"No matter how many times I see this, I just can't get used to it."
On the second floor of an old, dilapidated restaurant that was dimly lit by candles and lamps, a young boy who was barely sixteen couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
Sitting at the crude wooden chair with a cup of green tea in front of him, his eyes seemed lost while looking in the distance. He wasn't looking at any heart-stirring scenery, after all, in this land of eternal darkness, what was there to see? His eyes were instead focused on the ten-meter-tall wall in the distance, upon which braziers were placed neatly at a distance of every twenty meters, illuminating the area around.
Outside the walls, there was a sea of darkness engulfing even the light from the braziers. At the moment, the wall seemed to be the only thing keeping it at bay and protecting this small city of barely ten thousand people.
"Still thinking about exploring outside the walls?" It was a soft voice that brought him back to his senses. Turning around, he was greeted by a boy similar in age wearing long coarse clothes while chewing a handful of fried potatoes from the table. The boy had messy hair, and his face was pale white, perhaps due to malnourishment or perhaps due to the lack of sunlight. His body was rather thin too, almost leaning forward. His physique overall gave one the feeling of a frail, sickly person.
"I say, Reon..." The boy grabbed a handful of fried potatoes, threw them into his mouth and spoke in a muffled voice. "Seems to me that you have forgotten the beatings of your parents."
"..." Hearing his gloating voice, Reon didn't refute him but just smiled.
Yes... When he arrived in this world eight years ago, he was filled with excitement and a sense of exploration. At that moment, he merely expressed his wish to explore the world outside the walls, but who would have thought that the moment he spoke about it, the parents of this body would beat him black and blue?
It wasn't until much later, when he went to school, that he learn about the true terror of this world. And the more he learned, the more he realised just how frightening this world truly was.
There were unspeakable horrors outside the walls that would swallow a person whole. It is said that outside these walls, death is the greatest luxury.
At first, he didn't believe it. After all, as a person from modern Earth, how could he believe everything he heard without seeing any proof to back it up? Unfortunately for him, the school fulfilled this wish of his, too. At the end of their studies, which lasted for two years, they were taken to the top of the walls and shown the world outside.
And when Reon saw those humanoid things and heard their howls, the scepticism that he had in his mind was immediately extinguished like a spark of flame that was dropped into an ocean. After that day, he threw the idea of exploration out of his head and decided to live his life peacefully in this town. After all, as a person from modern times, avoiding conflict and living peacefully was the first thing that came to his mind.
"Hello!" The boy snapped his fingers in front of Reon a few times. This childhood friend of his was good in every sense, except that he would occasionally zone out.
"Mmm..." Reon, who was back to his senses, shook his head. "I just wanted some time alone."
"Blegh!" The boy immediately wrinkled his nose. "You talk like an old man."
Without waiting for him to reply, he directly sat on the opposite chair, pulled the plate of fried potatoes closer and began to enjoy it.
"So, did you come up with any new recipes?" As he ate those fries, he couldn't help but ask with a hint of expectation.
Both of them were from rather poor families. It was only after they completed their school that Reon came up with some wacky ideas. The two of them pooled whatever little money they had at the time and started selling some snacks. Going from door to door, they began their journey, and finally, after years, they have purchased a restaurant in the city.
Now, their families were well-off, and they didn't have to worry about doing any chores to make ends meet. Hell, they have already hired two helpers who were responsible for cooking.
"Not really." Reon shook his head. It wasn't that he was out of recipes; rather, he didn't have any ingredients. There were only a handful of ingredients available here, like potatoes, peanuts, mushrooms, and a few varieties of spices. He had already made everything that he could. So, unless he finds new vegetables and fruits, his menu isn't going to have any new additions.
"By the way, what are you doing here?" It was only now that Reon realised that this bastard was supposed to be taking care of the ingredients.
"Relax." The boy waved his hand before inching close to Reon and whispering in a soft voice. "When I was going to get this week's ration, I overheard a few people talking. Word is that the Great Departure is gonna take place this week."
"This..." The moment Reon heard those words, his eyes narrowed into slits.
'The Great Departure', an event that takes place once every decade. He didn't know too much about it, just the fact that a bunch of people would be chosen and taken outside the walls to a large city.
He tried asking about it, but no one seemed to have any answers. The last time it happened was ten years ago, but at that time, the previous body owner was merely six, and his memory of that day was of sleeping in the house. He tried asking his parents, but they too didn't seem to have any answers.
"Did you manage to find something else?" It was only now that Reon noticed the smirk on the boy's face. It was a victorious smile... like he already knew the answer to the question.
"In fact, I did." It was at this moment that his expression turned a bit serious. "It is going to take place in the Core region of the city. The focus is primarily on the orphans between the ages of 15-25. Rumour is that they are being sent to some massive city for work."
Reon took a deep breath and digested what he had just been told. When he started school at the age of ten, he was taught basic language and a complete introduction to this city and the world around him.
This city of 'Ignis' had roughly ten to twelve thousand people. Due to the limited space inside the city, the farms are actually placed outside the walls, making it incredibly dangerous. So, the people who can not survive by other means opt for farming and often lose their lives in the process.
The children of such people are then taken care of by the city, providing them with food and basic necessities. But on the day of the Great Departure, they are taken to the core area of the city, one that is circled with walls and constantly guarded. After that... they just disappear.
When Reon first heard about it, innumerable thoughts crossed his mind. From sacrifice to cannibalism, he went through every possible outcome in his head. Even now, he was sceptical about the core area and the fate of people who were chosen.
"Interesting." Reon couldn't help but mutter under his breath. Last time, the previous body owner couldn't see it, but this time, he wanted to see what this mystery was.
"By the way, what time is it?" Reon stretched his body before asking. Without any sun, moon or stars, it was hard to tell the time by just looking outside.
"It's the 13th hour." The boy gave him the answer. "Also, I have already taken care of the ingredients, you can go back home."
"Hmm." Reon just nodded in response as he stood up from his seat, stretched his body further, took a yawn and after adjusting his clothes tapped the boy on his forehead. "Little bastard Ann, don't just eat the fries."
Ann snorted in response as he gulped down the remaining fries down his throat, afraid that Reon would steal them.
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Reon didn't immediately exit the restaurant; instead, he first headed to the kitchen, greeted the two helpers and packed up any leftovers before making his way out.
His path home was uneventful. The same narrow, straight path leading further and further. Due to the absence of the sun and scarcity of wood, the people inside the walls use Glintstones, small glowing rocks, as a source of light. The entire city was illuminated by these, making the scenery hazy and dreamlike. This was often the reason why Reon would sit on the top floor of his restaurant to doze off.
The city was well-planned, and every single building was crafted perfectly, not cluttered together but uniformly constructed, making the best use of whatever limited space they had. The roads were inlaid with glintstones, giving the illusion of walking on a river of light. As beautiful as they were, they remained narrow. So much so that two cattle could not walk together side by side. Not like the people here had cattle anyway. To them, things like chickens, cows, and pigs were mythical. No one here even knew what meat tasted like.
Holding the bag with leftover food, Reon finally reached his destination. It was an old, dilapidated house. Thankfully, unlike other buildings, where people would share rooms, his house didn't have anyone 'extra' living with them. After all, he paid a hefty sum of money to buy it, not to mention the heavy tax every year.
Of course, living alone wasn't the only benefit. His house was also located in the elite part of the city, where every house has some personal space. His house, too, had a small patch of garden in the front and a small empty space behind.
Walking inside his house, he was greeted by the sight of a young boy dusting off the shelves and tables.
"Reon... You are back." Putting aside the cloth, the boy immediately ran to him before his gaze fixated on the bag.
"You kid." Reon just smiled before handing him the bag. "Take it. It's for you." Ruffling his hair, he looked around, but after not seeing his parents and younger sister, he couldn't help but ask, "Where are they?"
"Oh! They said they were going for something important and would be back soon." With a mouthful of fries, the boy spoke in a low voice.
"Hmm." With a nod, Reon just took one look around before heading back to his room.
Changing to a comfortable dress, he finally couldn't help but fall on his bed as innumerable thoughts flashed past his mind.
It's been eight years since he arrived in this world. Luckily, he wasn't an orphan but had a family. Loving parents and a younger sister... but no matter how good they were to him, he just couldn't let go of the last hurdle in his heart. To him, they were strangers. Though there were some memories of the previous body owner, it was impossible for him to feel the same way about them, too.
After the awkward initial years, he managed to put himself together. Though it was uncomfortable calling unfamiliar people his family, he had gotten used to it now.
After a few years of making money, he had improved their living condition dramatically. Not only did the family of four move into the elite section of the city, but he also had a blooming business. If nothing went wrong, his life was going to be comfortable.
With these thoughts in mind, he looked outside his room, observing the young boy, Feron, barely twelve, cleaning the house. He was an unfortunate orphan whom his family had taken in as a servant.
After observing him for a while, Reon just closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. Just like Earth, the time in this world was divided into twenty-four hours, too. But there was no such thing as a week. However, there was a concept of a year that would last for exactly 333 days. Everyone in the city would wake up at exactly 1 o'clock due to the loud chiming bells. Reon would open his restaurant at 2 and would stay there until it was 13. Ann would take over for the remaining two hours before closing it.
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It was the 22nd hour that Reon woke up in. With a yawn, he first stretched his body, changed into another set of clothes and was about to head out for his daily run before he was stopped by the sight of his parents sitting in the Main room in silence. The moment he stepped out, both their eyes turned towards him, as if they were just waiting for him.
"Is everything okay?" This was perhaps the first time Reon had seen his parents with such a serious expression. Even though he didn't consider them his parents, he still had a pleasant relationship with them. So, often he would just think of them as acquaintances.
"About that." It was his father who spoke. Wearing his old rustic robe with a clean-shaven face, rough hair and eyes that showed the passage of time, he let out a deep sigh. He wanted to speak, but found himself at a loss for words.
His mother, a middle-aged woman wearing a soft robe with tied up hair couldn't help but look at her husband. After seeing him sitting there in silence, hesitating on how to speak, she took a deep breath before explaining to Reon.
"There is something for you." Without giving them any chance to react, she reached inside her robe and took out an exquisite piece of paper before handing it over to Reon.
"What's this?" Reon glanced at the figures, then at the letter, as a sense of foreboding crept over him.
Without wasting another second, he opened the paper, and the moment he did, his breathing almost stopped as his eyes narrowed into slits.
For a moment, he even pinched himself, wondering if he was still asleep. But after feeling the pain, he had his answer. He first looked at his parents and then at the letter in his hand. His mind went blank as he failed to understand everything that was happening to him.
"Huff." Taking a deep breath, Reon forcefully controlled himself, took a deep breath and then looked at the paper again.
There was only a single paragraph written on it.
"By the order of the city lord, Reon has been selected as a member of the Great Departure. Please report to the core area after receiving this letter. Failing to do so will result in expulsion from the city."