Bo woke up to screaming.
"Bo, this is not funny! I'm sorry, okay! Show yourself already!"
Bo woke up feeling nauseous and with a stomach ache, although it felt like someone had punched him in the gut.
He stood up slowly, groaning from the pain.
Abi screamed again, sounds of footsteps were coming closer to his room.
"Bo! I'm going to start to cr-"
Abi came in. She was wearing a school uniform, blue jeans, and a white shirt. Tears ran down her face.
"Where were you! It was not funny!"
"I was just sleeping," Bo said, wiping his eyes.
"Stop lying to me!" Abi started crying.
Bo didn't understand what was happening. He just accidentally fell asleep for a minute, tops.
"Ok, I'm sorry. I won't do that ever again," Bo replied.
"You promise?" Abi said while wiping her tears.
"Yes."
"Do you really promise?"
"Yes."
They both smiled.
It was hard to smile these days, but Bo was trying his best. Abi was only a kid. She needed people to smile around her.
They hugged for another minute.
"Ok, let's get you to school."
"Ok, " Abi said, this time smiling.
Abi did her final preparations while Bo made her food for the day.
"Bo… We are late!" Abi screamed across the apartment.
"You know what, maybe I should just take my time until you stop annoying me!" Bo screamed back jokingly. "Should I?"
"No!" Abi laughed. "But we're really late…"
"Yeah."
Bo walked towards her. She was waiting near the door to their apartment, and it seemed like she was ready to run out towards her school, jumping around and being erratic.
"Let's go!" Abi said.
"Let's go, but we'll probably never make it in time."
Bo knew how school worked and how much time it took to get there. He had been in school himself up until recently. He had to drop out after Cal died.
"Let's try!" Abi said while opening the door.
Towards the open door walked two individuals.
The guy walking on the right was wearing a black suit, he was tall, and had combed wavy black hair. He had an uncaring look on his face. Bo was sure that finding a girl wouldn't be a problem for him, as even he noticed that he was handsome. He looked bored.
The other one looked nervous, like he was going for a job interview for his dream job, and he wasn't ready. He wore casual clothes, short pants, and a hoodie with a small brand logo on it. Bo didn't give it a second glance. He walked hurriedly after the tall guy.
The moment the door opened, they both glanced at them. The tall guy had a small smile, although it seemed fake to Bo. The nervous guy glanced as well but looked down hurriedly, becoming more nervous.
"Hello! My name is Alden, and I'm scouting for recruits to the Organization. Are you Novice Greatness's little brother? The first one anyway." The tall guy said, still having a bright smile.
The nervous guy was looking at the floor, standing pretty far behind the tall guy.
There was a new Novice Greatness, as much as it pained Bo. 'Why couldn't they just find a new name?' Bo thought.
"Abi, go play in your room, okay?" Bo said quietly to Abi.
"But we're late!" Abi said.
"I'm serious," Bo said sternly.
Abi got the message, looked at the tall guy for a second, and went to her room.
"She's a feisty one," the tall guy said, giving a small laugh.
There was a small pause in the conversation.
"Well, are you?" He asked.
"Yes, I am. Who might you be?"
"I'm Al, or Hunger, co-founder of the Organization." he smiled even brighter, as if expecting some kind of reaction from his name.
Everyone knew the name, Al, Master Power.
He was one of the first people who were chosen by a deity and was the first figure to come out of having been granted a Name.
Although nobody knew who the other founder was. Alden was a great figure. Everybody knew his name and position, but he didn't show the public how he looked. He refused to show his real face anywhere, and even his voice was distorted whenever he appeared on the news.
It should have surprised Bo, but his brother went through the same process, and he was there as a witness. He was there when Master Power first visited his brother, when his brother was recruited to the Organization.
When Al noticed that Bo wasn't shocked or surprised, he changed his demeanor, as if understanding the situation immediately. His smile vanished, turning back into the bored face he had before they locked eyes.
"It seems your Deity has control in the realm of emotions, and is quite powerful at that," Al said, not even looking at Bo. He was deep in thought and started speaking to himself.
"Is it Happiness? No… you're too weak minded. You aren't smart enough to even think about Joy… Maybe…"
Bo cut him off, as gently as possible.
"I don't really understand what you're talking about, Master Power." Al was still looking at the ground, but he continued. "I experienced my brother being chosen by a deity, and I just woke up as normal today…"
When Cal was chosen, for only a minute, the whole area around him became bright with golden light, he started to hover in his sleep, and when he woke up, he knew exactly what had transpired.
Nothing like that happened to Bo, so there was no doubt that he wasn't chosen.
Maybe he would've been excited by the idea before Cal died, but he had too many responsibilities, and having powers won't make his life better
You aren't guaranteed to succeed as a Hero. It takes time, effort, and being chosen by the right deity to truly succeed as one. Only then can you have financial security.
"Are you doubting me?" Al said with a sneer. Bo flinched.
"Open your status," Al ordered.
Bo obeyed, without much thought.
"Status."
A status opened in front of him, the same one he saw every time he was bored, and the only way he found to spend time was to open and close it.
Although it looked a bit different than usual, he started reading.
--------------------------
Name: Ư̸̧͍̣͍̤͈̘̦͍̘̹̦͕̟̓͛̀̔̆̚n̷̨͉̜͔̯̙̙̖͈͇͑́̇̎͘͝ŗ̴̧̧̟̣͇̰̘̤̼̈́̍͛̀̿̀̌̚̕ȩ̸̧͇̟̲̣̌͂̿̔̉̈́̆͝a̸̹̳̞̍̒͑͜d̶̢͈͈̱̥͖̟̉̌̐̎́̿̄̌̍͜a̶̰̰̦͗̋͗͊͒̓̚b̵̻̩̠̍̒̌͆̐̈́̽͠l̴̢͇͇̝̭̃̅͌̂̇́̔̐̓͐̏͌͆̕ͅe̴͔̞̼͖̥͉̣͋̋͊́̾̈́̽̎̍
Cultivation Stage: Novice (Pure)
Legacy: Bitter Obedience - First Stage
--------------------------
The screen changed quite a lot. First of all, it said that he had a name, but it was unreadable. He wasn't sure if he should be excited or not. Having a name meant automatically becoming a pillar of a figure in this world, but it was unreadable and could only be described as bugged.
He had a cultivation stage, as everyone that were chosen had. That was common knowledge, but now he knew that he truly was chosen.
The next one was Legacy. That was something that his brother didn't tell him about. His brother didn't tell him everything, but maybe even Cal didn't know about it. Maybe it was only for people with Names.
He expected there to at least be some kind of deity in the status, explaining to him who chose him. He didn't even remember how he was chosen, only a hazy dream.
Not knowing that and who the Deity was made him worry.
"Well, " Al said impatiently, "what does it say?"
Bo was still deep in thought, so the question shook him awake.
"What does it say in your Path?" Al asked, annoyed.
"It… I don't have a category for a path anymore…"
Al looked him dead in the eyes. Bo started shaking, feeling like the environment around him had become much more dense and harsh.
'Is this aura?' Bo thought.
"Stop annoying me, kid. Your brother was a hero, and today he might have been standing by my side if not for his unfortunate death, but I'm still Master Power, Hunger. Don't disrespect me."
The feeling vanished.
"Now again. What does it say on your path?"
"Master Power, I don't mean to disrespect you, but it truly says that… I don't have such a category."
He said it with pure innocence, but he hadn't understood that he had sealed his fate.
Al continued looking at him for a few more seconds, but his focus was elsewhere, as if he was listening to something.
His face started changing slowly, from the stern look of a Master to a… full on manic.
He had a smile now, but not the bright one he had before, but the smile of someone who belonged in the mental asylum.
His eyes were wide, tears came out of them, and his smile seemed to stretch more than his mouth was capable of.
He started laughing.
"Thank you! Thank you for giving me this present!"
Tears of happiness came down his face, and he continued laughing for a minute.
Shocked, Bo started backing away slowly, trying to reach for some kind of weapon. Sadly, there was nothing to reach.
Before Bo understood what was happening, he fell on the floor.
A liquid started flowing on his abdomen.
He looked towards it, and he saw the unthinkable.
His body was split in two, and an unimaginable amount of blood came through.
He noticed a bright white orb sitting between his lower and upper parts of his body, unharmed.
Then a searing pain came, and he remembered the pain in his dream. It was much less painful, but still, he had never experienced this kind of pain before today.
He wanted to scream, but again he couldn't manage. This time, he just had no strength to do it, even if he had a bit of air left in his lungs.
Memories started running in front of him.
Memories of his family before the cursed eyes. How happily they lived.
Memories of friends he once had, before he had to quit school and take on the responsibility of managing the house.
Memories of his sister, from the moment she was born, to remembering that she was still in her room. He hoped she stayed there and that Master Power wouldn't find her.
Why did he still use his honored name? He should call him by his disgusting Name that he was given, Beyond Hunger.
Then he remembered his older brother, how good a role model he was. Becoming a chosen of Greatness wasn't an easy fit, even now. He was a good hero, the best one.
Then he was shown a vision, and he immediately understood it wasn't a memory.
He saw his brother. Cal was still tall, but his hair was now long, he had a beard, and his eyes became gold instead of green.
Bo looked at him, and Cal looked back.
His eyes were full of pain, and he tried to shout something, but no sound came out.
Then everything became black, and he heard the voice again, although much more robotic.
"Legacy of Bitter Obedience, First Stage."
He died.
---------------
He woke up to screaming.
"Bo, this is not funny! I'm sorry, okay! Show yourself already!"
Bo looked at the ceiling. He remembered everything, but it didn't seem true now. It was like a hazy memory.
"Bo! I'm going to start crying!" Abi screamed.
She ran frantically through the house for a minute or two while Bo continued to look at the ceiling. The dream was too real, he remembered Master Power, and he remembered the status screen. He also remembered the last memory of his brother. Everything else he couldn't quite remember.
The frantic steps slowed down and came to a stop.
Abi started to cry.
Bo stood up, feeling a pain in his stomach, but he fought through.
He found his sister standing outside his room, and quickly hugged her.
She was surprised at first, but then hugged back.
"It wasn't funny!" She continued crying, "I can't lose you both…"
Bo hugged her harder, showing her that he was there.
"You won't, Abi…" he said, "I will never leave you again."
Someone knocked on their door.