"D-Did something bad happen?"
Troy had a gloomy expression as the words that he wanted to say were lodged in his throat. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get a single word out. Instead, he decided to pass the letter that was in his hand over to Kayla.
Kayla, seeing this, took the letter with shaking hands as she slowly opened up the letter. Her eyes darted across the paper as she slowly read the words. As she read more and more, the colors on her face got paler and paler until she collapsed on one of the chairs.
"I-I don't un-understand… She c-can't just leave in such a short time… just why—why is this happening to us?
Kayla silently cried as Troy stared fixedly at the table without moving a muscle. It was like his soul left his body, his body shivered, and his sight was blurry as the world around them swirled. Troy felt like his mind was emptied out; his mind was blank, yet he could feel an insurmountable pain burning in his heart.
"..."
Minutes passed as the three of them sat at the table in silence. The crackle of the candle, the whistling of the wind, and the lonely chirp of the cicadas rang in their head. Echoes filled up their mind, reverberating as they sat there in silence.
"I-I'll go t-to bed for n-now… I just n-need some time to gather my thoughts…"
Kayla spoke in a quivering tone; she gritted her teeth as she wiped her tears away. Using her hands to support her shaking body, she walked wobbly towards her room, slowly entering before closing the door.
Now the only people left were Kealos and Troy; after hearing what Kayla said, Kealos snapped out of it as he shook Troy's arm.
"Hey, hey, can you hear me? You need to get to bed and rest, alright? We can try figuring this out tomorrow."
After repeating a couple more words while shaking Troy's hand, Troy eventually stood up. Even though he stood up, his eyes were blank, as if his body was the only one moving. With his mind still blank as an empty canvas, Kealos helped him as he pulled one of his arms over his shoulder, supporting and guiding him to the empty room that he and Troy shared.
Eventually entering the room, moonlight shone through the window, slightly illuminating the room as he gently set Troy down, trying his hardest not to let him fall to the ground. After a while he eventually got it, but Troy just lay there. He didn't close his eyes or anything; he was just there, his eyes gazing into the wood ceiling as he lay unmoved.
Kealos, after setting him down, slowly walked back to the dining room as he tried to clean everything up. Bowls, empty plates, spoons—he tried his best to put them in the sink as his hands trembled.
Although he didn't spend much time with Troy and Kayla's mom, she was still someone who he had considered as a parent. He never had a memory of his actual parents, nor did he have anyone care for him before coming to this village. The way she showed him the proper ways to do tasks, teaching him table manners, and allowing him to stay in her home—everything felt surreal to him, and he had always considered her his true mother.
But everything now was crumbling down; the relaxed life he had before was slowly starting to shatter. Although his shock wasn't close to as big as Troy's or Kayla's, it was still something that he had never felt before. This wasn't the same as being lonely; it felt much deeper than what he could ever imagine. Countless thoughts started to flash in his mind as he wiped the table down with a cloth.
Was this really fair? Why did something so bad happen to such a kind person? Why not those people abusing their power? Why are the weak and innocent people in this world plagued with such a disaster?
Kealos felt conflicted inside; even though part of his mind had had these countless thoughts before, he never dwelled on them much. But now they reappeared, and even with Kealos trying to calm his mind down, he couldn't stop these questions in his mind. They were like hands, grabbing at him, forcing him to listen as he struggled to no avail.
Eventually Kealos realized that he was just standing there, alone in the darkness of the dining room; the candle had long melted, while he simply stood there with a cloth on his left hand, glaring into the darkness. Snapping himself out of these thoughts, he slowly navigated the dark house to get back to his room
Slowly opening the door, he saw the dark room as he steadily stepped in, closing the door behind him. He carefully walked to his bed before sitting down, not trying to disturb Troy, whom he had assumed was already asleep. He collapsed on the bed, his body feeling exhausted as he looked up at the ceiling.
Time passed slowly as the silence in the room became increasingly louder. Kealos felt himself not being able to go to sleep; unlike the usual him, he didn't feel sleepy on this night; instead, he felt more awake than he had ever felt in his life.
"..."
Time slowly passed as he still couldn't fall asleep. Kealos just stared at the ceiling, his mind blank, yet he didn't feel like snapping out of it. Not knowing how long it had been, a small voice sounded from the right of him.
"Kealos, are you still awake?"
Hearing Troy's voice, Kealos couldn't respond for the time being; he felt his mind becoming a bit clearer as he responded back with a small voice.
"Yeah, no matter what I do, I just can't seem to fall asleep…"
"..."
Troy didn't respond, but out of the corner of Kealos' eye, he could see Troy propping himself up in the bed a bit.
"Hey, do you mind if I tell you something?"
"..."
Kealos didn't respond with a yes or no; he also tried to prop himself up to look at Troy's dark figure as Troy continued in a small voice, taking Kealos' silence as a yes.
"When I was seven, my dad told me about the world. He talked about the wonders of the Spirals, the extraordinary sights, the beautiful cultures, and the thousands of unique people. And ever since that day I've always wanted to pursue it. Not only glory but also this extraordinary view that he had."
Kealos listened carefully as Troy continued on with a small voice
"After he passed away when I turned eight, I wanted nothing more than to explore those words of his. I wanted to live forever to watch the beautiful scenes that he painted in my mind. However, what about now?"
"Aspirations or ambitions change over time as a person experiences the world. No matter who you are, your ideals will always remain within you. Now I realize my naiveness, what was the point of chasing a long lifespan and chasing such views if the people I love are gone? What was the point?"
"..."
Kealos remained silent as his words echoed throughout the room, lingering around the room as Troy paused for a bit, looking at the opened window, into the unfathomable dark sky that towered above them
"Now I want more than anything to stay with my family. Maybe because I was so young when my dad passed away that I didn't realize the importance of time, but now, I feel it. I understand why people want to live longer, why lifespan is so treasured by all beings."
Kealos gazed at him as he couldn't think of anything to speak of. Troy's words were deeper and clearer than anything he had ever heard of, yet he still had a hard time comprehending them.
"..."
Troy averted his gaze away from the dark sky; he gazed at the person right beside him, a young boy with hair as dark as the abyss. That unreadable gaze that he always carried around, that skinny figure that he carried himself in, and also that past of his, mostly still unknown to himself.
"I want to change, not only as a brother or son but also as a person. Those ambitions and aspirations of lifespan, glory, or excitement mean nothing to me now. I know that those previous goals will only lead to regret. Now I realize that I can't imagine abandoning my family; I want to see Kayla getting married and my three younger brothers growing up."
The clouds parted, and a bit of moonlight shone into the dark room as Kealos looked at Troy, who had a faint smile on his face, his face calm but his eyes still reflecting sadness. It was so much different from what he had displayed earlier this morning.
'So different, it was like he was looking at a completely different person. Could a person really change so much in such a short time?'
Kealos couldn't understand at all. The words that Troy told him and his new perspective on life, as well as his newfound goals. But as Troy stopped talking and slowly started to lay back down onto the soft bed, Kealos felt conflicted internally.
'What was my perspective on life? Even though I say that I want a quiet life, was it what I really want, or was it something that I say to try and console myself?'
Kealos soon found himself to be sitting up by himself; Troy was back in his bed while Kealos just sat there with a conflicted gaze.
Even someone that was so hard-minded like Troy could mature, yet Kealos felt himself lacking in that area. For the longest time he only had one main mindset, which was to survive. And to do that, he wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life outside of conflicts.
Although this was the foundation of his mindset, he had always felt a bit doubtful from time to time, and now this doubt was as big as the sea. He wanted a quiet and humble life that was different from what he had experienced in his past, but now he doubted himself.
Laying back down onto the bed, Kealos closed his eyes as he tried to collect his thoughts. The storm of thoughts slowly started to calm down as he felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. Slowly his mind drifted away as his consciousness was washed away by the drowsiness.
…
The rising sun shining onto the world of Aloria, the cries of birds, and the soft, gentle breeze of air flowing through the sky.
Kealos felt a gentle, warm touch striking at his face. As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw the blurry view of the world through the small window in their room.
Kealos blinked his eyes to clear his vision as he sat upright. He still felt the wave of drowsiness, but he quickly shook that feeling off
Looking outside the window, he saw the rising sun peeking down below from the mountains on the horizon. He felt his body warming up as he looked around him. Troy was still asleep, and he couldn't hear anybody still awake in the house.
Slowly getting himself out of bed, he found his shoes and some clothes as he put them on and walked outside. The beautiful view of the morning world washed over his vision as it calmed his mind and body.
He looked at the small village off in the distance, so minuscule compared to the wonders of this world. He also saw the massive forest that lay beyond the village, the green that contrasted with the yellow sky, and everything complemented each other as it made a breathtaking scene.
Kealos at this moment felt that something was off; a nagging feeling at the back of his mind was becoming more apparent to him. The thoughts that he had last night were somehow gone; instead, something else was calling out to him.
Looking around, he saw the peaceful sight before him with no sign of anybody else up yet. Even though he had work to do today, he decided to explore this uncertain feeling quickly and come back before anyone noticed.
With this in mind, he decided to go into an area of a forest where something was nagging him; a feeling of desire came within it, like hands trying to pull him towards it. He slowly departed from the flattened farmland into the rough terrain of the forest
"Crunch!" Kealos walked slowly as he traversed through the forest; around him he could no longer see any sight of the familiar farm before him. He felt a wave of coldness washing down his spine as he walked forward, but this chilling feeling felt addictive to him, only pushing him to walk deeper.
Eventually the noises around him started to dissipate; he could no longer hear the whistling of the wind nor the cries of cicadas. It was like they were afraid of the place, not daring to approach the area.
Kealos stopped as he saw a steep drop below him, covered by trees, preventing him from seeing any further of what lay below. But this indescribable feeling that he had was becoming stronger and stronger at the moment; something was telling him that he needed to go down there.
Slowly, Kealos climbed down as he made sure not to trip over any bushes, as the steep drop eventually leveled off to reveal a flat area; the trees and all plants were also nowhere to be seen. In front of him was an empty flat area, but as he narrowed and squinted his eyes, he could vaguely see something very far away.
It looked like a circle filled with black paint; something was on the ground, something that gave off this feeling that Kealos has had since this morning. Slowly going towards it, he felt this sensation getting stronger and stronger as he slowly approached this mysterious object in front of him; suddenly, he slowly felt his hairs stand on end and his hands and legs shaking as he finally reached close enough to have a good look at it.
Suddenly the mysterious sensation had disappeared, but what was left was his heart pounding nonstop, his hands trembling, and his legs tensing as he gazed at the mysterious sight in front of him. But his heart was not pounding out of fear, nor were his hands trembling because of it. But something else, he felt something else
Kealos felt his mind getting clearer; he felt an indescribable wave of excitement as he looked at this sight in front of him, his breathing became rougher as he slowly started make small steps towards this mysterious sight in front of him
…
[System]
[Quest: Venture into the Spiral of Chaos]
[Reward: ???]