《The Unwanted Cursed Hero》


 Last Breath

    A man can be seen running away in the middle of a burnt forest, his steps quick but exhausted it''s obvious looking at his appearance that he was in his last moments. His body missing an arm, his right eye bloodied to the point of being unusable, the left part of his torso with a burn so brutal that his torso appears to be made of coal. Even still, he ran.


    What was once a blue sky was now pitch black. What was once green grass now was an ashen grey. It was as if all color was drained from the world. Even when it was day, the sky made it seem like night, even when light was present.


    Suddenly, a noise could be heard in the distance, a grunt? No, it doesn''t make a sound, but then what? Maybe... just maybe it was resistance?


    "If we talk about her, then it''s actually possible," the man smirks to himself. But his little peace ends quickly as an object is thrown at him at such speeds that it would normally be impossible to react.


    -Eye of Intention-


    With a quick activation of the artifact installed in his remaining left eye, he feels the incoming attack and manages to dodge it.


    "Damnit...that was close...heh... she hasn''t lost her touch, although maybe she wouldn''t have missed in the past. "


    The man continues to run. Even though it delays the inevitable, he still tries to survive even a second longer. Maybe he could think of a plan to escape the situation like he always does.


    ''No. That''s a stupid thought. I am too tired and damaged to be able to pull it off. Heck, even my artifacts are broken at this point. It looks like this is truly my last day on earth...'' The man is starting to realize that this is the end.


    The man eventually ends up in a clearing in the middle of the forest as his legs give up, and he falls to the ground.


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    "...*huff*...*huff*...looks like...this is it..." The man takes a breather after a long time. His lungs have been burning since a while ago, but due to the adrenaline, he didn''t notice.


    Footsteps can be heard coming from the forest. Slowly, a familiar figure steps into the light.


    Her blonde hair flaps in the wind, and her eyes, which were once a beautiful deep blue, were now completely black except for her purple Irises. And it appeared as if purple veins were coming out of her eyes, and they were pulsating. Her armor, once a silver tone, now was dirty with mud and blood. Her body now covered in vine like growth. Her sword once a symbol of salvation was now a sign of the end.


    "...you know...if I am going to die, at least it was in your hands... not everyone can say that they died in the hands of the "Destined hero"..." The man was losing his breath, even still a laugh escaped his mouth.


    "..." Nothing escaped her mouth, no...it was better to say, Nothing escaped its mouth.


    "So...end of the road...I wonder what are you gonna do..." The feminine figure gets closer, her sword being brandished in a menacing way.


    The man slowly reaches behind him as it starts reaching its hand towards him.


    "You know... I always thought that you were never fit to be a hero." It is a few steps away, but that doesn''t bother him."but...I never realized that people like you are needed...people..." it is about to strike, but then...


    "...living in a lie despite knowing it is one..." The man grabs a stone with a mark in it and brings it up. It opens its eyes wide, but before it could do anything.


    "Sorry I couldn''t do anything." The Man presses the stone as hard as he could, and the moment a crack is heard...


    An explosion so powerful that it could level an entire mountain range happened in front of both figures, leaving only a massive crater where one human used to lay.


    Then...


    Black.


    Nothingness.


    Peace.


    But... even in that peace, a voice is heard.


    "It took you a while to come here, huh?"


    The man opens his eyes and sees that he is in a boat in the middle of the ocean.


    "I thought the afterlife would be more pretty" he says while accommodating himself


    "Ha...kid this place isn''t the afterlife... at least not yet" the figure guides the boat while talking.


    "Then let''s go. After all, I am probably currently ashes. " The man quickly accepted his fate. After all, he was ready since a while ago.


    "Believe me, i wish I could do that, but sadly, things aren''t good enough for that to happen"


    "What do you mean?"


    "***"


    "Shit... I guess that explains quite a few things about the Calamity"


    "Yeah, that''s why sadly your rest must be delayed."


    "I thought beings like you couldn''t intervene in such a way?"


    "This is an exception. The balance accepted the intervention."


    "So it''s that serious, huh?"


    "Sadly, yes, my good friend."


    "So what do I have to do? Go to some different realm to get a weapon or something? I heard that the soul realm managed to resist to some degree the Calamity"


    "***"


    "...really?..."


    "Sorry."


    "The world really hates me, huh?"


    "..."


    Suddenly, everything turned white.


    --------

 A New Morning

    A morning bird can be heard in the distance, and a figure in a bed starts to move.


    "I can''t believe it..." The man looks at his hands, now free of scars and burn marks. His body, once broken, now was young and healthy again, weaker, sure, but that''s only a minor inconvenience (it was never his strength anyway).


    The man gets up from bed and goes to the nearby window where he sees a beautiful blue sky that seems to expand forever. It was just like how the man remembered it.


    "It happened just as they said, but... why do i feel like something is missing?" The man realized his memory wasn''t as good as he hoped it''d be.


    The man continues to inspect himself and the surroundings until suddenly...


    "SWEETIE" a woman can be heard screaming."ITS MORNING ALREADY. ARE YOU SLEEPING ALL DAY?". The voice takes a while to settle in, but once it does, the man runs to the voice as if his life dependents on it.


    After running down some stairs, he opens a door, and on the other side, he sees the owner of the voice.


    "M...m....mom...?" the man says as his voice now sounds different. "Is...that...you...?" The woman is currently baking some bread so she doesn''t see the child.


    "No, I am the princess of the draconian kingdom" she says in a sarcastic voice, her back still facing him.


    "..." The child slowly walks towards the woman and hugs her back slowly as if she could vanish at any moment."it''s really you..." The child could feel tears starting to spill out.


    "Of course it''s me-are you crying?" The woman finally turns and watches as her son starts crying."wow wow what happened, sweetheart? Did you have a nightmare or something?" The woman starts inspecting her son as he continues crying.


    "...*hiccup*... sorry... it''s just that... it feels like I am in a dream... Don''t worry about it..." The child tried to convince her mother, but she was still checking him.


    "Sweetie, you know that if anything happens, you can tell me, right? You know that we are in this together." The mother was still worried, something that her son hated. She shouldn''t suffer from his stupid things.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The child finally stopped crying."I know, mom. Thanks for always being with me...after everything..." The mother finally calmed down and tries to change the subject. After all, if her son was truly in trouble, she trusted that he would seek her out.


    "Ok... I trust you..."The mother cracks a smile then. "You are really sentimental this morning. Even thanking me and everything. If you have any trouble you can stay in your room I can manage the bakery"


    "No no no I will help. Here, let me continue making the bread. " The child still wanted to stay near. He wanted to enjoy this little moment of happiness at least a bit.


    "I don''t know, little guy. You never were the best when it came to food." The mother was impressed of her sons motivation.


    "Don''t worry, mom, I am sure I will impress you. Just wait." The child put himself to work wanting to enjoy the moment.


    ----


    After a while, the child finishes preparing the bread while his mother finishes setting up the bakery that she owns.


    "Ok, everything''s ready, but let''s see how it is." The mother picks up a piece of bread and notices it''s still hot."au... should have checked first. Move a little sweetie, I will make sure the bread isn''t so hot. "


    The child proceeded to move to the side while his mother raised her arm and proceeded to aim it at the bread.


    "<i>Soft wind</i>"


    Suddenly, a wind that should be called more of a breeze proceeds to happen around the bread that regulates the breads temperature.


    ''Elemental magic... no matter how many times I see it, it still amazes me. Something so simple but full of possibilities..." The child proceeds to look at his hands again. ''Magic... something so simple yet complex that everyone has... except me...''


    The mother, while still using the spell, notices her son''s depressed look and could only just look away.


    After a little bit, the bread is at the correct temperature and takes a bite. "Oh wow, this is the best batch you ever made. Have you been practicing in secret, sweetie?" The mother tries to change the subject.


    "Oh...eh yes, yes, I did." The child was a little caught off guard.


    "You should be careful sweetie. You could have hurt yourself... and be both know your injures are a little difficult to treat..." No more words needed to be said.


    "Yeah... sorry but don''t worry, I took all precautions possible." He more than anyone knew how difficult things like that could be.


    "It looks like we are running low on ingredients if we want to make the next batch. I know you hate it, but... can you go get more?" The mother asked her son, who was in a meditated state.


    "Yeah, don''t worry, mom. I will be back in a flash." The Child proceeds to grab some money from the counter and leaves the store, wanting to breathe a little and to think about his situation.


    But before going, his mother had one last thing to say.


    "Be careful, Kei!"


    --------

 Situation

    As Kei was walking down the busy streets of the capital city, he started compiling everything he knew so far.


    ''Ok, so it appears I have traveled back in time. It''s obvious it''s a few years back (maybe 5-6?) I should check a calendar later to confirm the date.(but even that won''t help a lot. The <b>Calamity </b>didn''t help with the perception of time)


    My condition is the same that it was in the past meaning I didn''t keep any of my blessings or marks (that actually sucks) not even the soul related ones were saved but I do feel a certain sensation regarding some. For example, I may not possess the <b>Dragon Pact,</b> but I can still feel a lingering effect of it, not enough to use, but it is something.


    My objective should obviously be stopping the calamity, but...how can I do that? The Calamity is such a powerful thing that even the <b>Destined Hero</b> failed to stop it. And he had the most powerful blessings in the worls. They were called "<b>Destined Hero"</b> for a reason after all. I will have to seriously think of a plan for this.(would that even change anything?)


    But now the elephant in the room... why can''t I remember the full conversation? I remember that I died and met with <b>Them</b>, and we talked, but... parts of the conversation are...obscured? Like someone doesn''t want me to know. But that''s impossible! it was just the two of us. And I know that whatever they said was important.Come on, Kei, think!''


    But despite trying to remember what was said, the only thing he got was a headache.


    ''Aaaaaa Damnit, I guess I will have to continue blind for now. It''s too early for this... for now, I will enjoy the fact that the world is normal. Maybe at night I will start thinking of a plan.'' With his mind set up, he finally focuses on the road ahead.


    -----


    After walking for a bit, he finally reaches the store.


    ''Ahhh this store, the only one that will sell the materials for bread at such a low price, I have come so many times here that I could do it with my eyes closed'' Kei thought as he entered the store.


    ''But why would I hate coming here?''


    "Well, hel- oh, it''s you..." The man attending the store didn''t look pleased as Kei entered.


    "Hello to you too -"


    ''What was his name again? After so long, I kinda forgot.''


    "It''s Leroy" The young man says as he looks with disgust to Kei.


    ''Now i remember a little. Leroy, the son of Reyo, his father is considered something of a charitable sort of person.''A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Oh yeah! Leroy! What are you doing here? Shouldn''t your dad be here?"


    "He is currently talking to a client backdoor, so you will have to wait." It was obvious Leroy didn''t want him to wait.


    "Sadly, I gotta talk about some business with him. So I will wait." A smirk almost crosses his face. After all, being able to be childish again after so much is quite the unique opportunity.


    "...you have quite the nerve you know...after what you pulled the other day." Leroy started to watch him with anger.


    ''Fuck... what did I do? I should have done a little overview of what I did in the past few days... another thing for the checklist.''


    "No response, heh... not surprising coming from a weirdo like you."


    "..."


    "You think because you are ohhh so miserableeee you can do whatever you want? Well, the answer is no, you freak of nature. "


    ''Now I remember...''


    "Hey Leroy. Remind me of something. When was the last time your girl didn''t sleep with the fat pig downstreet?"


    "!... You motherfucker!!!" Leroy volts over the counter and tries to grab him.


    ''Yeah, I remember. You were so insignificant in the past that I probably deleted you from my memory.


    The second rate bully that used his age and height as an advantage. You used to bully me around this time, didn''t you?


    Oh, but I remember how, in an espionage mission, I found out how your future wife earned a few extra coins. Your face was priceless when I threw it at your face, hahaha.


    I think that was the last time i saw you alive...''


    "You know for being someone so "superior" you can''t even cast basic spells. Heck I would even say that you are worse than me because at least I got an excuse, while you are simply bad" Kei says while gracefully dodging Leroy''s attacks.


    "YOU FUCKING FREAK! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ANYTHING! AT LEAST I DONT HAVE TO LIVE KNOWING I AM A FUCKING NOBODY WITH NO MAGIC!"


    "Uf...that actually hurt you know" he says in a sarcastic voice.


    "I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"


    Suddenly another voice enters the discussion. "Who will kill who?"


    Leroy immediately stops his attack and watches as a man stands next to the backdoor of the store.


    The man is big, not in a fat neither muscular way, mostly a balance between both, his once brown hair now started turning grey(age is catching up to him). His presence was imposing and demanded respect.


    "D...d...dad..." Leroy''s anger immediately subsides as nervousness(and a hint of fear) settles in. "W...we we ju...st...playing" he immediately starts to create a little story.


    ''If I let him alone he will definitely be punished...ahhh just this once.''


    "Hello Reyo. We were just talking about the last story released in the newspaper. You know the one about a knight seeking vengance."


    Leroy immediately jumps at the chance of being able to free himself from his father''s punishment.


    "Ye... yeah... we were acting the part of the knight taking revenge..."


    Reyo looks at both of them and simply exhales. He probably didn''t buy it, but at least he didn''t make it apparent.


    "What do you need, Kei? I am pretty sure you aren''t here just to talk about the newspaper"


    "You got me! I am here to buy materials for our bakery. And also to talk about something"


    "I got the materials right in the other room. If you wanna talk, come back later, I am currently busy."


    "Sounds good to me"


    ''Even though I said I would start planification later, I still need to start setting up some pieces. And what better way to start than having a talk with Reyo, the publicly known "protector" of the streets and those unfortunates enough to end there... what a load of shit.''


    Before going to the next room Kei looks over his shoulder and sees Leroy with a mixed looked on his face.


    ''Even though I don''t like you, even you didn''t deserve what came to you. Who would have guess that the only reason one exists is just to be merchandise?'' Kei with a pitiful look continues forward again and collects the materials to go back home.


    -----