoughts persisted till he was directly in front of the internet cafe. While when he entered the building, the operator who had looked quite wary from the start, was suddenly surprised to see yet another familiar face enter the area which seemed to tempt even himself to run away.


    ¡°Are you also a carrier?¡±


    The operator appeared to regret his own question when he handed the recipe paper to Daniel, who then widened his eyes a moment after the boy shook his head.


    ¡°Then why do you still dare to come!?¡± The man whispered irritably¡­


    Especially after seeing Daniel smirk bitterly as he walked past him further into the dark space; the boy also bowed his head politely when he had to pass through a tight gap between juvenile delinquents who were leisurely filling the no-smoking room with cigarette smoke as well as their strong alcohol scent¡­ At least Daniel didn''t seem to be bothered by it, because he still switched the computer on and still launched the gaming program as he always did every time he went to that place.


    Then the boy shook his smartphone, whose screen was frozen as usual¡­ Meaning to notify his buddy Deo in case he wished to join. Where he struggled against the cracked screen as the vacant chair beside him seemed to have been filled by someone.


    ¡°Oh? It¡¯s you!¡±


    Daniel turned his labored gaze towards the source of the voice. It was the man who had talked to him before, on the day of the panic, shortly after the fracture in the sky disappeared and the thunderstorm had ended¡­


    ¡°Eh? So you''re a real person?!¡±


    ¡°Come again?¡±


    Daniel refused to explain to the man that up until now, he really thought he was just talking to his own imaginary friend back there¡­ Something that he suspected might have been caused by stress and panic after the incident, which of course, was even stranger if he actually thought that way¡­ So at the very least, as a final conclusion, Daniel just probably didn''t even care to remember anything about those past events, which prompted his brain to have a bit of a scramble to sort out what information was real and what wasn''t.


    ¡°Sorry for not having the chance to say it before, but¡­ Thank you for that time you helped me get back on my feet.¡± Aimless speech; still it was truly Daniel''s first instinct to express his own gratitude, as well as a small reparation for what he had just falsely accused him of.


    Just how the boy''s expression was likewise welcoming and filled with warmth; though a few seconds later, the same person could be seen plainly holding back a cough due to the cigarette smoke that had just traveled through his face and the man in front of Daniel, who could only fake a smile, talking while trying to appear oblivious to the disturbance they were receiving from the people sitting behind them.


    As he said, ¡°What are you apologizing for? I just did what I had to do, and that¡¯s just it. Nothing more.¡± Then he chuckled.


    Till the end, the two of them just persisted repeating themselves, trying to argue and force the other side to accept their respective appreciation, only before Daniel''s mobile phone rang from an incoming call, a situation which the kid had been waiting for a very long time as an excuse to end their conversation.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Did you just say that you were out of the house?! At an Internet cafe¡­ That one internet cafe?!¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    ¡°Oh god¡­ I never knew you were that stupid. Fanya will kill you if you still make it back alive, you idiot! There are too many conflicts out there, Daniel¡­ Especially since you went late at night. Have you not heard that the place has now become a hangout for gangsters?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ So these people behind me are gangsters?¡±


    For a brief while, the sound from the smartphone was deafeningly quiet, since Deo appeared to lose his sanity the more he spoke with the boy, before then deciding on the best answer to the matter.


    He said, ¡°That¡¯s it¡­ I¡¯m telling Fanya about this. I don''t care if you wind up dying in that girl''s hands or someone else, but that will all be your problem, mate. Not mine.¡±


    ¡°Oh Deo, you poor thing¡­ Like, why are you always scared of such a weak, short girl like Fanya? I mean, seriously, what could she have done to make us cry anyway?¡±


    It was clear how Daniel''s voice sounded increasingly shaky the more he dared to utter his nonsense, until the moment came for Deo to give his friend the ultimate shove to tear down his pride when he said it over the phone, ¡°You''re the one she''s going to kill, so you tell me!¡±


    ¡°Deo, listen¡­ That just doesn''t make any sense. How can I tell you if I''m dead?¡±


    ¡°Enough with your jokes¡­ I¡¯ll tell Fanya, Daniel. I swear to god, I¡¯ll tell her after you hang up the phone.¡±


    ¡°Aight¡­ No need to be a sissy now. I¡¯m going home, you hear? Thank you for nothing, by the way. Really appreciate it!¡±


    Daniel pushed his chair irritably, attempting to rise up with an unspoken sense of disappointment that he had towards his best friend. However, something keeping the chair from sliding backwards, led it to collapse instead, hitting the back of one of the gangsters'' hands¡­ Which happened to be holding a bottle of liquor.


    The sound of breaking glass froze the entire room. Everyone''s gaze fell to the puddle of alcohol on the floor, for only less than a second before then moving to where Daniel was standing.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 004: Why Would You Care?

    ¡°The hell is your problem, huh?!¡±


    Daniel was pushed back by the strangle he received from one of the gangsters. As his eyes dilated in surprise, his jaw clenched without the slightest thought of how to stand against the guy in front of him, not even a single way out other than to apologize.


    ¡°S- Sorry bro.¡± Daniel stuttered.


    ¡°Oi! Speak up, bitch! Speak up!¡±


    Such a shout caused the boy''s smartphone to slip from his hand, fell to the floor at the same time when his neck was pushed even harder until his back struck the monitor behind him. But Daniel instead smiled wryly just like a coward, explaining to everyone that he didn''t know how to protect himself¡­ Similar as when he begged, ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m so sorry. I didn''t mean to, I swear to god. So can we just calm down-¡±


    ¡°Nah¡­ Use your stupid eyes¡­ Here! Look at it! That¡¯s a whole fucking bottle, you brat!¡±


    ¡°Hey. The boy said he didn''t do it on purpose, and you heard it, right? So get your hands off him!¡± It was the man beside Daniel, who suddenly shouted back at the half-drunk gangster while grabbing and pulling his hand away from Daniel''s neck, since he looked like he was starting to break out in a cold sweat.


    However, his actions caused everyone in the room to rise up as if they were preparing for a fight, except for one... The man''s legs rested still. Casually enjoying his drink yet his gaze then shifted to a third party, another new person who was on his way towards them with such a troubled face, while two people in the middle were still fighting over whose shout was the loudest.


    As one can be heard taunting another man, he says, ¡°So that''s what you mean?! Trying to stand up for this garbage, dog? Then come at me, bro!¡±


    The guy actually pulled the sword out of his back, but his movements stopped when someone called his name.


    ¡°Farell...¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Stop it, mate. Not here.¡±


    The voice came from none other than the only person who had been sitting behind all of them the entire time. His eyes told each to look to someone on the side, the internet caf¨¦ operator that was surprised when every eye was finally on him... Something he actually had been trying to do for a long time, but was hindered by his own fear.


    At least he had gotten everyone''s attention, so he decided to have the courage to say, "Don¡¯t fight in this building, please. I''ll clean up the mess, that''s fine, but I beg all of you, just take the fighting outside of the building. Is- Is that okay, I wonder¡­¡±


    ¡°You heard him, Farell.¡±


    Again, the guy was probably talking as the leader of the gang, seemed to be giving decisions to his one fellow at the forefront of the rest. But then everyone¡¯s eyes suddenly turned to Daniel, who was equally shocked to realize that it was an invitation for a challenge should he choose to accept.


    ¡°Eh? Me? A sword fight? I¡¯m not a carrier, you see? But, I mean, maybe I can pay for the thing? Is- Is that okay, I wonder¡­ No?¡±


    His innocent smile was met with disappointed faces from all¡­ Even from the one that was supposed to be on his side, who then tried to turn the tension back instead, by saying, ¡°No can¡¯t do. It¡¯s just an accident, and alcohol wasn¡¯t even permitted inside this room in the first place. They are the ones in the wrong.¡±


    [¡°Okay¡­ What the hell did you say that for!?¡±]


    Daniel shouted angrily but only in his own mind, of course.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°So what should we do then? Wait until the bottle fixes itself and fills up somehow?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ You''ve hurt the boy, so you have to apologize to him.¡±


    All the gangsters chuckled at the guy on Daniel''s side''s simplistic assumption, that one party saying sorry to the other would be enough for them to respectfully comply without any differences of opinion. Therefore, it¡¯s only natural that no one would take it seriously, but then Farell''s remark piqued everyone''s interest.


    As he said, ¡°Well¡­ If you really want me to apologize to this dumbass, which is kinda stupid thing for me to do anyway; then someone has to fight for it, am I right? So¡­ What do you say? One on one, just you and me.¡±


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯m fine with it.¡± Daniel''s defender smiled with satisfaction.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Guys? Not here? Please? Maybe somewhere else?¡±


    The delinquents'' leader rose from his seat in response to the internet caf¨¦ operator''s concerns. "I don''t want to interfere with your business, nor do I want to disturb this Internet caf¨¦." He continued with a smile, "but I know a good spot to fight."


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    With just those words from the leader, all of his minions simultaneously moved towards the exit. Likewise the brave man who volunteered to play champion on Daniel''s behalf was the last one to step out, but the boy abruptly grasped his arm to clarify something that had genuinely baffled him up until this point.


    He said, ¡°I''m not sure why it ended out this way, but there¡¯s no way you can¡¯t see that they are just a bunch of criminals, and nothing more. Right? So tell me, don''t you realize they''re all only going to kick your ass at the same time? With no rules?¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. You see, I actually know something they don''t about this power, that I can even imagine how they will be shocked and beg for my mercy.¡±


    ¡°Hah?¡±


    Daniel really didn''t hesitate to show an expression of disgust towards the man who seemed to still have something he needed to say before he went into a literal sword duel, so he said, ¡°You should go home by now, dude. I mean, the roads are very dangerous at this hour¡­ And who knows, maybe their boss already has some people to secretly ambush you, right?¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    To which Daniel nodded, realizing how it really was a very good idea.


    So he gave up the brave man''s departure for his own sake.


    ~~~~~


    [¡°It¡¯s a strange feeling, knowing that the guy would be dead by any minute now¡­¡±]


    Daniel thought to himself while his gaze moved to the internet caf¨¦ operator squatting below, who was busily cleaning the floor which was littered with puddles of alcohol and pieces of glass. Where the boy obviously feels bad, so he attempts to assist¡­ But was refused bluntly with the prior man''s remarks heard coming out of him. ¡°You should go home, man.¡± He resisted.


    That''s why Daniel decided to just obey and turned around in search of his fallen smartphone due to the previous incident. Checked whether the sacred object that had been dropped hundreds of times was still working or not, nodding happily when he found out the answer and then left the spot in peace.


    Which it would take thirty minutes to walk from there to his house; or to be more precise, it¡¯s the amount of time for someone as slow as Daniel had to travel on foot, just to reach the front gate of a small residential complex that was separated from the rest of the city, surrounded by rivers and has only one bridge connecting the highways. Whereby the youngster murmured a song while walking when it was already around ten o''clock in the dark of the night through a few identical housing complexes, till his movements slowed gradually after catching something with his own eyes from a distance.


    That in the front of one house, standing several people talking to each other, some of whom Daniel knew quite well since most of them were neighbors of his own block¡­ So he tried back to walk, forcing the head not to think.


    And fortunately those people he passed, didn''t say a word even until he stepped through the entrance of his own house, where he found his mother sobbing and being held by the folks who were also seated with her.


    Strangely, the boy made no attempt to approach. He must have been confused about what was going on as his mouth wanted to ask questions, and no one approached him to explain anything whatsoever.


    But truth be told, things are always like this when Daniel is around. Because if the way this boy has lived his life in the neighborhood is to be believed, then it¡¯s true about how he never spoke to anyone and always looked away when someone turned their eyes towards him. Even with his friendly and open nature to people while he was at school or anyplace outside the neighborhood, things were just entirely different here where he actually lived. All because of whispers about Daniel being somehow a terrible person.


    Nonetheless, it seems that the boy felt somewhat more relieved than one would expect when confronted with despair and perplexity, as he had a speculation¡­ And he didn''t see that one particular figure anywhere around the crowd, after all. So he simply accepted reality and walked casually, too casually in fact, as he entered his bedroom.


    Where one can only speculate as to what was going through this boy''s head for him to experience such inappropriate relief after such a tragedy. But things suddenly turned upside down when he saw someone standing in his room. There his father was looking out the window, before then glancing back, realizing Daniel''s arrival.


    ~~~~~


    The boy''s pulse pounded even faster every second. His eyes enlarged, and cold perspiration coated his fingers. Daniel¡¯s speculation was proven incorrect, leaving just one worst-case scenario that he was still trying to deny by remaining silent, waiting for something from the man in front of him to tell.


    Unfortunately, his father opted not to say a single word either, instead simply strolling by Daniel and exiting the room as if the boy didn''t even exist in the first place.


    ¡°Is Saskia okay?¡± The boy clearly couldn''t hold back his ego over the matter.


    ¡°Why would you care?¡± Yet his father''s cold response could only make Daniel bite his lip as he watched the guy walk away from him. Leaving his smartphone as the sole means to confirm, so he patiently waited for an answer when he dialed the number.


    Sadly, no matter how many times he tried to call, the line was always unreachable. Providing concrete proof that something he was really concerned about had really happened.


    But suddenly Daniel¡¯s smartphone vibrated¡­


    This caused his heart to beat so hard for just a moment it almost exploded, only to feel hurt again when the boy realized that it wasn''t the number he was waiting for.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Daniel? You alright? I¡¯ve heard the news about your sister from my parents¡­ I''m very sorry to hear that. And I just¡­ I just wanted to let you know that I¡¯ll always be here if you need me, okay? Stay strong, Daniel.¡±


    It was Fanya on the other end of the line with her voice quivering as if she had just cried before deciding to call, which Daniel didn''t respond to at all. Instead he took the smartphone away from his ear and then walked forward to the bedroom window, stepped on the table without having any shoes ready, the boy then left the house for a little walk.


    ~~~~~


    Along with the pain that the boy had to endure, at exactly the same time but in a whole different location, where the sky wasn¡¯t dark with night as it was in Daniel''s eyes, but instead a bright morning sun with someone else''s eyes reflecting rows and rows of soldiers from behind a thick window glass. Standing there in his pure white suit, nicely combed back blonde hair, watching the last line of troops pass by outside his gorgeous and artistic office, the same color like his clothing but with a slight touch of gold carvings in each corner of the room.


    As Edward was listening to a woman standing in front of his desk¡­ Most likely one of his many secretaries, who¡¯s reading out some kind of list of tasks that had been completed and those that were still in progress before finally excusing herself.


    ¡°Sir¡­ The other will be here in a minute with her update on the construction project''s status of the headquarters in Indonesia that you previously requested." She added before taking a step back, leaving the door to the room closed from the outside with no more than three people left inside.


    Only Edward, and two behind him, who also stood but with each of their polar opposite styles of dress and traits compared to the others. As one of them was an old guy, the same height as Edward, white hair and a suit just like a personal servant to some kind of high-ranking official, probably the only one for Edward himself.


    And beside him, there¡¯s a young asian girl in her full black techsuit. Roughly around one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, but it¡¯s still obvious that she was way shorter than the two other figures, the same as her hair that is also quite short, black pixie wolf cut. Piercing pair of eyes embellished with something dark around it, maybe some kind of makeup, while her hands on her hips¡­ Clearly waiting for something and getting bored halfway through. Forcing her glance to dart across the room; first to the ceiling, then to the tips of her boots.


    Until she decided to inquire directly, despite the fact that she knew it was still not the perfect moment to ask. ¡°Why Indonesia?¡±


    ¡°There''s still more people to come, Lady Kamiko¡­ And such discussion is not for public consumption, you know that very well.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Damond. I''ve ordered them to let Evelina come here with the documents instead.¡± Edward waved his hand to those behind him, suggesting the white-haired man to be a little more relaxed about something Edward had planned from the start.


    ¡°So it¡¯s truly because of her, huh?¡± Kamiko asked with a proud smile of herself.


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ But why tho? She¡¯s literally a three in one great carrier. Doesn''t that mean it will reduce the probability that there will be another great carrier in the same region as her?¡±


    ¡°Not quite right. I mean, you might regard this as mere theory, but a great carrier is something that always comes in pairs.¡± Edward was seen trying to find a comfortable sitting position in his big chair, before continuing, ¡°So if we exclude Albert from the equation, then it is possible that there will likely be two more great carriers that the girl herself will soon discover. And of course, the only effective way to do so is to grant Evelina''s request¡­ Something all the elders have long opposed.¡±


    ¡°If I can recall correctly, lady Evelina refused to cooperate with us if she¡¯s not assigned within her own country, am I wrong?¡±


    Damond attempted to assist Kamiko in connecting the dots, to which the girl responded positively with a nod of her head. ¡°In short, you believe that the little girl will naturally cross paths with another great carrier?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. And Kamiko, you will look after her. Apart from our backup plan, of course.¡±


    Someone heard knocking on the door, right after Edward finished his sentence¡­ But before he gave the signal to let them in, Kamiko seemed to hasten to ask one final inquiry.


    ¡°How did you know all of this, by the way?¡±


    ¡°Lady Kamiko¡­¡±


    Damon seemed a little uneasy with the girl''s courage, still Edward answered.


    ¡°Half of it all comes from my own experience, the other half is from the devil himself. Now, If you don¡¯t mind, could you open the door for Evelina, please?¡±


    ¡°Aye sir¡­¡± Kamiko bowed, pretending to be polite before then carrying out Edward''s direct order to her.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 005: My Dear Son

    And yet with all the thousands of seconds that had passed, the poor boy under the moonlight was still walking aimlessly¡­ Barefoot in the cold middle of the lonely night, wondering if he had unknowingly played any part in the death of his own big sister across a faraway city.


    Whether things would have been different if he had done something earlier, since Daniel often ignored his sister''s calls and he never actually suffered any consequences from it. For Saskia has always been someone who is too kind, even to scold anyone¡­ Let alone Daniel, her younger brother.


    Making the boy feel like he truly deserves the blame and not anyone else... Which sounded too irrational for the boy even to think about, so at the very end, his expression was filled with melancholy, far more than he felt regret for what had passed.


    That is, Daniel did not dispute her sister¡¯s death, instead preferring to take the fact whole, and his thoughts became silent for nothing but to cease condemning himself.


    Then his gaze fell on some kind of a bus stop. A place that seemed to gradually awaken his memories of the past, the place where Daniel and his sister used to wait for their father to pick them up after class while they were still in primary school. Though that only lasted until Saskia started her junior high school at a different, better and more expensive institute than Daniel¡¯s primary, junior and senior high school¡­ That''s where he started training his legs for such long distance walking.


    Yet he who sat there at the time seemed to be feeling warmth in mind and soul as he closed his eyes, hugged his knees while muttering a song to himself.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Daniel! Say cheese!!!¡±


    The boy''s mind was taken back to the last time when he saw her¡­


    About two years ago, right before Saskia said her goodbyes and left for the capital city where her college was located. Just right at one point when Saskia was under the impression that they both had never actually been in the same photo ever before; or it wouldn''t even be an exaggeration to say that Daniel was never depicted in any form and in any frame throughout his life, except for something very formal like for school purposes as one example.


    Aside from his family-related situation, which was at its worst when he¡¯s just a child, Daniel was indeed the type of person who¡¯s troublesome¡­ Very troublesome in fact, to even have his face be captured by anyone.


    However, Saskia was able to redirect the boy''s attention while he was off guard; resulting in a good shot of the girl embracing her younger brother in one arm¡­ To which Daniel irritably moved away as he sneered, "You do that again, and I''ll kill you."


    Still Daniel waved his hand when the car door closed. "Uh¡­ Just¡­ Take care, sis." Nervously expressed, which Saskia then replied with a smile.


    ¡°I will! And don''t you break my old smartphone, you hear? That thing is very precious to me!¡± As she spent the last remaining time she had, only to threaten Daniel to the point of making him shudder but then wonder.


    [¡°So why did you give it to me in the first place!?¡±]


    Daniel asked the girl only in his own mind, since the distance between them was getting even further away from each other and the boy wouldn''t want himself to have to yell in the middle of the road, as he chose to daydream at the smooth and yet functional smartphone screen instead, that previously belonged to Saskia.


    And he stared at the thing for quite a long time for him to be thrown even deeper into the past, when the smartphone was still in his elder sister''s hands, as she was kneeling on the pedestrian bridge with Daniel, sobbing aloud and covering the screen with her own teardrops.


    When the night reached its peak and the deafening sound of trucks passing by beneath their feet drowned out the siblings¡¯ screams of despair¡­ That¡¯s the time when Saskia made up her mind, as she said, ¡°If you die, Daniel¡­ I swear to god I''ll kill myself! So I beg you, if you really feel that there is no longer any reason for you to live, then I¡¯ll be the one!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡±


    ¡°Daniel¡­¡±


    ¡°Make me your reason to live!¡±


    ~~~~~


    The raucous shouts of many people echoed around the empty streets. Echoes that finally managed to jolt Daniel back to the present, his body shivering with cold as he paced back and forth, seeking for the source of the sound. But then a gang of delinquent teenagers was visible crossing the street from a distance, their conversation appearing serious.


    ¡°Farell really killed that idiot! I can''t believe it!¡±


    ¡°The fuck do you mean by me alone? You all got in on it too!¡±


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Don''t be a coward, Farell. The cops won''t have the guts to approach us. They never dare! Just like in the news, carriers weren''t something they could ever cope with, so fucking calm yourself down, man!¡±


    Daniel seemed to have heard enough from them and then decided to get up; walk casually into a narrow alley, intending to return home on the opposite route to the one those people were taking, whatever it took to avoid running into each other.


    Yet the boy was still able to hear a little more of their voices, ¡°So? How do you feel now, Farell?¡± As one asked, another answered. ¡°I don¡¯t know, man¡­ But the adrenaline really made me nervous! I feel really wide awake now!"


    Even though the words sounded wobbly, it was clear that it all came from nothing but his own feeling of excitement, still echo became silent after Daniel had walked quite a distance.


    And then he eventually met the guy¡­ Beside an abandoned basketball court, with blood splatters mar the walls as scarlet pools seeped into the sewer drain... Daniel only slowed his steps slightly, asking nobody, ¡°Did that lightning also make you all lose common sense?¡±


    The boy seemed to be struggling, tiptoeing his bare feet looking for a foothold that didn''t have any blood on it¡­ Just to look back and continue his rambling, he said, ¡°So in the end, you''re just desperate for someone to give you a reason to use the sword, huh? You dumbass.¡±


    Only until he was satisfied cursing did his feet move again to find their way back to home. As numbers on his smartphone screen showed that it was one in the morning when he reached his bedroom window, so it was only natural that he sneezed a few times before opting to wrap himself up in a blanket on the bed.


    ~~~~~


    The girl''s death was then suspected as a break-in leading to murder with sharp object wounds to the neck and chest¡­ She died in her own boarding room, which was in such a messy condition as if it had been looted when her friend first found her body.


    And just a few days later, the funeral was held in a church, attended by many people dressed entirely the same¡­ All in black. While Daniel sat within the front row, next to his parents, his gaze crossed with Fanya and Deo who were right next to his bench.


    The girl who seemed to be waving such an expression as if she couldn''t wait to ask whether the boy was feeling okay at the moment or not. Though it would have been obvious even without her having to try so hard to find out the answer, as anyone could see it from Daniel''s face, whose mind seemed to be wandering to who knows where. That even after the funeral was over, the boy remained truly the same¡­ Under the tree near the grave, he appeared to be thinking blankly; while others were walking home, all passing Daniel but one.


    An adult woman around her thirties, baggy eyes and slightly emo-looking face. As her steps came to a halt for a second right next to the boy with her black hair, wavy bob, blowing in the evening breeze¡­ But not a single word came out from either of them. Long enough for two more people to come into their midst. Both were teenagers, one of them was a boy taller than Daniel but also the fattest than the rest. Hair combed back with eyes tousled, small silver chain necklace and hands in his trouser pockets.


    Other, is a girl who is the shortest of all... Long wavy ponytail hair, thin but with chubby cheeks, black dress but with sneakers on her feet.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss, Daniel.¡±


    Fanya was the only one who spoke out of everyone under the tree, since Deo looked sufficiently nervous even to say anything. So he decided to just bow, out of a feeling that he really had to, knowing that it was at least necessary. And Daniel seemed to smile as if to say that that was enough, so perhaps there wasn''t really anything wrong with it after all.


    ¡°Yeah. Thank you for coming, Deo, Fanya.¡± The grieving one even responded.


    But it was the adult woman instead, who left without saying or showing any condolences to Daniel which puzzled everyone.


    ¡°Who was that?¡± Fanya asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s just my aunt.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡±


    ¡°Well then¡­ I should go home now.¡± Deo seemed to be trying to say goodbye to the two of them and leave on his own. But Fanya mistook it as a suggestion to let Daniel alone for a while, so the girl waved at the boy with her words then followed, ¡°See you later, Daniel.¡±


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Your friend, Fanya, said that your campus entrance date has been set for September thirteenth. Isn''t it just another week and a half from now?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    The spoon stopped in the air¡­ Daniel''s mouth, which was initially open to devour the chicken, turned to ask back instead.


    Because only a few days had passed since the funeral, and Daniel had just been surprised by his parents inviting him to eat together which had never ever happened before¡­ Yet this time, the boy was even more surprised to realize that a conversation was taking place in the midst of the dining table with him at the center of the discussion.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± His mother asked again.


    ¡°I know, but¡­ Yeah. I know.¡± Daniel seemed to lower his head.


    ¡°She came up to me at that time, so we had a little talk. Anyway, Fanya is such an interesting looking person, don''t you think? She also knows Saskia quite well, probably they already know each other.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Right.¡±


    A flick of a spoon was heard quite loudly, scraping against the plate beside the two of them and as if on purpose, the father also seemed to cough a bit, making the atmosphere a little less vocal¡­ Yet the mother continued to talk, ignoring all the annoyance that the father clearly showed, ¡°Tell me, Daniel. Are you both close friends with each other?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Y- Yes¡­? Something like that? Also with Deo, the fat one.¡±


    *Sound of a chair sliding abruptly echoed across the room¡­


    For it was from the middle-aged man who seemed to have had enough of the talk, as he stood up with the remaining food on his plate, nonchalantly strolled out of the house through the rear door next to the kitchen. But the mother, again, didn''t seem to be bothered by it at all since she then said, ¡°You know what, Daniel? I''ve decided to stop this old charade that has persisted for too long within our very own family, my family, as you can see¡­ I¡¯ve decided to stop choosing what I should get, if that makes any sense to you.¡±


    And strangely enough, somehow it actually made sense only to the boy himself¡­ That his mother probably just wanted nothing more than the happiness of having a husband, as well as a child living together with her, the same as how all families in general have it in each of their own houses. Indicating that for some reason, this family doesn''t have that feeling, specifically.


    ¡°Whether you''ll ever be able to forgive me, or if it''s too late to change already, I don''t care anymore. Because I¡¯ve decided that it¡¯s finally the time to be selfish and without any hesitation, I¡¯ll do everything I¡¯ve always wanted to do, for the sake of my own happiness. And yes, it also means from now on, that¡­ I¡­ I¡¯ll try to make you happy, my dear son¡­¡±


    The woman¡¯s voice slowly began to tremble while her false strong personality began to crumble as she cried. Just a result of her profound despair; since the pain of losing someone, especially your own daughter really doesn''t go away that easily after all¡­ And the same thing applied to the middle-aged man who had been listening to his wife from behind the door until he felt that he had heard everything he wanted to hear. At which point the man then walked away for some fresh air in the evening.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 006: Mans Instinct That Kicked In

    ¡°Then I''ll head to my room now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Good night¡­¡±


    Daniel excused himself as the second person to leave the dinner table after his father. Leaving his mother alone, still wiping her cheeks which were wet with tears from the previous conversation she had with the boy. And what remained was the whole house that became very quiet, forcing Daniel to try as well not to make any sound as he walked up each step of the stairs.


    Even until he arrived in front of the bedroom door, there was no disturbance but the soft sound of it being gently opened and closed by the boy who then leaned against it, inside his tiny yet personal dark space with strangely only a few things around. Just his bed, a table with a chair, and a small wardrobe which probably doesn''t even contain much of his clothes either.


    Where Daniel buried his face inside both of his palms, feeling disappointed with oneself for the warmth he had just earned from the woman downstairs¡­ As he felt negative and wrong because everything took place after the loss of his one and only sibling, assuming that was what caused it and nothing else.


    ¡°I hate it.¡± The boy spoke to himself, ¡°I fucking hate it so much¡­¡±


    [¡°This emotion¡¯s just simply too strange and disturbing. Felt as if I was being given hope and rightly so, I was disgusted by every little bit of it!¡±]


    [¡°Seriously¡­ Why would life give me expectations only after I lost my sole reason to live? Just fucking why?! If you can hear me, then I just want to let you know, God¡­ That if You force suffering on me just to give me hope, then I don''t need hope!¡±


    [¡°I hate it¡­ I hate hope as much as I hate myself!¡±]


    [¡°I hate it¡­¡±]


    The boy then fell asleep with grief¡­


    ~~~~~


    ¡°What else do you people want from us!? I already told you, that''s everything we have!¡±


    A middle-aged man yelled from downstairs, jolting Daniel awake from his nightmare-filled slumber but he still hasn''t moved, not even an inch in response. As he was sure that what he needed at the very moment was to hear more carefully to all the voices coming from the outside of his bedroom door; to the sound of rustling furniture, tin crates being forced open and glass breaking at the end.


    Because as strange as it could be, it was exactly two in the morning¡­ As Daniel found out through the smartphone screen in his right hand, while the other one was still trying its best to open the bedroom door without making even the slightest sound to be heard by anyone. Only for him to remain low, slinking down the stairs and through the kitchen¡­ Until he reached the door frame connecting the dining and the living room, his head then tilted slightly, peering at two strangers standing in front of the door leading to Daniel''s parents'' room.


    Dressed in their oddly matching shabby clothes; what looked like a pair of denim jackets that had many tears and threads hanging from it, black and dark green joggers respectively and  both of their faces were also covered with ski masks¡­. Yet from their voices it was clear that they were relatively young and somehow felt a little familiar only to Daniel''s ears.


    ¡°Big bro¡­ I think that''s enough already, isn''t it?¡±


    One of them sounded excessively nervous just to ask, that even his tone was a little shaky at the end. But still he begged the other to cease the search, resulting in the answer he got, coming with such dissatisfaction as the guy then yelled to him, ¡°Alright, fine! Though we can get rich by also doing this, but whatever¡­¡±


    Coupled with a sigh, the same guy who had just spoken, took out a sword that was initially invisible from around his back. Leading the rest, the cowardly one who appeared to be his own younger brother to also step into the room after him¡­ Where in it, Daniel''s father and mother had gone to great lengths just to tear down the contents of every single cupboard, in search of even the smallest remaining precious thing that might be used to pay for their own lives, yet it was all in vain¡­


    For the commotion which at first wasn''t even audible, now slowly began to become increasingly distinct and frightening, coming from all places around the housing complex. And as if that wasn''t even enough, suddenly the power went out. Leaving only the red light of something burning outside of the window to illuminate the whole room, where both robbers exchanged glances¡­ Acting like they were the only parties who knew what it was a sign of, as one of the robbers then said to the other, ¡°It seemed like they had started the show before us, lil bro¡­ Means we also have to settle matters here, so get your sword ready now.¡±


    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    The man''s words suddenly triggered something inside Daniel. As his eyes widened, he ran frantically towards the kitchen. Reaching for a place where an old machete was kept by his parents and only then he went back, battling with the sound of his own mother''s screams before ¡®it''s all too late for him to change the outcome.¡¯


    Even though the boy didn''t actually want to think about the meaning of the sentence he had just used for the very matter, regarding when will that ¡®something¡¯ be considered too late and what will happen if he surpasses the time restriction he just set for himself.


    ~~~~~


    Whatever the answer to that question is, but the only first thing the boy felt at the exact moment, was simply that he was extremely fortunate; since he wasn''t wearing anything on his feet so the sound of the stomping could be overshadowed by the loud voices of the others. But after seeing the man''s blue magical sword raised high and he was still far away from everyone, Daniel decided to yell as loudly as possible to divert the attention of the two, whose backs were facing him only.


    And surprisingly, it worked¡­


    The two robbers turned around, startled by the boy''s loud warning voice that was meant for them to respond to.


    Yet unfortunately, the critical decision that Daniel took, has cost him the surprise attack that he should have been able to carry out when everyone was unaware of his existence. Leaving not only one, but the two robbers were now more than prepared to face whatever Daniel had in his own hands, until it finally really happened¡­ Just when the old machete and magical sword swung together towards the same point, came the result being in line with everyone''s predictions.


    The rusty machete flew out of Daniel''s hand and the boy''s bones even buzzed from the impact, making him slightly off balance.


    ¡°Bah! Old man, you said earlier that there are only two of you in this house, right?!¡±


    The robber who had just successfully repelled Daniel''s attack, yelled yet grinned as if amazed while the boy actually tripped over his own feet for moving several steps back from the same attack he himself had initiated.


    ¡°But wait¡­ His face looked familiar. Wasn¡¯t you there when¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, I thought so! Wasn''t he the kid from the internet caf¨¦ back then, big bro?!¡±


    The two guys exchanged looks, shocked to find themselves on the same page on such matters. Giving the father a chance not to plead but to fight from the darkness, as he swung an old-fashioned wooden chair so hard that it shattered on impact, right at the head of the robber who looked the most mature of the others until blood even dripped from his head.


    ¡°Big bro!!!¡±


    One guy screamed in surprise¡­ He worriedly held his partner who was kneeling in pain, yet still able to maintain his own consciousness while at the same time, Daniel''s father pulled his wife¡¯s arm to leave their cornered position at the end of the room.


    Just then he grabbed the machete lying on the floor and moved towards his son near the entrance. ¡°Get up, boy!¡± The father whispered.


    But on the other hand, the robber who was still in agony, was instead irritated far more by his younger brother''s determination to care about his own situation, so he pushed the man away while preparing his sword ready for throwing. Admitting that his body wouldn''t be able to move just for a moment, yet the sword that he threw with his dizzy head actually managed to hit the father''s back. Though it wasn''t pierced, the sharp part of the blade did slap the man¡¯s flesh severely, notably on his shoulder before the magical sword then fell to the ground¡­ Causing the middle-aged man to groan in pain, followed by a panicked scream from his wife when she found out that the slash wound was quite large and appeared on her own man''s back.


    ¡°Now why the fuck are you still here with me, you useless shit?! Go kill them!¡±


    The robber with blood still pouring from around his head, shouted in anger to his only guy who again was truly just showing nothing but concern, to the point of even kicking him while he was still trying to approach, though he had told him earlier to stay away.


    Nonetheless, the man¡¯s last outburst appeared to finally make his younger brother grimace in fright and choose to actually comply with the order he just gave¡­ While back on the other side, Daniel gazed at the bloodstained magical sword lying on the floor, till then he saw from behind his father¡¯s body, one of the robbers ran towards them with another similar blue sword as if it was ready to slash.


    So he finally decided to make a decision.


    ~~~~~


    Daniel grasped his father''s shoulder. Intending to swap positions with the man, he then took up the robber¡¯s blue semi-transparent blade from the floor and raised it up high; only for him to be surprised at the weight of the sword despite its appearance which seemed to be made out of nothing but a single thin piece of glass... Yet with all the odds, Daniel prepared his stance.


    And funny enough, for the second time in a row he was just as surprised as before. All because he was met by the robber who was instead silent in fear, realizing that his prey would not give up his life without any fight. Especially since Daniel was using his own big brother''s sword against him in this one duel¡­ Provoking even more anger and disappointment from the other robber behind, as he then complained to himself, "What a fucking pussy you are!"


    In addition to him shouting the discouragement to his own partner in crime, he also stretched his hand forward as if the guy was telepathically ordering for his sword in Daniel''s hand to fade away the form itself. And that is probably the reason why the thing in Daniel''s hands was slowly but surely dematerializing, disappeared into thin air and then returned to the injured robber''s back.


    "There! He¡¯s unarmed! Now do it!"


    He shouted again for the second time, as he realized that his little brother was in a perfect situation where he could just easily launch an open attack on Daniel, yet the man closed his eyes when he swung the sword forward¡­ So it was no wonder, of how easily the boy''s father drew Daniel back by the collar as the strike nearly hit his own son who was frozen stiff.


    And the three of them then tried their best to escape from the pursuit of one person behind¡­ But as if misfortune could pile up on only one and the same occasion, the family were instead met by even more robbers who had just walked through the front door, dressed in the same attire as the previous two¡­ Becoming the reason why based solely on the man''s instinct that kicked in, he then led his wife and son to turn around towards the kitchen instead. Intending to escape from the back door, but first he had to swing his machete aimlessly around, only to terrify the cowardly young robber behind the three, until the guy actually tripped over something and fell¡­ Giving them a great opportunity to step over him, and run in the dark towards the back door.


    Where they again discovered yet another, if not a bigger problem than what is chasing them already.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 007: Fake Human Compassion

    The dim red light from some windows, which was actually the one that had guided them safely through the living room and into the dining room while they were still all in darkness, turned out to be even brighter, far at the exit. However, the reason for it was just because the rear wall of their house had also been burned by the same fire that likely spread from other houses nearby¡­ And on top of that, the smoke is now thick enough to actually cover the ceiling of the kitchen and dining room, all made out of wood-based materials which inevitably will soon be caught by the fire.


    Forcing the family of three to retreat as far as possible from the place they were standing, where each of them managed to take a few steps just to be cornered by their pursuer. Thus the only thing everyone can do now is to accept the fact that they are fully surrounded and there is no other way out of it, not anymore¡­ Up to the point where the father had decided that it was finally the right time to inquire, "This doesn''t make any sense! Why do you want to kill us?! What¡¯s the use of it? We are no one to any of you!¡±


    But the young robber didn''t answer at all, he himself was not even sure what he was supposed to do with the family after he managed to corner them, apart from waiting for his older brother and the other robbers to catch up with him. Which simply makes the middle-aged man even more desperate to find a solution, or at least a middle ground in this problem.


    For that''s why he then again asked the young robber, ¡°Haven''t we given you all of our possessions? Tell me, just what else do you want?! Or¡­ At least spare the lives of my wife and my son, will you? Please? You can take me, but let them go, I beg you!"


    And not that his words were all in vain, the cowardly robber actually seemed to think that what the middle-aged man just said was actually a good idea for his own sanity, if only he were truly willing to accept it. Tragically, this is in direct proportion to his huge desire to be recognized by his other fellow delinquents, which is clearly visible in his expression.


    Therefore, he chose to refuse the offer as he said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡±


    Until finally the group of robbers, commanded by his own older sibling, eventually caught up with him and the family members he had been keeping in the corner of the room¡­ Preceded by the sound of two robbers¡¯ conversation slowly becoming clearer for everyone to hear.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Yeah, whatever. As you can see, you''re right, we haven''t killed them yet. But we''re just getting to grips with it, so why don¡¯t you all just leave us with them for a bit, yeah?¡±


    The man who had blood stains still on his face, seemed to be bargaining with his gang about something that was changing in their initial planning¡­ Yet it doesn''t look like the bunch is buying it, as one can be heard stating a point, ¡°It¡¯s true. But there are three people there, my dude. You see, the guy in the house next door, Agus, has yet to kill anyone.¡±


    The man then replied, ¡°Hey! Fuck you, we all know that''s not our deal! One group, one house. That''s it. And also, why did you all just start burning down those houses without any warning? Doesn''t it make sense to you that the fire will quickly spread to other houses that our people haven''t cleaned up yet? Like this one for example?!¡±


    ¡°Come on, man¡­ You know it''s not that easy. Some of us had multiple problems doing things and some also admitted that they just panicked, so they decided to go ahead of the others. But, alright, whatever dude. You¡¯re the boss, after all... We''ll wait under the bridge, as we have planned before. Are we good?¡±


    After they received a nod from the man, the group then decided to give in, leaving the two brothers alone with Daniel and his parents, back to the way they were before. And only after that did the man let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Damn it¡­ Can it get any worse than this?¡±


    ¡°Big bro? The smoke is getting thicker... I''m scared!¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up! I already know, I can see it!¡±


    ¡°Then what should we do now?!¡±


    The robber looked at his partner in disbelief after hearing his question just earlier¡­ But while pressing his head which probably still hurt from the previous impact, he actually managed to hold back his emotions and instead calmly gave an instruction to his little brother as he then said, ¡°Well of course we have to get out of this place as quickly as possible. That¡¯s why, lil bro, you kill the mother and the son and I¡¯ll take my revenge on the old man. But we do it fast.¡±


    Just a second after the order was conveyed, their two swords appeared to be poised enough to finish everything, all at once, until a scream was heard from a man in front of them¡­


    ¡°No! I said, spare them!¡±


    Daniel''s father pushed his son and wife to the back. Preventing the cowardly robber who was trying to get close to his family from passing him, the man brandished his machete forward in the hope of sacrificing himself for the sake of others. But his woman did not agree, she shouted for the man to just bargain for their forgiveness instead.


    Unfortunately, the father and the two robbers who were pointing their weapons at each other refused to submit to anyone''s wishes.


    ¡°Err¡­ Big bro?¡±


    Responding to the obstacle he received, surprisingly the robber still felt that he would definitely lose against an old man who was slowly going to die from blood loss in any way.


    So his brother grabbed his shoulders to change positions, where for the second time he wasn''t even angry or disappointed like how he usually was before, instead he remarked, "Calm yourself down¡­ Let me kill him first, but after that you kill the woman and the son, okay?"


    ¡°S-Sure¡­¡±


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The conversation between the two of the robbers then ended with completely ignoring the middle-aged man''s pleas that had been left far behind, leaving an inescapable sword battle to finally commence...


    ~~~~~


    Several light slashes were thrown at the middle-aged man. Though after two or three of them were fended off, the wounds on his shoulders and back in the end were not something that could be ignored. That even the robber, who was clearly showing restraint, still showed triumph over the stab to the stomach he had just managed to deliver.


    Bringing down the man who had actually been powerless from the start of the conflict to the floor, while his wife was still contemplating whether to stay alongside her son or instead go to her husband in such a dismal situation.


    Yet after realizing that the young robber was walking over the top of her own husband''s motionless body to approach them, she decided to look completely at Daniel alone¡­ Where she hugged the boy, the only one she had left, with tears that were no longer unbearable.


    Then the mother apologized so many times, hoping nothing but for forgiveness from someone she believed had been the victim of her own greatest sin. Sadly it appears that Daniel just doesn''t seem to understand anything the woman is saying¡­ His gaze remained fixed on the robber''s blue blade, which shook furiously as if uncertainty had consumed the guy entirely. Then he glanced to the left, where another robber had just yet delivered the finishing blow, right to his own father''s chest to make sure that the man was indeed not pretending to be dead.


    But the expression on this man''s face seemed as if he was trying desperately to convince anyone to believe that his future was at stake by the way he took the life of such a poor middle-aged father in front of his son and wife, with nothing but a sword in his own hands.


    ¡°No¡­ Brother I can''t do this. As I thought, this just feels so wrong!¡±


    The young robber coughed heavily as the smoke became even denser, stating to his big brother that if he had to keep doing this, then he would just go insane in no time.


    To which his brother then responded, ¡°For whatever sake, I don¡¯t care¡­ But just do it, man! Just fucking kill them! Even if I¡¯m your brother, but I¡¯m also our gang leader, god damn it! I can''t continue to protect your ass if you remain weaker than any of them!¡±


    The shouting didn''t end there; instead the man then strangled his younger brother''s neck with the intention of intimidating him. Only after that did he continue saying, ¡°They will never have any respect for me, with you who always act like a baby that I spoil! They might as well just kill us both, don''t you understand?!¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, I understand¡­¡±


    ¡°Then just fucking do it now! Do it to survive!¡±


    It was a kick to his own younger brother''s buttocks that was actually the one that ended their quarrel¡­ As the guy eventually decided to walk back towards Daniel and his mother with his hands were still clearly shaking violently, out of anxiousness that he was about to kill someone. But of course that was nothing compared to what the mother and son felt, especially having to force Daniel to stare at the trembling sword rising slowly upwards... Though the thing stopped again for the umpteenth time with the young man shaking his head as his eyes closed.


    ¡°What the fuck are you doing!?¡±


    ¡°No, no no no¡­ I¡¯m good¡­ I don¡¯t think I really need that power after all, big bro. Why don¡¯t you take them both instead? It would be better if you were the one who got stronger and not me, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Those remarks caused the robber beside the young man to grumble with clenched fists, as they went back to arguing and persuading each other to compromise, meanwhile in front of them, Daniel was instead distracted by a peculiar sound emanating from the dining room door to his right¡­ Or more precisely, the sound was actually coming from another place, yet a little further away¡­ Most likely from the kitchen near the back door of the house.


    And even though he was already quite dubious of the wooden wall on his back, which seemed like it was becoming hotter and even hotter over time, now the sound of something like a burst of leaking gas actually made his paranoid feelings turn into reality.


    ~~~~~


    It''s worth reminding that the housing complex where Daniel''s family and the others lived, had actually been around for twenty years at the very least. But the neighborhood itself was not luxurious enough to have its own gas pipe connection, thus occupants had to use small, cheap refillable liquefied petroleum gas cylinders for cooking purposes as one example.


    And needless to say, some residences may have more than one of them for practical reasons¡­ Including this house which these people are currently standing on.


    So right before those two consecutive explosions destroyed both the wooden walls dividing the kitchen, the empty dining room and the living room where everyone was at the time, Daniel''s right hand moved his mother''s head to hide it on his chest¡­ While his other hand protected the back of his own head, even though he was sure it would have no impact on the results. Recounts how they were all thrown away by the remaining wave of fire, which was still capable of temporarily filling the entire room with the heat and the red.


    Though it most likely happened in only three seconds, yet the wave was enough to burn quite a lot of things in its path.


    Luckily, there was a significant distance between the kitchen where the explosion came from and those in the living room. And of course, that''s apart from the fact that the wooden walls dividing both sides of the house, though they were destroyed due to the impact, was also one of the big reasons why each person was able to survive with such minimal injuries¡­ All, except for Daniel alone. Simply because at the time of the explosion, his back was at the forefront of the others. Causing many of the wood splinters from the wall to penetrate his skin, as his right arm appeared to have burns in several spots. And the boy also lost consciousness due to the bump to the back of his head.


    ~~~~~


    As for the two robbers, they didn''t actually receive any significant injuries from the explosions¡­ But the youngest seemed to be at the peak of his panic, for his eyes darted here and there to see how the numerous little embers of fire around him were gradually growing larger and burning whatever that was near together.


    So after feeling that he could get hurt if he stayed for long in that place, the young man then decided to run away, screaming in fear, leaving his big brother behind. To which the guy responded with surprise as he yelled, ¡°Where are you going!? You still haven''t killed them yet!¡±


    But it''s all for nothing, as his younger brother had disappeared, far away covered beyond the smoke. Leaving him alone, he gazed at Daniel who was gradually regaining consciousness as his mother remained by his side.


    "Ah, fuck it!" he groaned.


    The man then quickly swung his sword at Daniel while he was still unable to move, only to be protected by his mother who hugged him as if she deliberately intended to be a living shield for her own son, preventing him from receiving a single fatal blow to the neck and chest.


    Instead causing the slash on the woman''s back to open wide, yet she still had Daniel tightly inside of her arms. Thus, made the robber hesitate just a little. But he wasn''t the same guy as his younger brother¡­ So he decided to try to finish off the mother and the child at the same time as a show of his fake human compassion, by stabbing her right in the middle of the back, hoping that the tip of the sword would penetrate and also hit Daniel''s chest in one go.


    For that was how the attack went off without a hitch, an attack that instantly eliminated the mother''s struggling movement¡­ Perhaps due to death, or because the agony was too intense which made her lose consciousness instead.


    And from behind the said flesh, Daniel who had not yet fully regained his own state of mind could only stare at the robber''s silhouette inside the cloud of smoke, for his chest had also been penetrated by the same one sharp thing on the man¡¯s hand. But his vision then dimmed, and flashes of red and blue filled his surroundings.


    The robber seemed to realize that it was something that would trouble him more than the actual spread of fire around, for he had indeed spent too much time in that place since the first time the fire broke out after all¡­ So he decided to run away from the strong burst of water and the footsteps of people who were approaching, leaving the boy whose consciousness was slowly fading away, owing too much pain to endure and blood was slowly pooling on the floor.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 008: The Bag

    The beeping sound of some sort of equipment echoed throughout the dark room, inside which Daniel lay on top of the bed utterly helpless¡­ Where his fingers couldn''t even move an inch but for quite some time, the poor boy¡¯s eyelids fluttered as he kept his gaze fixed on the window pane to his left. Showing the lonely night sky with a hint of light from the street lamps lined up in the distance.


    And only after that did his focus shift towards the small monitor to his right. With the number on the screen showing only a fact that Daniel survived whatever tragedy he had just gone through, before somehow ended up sleeping in such a dark chilly chamber, yet of course, the boy''s thoughts still tied to nothing but his own absolute certainty of how at that moment from before, his chest was indeed pierced by the same blue magical sword that had also killed both his father and mother while still inside their burning house back then.


    Made him unable to help but ask to no one, "How am I still alive?"


    A soundless, reasonable question yet said by the boy only in his thoughts¡­ Since his lips would not speak, he couldn''t even actually feel a thing on his skin. Like how most parts of his body were indeed numb just by the moment he woke up, however¡­ After five minutes had passed, a terrible pain slowly crept up around the boy¡¯s back to his chest.


    And as a result, he became scared and began breathing erratically¡­ Which actually made the lungs feel even more as if they were being torn apart, so he decided just to groan. Letting out a pathetic sound to relieve the anguish inside his own head but it wasn''t enough, hence he sought someone for help, from any nurse or doctor who might be outside of the room since Daniel understood one thing¡­ That is, whatever the city or country he was at the very moment, the place had to be nowhere but a hospital.


    Yet five minutes had passed and no one had come to at least turn on the light, while Daniel was consistently struggling with the pain which was slowly becoming even more pronounced¡­ Until then he remembered that there should be something nearby the boy could use to call a nurse, a button that was usually embedded in the wall around the head of the bed. So he blindly stroked his fingertips over the cold surface of the pavement, eventually finding something worth pressing repeatedly. And when he finally heard the sound of footsteps slowly getting closer, he decided to relax his body. Trying to hold consciousness as long as possible, to overcome the fear of falling asleep and never waking up again that was starting to eat away at his soul. As he closed his eyes but could still tell that he was now surrounded by people who were doing something to him¡­ Which was most likely the only reason to explain why he started to feel otherwise, that losing the struggle against the comfort of his sleep wasn''t that bad of a thing, until he completely fell unconscious.


    All so that then the chilly yet painful night might come to an end.


    ~~~~~


    Daniel recalls just a few things that happened at the moment from before.


    In which many people entered his room, carrying something that they used to temporarily fade Daniel''s consciousness away, till the boy awoke in the next morning instead¡­ But still the pain persisted.


    Though this time, Daniel decided to try something different, to seal his lips while limiting his breathing for he was frightened that if only his lungs expanded too much, the pain would actually become much more piercing just like the night prior.


    And it genuinely impressed someone beside him.


    An adult woman with baggy eyes, while her make-up in the morning seemed to have been on her face since the whole day before. Who was wearing running shorts and a parachute jacket, leaned on a chair, her gaze fixed on her smartphone and not anything else.


    Yet she suddenly asked the boy, ¡°You up already?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°If you''re wondering, you''ve been unconscious for probably more than a month since the incident. And fear not, it''s not a coincidence that I was here when you woke up. The doctor actually forced me to come, only because he said that you finally recovered last night. Oh¡­ And also the last thing, with all the wide wounds on your back and a stab wound in your chest, they said that it was a miracle that you survived. Yes¡­ What a fucking miracle indeed.¡±


    The woman laughed a little cynically when she said words with her eyes still comfortably watching some kind of online news on her smartphone screen. But at the very least Daniel recognized the appearance and voice as it indeed was the boy¡¯s aunt.


    ¡°Very tragic, isn''t it?¡± She wondered.


    ¡°......¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°As if my brother and Melisa''s suffering throughout their lives wasn''t even enough, suddenly their most beloved child returned from a city far away, only with a cold body ready to be buried. And after facing it all without the slightest return for all their pain as God promised, it was the two of them who died at the end, instead of someone else who was more deserving of death¡­ Resting here in the hospital by himself.¡±


    While such long nonsense was being thrown at him, Daniel''s gaze was instead focused on nothing but a large bag, lying beside a small table in the corner of the room with the zipper slightly open, revealing a lot of neatly folded clothes inside of it. Wondering about something else, somewhat less important, acting as if he cared the least about his own aunt''s insults to the mere existence that he has. Or in fact, the boy didn''t even seem to care about anything at the very moment, as he just really wanted to know who the bag full of clothes belonged to¡­ Purposefully reduces himself to nothing more than the woman who behaved immorally through her harsh words, which actually made her even more annoyed, so she asked Daniel to confirm, ¡°Don''t you hear me, you little demon?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Oh boy, I¡¯m not as stupid as you think I am... At least I know that Melisa''s death was definitely because of your doing, so say something before I become sick of your face!¡±


    Finally, the woman''s gaze fell on the boy who was still lying helplessly on the hospital bed, while she even stood up to make sure Daniel could see the anger in her teary eyes as she shouted at him. And just by then she added, ¡°If only you had done what I told you back then at that time, none of this would have ever happened!¡±


    There was a brief silence between the two of them after the woman had finished contemplating, given that she was hesitant to speak one last statement that would actually clarify the meaning of her previous words to Daniel. But eventually her tongue moved as if the thing had its own consciousness, when it said, ¡°If only six years ago you had¡­¡±


    Suddenly the door to the inpatient room was opened by someone pushing a stainless steel hospital trolley, which naturally forced the boy''s aunt to stop saying the full sentence and instead, the young woman''s furious visage unexpectedly changed into a welcoming grin to greet the nurse when she asked her, ¡°He''s awake?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he is. He just woke up a few minutes ago, actually.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ It will probably take around half an hour before the doctor arrives to assess Mr. Daniel''s condition. So before that, I''ll check his IV¡­ Is that alright?¡±


    Shifting her position to give the nurse a way to approach Daniel, the aunt nodded with a warm smile as she said, "Sure. Thank you for your hard work."


    Only to then try to excuse herself as politely as possible, mentioning, "I haven''t actually slept since yesterday. So maybe I''ll just go home for now to get some rest."


    To which, of course, the nurse did raise some concerns about her strange yet sudden decision to leave the boy alone in hospital¡­ Especially since he had just woken up from a coma that she felt like she had such a responsibility to question the young woman, so she said, ¡°Does Mr Daniel have other relatives who can accompany him to take your place?¡±


    ¡°Err¡­¡±


    ¡°You see, I think it would be better for Daniel to have someone beside him in this kind of situation¡­ Besides, there is a sofa here that you can use to rest.¡±


    ¡°But I have work tonight.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Then I would suggest that you-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, ma''am. I''m actually fine by myself.¡±


    Daniel was a little surprised to realize that his own voice just now felt a little harder to get out than he ever thought it would. But still he continued the sentence with a bland look as if it wasn''t even a problem at all.


    ¡°Well¡­ If you insist.¡±


    The nurse on the other hand, feeling that this was already beyond her right to give any more instructions, could only watch the young woman bow for the second time and leave the room where she was alone with the woman''s own niece.


    Nevertheless she kept working without saying anything, which actually made Daniel feel somewhat uncomfortable¡­ So at least to not make the atmosphere just a little too gloomy, he then confirmed something to the nurse by saying, ¡°I really thought that the bag in the corner belonged to her.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ That big one?¡± The woman pointed with her finger, ¡°No. It was brought a month ago by a young girl and a boy who said they were friends of yours. Those are the clothes the two of them bought for you to wear.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°They are both such good people for you to have.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Indeed.¡±


    ¡°So, uh¡­ Anyway¡­ Are you really okay for now?¡±


    Such a query came out but sounded just a little more nervous than any of her words from before, that even Daniel himself was also aware of it¡­ Understanding that some of his aunt''s shouts must have been heard by this woman while she was still behind the door. Yet he believed in one thing whose truth still cannot be confirmed, as to how a nurse would not normally pose such personal questions to someone who''s just been bereaved, given they had seen the same poor thing everyday¡­ So maybe it wasn''t actually a personal question the nurse was asking him after all.


    That¡¯s why he then played it cool as he answered, ¡°I''ve actually been enduring pain somewhere around my back and lungs. And my stomach also feels a little sore.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    The woman noticed a restriction in the boy''s response and instead chose to keep silent for at least just a moment... Although she couldn''t be faulted, when considering Daniel''s overly composed manner following the awful incident he endured over a month ago. Thus the nurse could only sigh, trying to excuse oneself from her patient as she said, ¡°Got it. I will check with your doctor to see whether he is ready to assess your current condition, okay? I¡¯ll be back in a minute.¡±


    The boy then gave a slight smile before the nurse closed the room door from the outside¡­ But only after a few seconds, his expression turned flat and his eyes gradually drifted downwards as the sound of crying could be barely heard. So Daniel slowly stroked his cheeks until no more wetness remained. And he even tried to look up to prevent yet another drop falling from his eyes, fearing that the doctor might arrive a little sooner than he once expected.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 009: home-made lunch

    ¡°Your aunt said before, that you''d be staying at your old grandfather''s empty house for the time being, right?¡±


    Daniel was suddenly spoken to by someone in the hospital waiting room, a month after he woke up, to whom the boy reflexively answered, ¡°She did say that¡­ Yeah.¡±


    ¡°But son, you''re about to leave the hospital. Do you know where she might be now?¡±


    ¡°My aunt? Ah¡­ Probably sleeping at her own place? She works from night until morning, though. That''s why it wouldn''t be strange at all if she couldn''t come to pick me up.¡±


    ¡°No, it''s still wrong to leave you here alone. And she also never picked up her cell phone¡­ Either she did it on purpose, or the number she gave to us was actually a fake one.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ I''m sure she''s just exhausted from work, so I don¡¯t really mind it. Besides, she hates the place I''m going to and I don''t really want anyone to force her to do it.¡± The boy sounded insistent.


    And therefore, his talk with the nurse was then paused for some time while they appeared to be waiting for something¡­ His doctor promised him a word to say before Daniel would finally be allowed to go home at the very last.


    As today marks his release from the hospital, where he had been recuperating for two months or more since the first day he was brought there unconscious, in which he spent his days with nothing but pain and medication¡­ Rehabilitation and lots of interrogation¡­ Numerous visits from fraudulent politicians carrying cameras to convey their condolences and news that only discussed one single thing in day and night.


    About a large fire that is believed to have been deliberately started by a group of people who have yet to be identified, he watched from an old television screen that was hanging on the wall of his small treatment room he was staying in.


    As well as everyone''s remarks, telling Daniel to consider being grateful for the miracle of surviving the stab wound that sliced his right lung, which almost touched his heart and any of his large blood vessels¡­ He who made it through the operation with a probability of success below fifty percent, resulting in many only saw it as a sign, suggesting something powerful above them pushed Daniel himself to do nothing but to accept that he had not been allowed to die just yet.


    While at the same time, hypocritically, no one dared to discuss the death of both the boy¡¯s father and mother and everyone else in the burned-out housing complex¡­ At least not in front of Daniel, as if they hoped that he wouldn''t feel sad by them not doing so.


    But if only the truth must be told, even without their efforts, what is certain is that Daniel''s gaze so far really has not shown just enough grief to cause people to be concerned about him and or his feelings.


    Instead it only gave everyone the impression that the boy just happened to be someone who was resilient in the face of adversity.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Just remember that your next psychologist''s appointment is about two weeks from today¡¯s date. And regarding those social visits from the government, I believe they already explained everything to you yesterday, right? Aside from that, I don''t think you have anything else to worry about, Daniel. My only advice is to seek help from those closest to you. Stay with them, or at least stay close to them. I''m completely positive it will really help you in many ways. And¡­ Yeah, I think that¡¯s all. But just promise me that you''ll be careful on your way. And don¡¯t do anything stupid, okay? Uh¡­ Daniel? You hear?¡±


    The doctor''s eyes became increasingly worried when he relayed his word to the boy who was seated in a cab. As this was definitely the very first time ever he had seen Daniel not appear to be concerned enough, to even consider remembering anything the man had just said about some serious stuff he thought would actually help the poor teenage boy to move on and stay alive. But perhaps Daniel didn''t even notice anyone was talking right next to him, as he appeared to be absentmindedly doing nothing other than cradling a huge bag full of clothes on his lap, until the wheels of the car then moved and took him away through many large and small roads; the people strolling on the sidewalk also got fewer and fewer.


    And before he knew it, he was standing in front of a centuries-old, classic yet elegant wood-based mansion on the outskirts of town.


    A house full of history¡­ A legacy of the boy''s great grandfather''s little family tree that was extremely well cared for. Until Daniel was born and then everything changed, given something happened in the past that made everyone who ever lived inside of that building despise everything about it. Notwithstanding the fact that each of those people had actually died long ago, leaving Daniel and his aunt as the very last remaining members of their own family''s bloodline.


    But irrespective of all of that, the boy still stepped into the dusty place and still stood silently in the middle of the living room, as if he actually needed the time for himself to merely get used to nothing but the cold feeling, the silence and the loneliness¡­ And only then did Daniel move to the kitchen where he placed his luggage on the marble counter. Slightly taken aback by how luxurious every part of the house actually was, that he even found inside one of the cabinets; a huge collection of old, expensive-looking bottles of booze and wine that were neatly lined up and still sealed¡­ But he shrugged it all off as if it was nothing.


    Instead Daniel chose to take one of the kitchen knives from the set, while carrying such a sharp thing he next proceeded to the main bathroom, after which he nonchalantly climbed into the tub and sat gently inside of it¡­ The boy stayed there for quite some time.


    Rubbing the ceramic wall right next to him which was evenly covered with dust. Forcing himself to clean his fingers on the fabric of his garments, murmuring a religious chant he had heard from somewhere he couldn''t quite remember. And only after finishing the whole verse did he tighten his grasp on the kitchen knife, intending to slice the vein in his left hand¡­ But suddenly the boy was interested in looking back at the stab wound on his own chest.


    So he took off his clothes and stroked the white wrap with two of his fingers.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°What a fucking miracle indeed.¡±


    The lad then yanked off the bandage harshly.


    Mocking himself and showing to no one, about how the stitch marks really had wonderfully ornamented the right side of his chest which somewhat reeked of betadine or perhaps something else, either alcohol if not another comparable disinfectant¡­ But the most important thing is how the scent piques his interest in something.


    A scent that just made him feel like he had missed out on the fun part of what he was currently doing inside the empty house just by himself¡­ Wondering why he hadn''t thought of that one simple idea much sooner than he should have, an even worse and more idiotic notion over the thing he had just planned to commit to himself via the knife in his own fingers.


    The so-called self-terminating method, which clearly appeared to have something to do with what Daniel just brought to the table in the living room; four bottles of liquor, each of a different type and brand that he had previously found from one of the cabinets in the kitchen. Since with a grin on his face he realized, he had never in his life ever experienced such things as alcohol and being intoxicated¡­ Therefore it''s only reasonable if now he became full of nothing but ecstasy over a worldly opportunity the boy had just realized he actually had.


    Coupled with the fact that there would be no one to stop him from doing any of it, all of which actually makes things even worse when for the second time Daniel suddenly thought of yet another bigger idea, that in his own narrow view would be considerably more intriguing than just a few bottles of alcohol on top of a plain boring table full of empty spaces in front of his face¡­ Believing that it would still be far from enough to satisfy the boy''s desires before ending his own life, thus with a fist on the palm, Daniel whispered to himself, ¡°We don''t need to be fit and healthy if we''re just going to die, you dumbass!"


    ~~~~~


    Following his own weird opinion, the boy then got ready with his jacket on for a walk to the nearest commercial area to his place, just so he can buy many packs of cigarettes and fishy snacks whose ingredients are not even guaranteed safe for consumption as a heavy meal he planned for it to be.


    And in addition to that, from different stores he also bought calendars, pencils and drawing books, a small cheap smartphone, as well as its accessories that he might be able to use to connect such modern devices he has, down with the the large antique speakers he found installed in the old house he currently lives in¡­ Yet all using the money he actually got from the government social funds and donations from some of those corrupt politicians, who visited him back while he was still lying in a hospital bed a few weeks ago.


    But just as Daniel got home and was sitting in the living room, he realized that he really had forgotten to buy a lighter to burn his wrapped dried tobacco.


    That¡¯s why after he turned the television on, the boy went to the kitchen. He flicked the stove to low heat and burned one of the cigarettes he bought, before then reclining again on the sofa as his pulse was hammering with excitement¡­ For this would also be the very first time in his entire life he ever smoked a cigarette, something he personally had always thought was extremely dumb for anyone in their right mind to inhale. And what was even more exciting, was how it would come together with the many liquor bottles in his arms¡­ And the result, as can be predicted, Daniel coughed even on his first puff of the cigarette¡­ A cough that sounded quite painful to be honest, yet the boy laughed joyously.


    "I mean, it''s not that bad¡­ Yeah, it¡¯s not that bad at all." He said to no one, desperately holding back his cough.


    Obviously lying to himself, for his slightly suppressed smile didn''t seem to be able to deceive the pain around his chest which slowly felt just a little bit too much to not be taken seriously by him, but again¡­ Even from the moment he got into the cab, Daniel had convinced himself that such consequences would definitely happen, one way or another¡­ By the knife or by the bridges and trucks and he would still do it no matter what. So instead of quitting, he persisted in smoking the cigarette, two or three more times before switching to the booze bottle in his other hand.


    With lots of unhealthy snacks as the boy''s dinner, liquor and cigarettes as his sleeping pill, the night eventually turned into daylight where he then did the same thing as how he ruined yesterday¡­ Deliberately lowering the chances of his own body being able to recover and get back up as good as before.


    Therefore this time, for the second phase, Daniel decided to spend as much of his money as possible, by enjoying even more stuff which he alone considered to be somewhat negative, that he had never felt in his life ever before.


    With one of the most innocuous examples of that, being how he used his new cheap smartphone to order so many types of pizza, kebabs, burgers and many other kind of fast foods from various places, all at once, without even thinking about whether he would be able to taste each before any of it went stale... Because the refrigerator that he has been plugged in since yesterday doesn''t appear to be working anymore, considering that it had been left alone for long enough to break down on its own.


    And he didn''t even use the calendar he had previously bought to at least mark the time he bought the food; instead, it was just lying on the top of the broken refrigerator with the month of November displayed at the very front. Only the twenty-sixth was covered with a skull drawing in meticulous detail as if he was enjoying the time spent scribbling it with a pencil just a day before and five days to the date he marked.


    He then used a pair of large antique speakers in the living room to get really loud, to the point of vibrating the whole house with many of his favorite rock songs, only so that he could hear the sound clearly as he wandered aimlessly throughout the entire building. Just like for one occasion he was sitting on the balcony floor¡­ A slice of pizza in one hand, cigarette in the other, mumbling the song he heard while wondering whether the lyrics actually meant anything.


    But some other time he can also be found daydreaming in one of the bedroom closets upstairs. And later he¡¯ll be standing next to the washing machine, or hugging his knees in the corner of the basement. But most often, yet not always, relaxing in the bathtub¡­ All while holding junk food, liquor and or cigarettes in each hand.


    Until he got bored with all the bread and lettuce, Daniel suddenly developed some kind of strange desire to make ''home-made lunch¡¯ without any guidance or experience.


    As he cooked pork that was all burnt on the outside yet raw on the inside, a broth that somehow manages to be so thick that it''s more suitable to be called porridge¡­ And also a pair of soggy, chewy sandwiches that he really thought needed only a little more salt to be worthy of being called a complete set of masterpieces.


    All of which he enjoyed until there was nothing left on his plate, the boy didn''t even seem to feel the slightest bit of nauseous from the poison he had made for himself to consume. In fact, his culinary activity continued three times a day for three days in a row, each generating something even worse than the last.


    But it was only because on the fourth day when he tried to recreate yet another bigger mistake, his napkin accidentally caught fire and blackened a bit of the kitchen wall before he could put it out with a full bucket of water, that he decided to quit cooking for good.


    However, the same bucket of water he previously used to put out the fire, now ended up pooling on the floor, instead creating a whole new problem for him to deal with¡­ But there was no point in having a clean kitchen that he would never use again.


    So that¡¯s why he then called it a day early by drinking a few glasses of alcohol while resting on the sofa, which now only made him feel a little bit lonely out of nowhere.


    And that''s exactly when Daniel thought of the very last idea, the worst of all and the most pathetic of all, which would be the final phase before everything had to come to an end in his such a brief existence, in a place for him was the pit of hell and nowhere else.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 010: prettiest on the list

    It was very late at night when without much actually going on in his own mind, the boy decided to go downtown alone¡­ Somehow managed to get through every sidewalk without encountering any thugs or muggers.


    And even though at the time the atmosphere itself was such an idyllic and tranquil one indeed, the boy''s heart as well admitted it¡­ But Daniel''s persistence in achieving his worldly pleasure did not yet waver even in the slightest if not only getting stronger with every second that passed.


    However, there was still a day and a half left until the twenty-sixth, which is why he still thinks ''why not?'' to all the stuff he can enjoy¡­ Experiencing as many things from the worldly side as possible before his body would inevitably turn cold and pulseless¡­ And perhaps for the exact same reason, considering the way he will go is neither because of something natural nor unexpected, he didn''t think even for the slightest moment about whether this one particular idea of his own was in fact too much for someone like him to take.


    So then at that night, with full consciousness he lands up at the most unacceptable place a young person of his age should choose to visit.


    As he was seen discussing something with an old man standing behind a counter, who offered him a book featuring many photos¡­ Telling the boy to choose one and then he advised Daniel to sit wherever he wished to, only so he could wait for that person he had previously picked from the list to approach him later inside such a gloomy cafe he was at.


    In which he had a glass wall to his right that showed an empty midnight street yet at the moment was just as dark as it was indoors¡­ With one only difference being the red and purple colors of some neon signs in several shops that were already closed, bordering the narrow alley, creating a whole different atmosphere that is more festive but also strangely way much hollow than the place where he was sitting there by himself, alone in the corner of the room¡­ Waiting for someone he didn''t even know who it was, till a girl decided to come and sit opposite Daniel. Shook her head as she gave an awkward chuckle before hesitantly asking, ¡°Are you really the kid who booked me from the boss just now?¡±


    ¡°Giselle?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ You¡¯re Giselle, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, Name¡¯s Giselle¡­. Nice to meet you too, handsome. But before we go any further, this is important, and I''m just a bit curious about it¡­ How did you convince that old man at the front to let you get in here?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I talked it out with him, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ So you talked to him. And then somehow he just¡­ Let you in?¡±


    To which the boy nodded, smiling casually in response to the question. But all things considered, it surely did not appear to be enough to ease the girl who inquired, that she even expected someone in her own imagination to come forward and to oppose quite a nonsense the boy had on the table, when for the second time the girl then asked Daniel, ¡°Don''t you think you¡¯re way too young for this kind of thing?¡±


    And it just couldn''t be blamed when Giselle stated such, after she only took a mere glance at the adolescent, who was also somehow clueless and perplexed by what the girl in front of him had just said about his innocent face; for Daniel is actually quite a young boy, especially with such an appearance that he has¡­ Which would lead anyone to believe he is still around the age of any high school student that could just be found anywhere around the city.


    Though this whole fact somehow remained insufficient to make the boy grasp¡­ About what was wrong with his being there so late at night, that he couldn''t help but to expect confirmation from the girl in front of him about it: whether his request could still be carried out by her or not, hence he asked, ¡°Would that be a problem?¡±


    While looking like he was trying to get his wallet out of his black jeans pocket he also added, ¡°Because you see¡­ My brand new ID got burned just a month ago, but I still have some kind of letters each from my doctor and the police. At least both say my age in so many places if I remember it correctly.¡±


    The girl then gazed at the two letters Daniel had handed her, but she didn''t read any of the paragraphs, nor the sentences¡­ Not even a single word; instead, Giselle giggled a bit and stared at the boy who had piqued her curiosity even more as they spent each second together at the same table. Until the same young woman tilted her head and in such a sultry tone she said, ¡°So¡­ This will be your very first time doing it then¡­ Or am I wrong?¡±


    "No, you¡¯re right... And hopefully this won''t be my last time." The boy laughed whilst he responded, trying to jest so as not to appear nervous.


    ¡°But¡­ Let''s talk a little bit more¡­ I mean, you¡¯re quite a handsome one, you know that? Even way more than any man I''ve talked to so far, so if you don''t mind telling me¡­ With everything that you have over there, why did you have to come here in the first place?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe because why not?¡±


    ¡°C¡¯mon¡­ Don¡¯t play dumb with me.¡±


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    ¡°I mean if you really wanted to, you could just easily seduce any girl, or at least the ones closest to you¡­ Someone younger, healthier, cleaner, someone who is better than my kind.¡±


    ¡°What? Now hold there for a second. What is it exactly you are trying to say? But, anyhow¡­ If I really had to state something so obvious here, then no, I never thought of it that way. Nor have I ever looked at any girl like how you just describe it. However, the thing is¡­ I¡¯m just¨C Okay, look¡­¡±


    Daniel began to stutter over his own words, as how he didn''t even usually talk that much in one go, ever before¡­ Yet he still struggled to keep a smile while he continued saying, ¡°I have my own reasons, alright? I know exactly what I want and it¡¯s more than enough to justify me being here with you.¡±


    ¡°......¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    A brief moment of silence came unexpectedly¡­


    ¡°Aw, I''m flattered¡­¡± Giselle''s blush appeared along with such a soft voice she just let out that felt a little like a whisper.


    ¡°Eh? But¡­ Why? Seriously¡­ I''m so lost on your point, madam.¡±


    ¡°I mean, isn''t it basically just the same as you saying that you chose me, because I''m all and the only one you want right now? Oh, silly¡­ You just plainly admitted that I am indeed the prettiest on the list, or was it not?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah¡­ Surely your beauty was one of the main factors.¡±


    ¡°Really!? You swear on god?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Yes?¡±


    ¡°Even prettier than Selena herself?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    The name that just came out of the young woman''s mouth suddenly stopped Daniel''s painstaking efforts to keep smiling kindly¡­ And instead filled with an expression of surprise as if to convince the boy himself to ask her about it.


    "You know me?"


    ¡°I know your aunt, at least. And as you might have guessed, the old man actually ordered me to do nothing but persuade you. To try to stop what such a brat wants to do in this kind of dim place, late at this hour¡­ Perhaps our old geezer right there really meant it when he said that he felt sorry for you, as a result of something that happened in the past¡­ Something he overheard from that conversation you had with your aunt at this place quite a few years ago.¡±


    The young woman nonchalantly murmured the words as if she was confident that they would not signify anything to the boy who always manages to somehow conceal his actual emotion, only so that no one would feel awkward giving him the truth. Therefore no one can actually be blamed for what she had just waved and what she was still about to say while her act suddenly turned fishy and cautious from the people around them.


    ¡°But, yeah¡­ That''s just how that is, apparently.¡±


    Said the girl as if she didn''t want anybody other than Daniel to hear her words¡­ Yet also didn''t want to make the boy suspicious over her own motives at the same time, so she then opted to clarify by deliberately saying out loud, ¡°That I''m not allowed to play with you, only because there''s someone behind the counter over there who¡¯s concerned that spending even just a one fucking night with me would lead you down to the wrong path of a whole humanity. That¡¯s right¡­ Out of the many other new lost people who come to this place in every fucking night, you are the only exception to him.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°But gosh, it''s too much of a waste for me to lose out on someone as handsome as you, so here''s the plan.¡± The girl abruptly interrupted and rejected Daniel''s disappointment.


    Then decided to touch the boy''s hand, pulling the smartphone out of his fingers and grinned as Giselle remarked, ¡°This will be a guarantee so that you don''t run away from me.¡±


    Only after that did she get up from the chair, rubbing Daniel''s head with her hand which slowly moved to his cheek and her mouth coming closer to the ear as she whispered, "Meet me behind the building.¡±


    To which Daniel gave absolutely no response whatsoever to such strange stimulation he had just received from technically the woman of his choosing.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°All is done¡­ Your dear boy agreed to go home.¡±


    The young woman walked past an old man who was sitting quietly behind the counter, where she delivered such a short message without any intention of politely stopping her own steps and instead, immediately disappeared behind the curtain that concealed the dark hallway in the middle part of the building.


    Meanwhile Daniel only remained silent in his chair for just about a minute before getting up as well, and walking out from the cafe''s front door alone by himself.


    Stopping for yet another moment to get some breath of the night¡¯s fresh air until continuing on through the small alley at the side of the building, to meet someone who was leaning against one of the walls behind it.


    As that person then said, ¡°You didn''t put any lock on your smartphone. So I took your number for myself and I put mine in yours.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean why? Nothing will be the last time for us, you dummy¡­ Why would we stop with just one try if you know you''ll love each time we do it?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    With an expression that slowly became even more unnatural, Daniel nodded at what the young woman had just said about his own future¡­ For his heart stayed strong in its belief that he would still end his own life soon, no matter what gets in the way.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°So¡­ Do you have your own place or should we go to my room instead?¡±


    The young woman slowly rubbed the boy''s left ear with her finger¡­ Smiling seductively as she noticed Daniel becoming increasingly uneasy, which only fueled her desire to do even more by swapping positions, pushing him to be the one leaning against the wall instead of her.


    But suddenly the boisterous sound of a group of people chatting from a distance drew Daniel''s attention, where there he found three men accompanying one of their friends who was vomiting on the side of the road¡­ Seems to be the result of excessive drinking, though each person''s state does not actually show much difference from the one who is vomiting. Yet it was not anything that caused Daniel to break out in a cold sweat but rather something more familiar, which was plainly evident on their matching outfits.


    And the young woman obviously sensed that dread from him as well, so she opted to join back in leaning against the wall, right next to Daniel¡­ Blocking not only the boy''s vision of them, but also those who would have seen Daniel''s presence if she hadn''t taken steps to cover the boy''s position by utilizing her own body.


    After that she asked, ¡°Friends of yours?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t know any of them.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Giselle squinted, returning to her doubts. ¡°Do they have anything to do with why you are so unconcerned about your own life, then?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°C''mon... It''s not that hard to guess. Anyone who paid even the slightest attention to your empty, pitiful stare would have spotted it right away, the same way I just did back in the cafe.¡±


    The girl, who had just finished her sentence, seemed to have missed something much more obvious, so she decided to ponder for a moment¡­ Rubbing her chin while thinking before adding, ¡°Well, to be fair, even without looking at it, everyone would definitely be concerned once they heard that someone as young as you had opted to come here looking for love, but¡­ Forget it. Tonight, you don''t have to worry about anything. I promise I''ll make you feel good, so come with me now.¡±


    Yet when the young woman grabbed Daniel''s hand to take him away, he suddenly stood his ground instead¡­ Intending to refuse the kind offer he had just received from the girl who was only trying to be his help as the boy said, ¡°Sorry¡­ I just remembered that I have to do something really important.¡±


    ¡°Nah¡­ It''s too soon for you to die. At least not tonight.¡±


    ¡°I know! I won¡¯t! Trust me, it''s not what you think it is¡­ I¡¯m not trying to die by any means. I just really gotta go now!¡± Daniel said in a hurry¡­ Eventually was able to escape the strong grip on his own hand with such a simple untruth. Giving himself space after taking a few steps back from Giselle but before leaving, he recalled something he could do to compensate.


    So he pulled out a hefty stack of cash from beneath his jacket and handed it to her.


    Then the boy said, ¡°I still have a lot more for myself and I''m not giving this one to you for any reason other than the fact that you deserve it, so please don''t think otherwise and that''s it¡­ I have to go now. Thank you very much and see you later!¡±


    Daniel finished his words while continuously walking backwards away from the young woman, until the two of them got even more apart with Daniel turning his body around, chasing after those who had just gone out of his own sight¡­ Trailing the group of people in their matching jackets for something the boy really wants to know about but can not understand why.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 011: A Wolfs Den

    In the end, It took Daniel almost an hour to figure out where the folks were headed¡­ Though most of that time is actually wasted because those in front were always stumbling along the way and there are just too many stops for them to rest, since they had not recovered yet from their drunkenness, not even a bit. But for Daniel, it all paid off with what he could peek at from behind an old iron fence where he was hiding at the moment.


    As he discovered an abandoned public cemetery on the very outskirts of the city which was far from any settlements, had been used by a street gang as a place for them to set up some camps and a bonfire in the middle, to provide sole illumination in an area where no one was present other than the two dozen of them and one stalker from a distance.


    However, these were indeed the same group of people that burnt down the housing complex at which Daniel had resided two months prior¡­ Proven by the same jacket worn by each one of them and even though at that time their faces were all covered with masks, Daniel was certain with his own poor memory that the voice of the person who murdered his father was the same as that of the gang leader he met at the internet cafe... Just right when some poor young random person intervened during the argument and then out of nowhere had his own personal interest in taking Daniel¡¯s place for a sword duel with one of the gang members¡­ Yet died because it wasn''t actually the honorable one-on-one battle he had long hoped for like in some generic action movies he probably often watched.


    Instead it was just a mere real life savage massacre with no rules that everyone other than himself could predict would definitely happen to anybody who is foolish enough to pick a fight with such delinquents.


    And while the boy was still rewinding all of those memories of his own from the incident at the internet cafe, suddenly he jolted to his senses when someone''s voice was heard shouting at the other¡­ The real one that he had only hoped to hear and no one else''s, but he couldn''t see the face.


    So then Daniel decided to circle the public cemetery along the outer fence until slowly but surely, starting from the tip of the nose to the collar of the man''s jacket, Daniel¡¯s target gradually appeared from behind the trees and the tent curtain¡­ Face of the man responsible for the death of his father and mother and all of his feelings of emptiness up to this moment.


    Yet surprisingly, out of nowhere the boy departed the place with ease and serenity.


    With hands in pockets and head bowed down, he determined to walk away; instead visiting the rubble land full of charcoal and dust that he thought he would never return to in like forever.


    Gazing at the destruction while not being the slightest careless of whatever he was standing on. As if he intended to look for something buried in the black dust, although knowing that whatever it was, the shape would not provide him with anything beneficial.


    But he''s still looking for the thing and indeed he finally found it. Or at least he seemed optimistic that the small black piece of board he had in his own hand was indeed all that remained from what used to be his old smartphone, given to him by his elder sister even though it was just a fact that Daniel lacked the effort to keep the screen intact without any cracks.


    However, simply finding it is all that matters to him¡­ So Daniel decided to take another step. Intending to make it back home, when suddenly his left foot stumbled on something that was neither wood nor concrete debris. But a flat piece of iron that was sharp on one side.


    A machete full of rust which lost its wooden handle owing to the fire, the one Daniel had previously used against the masked gang members yet failed miserably to even land a single blow to anyone. And that actually becomes an impetus for the boy to avenge his prior failure this time¡­ Even though he is well aware of how he will end up killing himself if not worse, but fortunately, he has no concern with demise that comes from himself nor from the others.


    As he muttered to nobody, ¡°Just once¡­ I just need to get it right, to hurt them once with this blade and that¡¯ll be all¡­ I don¡¯t need anything else.¡±


    ~~~~~


    So then night turned into morning¡­ But the boy still felt that his own mind wouldn''t let him fall asleep, nor to feel hungry, or even to hear any noises coming out of the speaker that are from his own music playlist.Stolen novel; please report.


    Like how he also let many calls from a number saved as ''the girl of your choosing'' to pass by without him responding back to it. Instead he sat quietly in the bathtub while winding bandages around the handle of the machete¡­ Accompanied by a jerry can of petrol, a backpack containing two bottles of vodka and a small lighter which were all lying beside him, as he waited for the chimes of the house''s antique clock to sound at three o''clock in the morning on the same day he had crossed off on the calendar.


    And only after that did he depart from the house, leaving his new yet cheap smartphone on the sofa whilst carrying his burnt old smartphone in his pocket, merely as a good luck charm for what¡¯s about to come.


    Until Daniel then arrived at the graveyard, with the number of folks in the spot still remaining perfectly the same as when he left them just a night before¡­ Aside from the only difference being that none of the people were still awake, making it easier for him to quietly douse the surrounding tent which was swarmed by a lot of dead trees with gasoline creating a circle, but without any other plan or tricks at hand that he had to use to start the fire later from afar, when he actually needed the fire to burn the gasoline spread he just made.


    ¡°And that only applies if the dead twigs and grass can actually burn, at least before the petrol evaporates¡­¡±


    ¡°Also, what if it turns out that the fire isn''t as big as I thought it would, and those people can just hop over it to get out of here?¡±


    Whispering to himself, Daniel scratched his chin as he looked at the masterpiece he had already created.


    ¡°Man, this plan sucks¡­¡±


    Yet because he had put in all that vain effort while he remained unnoticed, the boy decided to just move on, continue sneaking even further¡­ Checking each tent until he finally found inside one of them, the gang leader and three other people were sleeping soundly, stuffy from the strong scent of alcohol and still with many bottles of liquor in each hand. Seemed to have spent the whole afternoon getting drunk and high on drugs just like they did every day.


    Something that Daniel acknowledged as an absolute advantage, to at least kill one person in their sleep before awakening the rest¡­ And of course it¡¯ll be none other than the gang leader himself, whom Daniel would undoubtedly choose to be the only one to die by his own hand before the others eventually burn to death, along with the boy still as the fire starter somehow¡­ And later on if such is not the case, Daniel will merely accept the defeat and torture that he will receive from anyone at once.


    So then he got his machete ready, raised up high, intending to slash the man''s throat but Daniel held his breath for far too long¡­ He suddenly became hesitant.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Hey boss! Hear me out this time¡­ I swear I smelled gasoline all around us, just when I was about to pee in the corner right over there. If you don¡¯t believe me, then I think maybe you should¡­ Wait¡­ What are you doing?!¡±


    Someone stepped from behind the curtain with his drowsy face abruptly changing into one of fear, right when he spotted Daniel''s unwanted presence standing as if he was an executioner for the man¡¯s leader¡¯s head, without noticing that the boy had actually become helpless because of his own reluctance to finish what he himself had started. Though as a result of realizing he was now in a bad situation, Daniel opted to quickly swing his machete forward¡­ But unfortunately the other person''s shout earlier, had opened the man''s eyes with his hands reflexively moving to protect his own neck from something he didn''t even know for certain what it actually was, or definitely not until the thing sparked and split in two with a small cut on his arm as a fair reward. Which shocked Daniel to the point of gaping at the results he just got, something that he had never in the least expected would happen to his machete.


    And as if that wasn''t even enough, the boy''s body was then flung backwards by a kick from the gang leader who also utilized the same force in his legs to make himself stand firmly in front of his ambusher, while his friend shouted to wake everyone up and be alert with their surroundings.


    ¡°Who¡­ Who are you?! Who sent you here?!¡±


    The man spoke in his own semi-conscious state of mind, either because he had just woken up or because he was still drunk after drinking many bottles of liquor before falling asleep¡­ Looking at the one that was still trying as hard as he could to get back up from where he had been kicked down to the ground, yet Daniel still dared to give an answer as he said, ¡°You know me.¡±


    ¡°Hah? Yeah, you¡¯re goddamn right that I know who the fuck you are¡­¡±


    The man responded while rubbing his eyes which were still trying to close again, even after the sudden onslaught he had just suffered.


    ¡±But if you think you can beat me even with your bitch move, you plainly have no idea who you''re up to!¡± The man said all the sentences with many hiccups between each word as his body swayed left and right and his gaze also often fell downwards¡­ All of which made Daniel feel that he might actually be able to win if only he could be just a little faster this time.


    That''s why with saying no words, the boy sped forward. Placing his hopes on barely half of his machete blade remaining, yet swinging haphazardly while not planning any of his next move nor with any technique embedded whatsoever.


    So it''s just not that surprising, that none of the boy''s attacks struck anything but thin air and a few bits of the tent sheet, since each of it was easily dodged by the inebriated gang leader who instead laughed before catching and squeezing Daniel''s right hand then flinging him out into the middle of the camp¡­ Surrounded by many delinquents that were just as intoxicated as the others, having been forced out of their sleep and stood guard by their pals who were so sure that Daniel was not that brave enough to come alone to the place they themself called as a wolf''s den.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 012: Asphyxia

    ¡°Felt like fighting a sloth.¡±


    The insult from the gang leader was instead followed by everyone''s concern for nothing but yet another ambush, as they remained alert to their surroundings, though still giving their boss a way to get closer to Daniel¡­ The boy who was coughing in pain while lying prone on the ground, right when a liquid spilled from within his backpack that felt like it had frozen its path on his skin, dripping to the ground from the tip of his chin¡­ For this was probably something beyond Daniel''s preparation, so he reflexively straightened his posture.


    Fumbled and pressed the bag using his left hand to keep it from moving too much, as if that really would prevent the amount of alcohol in the two bottles from spilling any more than what was already spilled¡­ So he convinced himself that the bag and all of its contents were no longer useful for carrying out his backup plans, hence why it would be necessary for Daniel to get it off his back. And only then did he swiftly squeeze through the gap between two people behind him as quickly as he stood up, intending to forgo any of his plan and instead run away without caring whether it was actually possible to do so or not.


    With the answer came in the form of an empty alcohol bottle which was hurled and shattered on the back of his head, sending him crashing to the ground before being dragged back by two people to the side of the campfire while boos rang out from everyone around Daniel, calling him prey ready to be eaten.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°That was a good throw, boss! But¡­ About the smell of gasoline I previously said, shouldn''t we all be worried if he comes with someone else?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right. Then I want some of you to go look around the camp! And someone please get my little brother here right now¡­ Hate to say this, but I do recognize this little fool''s face, now that I look at him closely.¡±


    The subordinate that had previously saved his leader¡¯s neck owing to his screams, appeared proud a little bit too much of himself, since now his suggestion has also been acknowledged by the man who was tugging Daniel''s hair, to ensure that the boy''s face really belonged to the same person as he thought he was¡­ So when his younger brother approached, he tilted Daniel¡¯s head in his palm for him to look at as well and only then he said, "Don''t tell me you''ve forgotten this boy''s face, lil bro."


    ¡°Is- Isn¡¯t he¡­¡±


    ¡°Now you see?! I told you not to hesitate to kill everyone I tell you to kill, before it ends up being the one who kills you in your sleep!¡±


    ¡°S- Sorry big bro¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, if it''s you who dies, then I wouldn''t be nagging anyone like this. The problem is that it''s not you, but me, who almost died because of your own mistake!¡±


    ¡°I said I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    The man appeared taken aback by the shout he had just heard in return. But this time, instead of being outraged, he simply sighed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t yell at me, you dumbass¡­ Just draw your blade out.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, right¡­ I got it.¡±


    With a serious look, the younger brother nodded. Seemed to understand the plan that the man in front of him intended for him to carry out¡­ Only slowly, such a sense of confidence faded as he observed how his older brother likewise took out his sword and stuck it into the ground, directly in front of Daniel''s face. For then he stood up and took a few steps back, instructing Daniel to do the same and said, ¡°Be on your feet, prey. If you can kill my brother, I will allow you to choose between leaving this place safely without anyone getting hurt, or joining my crowd to replace the man you killed.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Wha- Big bro!?¡±


    ¡°Enough with the big bro stuff, you little sissy¡­ I''m sick of your cowardice and you know it¡¯s coming, so shut the fuck up already! Just survive this first before the next time you dare use your mouth against my order, you understand!? Now come here and show us what you got!¡±


    Everyone cheered the notion, save for the leader¡¯s own little brother with his sword lowered to the ground, head turned to and fro¡­ Begging for a parley.


    But of course, there are no words that anyone wants to hear from someone they''ve long discreetly despised, especially when a compelling spectacle will be the exchange of it. So in the end, nothing the man said ever altered anything, as the duel would nonetheless take place between him and the boy who was already dying before the fight even started.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Alright. Now that I have given it some thought, perhaps I mistakenly expected too much from this kiddo¡­ I mean, he can''t even lift my sword off the ground!¡±


    The gang leader grumbled, yet still patiently watching Daniel''s two hands struggle with the weight of the blade the boy was meant to wield¡­ Until suddenly, someone from behind called him about things he just discovered near the campfire.


    ¡°There''s a whole bottle of vodka in his backpack, boss!¡± The guy kneeling on the ground, frantically trying to confirm, ¡°Isn''t this very expensive?¡±


    ¡°The fuck? You really think that shit is expensive? You''re so embarrassing¡­ You''ve never bought any kind of vodka before, huh?¡±


    ¡°No, but just look at the glass... I''ve never seen anything this beautiful before¨C Ah, it¡¯s supposed to be two bottles! This dumbass shattered one of them¡­ What a shame.¡±


    The man then squatted down as well, all just to check something that matched his own expectations, that it wasn''t something as valuable as his subordinates had always thought it was¡­ So the gang leader began to whine but yet managed to patiently explain his little understanding about booze to him, saying, "Nah¡­ This is nothing. You can even find one at the liquor store next to our regular dumpling shop¡­ You know that one, right? It''s at the end of Sutomo Street, near¨C¡±


    The discourse abruptly came to a halt, just right when a severed head bounced once before rolling on the ground, and blood spurted out onto the face of the guy being lectured by the one who had just lost his life. All due to a swing of his own sword which was in someone else''s grasp; Daniel''s shaking hand and no one else.


    Creating a loud silence in all corners¡­ That even the man whose boots were now brushing his own boss''s head appeared to be in a horrible trauma before dragging himself away, leaving Daniel alone to watch as the sword in both of his hands slowly faded into bits, which lost all their brightness when striking ground dust below his own feet¡­ Until the person who first uttered his voice, now attracted everyone''s attention, as he called, "Big bro?"


    Yet Daniel just pulled the still intact bottle of vodka out of his backpack to be his only response. And perhaps that is also precisely why the cowardly felon is now slowly approaching the boy with his blade pointing straight ahead.


    ¡°You killed him¡­ You just killed my brother! You¡­ You¡¯ll pay, asshole¡­ You¡¯re dead, you hear!? You¡¯re dead!¡±


    The man then started to speed up his steps to get closer to Daniel, the boy at present was holding his vodka high as if he was aiming for a throw. But unfortunately the thing failed to reach the face that was meant to be its target, since the bottle had already shattered after being struck by a swing of a sword. Which instead splattered its contents all over the body of the poor guy, still not losing the slightest focus on his revenge against Daniel¡­ Causing the boy to now seem increasingly nervous in his rush towards the campfire, seeking for a piece of burning wood he can use at least as a means of self-defense, for only a moment after he found one that fit perfectly in his hand, a blade was already sunk deep into his chest.


    A stab right in the heart, pushed him to clench his teeth now realizing how his body was starting to ache and weaken¡­ Begging to just fall, but the man in front was strangling Daniel to keep him locked at the same eye level as his.


    Staring at how the pair of eyes slowly lost their light and asphyxia made the pupils dilate, without any more falsehoods to the boy that seemed capable of making himself believe he would be able to survive like many times before¡­ So he decided to put everything into the final resort that hadn''t yet slipped out of his hands, all until almost in an instant, the man in front of Daniel was engulfed in blue flames that crawled from his jeans, up to the face and hair. Causing him to let go of the boy''s neck and the grip on his own sword¡­ For himself then took a few steps back till the man stumbled and fell as he was crying out in pain, but somehow managed to get back up and run aimlessly into the woods. Perhaps in the hope that catching up with the wind would put out the fire on his flesh while Daniel, who he left behind, just laid silently on the surface of his own cold pool of blood. Waiting for nothing more than death to come and take him without any fear and regrets remained for the boy to fight for¡­ Just a deafening silence in the darkness as his soul was ripped out and his breath then stopped expelling the warmth.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 013: Dont Spill It on the Floor

    There was nothing at the moment after the eyes were closed.


    Nothing but a flowing feeling of endless cold, that froze the boy''s mind simply by its blow, thereby making Daniel seem somewhat tranquil only in arcane¡­ All of which clearly just a mere sign of acceptance toward his own impending death, yet the boy has little idea of what he''s waiting for, or what would even come to him next after the darkness.


    For then out of anything he could have ever guessed, the crimson arrived with such a searing sensation as if it was desperately in craving for something; the voice was soft when it spoke, [¡°For nothing but a reason¡­¡±]


    [¡°I can''t do the thing unless you have one for the spell, Daniel!¡±]


    [¡°So you have to find it somehow¡­¡±]


    [¡°I need you to find even just a little bit of it for me to save you¡­¡±]


    [¡°For this dagger to save both of us!¡±]


    Little Daniel was startled to open his eyes, to get a bit away from the dark and the red as he heard the strange sorrowful young girl''s voice, whispering a plea for him to find something he should already have in his tiny grasp¡­ But the fog in Daniel¡¯s mind obscured such important matters from his very eyes and ears.


    And since his father who had just walked past him did not seem to hear the same thing he had heard from somewhere that was supposed to be close to the both of them in the living room, Daniel decided to solely assume it was only his own imagination all along.


    And instead found himself suddenly being complained by his father who then said to him, "The wound on your hand¡­ The blood¡­ Don''t spill it on the floor of my house. Go find a rag or something to cover it, you hear me?"


    ¡°Yes, father.¡±


    He spontaneously answered while bowing down as politely as possible, deciding to let his eyes follow his father''s steps as the man walked out of the back door house. Leaving Daniel who had just arrived home from his elementary school to be alone in silence¡­ Something that may have actually happened once when he was very young in age.


    Which also implies that what he¡¯s witnessing is nothing but a mere glimpse of the past, and he is not actually present there as he realized the strangeness quite too early.


    Thus, Daniel then opted to go with the flow. Assuming things like this were almost certain to happen to normal people when they are about to die, like what he often saw on television if not from the internet¡­ Until someone finally came to protest what she had just witnessed along with the boy himself, only from somewhere unseen. As the young girl then whispered, [¡°Where¡¯s the rest of them?¡±]


    ¡°Eh?! Who¡¯s talking?!¡± Little Daniel twisted his head here and there, taken aback by of course, the bizarre echo he was hearing from within his own mind.


    [¡°Who? Of course it¡¯s¨C Wait¡­ What¨C I mean, Daniel, we¡¯ve been here before!¡±]


    ¡°Oh, have we? Ah, yes¡­ I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    The boy nodded his head as he spoke, realizing something vague in his own memory. ¡°I''ve probably asked you the same thing before, haven''t I?¡±


    [¡°Yes, you have¡­ But then why the hell are your eyes still wandering around?¡±]


    ¡°Coz I''m pretty sure I heard your voice from somewhere a little to my left¡­¡±


    [¡°No! What are you talking about!? Daniel, I¡¯m not¨C I said, stop looking for where my voice came from, cause I''m not there!¡±]


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Fine. I¡¯ll stop. But still¡­ Who the hell are you, anyway? I mean, you haven''t introduced yourself to me yet¡­ Or have you?¡±


    [¡°......¡±]


    ¡°Well, damn¡­ You have?¡±


    [¡°Daniel¡­¡±]Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The girl''s voice was soft before she took a deep breath as if to settle herself down, just for a moment until the right time came for her to continue, [¡°You''ve asked me the same thing dozens of times already. Or perhaps¡­ Are you really at your own limit right now?¡±]


    ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, no¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± Even before the question was finished, the boy responded calmly, albeit strangely.


    [¡°Huh¡­ Okay, good. And if so, then I''ll ask you once more¡­ Where''s the rest of it? Where are your memories before and after this point?¡±]


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ Know¡­ I forgot, I guess?¡±


    [¡°What?! No! Not again! Please just try it at least for once, Daniel!¡±]


    Without even a second thought, the voice decided to immediately revert to its previous nervous tone she had been trying to hold back.


    [¡°I mean, it''s not that hard! All you need to do is to try to remember something before or after, anything other than this short bits you just showed me like a hundred times already!¡±]


    ¡°Hundreds of times?! What are you talking about?!¡±


    [¡°......¡±]


    The voice appeared to be taking quite a moment for itself again, to calm down after what Daniel had just asked¡­ Only to then sigh and take charge of the conversation like always, so it yelled, [¡°Alright. Forget it. Daniel, Listen¡­ As I said before, we don''t have many seconds left to stay here for long, so there''ll be a bit of a change in the plans¡­¡±]


    [¡°I''m going to need you to give me the authority to enter your mind, so we can find it together¡­ But you must do it quickly!¡±]


    ¡°Authority? My mind? How?! You have to explain everything from the very basics so I can understand, you squeaky noise! And I don¡¯t get it¡­ What is it you want us to find anyway?¡±


    As he waited for an answer, the boy seemed puzzled by the thing the little girl''s voice was asking earlier. But for some reason it was instead her unseen presence that didn''t confuse him as much no more, hence why he meant to allow the voice to continue, to answer the question he had just asked¡­ Only unfortunately, a sudden weariness now began to impair the boy¡¯s consciousness and his eyes sought to close even more, as Daniel forced himself to repeat his own question, ¡°You want us¡­ To find¡­ What?¡±


    [¡°......¡±]


    [¡°That¡¯s it¡­ There''s the sign¡­ As I feared the most, this is no use.¡±]


    [¡°Your mind had blurred too much already, too foggy, it¡¯s even way beyond help!¡±]


    [¡°But, fine. I¡¯ll do the thing¡­ Another taboo that I will yet to break.¡±]


    [¡°I¡¯ll get my own hands even dirtier if I really have to, just so you know, Daniel¡­ It¡¯s my one and only backup plan after all.¡±]


    [¡°And that¡¯s why, I will now reassemble your own broken memories by myself¡­¡±]


    [¡°All I know is this is going to hurt like hell. But ready or not, here I come!¡±]


    ¡°Be ready for what?¡±


    ~~~~~


    Suddenly the boy was swallowed by yet another darkness.


    His breath was short and his legs lost their balance as Daniel''s footing turned into dark wooden planks, surrounded by walls with the same pattern on each side that even the roof itself and all appears to be made of the same one single oak tree; a quite narrow chamber along with Daniel still hugging the floor, right in the middle of it.


    Completely unaware that hundreds, if not thousands, of empty photo frames had appeared all over the wooden walls from the dust and air around his very presence, each trembled from the millions of unsettling memory fragments belonging to the boy himself¡­ Crept behind the fibers of every wall and the obscured ceiling.


    And even after all of that, it would still be more fair if only there¡¯s one who could see how such a poor mind was currently being torn apart by his pile of the past: By every punch, kick and strangle he got from his father, as well as his mother''s constant closed lips and averted eyes, as if he himself was merely a blurry illusion to her very own confusing thoughts.


    Of how his aunt and everyone else around, stared at him with remorse for themselves, believing they should have done something back when he was not yet born to prevent Daniel from appearing in front of their own eyes only a few years later.


    And the pity he received from his older sister, whom he unavoidably despised as someone that was truly adored by everyone, especially by both of their parents.


    Someone who is inversely proportional to how bad he is as a person, yet at the same time the girl could only watch from the small gap of her bedroom door of how her father tortured Daniel with fear, worry and sadness, since she couldn¡¯t think of anything to do to make things right which causes Daniel to always feel nothing but hatred, jealousy and contempt towards.


    A pity from such a weak disquiet angel, out of everyone Daniel knows, that was just too irritating for him to accept¡­ So irritating that he even had the heart to hurt the girl with all of his cruel words and how he would always push her down to the ground, for each time his own big sister simply wanted to aid the boy¡¯s wound whenever her father wasn¡¯t around and to give him a hug for he never got one from anyone, not even from both of their same one biological mother.


    And in the end, it was his regret that hurt more than even the pain of the wound he carried on himself¡­ Regret for another scar he caused to his one and only sibling that he had been trying to make up for all his life.


    But it was now unachievable, since the person was gone forever¡­


    Thus, all the memories are now neatly displayed, filling each of the frames without leaving anything out in the void. Likewise the uproar and the trembling have now also subsided.


    The calm after the storm that finally arrived¡­ Tranquility that seemed quite hollow to Daniel but he was not upset, as the same thing was also what had now managed to restore the shattered bits of himself.


    So the boy then stood upright¡­


    His gaze fixed at such an inviting photo frame that standing out among the others, filled with the cheerful grins of two elementary school children. A boy and a girl of the same age with another pouting boy whose head they were caressing mischievously¡­ None other than Deo and Fanya, with their gazes at Daniel always felt as if both were looking at something that would be very painful for each of them only if they lost it.


    The same thing that the boy had once seen in his older sister''s eyes on the crossing bridge, where tears flowed heavily due to such a deep sadness¡­ At the same moment when a weak sentence was delivered to him¡­ A plea filled with nothing but despair.


    ¡°A reason for you to live¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be your reason to live, Daniel¡­ For as long as it takes until you find someone else.¡±


    ¡°Therefore, you must live¡­ Do whatever it takes to survive, Daniel! Do it for me, your sister¡­ And for the one who will come!¡±


    [¡°And now you got it¡­ Right, boy?¡±]


    [¡°So now wake up!¡±]


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 014: The Holes, Tears and Stitches

    There were footsteps of someone walking on the wet ground under the cold moonlight.


    Whose sound of every stomp was light and soft, from a girl wearing black shoes and thigh-high stockings as well as her pleated skirt in the same black as her uniform and robe, stood out among the numerous police officers around the abandoned public cemetery.


    But strangely enough, everyone was absorbed in none of those, other than the thing she put in front of her face¡­ A whole mask with no eye openings or anything. Just a flat white metal plate that glistened slightly, beautifully patterned with two blue lines that resemble fox whiskers on the cheeks.


    An appearance that seems to be deliberately made to stand out and be in the spotlight.


    ¡°A great carrier¡­¡±


    One of the officers, who noticed the figure, murmured, despite the fact that he was being spoken to by another quite attractive young woman, dressed just a little less eccentrically, as well as a face that was not covered by any metal plate¡­ Which caused her to feel irritated and ask, ¡°Are you even listening to me?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m so sorry, lady Kamiko.¡± The police personnel bowed in guilt.


    ¡°Yeah, I hope you do. But as I said before, only scout out these people''s locations and do not engage in combat, you hear? None of you need to put your life in danger for something that is beyond your reach. Oh, also don''t forget to call when that guy with the burns wakes up. Do not let anyone speak to him before we do¡­ And¡­ I guess that is all.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    The cops responded loudly, even though his gaze remained fixated on the masked girl behind the woman named Kamiko, just a second before he finally walked away from them both.


    ¡°So¡­ Sage, have you made sure that there are no more fires burning around?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    The question from Kamiko that was thrown with only her eyes to the side was answered with nothing but a nod by the other girl, so she then responded with her gaze that eventually moved completely to the masked one.


    Heaved a sigh of relief as she said, ¡°You¡¯ve done well¡­ Good work, Sage.¡±


    A mere simple sentence, somehow felt to be as warm as that of an older sister looking at her own younger siblings.


    Just like how the silence that came afterwards was no less warm, though not even a word was uttered from either of them¡­ Only before someone came to interrupt.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Oi, Kamiko¡­ I''ve checked everywhere. Apart from the one whose head was cut off, there are no other casualties.¡± For it was yet another person, clad completely in black that approached the two of them.


    Quite a tall and muscular man, who waved his hand as he walked closer¡­ But such friendly nature instead seems to have triggered the person he just greeted.


    ¡°Don''t talk to me so lightly, you dumb fuck! You''ll ruin my image to these people!¡± Kamiko whispered with a flat expression, as if she hadn''t just said the bad word from earlier.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Wha¨C But you are the one who always¨C Oh, you¡¯re right¡­ Sorry. These people do seem to respect us for some reason, though I don¡¯t really know why¡­ I mean, it''s easy to think of yourself as superior to them because of that, I know that much. But, anyway, what do you think? Is this the work of another pyrokinesis great carrier we''re dealing with?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Until we can ask the burned victims, we won''t be able to say for sure. Sage¡¯s power can only speed up the regeneration rate, at least for now¡­ Still, she cannot wake up someone who has fainted. But if you ask me personally, from my experience with Albert''s case, this has too few casualties to be reasonable enough¡­¡±


    ¡°Was what happened to Albert really that bad?¡±


    ¡°You think? We¡¯re talking about someone who can shoot fire from his hands¡­ You know what? Since you have given me doubts, I suggest you to fuck off, go check the surroundings once again.¡± Kamiko waved her finger at the man to stop him from interrupting her immediately.


    For then with a confident tone she continued, ¡°But instead of tracing down the great carrier, try to find the real cause of the fire first. Don''t let it be that we are just wasting time in this place¡­ Is that clear enough?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, nice¡­ Hell of a good idea if I have to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, Raymond, I''m going to cut your tongue for the next time you talk to me like that¡­ In front of these people. Anyway, Sage, you go with him for this one.¡±


    The masked girl nodded again in response to the order before following the man called Raymon, close from behind.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°I¡¯m alive¡­ I''m still alive¡­¡±


    With such a very heavy breath, Daniel pushed his wobbling body to continue going along the narrow and gloomy lanes, toward his grandfather''s house which was still in the distance¡­ At the same time as he seemed to be trying to ignore the thousand questions, swirling about in his jumbled thoughts, concerning how he could be here walking and not there lying dead.


    That he didn''t even really remember how he had gotten halfway to his destination without remembering anything that had happened before, other than how he should have been dead from being stabbed through the heart by a sword and the only reason of why he really wanted to keep going, was the urge to not make Deo and Fanya upset over his own death.


    That¡¯s all and nothing else the boy was worried about¡­ Even until he finally closed the door of the house from the inside and with what was left of him, Daniel managed to drag such a weak body of his own towards the sofa before he then unavoidably passed out.


    ¡°Don''t die, Daniel!¡±


    A voice from the boy''s head suddenly jolted him up from his deep slumber¡­ For it was a fuzzy visage of a girl that appeared to be wailing, pleading for him not to fall asleep any longer.


    An illusion that Daniel himself created as a mere response to the dread and anxiety he just felt throughout his unusually broadened collapse¡­ But despite everything, he was just truly lost in the familiar face and voice from before.


    ¡°Was that my sister? Or maybe¡­ Fanya¡­¡±


    The two girls'' faces and voices were indeed the closest thing Daniel could ever remember from the brief jolt as he wondered alone, in the empty living room where he was currently sitting on the dusty floor right next to the sofa.


    Then his eyes slowly looked up at the ceiling, as if expecting that someone up there would notice him who was still confused¡­ Perhaps not only seeing Daniel, but also explaining to him about what really happened after the sword pierced his heart, so that he could stay alive like he was now. Because he didn''t remember anything until he regained consciousness while going home under the dawn light.


    And after realizing that he certainly wouldn''t obtain any answers from above, his eyes went back down to see his blood-stained hands just from the night before¡­ Daniel decided to stand up and try to walk slowly to the bathroom to clean himself up for good.


    But before handing over the job to the warm water, the boy stood in front of the mirror in silence to look at the mess on his face. And how his black shirt had a tear in the center of his chest, which he needed to remove to reveal something that made his heart race a little bit¡­ Because no wounds remained anywhere, neither on his chest nor on his stomach.


    The holes, tears and stitches were all gone, leaving only dried blood stains on the surface of his skin. This only left him with two plausible possibilities:


    Either something supernatural had cured him of all his wounds, or he was no longer the person he thought he really was¡­ But that could only be proven by one thing, so Daniel stretched his hand up to his shoulder, reaching for something he couldn''t feel but was sure should have been there all along¡­ The magical blue sword of his own.


    Raised high and then slowly descended until the tip touched the ground¡­ Instead his attention was drawn to the reflection of his own eyes, and quiet fell in the warm mist.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡±


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 015: Grandpas House Key

    A dusty sofa abruptly squeaked when a large bag was dropped on top of it.


    A bag filled with several pairs of clothes that were gifts from the boy''s two buddies, walking around in circles while fiddling with the map that he had opened on his smartphone apps¡­ For a few minutes before Daniel then carefully checked every word and number on his digital plane ticket.


    Becomes plain evidence that Daniel was clearly nervous about the trip he¡¯s about to take for tomorrow morning, as even a knock on the front door was enough to make him startled. Yet still he decided to slowly walk towards the sound and open the door though just a little until he could see who was behind it: Three people, different body postures, one from the other, with the boy''s eyes were more focused on the girl who stood out the most from the rest.


    The girl with something attached right in front of her face¡­


    ¡°A mask?¡± Daniel wondered in his mind.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°Excuse me sir, good evening¡­ We are from the Deviant Control Bureau, may we have a moment of your time, please?¡±


    A man''s voice came in such a friendly manner to greet the boy who¡¯s cautiously peeking through the crack in the door.


    As he was filled with bad expectation, Daniel looked left and right before slowly swinging the door just a little wider for the three of them; one of whom then handed the boy a sheet for him to look over carefully. Which contains a photo of a man that is a stranger to his eyes, though with a few detailed physical descriptions on the right to help people recognize the figure.


    ¡°We''re looking for this guy, and also his group¡­ He lives just two doors down the street, you see.¡± The man''s finger then pointed to a house, making sure Daniel knew the location he was referring to before he continued asking, ¡°Do you know him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I''m not sure. Sorry¡­ I''m actually new to this place.¡± The boy''s tone made it clear that he was very reluctant to speak.


    ¡°Ah¡­ It¡¯s alright. But have you by any chance seen people dressed similarly to this man hanging around this place lately?¡±


    ¡°I also don''t remember much about what''s going on around. I rarely left this house, to be honest. But I do know the jacket he was wearing¡­ It was their gang that burned down the compound across the bridge about three months ago.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, another one¡­ Yeah, dude, we know that far.¡±


    Kamiko answered lightly, which made Daniel even more annoyed to have had such a conversation with them in the first place. Thus why the boy then immediately responded, ¡°Oh, good¡­ So why haven''t they been arrested yet?¡±


    ¡°Well that''s why we¡¯re asking people around. Isn''t it obvious?¡±


    ¡°Maybe not so much? Everyone in town knows they''ve been in the abandoned cemetery for the past three months. So why are you only looking for them now? Waiting for them to kill even more people?¡±


    ¡°Watch the way you talk, shorty¡­¡±


    ¡°Kamiko!¡±


    The man among the three of them chastised and pulled her back before things got any more heated. ¡°I apologize for my partner''s rude way of speaking,¡± he added.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Is that all you want to ask?¡± Daniel was ready to close the door of his house.


    ¡°No¡­ Wait. We have a few more questions but only if you are a carrier. I mean, this is more like a survey actually. So may we know if you are one?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    The boy fell silent awkwardly, with his mind filled only with orders for himself to lie and just say no¡­ Yet before a sound could escape from his dry throat, the woman named Kamiko suddenly stretched out her hand, holding something that looked like a temperature gun aimed straight at Daniel''s skull which made him startled.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Worried that he was about to get shot, but instead only a beep sound was heard with the number one then displayed on its small digital screen.


    ¡°Kamiko! I''ve told you many times to ask permission before using the thing, haven''t I!?¡±


    ¡°Calm down. It says one on the screen¡­ This boy is not a carrier. And I just saved you some time from a possible lie scenario he could have used, don¡¯t you understand? You¡¯re welcome anyway.¡±


    The woman completely ignored Raymond''s shouts by saying such. Decided to go ahead of them and leave the front porch of the house while the man apologized to Daniel for the second time before excusing himself as well¡­ Leaving only the masked one behind, silently staring at Daniel as if she had something to say to him, to the point where the boy was also starting to feel a little uneasy about something he couldn''t see behind the metal piece.


    So then he asked, ¡°You need something else from me?¡±


    However, Sage didn''t say even a word in response¡­ She just turned around lightly and went towards the direction of her two colleagues who were waiting from afar, giving Daniel no other choice but to close the door from the inside, wondering what that annoying woman had just said about him not being a carrier. Only to then shrug it off like it was nothing, like he could escape from his worries¡­ At least not until his cell phone suddenly rang with the only number saved on the card. The so-called woman of his choosing.


    ¡°Oh, thank god¡­ Out of all my calls that you ignored, you actually answered this one.¡±


    As though emanating from an unending, deserted hallway, the woman''s melancholy voice reverberated¡­ Unfortunately Daniel didn''t notice a shred of said feeling, instead he then gave quite a nonchalant response.


    ¡°I''m sorry miss,¡± he admitted, ¡°After I gave it a little thought, it seems like I just made the wrong decision at that night, and-¡±


    ¡°No, no, Daniel. I understand¡­ But it''s not about that. It''s about your aunt. You see, she''s in the hospital right now.¡±


    ¡°......¡± Daniel was silent with a feeling of unease in his heart.


    ~~~~~


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°One of our clients, a carrier, had quite an argument with her last night. And if you know your aunt, she''s always been someone who''s a little careless with her words. Until that guy made a small cut with the sword on her neck¡­ But it wasn''t fatal, and her condition had actually gotten a little better.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I see.¡± The boy sounds confused about how to act after hearing the story.


    Where it feels like he really wants the woman to understand that he actually cares, but is just lost on what he should say in response¡­ And it''s as if the one who¡¯s on the other side of the line put together a little piece of it, that she decided to continue, saying, ¡°I just thought it would be the right thing to let you know, because¡­ I mean, I understand your situation. But in law, both of you are all still something like¡­ Family members¡­ Or am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either¡­ But it¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll come to visit.¡±


    In the end, Daniel decided to give her a complete answer. And the call ended with Daniel carrying the big bag out of the house that he had cleaned the night before until there was no dust left in the place.


    Locking the door from the outside, looking at every corner as if he¡¯s saying peace and goodbye to the old building and after five minutes had passed, Daniel called for himself a cab to the city hospital.


    ~~~~~


    The boy then entered the room full of nurses changing bandages at precisely eight o''clock in the evening¡­ Though he still had to be at the airport in less than an hour, which may have contributed to his slightly anxious demeanor, made him appear as though he was being chased by something at the same time as he was standing there waiting.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, son. It''s just a small cut, you see? Your aunt will be fine.¡± One of the nurses responded to Daniel''s anxious look.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just¡­¡±


    ¡°Why don''t you sit down for a while?¡±


    The boy who genuinely made such a conscious effort to remain upright eventually caved in and heeded the advice.


    He decided to remain silent until the treatment was over, and everyone had left the room only so that the woman and her nephew could have some time alone together. However, despite the fact that there were two lips capable of speaking, quiet suddenly pervaded the bright, empty room¡­ Since Daniel was instead lost in his own daydreams. And it felt so incredibly detrimental to someone, that she decided to jog the boy''s consciousness back with a complaint and a question.


    ¡°Out of all the people I hoped would come to visit¡­ So, what are you doing here again?¡±


    ¡°Eh..?!¡± Daniel jolted awake looking for the source of the voice. ¡°Oh¡­ Sorry, I just want to return grandpa''s house key to you.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± The woman asked with her same straight face as always.


    ¡°I''ve decided to live with my friends outside of town.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°My friends? Uh¡­ Deo and Fanya.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    His aunt replied, watching patiently as Daniel looked for the key chain in his big clothes bag which he then placed on the table right next to the woman''s purse. Daniel remembered something that seemed worth mentioning, thus he decided to take the courage to do so while trying to stand up and get ready to leave.


    He said, ¡°But¡­ You know. I¡¯m also here to visit¡­ I mean, I got a call from your friend.¡±


    ¡°Just go already.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± The boy gave up on attempting to appear too courteous, except for how he bowed one last time before then slowly closing the door from the outside¡­ And that¡¯s when he heard the sound of the woman''s sobs starting to echo in the quiet hallway as he slowly walked towards the exit.


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 016: Ancient Wheeled Thing

    Given that this would be Daniel''s first time flying, that it was clear from how he had actually made a concerted effort to prepare himself just for the challenges and crowds he would encounter alone on his own, however on the contrary, after the boy went smoothly through the baggage check and made sure that the gate listed on his ticket indeed existed and was the same as the one on the information board right in front of him, he felt disappointed.


    Though it was just a small airport near his even smaller town, still the place was just so much emptier than anything he had anticipated¡­ That it is as if he truly would be more upset when his fears and anxieties don''t come true, than when something bad actually happens precisely when he is ready for it.


    However, no one can be held accountable when people are just still terrified to leave their homes, much less travel to large cities or even overseas¡ªall of which they are unfamiliar with¡ªout of concern for what may happen to them all. That even the small village where Daniel lives, where there had not been any murder incidents for over two decades, has now recorded more than twenty cases in less than three months, which is a strong enough thought for anyone to imagine what might have already happened in a larger city.


    And even that still does not include certain access restrictions that have made travel on flights even more challenging since that one day.


    ¡°That day of judgment is what I mean¡­ It has completely changed this world.¡± Next to Daniel, an old man with his empty rucksack sighed.


    As the boy thought it wouldn''t be such a terrible experience to wait for his own flight while conversing and listening to some tales and weird political opinions from some random people who seemed to have seen a lot in this world, which Daniel then asked back out of pure curiosity, ¡°Do you not feel scared as well? I mean, you¡¯re traveling alone by yourself¡­ And this far to the edge of this country even.¡±


    ¡°Well that¡¯s because I have nothing to lose. I have no one.¡± The old man responded.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡±


    ¡°Instead, now, rather than feeling scared¡­ In this old age, I feel more at ease actually.¡±


    ¡°You mean you feel relieved that all this is only happening now?¡±


    After hearing Daniel''s views on something he had previously mentioned, the elderly guy chuckled as he asked, ¡°What do you think happened to the world when I was at your age?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°You gotta understand something about this matter¡­¡± He leaned forward and pointed at the floor with his index finger, ¡°The more people realize how much power can be held in the palm of their hands, the more they hate how few hands they have.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°It''s not about the power, but it''s about the hate¡­ And boy, that will never change.¡±


    Daniel was still struggling to comprehend the phrases when the loudspeaker abruptly began to broadcast something as he also realized that the flight code that was being repeated was indeed his flight code, so he anxiously packed up and got up from the bench that had only been used by him and the elderly man.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s my flight.¡± Daniel said in his awkward tone.


    ¡°Yeah, go on now. I appreciate you talking to me though¡­ It''s rare for someone as young as you to come up to someone like me just to chat.¡±


    Daniel smiled in response to the comments, then bowed his head courteously and walked away, joining the short queue of people through the hallway.


    ~~~~~


    The flight took about three hours to arrive at its destination.


    In a strange place he had never been to before, as Daniel put all of his trust into following the passengers on the same plane as him as they made their way to the baggage claim area and then finally to the exit¡­ Where the heat of big cities in tropical countries feels much more intense than in the countryside.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    And the shape of the city, which is much more neatly arranged and modern, can be seen directly from the large map on the plaque right in front of Daniel.


    The City of Guinaian as it says in large letters at the very top of the map, which when seen from a distance looks like a city in the shape of an almost perfect circle, surrounded by forest full of various tree species on the outside and in the middle¡­ A place that is also designated as a green park, despite the fact that it¡¯s still actually filled with a few buildings scattered around it.


    Something that slightly disrupting the beautiful pattern with the part that should be full of green on the map, enough to pique Daniel''s curiosity so he decided to slide his index finger along the red lines on each structure in the center of the park, to a row of names of carnival rides next to the map image.


    "A ferris wheel¡­ And a merry-go-round." The boy read the two lines of names on them, then took a step back to take another distant look at the whole map. Until suddenly the ringing tone of his cellphone snapped Daniel back to reality, for it was a notification from the driver he had ordered from an online service. Reminding Daniel that he was already waiting at the place they had agreed to meet.


    ¡°Sorry for keeping you waiting, I was just looking at the map plaque right there to make sure of something.¡± The boy closed the car door with the big bag he hugged on his chest.


    ¡°The map¡­ You new to this city?¡± The driver turned to Daniel from his rear-view mirror.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°I see. Welcome to Guinaian City then.¡±


    ~~~~~


    Unfortunately, the boarding house address that Daniel had written down in his notes turned out only to be his own incompetent speculation based on nothing but Google Maps.


    Since he himself vaguely remembered the actual location and of course, all of that was of no help to the driver who even had to make them both go around the same road several times before Daniel finally decided to give up¡­ The boy then apologized to the driver as he still kindly agreed to drop him off in front of a university entrance gate.


    The very same university that Daniel ought to have gone to, if only all the catastrophes he instead had gone through had never occurred. The same holds true of the boarding house where Deo and Fanya presently occupy, a place Daniel should have lived in with his two best friends since two months ago as fellow freshmen. But the thing that disappointed Daniel the most, though, was not all of that; rather, it was the fact that he could not even find the address of the boarding house.


    Which meant he could no longer surprise Deo and Fanya by showing up out of the blue, imagining how the two people''s expressions would be when they met, one thing that always made Daniel grin while he was still on the plane and the car.


    Not to mention that this meant he had to contact Deo to come pick him up; being the cause of Daniel''s dissatisfaction as he flipped through his notes, finding a phone number marked with his friend''s name on one of the pages filled with data he had collected that proved to be largely inaccurate¡­ But this time the number he called was indeed correct, out of the rest there which definitely contained information that is not.


    ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?¡±


    The fat teenage boy who was still in shock over the voice he heard on his cell phone only moments before, was even more shocked by what he witnessed in front of his very own eyes¡­ Perched on his vintage white motorcycle, 1994 Honda Astrea Grand, a single-cylinder SOHC with an 85.88 cc displacement.


    Something that Daniel would never have guessed his best friend had beyond anything more reasonable. And as The boy made a concerted effort to avoid being the most surprised he then said, ¡°Surprise..?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡±


    ¡°This isn''t funny, Daniel. You should have called us right when you woke up in that hospital and not suddenly showing up like this!¡±


    ¡°Us?¡± The lad bent down and hugged his bag while his eyes darted anxiously to the left and right. ¡°You told Fanya already?¡±


    ¡°What..? I mean, no. I don''t know what to say to her about this shit.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± In a flash, Daniel was on his feet again. He strode a few paces closer to his friend, and his face was flat.


    ¡°But she will be angry, Daniel. That girl will be really, really angry with you.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­ That''s why I want to surprise her.¡±


    Deo suddenly pushed Daniel''s shoulder away from him to make sure of something. ¡°Are you even listening?!¡±


    ¡°You got any better idea than mine? You want me to see her with a serious face? Acting like I''ve been depressed ever since that day?¡±


    ¡°......¡± The boy was silent for a moment, he lifted the motorbike''s stand and looked forward as  though he was ready to leave¡­ Yet Daniel was still not finished with his words.


    ¡°So? What do you think, smartass? Feeling stupid already?¡±


    ¡°Alright, whatever dude. Come on then¡­ Hop on. I''ll take you to our boarding house.¡±


    ¡°Oh, now I''m the one who sounds reasonable, huh?¡±


    ¡°Just hurry the fuck up!¡±


    With a sense of dissatisfaction, recognizing that what his friend¡¯s about to do was indeed a grave error, Deo instead decided to give up on caring.


    ¡°And what kind of ancient wheeled thing is this, anyway? Is it even strong enough to hold your entire weight? What about my bag then?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    ~~~~~

 Chapter 017: And Thats When Their Eyes Met

    It was rather a short journey for both of them to reach a two-story building in a small alley. Perhaps just ten minutes if only they had walked from that economics faculty¡¯s front gate, where Daniel had previously been standing still, waiting for Deo to pick him up.


    But the boarding house itself, is a building with a total of twenty rooms that were actually quite spacious and comfortable within, just all of them are lined up tightly together in a hallway with iron-barred windows at the end¡­ Probably to prevent anything that had previously happened in that place from happening again, whatever it was.


    ¡°So which room is yours?¡± Daniel asked, strangely with a very suspicious posture while still hugging the big bag in front of his chest.


    ¡°Stop it. I know you acted like a thief because you wanted to mock this place, but it bothers me too much if anyone sees me strolling next to you, Daniel. So just stop doing that.¡± Deo responded as he turned the key to one of the room doors.


    Then they went inside.


    ¡°And what about my room? What happened to mine?¡± Daniel threw himself, face first onto the bed.


    ¡°I believe that three months ago, you had paid it a year, the same time as Fanya and I paid ours, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Well, the landlady keeps asking Fanya about whether you will ever come or not, because there are many other people who also need the empty room.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Suddenly Daniel sneezed, his hand motioned for Deo to continue what he was saying while adding, ¡°I''m allergic to dust. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Anyway, whenever asked such, Fanya always gave the answer that you would come here to stay with us. She consistently refused when the landlady insisted on returning your rent money, just so that someone else could use the place. And then, uh¡­ I think that¡¯s all¡­ Thanks to her, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Fanya.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Deo gave a nod of assent.


    ¡°So where is she now?¡±


    ¡°She still has classes at this hour¡­ Probably. I also have to go back to campus soon.¡±


    Holding his backpack while swinging the key chain in his right hand, Deo leaned against the door of the room, where he noticed how Daniel suddenly got up as if something suddenly crossed his mind, thus he decided to stay and listen.


    ¡°If you two have classes now, then it''s fine. All you need to do though, in the evening, ask her to go home with you and I will wait here and give her a surprise. Sounds good?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I would do that, you dumbass.¡± The fat boy stuttered as if he was nervous by something he had accidentally imagined himself. ¡°I mean, Fanya will likely get home in an hour, while I still have class until six in the evening.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡±


    ¡°You''re always like that.¡± Deo sighed.


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Nothing. Anyway, I have to go now. If you''re hungry, there should be some snacks on that cabinet. Just help yourself to some, alright?¡±


    Daniel¡¯s closest friend''s swift farewell was echoed by the softly shutting door.


    His footsteps also slowly felt like they were moving further away until the room, which Daniel still found strange for himself to be alone in, turned into absolute silence.


    And it was very quiet, even when Daniel took a deep breath while trying to stand up, he could hear the rattling of the worn window glass right next to him which was not closed properly¡­ Thus he intended to approach it first to close it tightly, before then to the part of the room that Deo had previously appointed for him to inspect for the presence of snacks.


    ¡°Yeah. Of course you have snacks in this small cabinet, you fat ass.¡± Daniel took a pack of potato chips and immediately began munching on them.


    ¡°And also here.¡±


    The boy clutched the food beneath his armpit and chattered to himself, his mouth still full. All of that was done just so his other hand could open a second wooden box that was next to each other. To prove what he suspected was his friend''s eating habits.


    ¡°And here too.¡±


    Unfortunately his guess was wrong this time, the small cupboard in the third row did not contain any food at all, but instead a pile full of adult magazines. Causing him to choke in surprise then complaining to himself.


    ¡°But why!?¡± He asked. ¡°Why is this next to the food cupboard, Deo?! It should¡¯ve been hidden! Why are all these things in a place that is so easy for anyone visiting to stumble upon?!¡± Both hands lifted as if certain that someone was there to agree with him.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    He drew a deep breath, letting its stillness steady him as he sank to the floor. His gaze lingered on the myriad of posters adorning the walls, their presence instantly familiar. The boy had seen them all before, back when he used to visit Deo''s house as a kid¡ªgrim depictions of apocalyptic scenes, haunting photographs of riots and somewhat critical if not radical quotes from the rebels.


    All the things that used to look so cool whenever Daniel saw them, but now the only thing that crossed his mind was worry.


    ¡°If there is someone who doesn''t change, it''s you Deo. Not me.¡±


    ~~~~~


    Guinaian, besides being known as a ring city in the middle of green forests, is also known as the ¡°new city of students.¡± The city is home to numerous prestigious schools and universities, particularly elite private institutions that stand among the finest in Indonesia. While the one that Deo and Fanya attend doesn¡¯t belong to this exclusive category, gaining admission there is no small feat. In other words, to be able to be in such a place is not something easy to achieve, therefore both of them are in fact quite capable students in terms of proficiency. But it has become a hierarchy, when someone dons a certain campus black blazer adorned with its emblem, others¡ªwhether consciously or unconsciously¡ªbegin to measure their own status against that person¡¯s. It¡¯s a silent acknowledgment for some are seen as superior to those around them.


    Especially when the person in question had a face that could turn heads¡­ Long, silky, straight black hair that is left to be brushed by the breeze and clean, pale complexion. She was by no means a high school student, but the pleated black skirt, falling just above the knee, was enough to make many people mistake her for one as she walked down the street that day.


    The girl was silent and undecided. Standing before a shelf of sandwiches, moments after stepping into the convenience store, eyes darting between the options. She tried to decide on a snack to pass the time, since she was waiting not only for a call on her smartphone but also for the chocolate milkshake she¡¯d ordered, which was being prepared at the counter across from the cashier. It was only natural that the thing would take some time; the long queue was also all ordering the same type of drink as hers¡­ Thus the girl decided to take a seat on one of the chairs inside the convenience store. Unlocking her smartphone screen at the same time when it rang, an incoming call from "Senior Raymond" which she immediately answered even as a sandwich hung halfway from her mouth.


    ¡°Hello? Are you busy right now?¡±


    ¡°No, senior.¡± The girl swallowed half of the sandwich.


    "Don¡¯t you have any more classes today?"


    ¡°No, senior. Should I come pick you guys up now?¡±


    ¡°Ah, actually we¡¯re not finished here yet. But you can get ready if you want.¡±


    ¡°The guy won''t talk?¡±


    The man on the other end of the line went silent for a moment, as if he was double-checking before responding. ¡°Nah, he talks. Kamiko¡¯s doing her thing right now. We both know what she''s like.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ The guy is still in shock¡­ Was probably traumatized. He keeps saying that he killed this boy and he was forced to do it. Basically just repeating the same thing. The number three is also shown on our measurement device.¡±


    Just from that number, something crossed the girl''s mind. ¡°This was the first time he¡¯s ever killed someone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. At least he was certain there had been no strange incident when it happened. He was sure no magic was involved¡ª the fire was caused purely by gasoline.¡±


    ¡°So? Doesn¡¯t that mean we can close the case now?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I don¡¯t get either. Kamiko suspects this case might be connected to the severe fire that occurred in the same village a few months ago.¡± The voice faded for a moment before the man let out a sigh, a quiet expression of helplessness. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Something about the intonation and pronunciation in Indonesian that I still don¡¯t quite get.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m still learning Indonesian, so maybe I missed something he said¡ªsomething that Kamiko caught, even though we¡¯re both still learning the language.¡±


    Somehow the girl who had previously laughed a little in confusion now felt that she really understood her senior''s feelings.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± She responded.


    ¡°Or perhaps Kamiko simply understood things far better than I did¡­ I guess she became our captain not without reason, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°What about you? Are you doing well in college?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ I guess.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people told me about that place, you know.¡± The man laughed warmly. ¡°I¡¯m not as smart as you¡­ I¡¯m not even as smart as Kamiko, for crying out loud. I mean, for you to be able to study in such an elite place, honestly, it makes me proud just to have teammates as well educated as you both.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, senior.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t push yourself too hard, okay? Remember to take a break once in a while.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°That''s all I wanted to say, really. And speaking of which, I think you can get ready now¡­ Looks like Kamiko just finished dealing with that guy. I''ll send you a photo of our location.¡±


    ¡°Roger that, senior. See you there.¡±


    The girl ended the call as she heard her name called from behind the counter¡ªher sweet drink was ready. Wasting no time, she rushed over to get it.


    Walking leisurely out through the glass door until her steps abruptly halted when two others also stopped right in front of her.


    Something across the street had caught their attention. Leaving everyone hesitant to move any further, as a group of people shouted angrily at a man in their midst, their voices rising in fury¡­ Yet another punk in another city.


    "Again and again¡­ I swear to god, it''s the same people everywhere! Ever since that thunderstorm first appeared, this city has slowly turned into a dumping ground for young scum!"


    An old man in front of the girl complained to no one, refusing to accept that this was something normal, where people should simply learn to tolerate¡­ Just like how the young man beside him was casually drinking a canned coffee with one hand in his trouser pocket¡ªa demeanor that seemed suspicious enough to draw the old guy¡¯s wary gaze.


    ¡°Boy¡­ You''re not one of them, are you?¡± The man asked.


    ¡°No sir.¡±


    ¡°Your hairstyle says otherwise. And those weird bracelets don¡¯t help either.¡±


    ¡°I can assure you that I am not, sir. I just like rock music, but that''s all.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­ If you say so.¡±


    The young man chuckled softly. Relieved that any suspicions he¡¯d had about himself were now dispelled, before turning around to look for a place to throw away his empty drink can, a place that was right behind the girl whose eyes reflexively looked down to avoid the sudden eye contact. Where she also moved one step to the left, recognizing from his gestures what the man intended to do with the trash in his hands.


    However, the numerous black bracelets on his wrists were too familiar for the girl to ignore; she was very sure that she had seen the same hands more than once before, so by that sole reason, she decided to give in to the curiosity she had.


    And that''s when their eyes met.


    A visage that one person recognizes but another does not.


    ~~~~~