《The Rifter》


 The beginning

    I had a dream of someone slightly smiling at me. I couldn''t make out his face clearly, but I couldn''t make out his face clearly, but I could see his happy expression. He said something to me, but I couldn''t remember what it was. Maybe it was something important, but it didn''t matter anyway. After all, for someone like me to have something important to say feels meaningless. In this world, nothing matters to me, even after that dream. I don¡¯t believe anything significant will happen in my life.


    When I woke up, I felt more drained than any human being should. I wondered how some people could be happy about waking up early for school. I washed my face and then looked in the mirror. There was the same reflection: brown hair, violet eyes, and sharp features devoid of emotion. If someone saw me, they might think I was alexithymic, but that¡¯s not true; I just prefer not to show my emotions. I¡¯m a 17-year-old high school student named Ray, attending a prestigious school called TZO, known for its academic rigour. Yet, I find myself at the bottom of my class because I don''t focus on grades or graduating. My only goal is to live a peaceful life, free of pain.


    After preparing for school, I thought nothing would change in my life. But on that day, things turned out differently than I expected. As I walked to school, I saw children playing and students from my school chatting cheerfully. I was surrounded by people expressing a range of emotions. From a distance, I must have looked odd because I struggled to express myself. But does it matter if humans don''t express emotions the way I do? It''s simply a matter of choice¡ªnothing else.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    When I entered my classroom, I immediately spotted my desk at the back, near the door. I contemplated this as I sat down. After class, I noticed a man in a huge black coat and a black top hat walking past me. He said, "He is waiting for you." I didn¡¯t understand what he meant, so I brushed it off as the words of a weirdo.


    When I got home, my aunt hugged me as if we hadn¡¯t seen each other in years, even though we lived together. Both of my parents died after I was born, but I never knew them well enough to grieve for them.


    During dinner, my aunt asked, "How was school?" I answered nonchalantly, "Like always." She continued, "Ray, my dear, you have so much talent and potential. I know how smart and kind you are, so you need to talk to people and be more sociable." She said this with a gentle smile, but I wondered why I needed to talk to people I barely knew.


    "Ray, one day I may die," she said. "Until then, I want you to have someone to share your sorrow and grief with¡ªsomeone who can help you in a dire situation, someone you would call a friend." As she finished talking, I replied casually, "This is the first time something important has come from that brain of yours."


    Immediately, two utensils were thrown in my direction, and I swiftly dodged them. My aunt, looking angry, exclaimed, "What did you say, you little brat?" I lowered my head and said, "What I meant was how smart and wise you are." After a brief silence, we started washing the dishes. I told my aunt, "I will consider your suggestion." She suddenly flinched and looked toward me as she pushed her black hair back. She gave me a grateful smile, and her red eyes reflected my face as she said, "Let''s hope tomorrow will be good."

 Abnormal day

    The world may not seem like a game unless you have a quest. But for me, It feels like I¡¯m repeating the same actions over and over, like an NPC. Don''t get me wrong, I don''t mind it, though, because I somehow find myself in the same position¡ªlike a controlled puppet in a circus. But can you change it? If you think you can, you may have the power to do so, but it doesn¡¯t matter to me; my fate can''t change, and neither can I.


    It''s exhausting to even think about it. I finished my preparations for school and considered skipping it since no one would care if I did¡ªexcept for my aunt, of course. If she found out, I could come up with something to tell her, but that would hurt her feelings. It would also probably hurt my school record, so I decided I should go to school.


    As I walked, I realized that everything looked abnormal; my thoughts felt strange. At times, I felt like I was switched off, like a machine. However, after a few moments, I began to think again, though that weird feeling never left me.


    As I continued to school, I saw people wearing bright yellow clothing with three red stripes at the edges of their tops. My memory was foggy, but it seemed like everyone knew them. How could I forget THE REPLEANSE, humanity¡¯s hope. They are the strongest organizations in the world. Created to protect and save people from the time void. It had never happened in our area as far as I knew, but why should I carry that burden? That was not my problem; I had to get to school.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    My mind was spiralling into chaos; I felt like everything I knew was being destroyed and rebuilt over and over, like a storm. I thought I was being tortured by these new feelings. After what felt like an eternity, I stopped, but when I looked around, it felt unreal. I was in front of a weird building that resembled my school, but something was off¡ªnothing was adding up. No, don¡¯t tell me; I was in a time void.


    The time void, also called Amterias, is a phenomenon where you get transported to another world. The main goal is to find the fragments of time, but couldn''t remember what to do with the fragment. I tried to remember, but the only that I remembered was that time is meaningless in the time void. I couldn''t understand or remember anything else for that matter. I sighed, my experience being the same as it was, and started wandering around.


    As I wandered in the new environment, it felt normal compared to what I felt earlier¡ªthere were no abnormalities, but it was strange not knowing where I was going. While I was walking, I heard someone calling me, and it felt odd. When I looked back, I saw two teenagers running toward me with remarkable speed. One of them immediately jumped toward me. I swiftly stepped aside to evade him, and he fell to the ground like a tossed cat on the street¡ªthough, to be fair, we were on the street.


    I looked at the other person; she was slightly younger than me, but her height was equal, if not greater. She glanced at the boy on the ground and said with a sigh, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t jump on people so casually; they won¡¯t catch you.¡± After a moment of silence, the boy got up and said with a happy face, ¡°But Ray is my best friend! How could I not jump on him?¡±


    I was bewildered; how did he know my name? As I pondered this, a sudden shock hit my mind. It was less intense than the first, but vivid images flashed before me: those two standing beside me, fragments of time, a huge castle, and soldiers without armour. Though I couldn¡¯t see or feel clearly, I knew where to find the fragments. I saw some in a golden chest which had two dragons designed on the top of the chest. When my mind returned to normal, I opened my eyes to find them both looking at me with a worried expression.