《RESTLESS》 The Pond of Gleam ¡¶Chapter#1:The pond of gleam¡· BEEP!!!BEEP!!!. A teenager woke up from the bed and turned the alarm clock off. He patiently organised his bedroom,brushed,made some toast and ate it,got ready for school,greeted his parents and set out for his highschool. .... Another regular day of his life. Attending classes as usual. He took notes attentively and tried to concentrate in the lecture. At tiffin break he went to buy some snacks. He sit on the bench located in the backyard of his school. "Hey Kai where have you been? Again on those boring classes about geography and herbes? You need to get some life man",said Bota."Hmmm atleast unlike you he isn''t always watching or reading some fantasy cartoons",said Stan. "Math freaks are giving too much advise nowadays",Bota said mockingly."What you just said nerd?",Stan growled."You''re the nerd here",Bota growled back."Stop with your nonsense guys",Kai stopped them and started eating his snacks peacefully. Bota and Stan also sat and started eating snacks. "So....when are we going?",Stan asked."Bota started thinking about something"."If you guys think you are prepared we can start making our moves",Kai calmly Made his remark."I think we are good to go",said Bota. Stan nodded."Than start gathering everything we need. No hard feelings, we will make it happen". It was back than when we were just kids. We used to go on our fun little expenditures every day. It was than that we decided we will surely explore this whole world and if possible the whole universe. From back than we started making various presentations such as learning wilder life survival skills,learning how to fight with wild animals with knife, I personally learned about medical herbs and other plants, Stan always working on wilder life culinary and machinery skills, Bota.....he is just as usual dreaming fantasies. But like him we also have the desire to know the unknown, to behold the great site of existence, experiencing every known and unknown phenomenon known throughout the strange histories. And the time has come. We all turned 17 this year and decided that we will start our journey. We all have families but obviously we won''t be telling them about that cause the journey we are going to embark is not of returning. At first we felt sadness. It''s always hard to leave your family. It''s almost like dying. Like knowing that we are going on a path of no return and not going to met eachother again. But it''s not fully the truth we can also make a journey to our homes sometime but it will take a long time for sure. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ... We decided to sneak out of home at midnight locking up the door of our room from inside and leaving a single letter to let them know what we are going to do. ... [Near the forest entrance of our city] "Was there any problem", I asked. Bota and Stan shook there heads. "Than let''s go" ... (It was than when we realised it is not going to be easy). {Huff Huff} we are constantly gasping because of running for around 20 minutes non stop. "Shit what happend to your wild life fighting skills guys?", Bota asked while running. His face has already turned red due to over heating,"who knew that we will met a devastating mother grizzly bear that early. They are no joke. They can run upto 40 mph. If we were not in this dense forest where trees are being barrier to this massive beast and our agile bodies. We could never run away from her",said Stan while running helplessly. I don''t know what to do rather than running.(I hope we can find some place to hide from this abomination. The forest came to an end. Our visions got blocked by a vast mountain range. Finally we saw a hope of light there was a small tunnel where we can crawl in but the body of this abomination can''t get in. If we can somehow get in there and block the hole...."GUYS!!!!!". They understood exactly what I meant. We threw our body as fast we could do with experience and agility we have gained by practicing all this years we''re not in vain. Atlast moment we somehow crawled in and blocked the narrow entrance."Thank goodness!!!!". Finally we got a breather. (It was truly our good luck that we survived. We could have died). We lit our torches and say a grand place. The inner compound of the tunnel was huge. We started we walking. At something in time we saw some natural glow coming from somewhere in the tunnel. We went there out of curiosity. "Wow! It''s so pretty". Said Bota. I nodded in agreement."What is this? Its not the natural miasma that insects create". Stan asked."I think this a Sulfuric acid lake. I learnt about that from an anime called Dr.Pebble".Said Bota."No, That''s not the case here. There is no smell or pungent of sulfer". Stan made his remark. "It seems like a abnormally glowing water".(It feels dangerous but I wanna touch it so bad. It feels like I can feel a phenomenon). I took steps slowly. Arrived near the mini pond. Bota and Stan watching me carefully. They also stand near me. We stared in the water. It''s so fresh looking. The water was like the surface of a precious gem. So beautiful, elegant and full of purity. There is also a sweet aroma to it. I felt like I was in a beautiful garden. There were vein growing on the wall of tunnel from the pond. Suddenly the rock we were standing at broke out of over weight. We fell on the water. "It''s deep", Bota screamed."CALM DOWN GUYS. WE KNOW HOW TO SWIM".I tried to calm them down but it also took me in surprise.(Why I feel like sleepy???). I saw my vision getting deem. Bota and Stan also stopped screaming. It was like we were relaxing on a pool in summer vacation. My vision darkend and I don''t remember anything else. The Real World ¡¶Chapter#2:The Real World¡· A boy with nothing special moderate physic was laying on a bed made crudely out of oak like wood. His hair is wavy and deep black. If looked carefully the thing can be known that at some point in past his skin was fair but by passing time it got tanned and looks browny white now. His height was average. Face was by modern beauty standards can be called diamond shape. There is a calm composer that can be seen in his closed eyes. Like it had seen and analysed many things despite the young age. He was wearing a plain T-shirt of blue colour and normal trousers. He was of average height. Next to him in another bed there is a boy who has a slim figure,;curly and dry blond hair which can be called the harvest of carelessness; pair of eyes with deep dark circles, can be called byproduct of sleepless nights; he was wearing silver rimmed spectacles and pair of shirt and pant that can be called formal. His height was slightly above average. He was quite handsome despite the lack of beauty care. His face shape was perfectly oval. There can be seen the shadow of sharp intellect on his face. There was another bed in the room where a boy that can be called slightly over weight but not too much, wearing a t-shirt with various cartoons on it and a pant. His hair was dyed pink. He is average in height and his face shape is kind of round. Skin tone is fair. ... {RUSTLE RUSTLE} Rustling of wind can be heard. It is like a natural melody singing with excellent symphony. (My body feeling light. My lungs are also feeling better. How beautiful peaceful it is). Kai slowly opened his eyes. First thing he saw was various strange creature looking like bugs were floating in the air. He can''t tell whether this bugs were emmiting light or devouring it. Being surprised he waved his hand defensively to get rid of this strange creature that were floating near him. He sat up on the bed.(Where is others?). He hurriedly looked for his friends. He found them right beside him. He started examining if they were breathing or not. "They are just merely unconscious. They are healthy nothing happened to them",Someone said hoarsely. I imidiatly looked in the direction of the source of speech. I saw a middle aged man with long gray hair and mini beard was standing in the middle of the room. His figure was eyetaking. He was tall, he had muscles with great density, his skintone was bright, his skin was so smooth looking that it can make celebrities conscious of their lackings. " Who are you? Where are we? What happened to us? We were in the pond just a moment ago than.....",I asked and can''t remember someparts " Don''t worry you are safe now. But I don''t know if the sentence is valid here. And I am just an old man none special", Said the old man "Where are we than? On the other side of forest mountain?",asked Kai. "No, it''s the real world", said the old man. "Real world? I know it''s real and I am not dreaming. I already checked it that I am awake", said Kai. "What you were living at was just merely under realm",said the old man with a heavy tone. "What? I can''t reason with what you are talking about",said Kai. "Don''t bd hard on yourself. Take rest. Let other wake up. Than we can talk and I can explain to you. Till then take rest properly. The old man left the small room. At first I thought maybe we got kidnapped but we are not locked and there was open space outside of this room. I thought it could be a prank but that was not the case either. I looked around.( It is a house sort of made out of clay. There is a table where various books are laying there. There was an animal hide lantern to lit up the room. There is various symbols on the wall. I think they are just decoration. But they are kind of strange. Looking at them I feel kind of drowsiness). I slowly got out of the room. Stolen novel; please report. ... The scene I saw outside of the room was indescribable from my point of view. The view was something that I could never had dreamed of in my life till now. The world looked like a different planet to me. There were mountains but they had faces. Although their eyes are closed but I can definitely see the structure of their face. The sky was like an oil painting made by an unique artstyle. The revers were like purest crystals that got melted. There we various light emmiting bug like creatures floating here and there. I can see some strange looking birds who had multiple organisms . I saw a strange type of bird whose skin was like peeled of but his wings and feathers were floating around him. It was simply but not simply bizarre. There were various strange creatures that I had never seen were running on the distant ground too. They looked like dinosaurs with different types of organisms. There were seven moons on the sky. "What is this I am seeing. It can''t be earth. It even has seven moons!!!",Kai exclaimed. " Not It. Only this place. There are different moons and different numbers in different places",said the old man who was standing beside since when I can''t tell. "This really isn''t earth. Did we died? Is this heaven or hell?",asked Kai with mixed emotions. "Heaven? Haha no it never was. About being hell , I don''t know different individuals have different opinions", the old man held his remark. I didn''t ask anything else. ... I waited patiently. Around 2 hours later Stan and Bota woke up. I explained to them what I knew. " Where is my system dashboard where I can see my op skills? Why there no system window popping out infront of my face eventhough I am trying?",said Bota with surprising looks. "You idiot!. It''s not somekind of fantasy or novel that there will be op powers for reincarnations or transmigrators. It''s reality. We are stuck in an unknown place. And an old man claiming it to be the real world", said Stan with a hint of despair. "I brought you guys food. It properly. I don''t know about your diet so I brought some all edible fruits. They are tasty trust me". The old man handed over a basket full of strongly shaped fruits with a gentle smile on his face. This fruits were really strange some looked like water droplets, some looked like strange faces, some were even humanoid shaped. We had some doubt. We thought it can be poisonous but if the old man wanted to harm us he could do it pretty easily while we were asleep. And also in this strange place none can even save us so thinking too much is useless. We took our first bite with hasitation. (What is this???. Is this sort of taste even exist?. It was strange sweet sour at the same time a little tangy, the inner structure was mushy but chewy at the same time. It was an experience worth atleast a few hundred thousands if not millions. We dug into the fruits and ate our feel. "Oh I am so full I never ate so much greedily" Stan said with a bloated belly. "It was amazing!!!", said Bota. I also nodded showing agreement. There was a hint of Satisfaction on our faces. But now is the time we need to know about this place. ... We slowly approached the old man. We sat a little near the old man who was sitting beside a strange looking fire which was (Black???). We never saw this type of fire before. "The world you are from is called the under realm". The old man started talking. We started listening to him attentively. "It''s not some different universe or reality like you saw in novels. It''s basically the real world and your world is just a tiny peace of land inside it separated by just a little space between them which you guys also call space". We become utterly shocked by the old man''s remark. We started frowning uncontrollably at eachother. " But we didn''t go to space. Also why didn''t any astronauts find out about it?. Why there is not even a single theory about this?",asked Stan with great doubts. "Hehe I see you lads got a lots of questions for this old man. Simply speaking space between real world and under realm has the concept of infinity so you guys can''t escape it. Secondly lower human beings can''t even comprehend to make theories like this. Even if someone made a theory like this in some point of time it would get simply banished by top dogs",said the old man with very calm composer. " Than how we came here?", I asked without showing my inner emotions. "Two places are separated by a barrier. And the barrier has some places where it resonates with real world. The pond you guys encountered was such a place".said the old man. " Can you send us back to our home?", Bota asked with hope. "Even if I send you back the top dogs will imidiatly banish you from reality", the old man replied with a silent gaze. A hint of despair descended on our faces. {Shrieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeweeweeeweeeweweeweewewek} An indescribably different shriek came from somewhere distant. Every single hair on our skin got straight up. Our body started trembling. We can''t help but constantly sweating. We almost wet our pants. We felt like agent of death has come to take us personally. We looked back to the old man. He simply replied with a gentle smile. "As I said it''s no heaven. We are not 100 percent safe anywhere", said the old man with calmness like it was nothing."It won''t be that bad. Stay in this room. Don''t go out until the room falls. We nodded more than one time. "Remember one thing specially. If you start hearing some type of chanting or any letter like symbols or ruins sipping out of the window in the room", the old man paused. Than said,"Close your eyes,close your ears,make yourself as composed as possible and don''t make any movements or sound. Other wise you will burst into countless pieces. Even the possibility of happening something worst than dead is there", The old man said with a shimmering amount of darkness in his past radiant eyes. We gulped our saliva. {Shrieieiieieieiieieieieieiisieieieieiieieisisisiisiaiwiwieiieiwoeiwowiiwiwiwiwiwiiwowiwiwiwiiwiwiwiwiwiiwiek} Another shriek came and it was louder and closer than before. An immeasurable amount of fear made our hearts heavy like we would chock to death any moment. Felt like a certain death was waiting for us. Experience of The First Disaster ¡¶Chapter#3: Experience of the first disaster¡· At some point the ground started trembling. The old man was exiting from the room. I asked,"Where are you going?". "Isn''t it obvious kid? To deal with that",the old man said. "To deal with that thing!!!", I exclaimed. "Don''t worry, you are new so you don''t know the rules. You can''t survive if you are not safe enough unless you are under someone''s or some sort of protection", the old man explained then exited the room. We were sitting close to eachother. In this unknown place we only have ourselves. "Don''t worry it''s gonna be fine...I guess",Bota said. Even though he was visually the most coward among us, he tried to make us calm. I grabbed them both by shoulder and we made a round formation. (...) A deep shadow from the horizon was nearing the room. A creature size of a house was coming closer and closer. The life forms were escaping from here as if the eclipse has came itself. Even the dinosaur like creatures were running as if there existence was that of an ant. The thing was so strange that ''it'' was even hard to think of such a thing. ''It'' had a ebony skin that can be compared to coal. ''It'' was nothing like the humans of underworld has seen before. ''It'' had pipe like tentacles growing from the place where should have been eyes. ''It'' had strange rots all over its body. Veil like liquid was sipping out from those tentacles. ''It'' had pus like thick liquid dripping from its body. ''It'' didn''t have lips. There was a hole in the place of mouth and there were countless. ''It'' didn''t have fully formed legs but similar organisms and nothing like hands or so. Despite of not having eyes it felt like ''it''''s senses were better working than average eyes. When it was almost 20 meters from the room, it suddenly stopped like ''it'' has sensed something. A considerably tall man with deep brown eyes and short hair with a muscular body was standing in front of ''it''. The old man''s eyes were different from before. Like it was observing the very existence of the creature. If his pupils are observed carefully, an orb of darkness can be seen there too. "It''s a Knight of deep pit I see. Not some low level knight. It can be called an elite of royal knights if addressed properly" ''it'' moved it''s tentacles to attack the old man. It was as fast as the bullets that can break the sound barrier. But the old man dodged it pretty easily. One after another sonic strikes were coming and being dodged. The ground was trembling, like the very strikes are displacing the tectonic plates and causing an earthquake. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. (...) We were terrified by that constants sonic booms. The atmosphere was getting hotter. Without even needing to hear any chanting or seeing any holographic ruins or floating symbols, our eyes were tightly closed and our hands were grubbing the ears tightly so that we couldn''t even hear anything other than our heart beats. We were almost kneeling on the floor. (...) After being unable to hit the old man, the creature opened the whole which was supposed to be mouth, ''it'' raised it''s trunk like it was preparing for the next move. "That''s as far as you go". The old man said with an unfathomable tone. His voice was different from before as if it possessed an enormous amount of pressure itself. The body of the old man started to glow with darkness. None might have eever imagined that darkness can glow like this too. Ripples spread in the air near the hand of the old man like the reality itself was being rippled because of the existence of the old man. A large scythe which looked like it was a combination between pith black stone and pure glowing metal was brought into existence from the ripples. It had many shimmering stones fitted in it. It was like a masterpiece made by the greatest weapon Smith of existence. It has a glowing sharpness which can only be achieved if it was sharped flawlessly every day for hundreds of years if not thousands. The old man dashed forward with the scythe in his hand. A loud sound akin to a large thunder clap was heard. The air around the two creatures got berserk and the ground was like praying it''s last prayers before complete annihilation. And the moment the scythe touched the creatures main body the area got blanked. (...) Every second was like eternity for us. We were hopping the disaster would spare us. After don''t know how many minutes, we felt the atmosphere got lighter, the temperature was going normal, the trembling of the ground has stopped. Someone tapped us gently on the shoulder. We slowly opened our eyes and saw the old man standing beside us. His white Cape got dirtier by don''t know what type of liquid. There was no harm. He didn''t get hurt not even a single scratch anywhere at this moment we realised something. (What sort of monster I am looking at that not even a disaster could put a single scratch on his body?) Bota thought, ''What is he?'' Stan thought, ''Is it even possible for a single human to even survive a mere second infront of a disaster that can make earthquake?''. They all imidiatly understood that the real world was no joke and neither its dwellers. "It''s safe now. You guys can rest". We were going to ask something then suddenly the moonlight banished and darkness descended. We got surprised. The room was enlightened with a single lamp like tool and we can barely see eachother. We looked in the direction of the Oldman tensely. "Don''t worry it the dark phase. It''s not a bad news. But you should sleep now cause If you stay wake it will passively infect you with ailments over time",the old man said. We imidiatly laid down on our previous beds and shut our eyes and fall asleep without any question. Because in this unknown place question was meaningless and we can''t do anything but abide the advises of the old man who was our savior. (...) The next day by our logic when light sipped out in the room. We opened our eyes and sat on the bed. "So our world was basically a round shaped marvel inside a gigantic foot ball or so huh? It''s so strange that I can''t even believe it. But also I would never forget the hellish experience I had yesterday ", Stan said. "Please bro don''t make me remember again", Bota said while hugging his shoulders tightly. "Guys we can''t go back to our world. But it''s not like we have any intension to go back anyway. We left our homes to explore the unknown and we got the chance. What a luck right?", I said with a smile. "Yeah you are right. Let''s explore this damn real world".Bota and Stan said together. I smiled back to them. "That''s the spirit boys. I like it. Adaptability is one of the greatest abilities", the old man said with a smile. "Thank you for you''re generosity and also really thank you for saving us. I know words are not enough to show our gratitude", I said the old man respectfully. "Don''t worry guys you guys will definitely pay me back someday", the old man smirked. We laughed because of the humorous tone. "You are having your good time huh" A voice came from near the entrance of the room. Someone was surely standing on the door. Our gaze lowered unconsciously. It was like even seeing the person was dare for us lowly beings. At this moment I felt like something worst than yesterday''s disaster was standing there. I stood on my place without even daring to move any body part of mine even an inch. The Kings ¡¶Chapter#4: The Kings¡· The old man looked at the person standing near door. "You should stop bullying this little childrens" "Don''t worry I was just checking them" The person said with a smirk. The grip on our hearts loosened. Our body become normal again we can move now. But we didn''t dare yo look at the person yet. The person said as if he was withdrawing a penalty, "I give you my permission to look at the heavens" We slowly gathered our courage and looked at the direction. We saw a person so majestic like he was the peak of human beauty and we were merely baboons. He had long golden hair, his eyes were as clear as the ocean. His skin was pure ivory coloured. The beauty was dazzling like we were looking at a shiny gem. (Why he is so pretty? My average looks are not even comparable to his finger nails. It''s really unfair. I don''t like it) Bota and Stan also thinked in a same way. Bota couldn''t hold himself and said out of appreciation, "Beauty of his majesty can make us go blind" "Ho ho you are a clever kid boy" The person said with a pleased tone. The old man asked the person, "What make you visit here Burza" Burza look in the direction of the old man. "Nothing I was just visiting you Svartvit" (So the name of the old man was Svartvit) Bota thought, *it''s so hard to spell* Stan was observing the both highly figures with calm eyes and fixing his spectacles repetitively. Actually it was a habit of Stan. Burza asked with a calm composer, "So you found some newborn hamsters huh?" (Is he referring us. Now that I think of it. What will happen to us? If the old man ask us to leave the place. I doubt that we can even survive a single day without his protection) Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Bota and Stan was thinking the same thing. The old man replied, "Hmm thanks for reminding me. I was thinking if you could let them be the citizens of your land. O kind king of Storms" Burza burst into laughter as if it was the best joke he had ever heard. We were silent. We felt like we won''t get a shelter. We were kinda scared but didn''t let the emotions surface on our faces. Burza stopped laughing after some moment. He said with a normal look, "Why don''t you keep them under your. O loving king of shimmering Darkness" (So the old man is a king too!!) Bota and Stan also exclaimed. "You know right I need to go to various places every now and then. They won''t survive if they stick with me" The old man said with an understanding tone. Burza replied like a child, "Nah I am not taking them in. Looking after hamsters is a pain in___ . I don''t wanna do that" The old man tried to persuade Burza. "You wanna fight kid" Burza said indifferently, "Nah I can''t win over you here. But Svartvit even if my kindness which has no boundaries decide to take them. They will just die on the journey before even reaching the land of breeze. And I won''t be doing you another favour by training them or helping them evoke" "I thought I could have get rid of work by flattering you" Thr old man said with a disappointing look. Burza being a little enraged said, "Svartvit you lazy, evil geezer. You think I am some crush boy from back than. Nah I ain''t falling on your traps again like old days". Our mouths twitched a little. The old man sighed and looked into our directions. "Rest today kids. Training starts from tomorrow. Sorry but it will be hellish. A little fear emerged from somewhere. Cause we could see that he was completely serious in the last phrase. (What is hellish even define for such a strong individual? Will we even survive?) Bota and Stan was looking at eachother. The old man and Burza left the room while talking about some matters. (...) It was day time we finally got the chance to see the place clearly. The room we were staying at had various symbols made from cutting the wall by a sharp object. We took a look at the table. There were various glass vessels filled with unknown liquids. There were some books too. The books were not standard square or rectangular shape. There were some of round, triangular, some were as thin as ropes and so on. There were some murals too that were covered my strange substance. Stan at first wanted to read them. But the old man warned us clearly that we won''t be in shape if we try to read them. So we didn''t dare. We got outside. We finally got to see what the chamber looks like from outside but it was nothing special. We slowly walked and stood infront of the great lake. (I think we shouldn''t have seen it ) Because of the view infront of us we started to feel sick. Bota couldn''t bare it anymore. He started bomiting. The foods eaten before started to get thrown away. We helped Bota calm down. There was a carcass of a creature infront of us. The smell was so terrible that even inhaling it made us puke out. Our mind wasn''t in a good shape. There were some tiny white warms that were eating the carcass. A mountain near the horizon was cut in half by don''t what. Its inner body was made of substance like rotten meat. The fresh river I saw yesterday was no more fresh. It got tanned by the pus of the disaster. The day phrase was different from night. There was an eclipse sun but surprisingly it was glowing with radiant. (...) Near the nearest mountain from the room I was sitting on a cliff. It was safer than before cause those bizzare animals already migrated because of the disaster. But they will surely comeback in some time. There was a book I was holding in my hands. Surprisingly our bags also came with us. So we had the things precious to us secure. There was an album in my hands. (I have always been a little distant from people. But funny enough today now that I know that there won''t be any chance or near impossible chance to met with my family again. I wonder what they are doing now. Did our family hired people to take us back? Is my mother crying for me? I don''t know....I think It would be a little hard for them to get adjusted this way) A soft smile appeared on my face while I was going through the pictures of my family members. It was like there was a hole in my heart that can''t be filled ever again. I closed the album and slowly stood up. (...) Stan was calculating something in his notebook. Bota was listening to anime theme songs. I was sitting on the bed and thinking something. Bota looked in my direction and asked, "What will be the train like? I hope its not some absurd physical exercise" "I wonder if we will become as powerful as the old that can destroy a disaster easily". Stan said with a hopeful face. It was wistful thinking. But It was also fun to imagine ourselves as some strong guy. I was also looking forward to know what mind blowing things this world has. Why even looking at some text can get us killed. What is the mystery behind living mountain and all those natural phenomenon. That night old man told us to have proper rest cause he want us to be ready for what comes next. (...) There was a middle aged handsome man with great physic and a person with majesticity was sitting near a black fire. Burza said, "You are as kind as before. Picking up hamsters and making them prepared for survival. You don''t even make a loan contract like others" "Kind? Me? You are a funny guy. Who told you that I am not gonna charge them anything in the future? I will defently make them pay their debts" The old man looked in the direction of the room. "But first they need to survive the Retsseg tomorrow" The both sighed as if they remembered something. It was that moment this mighty Kings also showed a slight manifestation of inner pain that was in deep slumber inside of their hurts. None speaked again just starred at the fire that was slowly being extinguished due to the flow of time. Inner Roots ¡¶Chapter#5: Inner Roots¡· [In a cave underneath the dead mountain] The place was clean and dry. Eventhough this land isn''t that bright and even in the day phrase it is just slightly brighter than the moon phrase, the cave had sunlight coming. The place was clean. (I think someone come here often) We were sitting on a flat rock. After breakfast the old man assembled us here. He said our training will start here. "OK guys now for as long as I will be talking, you just need to listen to me. Understand?", said the old man. We nodded. Old man started his speech. "So first of all I want to tell you guys that I am sorry for what is gonna happen with you guys after a while" There is a fearful look on our faces after hearing the old man saying the following words. (What will happen to us? Will we even survive? I have a bad feeling that something horrible is going to happen) The old man continued. "If you guys weren''t to come to real world and spawn in this place, if you guys didn''t even come to real world by accident you wouldn''t have needed to go through this." The old man sighed. "We can''t do anything what has already happened. To tell you the truth this region is a death zone. Yeah it''s true that the real world is a scary place but this is not civil zone where normal people can live under the protection of kingdom. This is also a kingdom but its not habitable because its located in the middle of the dead zone and sorounded by wild areas with unknown dangers. We thought that even if we escorts you to the civil zone you won''t be able to finish the journey because you won''t be able to breath,hear,see,feel and more because you will simply die if you do. Also you can''t stay here because I won''t be staying here all the time. So the only solution to make sure your survival is to make you guys suitable for the real world." The old man looked in the corner where Burza was sitting in a golden rimmed mini chair. "Don''t give me the look. I will only keep an eye on their training. I won''t be helping you to train them". Burza said with an annoyed tone. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The old man looked back at us and sighed. "OK let''s start it". (....) The old man sat infront of us. "I am gonna ask some questions to you guys" We nodded. "What''s reality for you?" "It''s the world". Stan said "I think for me the concept of reality is kind of different. I always try to live in fiction through novels and stuffs so I don''t think I can answer", said Bota "I think the truth is reality. Everything that is true is reality", I also tried to answer. Old man said, " You all tried well but the answer is Existence". [Existence?] We all asked the same question. "Yes, your existence is The reality for you. You being real is defined by your existence. If there is no existence of yours there is no reality. So the most important thing is our existence." (Hmmmm. If someone think deeply than yeah it should be the answer) The old man continued,"This is the real world and this is reality. There is nothing other than this world. The stars and heavenly bodies you will be seeing they are just manifestation of some energy and there is nothing beyond this world just empty." "So in this world if you want to be strong you have to know the reality of your self you need to know your existence. So do you want to know your existence?" "Yes, we do. We need to get stronger if we want to survive". I replied without hesitation. Stan and Bota also supported me. "Then you will have to go through Retsseg. Retsseg is a trial that will help you know your existence and resonate with your inner self. I can''t tell you anymore details cause you will fail if I tell you more".said the old man. "So what we need to do?", I asked. "You need to feel your inner roots first. There are roots inside of us. They are not physical but spiritual. Through this roots the fluid of existence flows. Its our life energy at the same time spiritual energy." "How do we do that?", Stan asked with curiosity. "Knowing your inner self is not that easy. Like we can easily say that our skin is burning but can''t recognise cancer feeding on our life for a long time. Outer sensation is easier to know. So start by feeling the natural energy force." "How do you even do that sleeping in nature?", Bota said with a little humour. The old man smiled. "I will show you that " (Why this smile looks malicious?) (...) Ummm..... we are buried to our neck in the ground now. The old man said we can start meditation and feel the natural energy. Bota:"Guys I think the old man is trolling us" Stan:"What if insects bite us. I think the real world insects are way dangerous than normals" Me:"Guys I think we should really focus if we want to survive" We tried to meditate. Few days after that went by us half in the ground, floating on the water, staying under the fountain, on a tall tree, on a windy mountain peak etc. (...) After some days we started to feel something. As if we are listening, seeing, feeling the world differently from before. It was a different feeling. There is a different type of sensation like there was some liquidish thing in the nature that we couldn''t see before but now it was different after this two month of hugging with nature and eating some type of energy everyday given by the old man we could finally see something different even in the anomalies of the real world. The is like a light differs the colour from being to being. It is different that any substance we have seen before. We were feeling it, even inhaling it. So it was time to take the 2nd step. Now we are told to be in a isolated chamber type of thing by the old man. The old man said after a period of isolation we need to try to feel our inner selves like we did with nature. We got into separate Chambers that were in the inner shelves of the room. We got into our Chambers. (...) (It''s dark. I can''t see anything.) I don''t know maybe 4 hours or so has passed. I can hear everything inside me. The blood going through my vessels I can hear them clearly. The heartbeat is so loud like someone is speaking. If I do even a little movement. I can feel every body part inner or outer. I tried to feel it not physically I tried like I did with nature. After another 4 hours or so I finally felt something different. It was not my physical body. It was like a feeling. It was the body of spirit. There is like a core in between my chest. And there were organisms like root? Like roots spewing from them. I tried to feel the roots. The were like my inner mouth and nose. It was as if I could smell or drink with them like a trunk of elephant does. I remembered that the old man told us when we got the feelings of roots we will have to try to feel the natural energy with the inner roots that way we can evoke our existence. I tried to do it. The moment I tried to inhale the natural energy with the roots. My mind got blank. Memories That Can Not Be Forgotten ¡¶Chapter#6: Memories That Can Not Be Forgotten ¡· "KAI!!! O KAI!!!!" "Stop shouting Acia I can hear you" Acia smiled and waited for me infront of my house. I got ready and got out from the house. "OK let''s go" "Where you wanna go KAI?" "As always let''s play in the park" "Nah not so fun" "What? I am not going anywhere with you. Last time you threw me to a pond and said to swim. You are crazy" "Hehe my bad my bad. But this time we are gonna find a new park , natural one bigger than this one." "Nah I am not going " Acia bite her tongue and started tickling me. "Don''t bother me" "You are a knuckle head" "What did you say?" Acia showed her tongue to provoke me and started running . "You are not going to stay one after this " I chased her. We ran for some time and got near a tree and collapsed. {Huff Huff} {Huff Huff} "Stop running you dumbass" I threw a little punch on Acia''s head. "Ahhh you are not so gentlemanly. Which man punches a women" "I don''t discriminate and first of all you are just a 8 year old child" If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "You are too . You fool" We started laughing. "You know Kai... I wanna explore and go to new places, I am gonna visit mountains, forests, beaches and so many places" "Nah you are gonna get tired of trips. I know you. You are a lazy lazy person" "I am not lazy and what''s with that double lazy you idiot" "You are the idiot here" We laughed so happily. We spent our childhood with joy, we played , we went to school, we had fun with our friends and families..........But (Is it a dream? Things were not that so sweet. It''s a dream may be) "Don''t worry. You can stay happy here none will bother you" There is a distant voice coming from nearby. It was unknown to me. It was melodic but sorrowful at the same time. (Yes, I should stay here. I should have fun. I should spend time with family,friends and Acia...........Acia? NO! I can''t stay here. If I stay here I will be denying the real Acia) "Do you really wanna remember the tragidy" (I will never forget it. Neve Never Never Never Never .......) A scenario started playing infront of me. {LA LA LALA LA LALA LALA LA} Acia was humming while picking flower from the garden near park. (NOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I DONT WANNA SEE IT. PLEASEEEEEE NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) A middle aged man was approaching Acia from behind. Acia looked back. "Uncle do you want some flowers?" Acia asked with a smile. (Please don''t please. Acia run Please. {Sob} {Sob} please!!!!) The man grabbed Acia and undressed her. Acia was screaming for help. She tried to free herself but she couldn''t compare with the strength of that animal. Alas!!! None was there to help. The man started violating Acia''s Body. He was like an animal akin to boar as filthy and dirty. Acia was bleeding All over. She was in pain. A little boy came running looking for Acia. When he seen the sight. He saw a gruesome sight. He wished that he never experienced this. Fortunately Stan and Bota was with him. Bota run back screaming to the neighbourhood. People came running. Stan and Kai already freed Acia. The man tried to run away but the mass already captured him and handed over to the police. Acia''s condition was so bad. The little me couldn''t understand why Acia had to suffer back than. I used to visit Acia everyday she was unconscious. One day I was sitting by the Hospital bed of Acia. She opended her eyes. "Acia! Let me bring the doctors" "Wait, don''t go. I want to tell you something" "It''s not the time for that. You need to get treatment" "Kai you know you are a very good boy. I wanted to be your wife when we grow older" "We can still marry when you get well" "Oh Kai, how kind you are. You know right I wanted to visit various places?" "Yes, I know very well". I don''t know why but I was sobbing. "Why you crying fool.......... Kai visit places for me" "Do it yourself Acia. You will get better. We will travel together. I promise." "OK it''s a promise than. Please don''t forget me Kai" I couldn''t hold anymore. I cried out loudly. "I will never forget you. Never" {Chhhhhhhhhh} The machine which was giving the heartbeat signal got nil. The line become flat. Acia was smiling but her body wasn''t moving anymore. Her eyes were open. Looking at me as if I was her new home. "Wake up Kai. Wake up" I slowly opened my eyes. In this Void where there is no light. There was a dazzling figure standing infront of me. She was as beautiful as emeralds. "Acia" "Why are you sobbing till now fool? I am always with you. Know your existence. I am within it. Your existence is mixed with mine and that''s home for me. I am always with you travelling and staying wherever you are. One day when you will truly know you''re existence we can be with eachother again." Finishing her sentence she vanished with a smile on her face as always. (...) {DONG..DONG..} After a while. Sound of bell ringing could be heard. At that moment I was in a big white place. I was walking. Suddenly a person popped out from nowhere. The person was of average height, had a diamond shape face, his hair and eyes were wavy and black, his physic was just moderate. The person was looking at me. I felt like I was in front of a mirror. The person in front of me was me. (Huh who is it. It looks exactly like me) "Because I am you". His voice was also identical to me. (What? What do you mean bu that) "This is the core of your existence and I am your subconscious self." (So what I have to do now?) "You did well in Retsseg. You know what''s the perspose of Restsseg?. A person is made out of his memories. If you forget everything you experienced the thing left won''t be a person. It will be just an empty vessel. Retsseg let the person go through his memories or phobias to let the person know himself. So that he can know his existence." (So will I be able to access my core) "Hmmm...partially. You will be able to resonate with me a little. You roots will grow a little out of your core now" (So what it will do) My subconscious self smiled at me. "Figure out your self" Next moment I got sucked in a vortex of knowledge? It was full of written text and ruines. I was looking at them. It''s felt like my brain gonna burst out because of the overload of information. The torment stopped after a while. I could feel my eyes again. I slowly opened my eyes and seen the room where the old man was sitting patiently. Seeing me open my eyes. A faint smile surfaced on the old man''s face. "You did it well boy"