Meanwhile Smiley who was in a dream; "I am sorry. It`s all my fault. Please don`t leave me behind,' cried a woman as Smiley laid on her laps and blood poured out of his mouth. Smiley was smiling despite the situation as he extended his arm towards her face, trying to whisper something quietly as he rubbed her tears clean but failing to do so as his throat was unable to throw out anything except the blood of his own…
'I am sorry' cried the woman yet again before Smiley laid his eyes to rest once more.
Smiley woke up sweating, his pupils dilated and heavily breathing. The moment he sat straight up, the sun bloomed and shined against his vivid blue eyes—
Those same vivid blue eyes of Ella had now been engraved onto Smiley— but even now, those very blue eyes slowly started to lose their shine just like his awakened eyes did.
Smiley had woken up without realizing he had already lost another one of his worlds— without him knowing a thing on this peaceful morning.
He stood up and walked out of his room while rubbing the side of his anterior neck.
Just as he opened his door and walked out, Ananke came out of his room next door, seemingly half asleep as he could not even keep his eyes open and asked 'Hey, where are you going?'
Smiley looked back and responded 'Nowhere… Just catching a breath.'
Ananke responded 'I see, just do not go off too far.'
Smiley asked 'Wait, how did you know? You came running the moment I saw the string of doom too.'
Ananke responded 'Oh Yeah~ I set up a wind barrier prevent another event like Radibo from happening'
Smiley covered himself and looked at Ananke with distrust and creeped out 'Perv'
Ananke defended himself 'I know it`s weird but I only set it outside your door and window so your privacy is protected.' with a big fat thumbs up.
Smiley thought confused 'Well that is totally not weird~ yes yes hmmm… ok this isn`t working at all to reassure me.' and claimed 'I am not a child anymore. It`s not like I am not going to get lost or something.'
Sigh— ofcourse… In the morning, Smiley was nowhere to be found when it was time to leave.
Rhina was holding onto his pouch as she looked around 'Just where did that boy go.'
Just then Smiley came back looking tired before even starting his journey.
Rhina noticed the distressed look on his face to which asked about it
Smiley looked up and asked 'I-I can not—' while taking large breaths.
Rhina softens with a slight smile, ready to brace herself for his next words while stuck in her own delusions 'Maybe he is gonna say how much he will miss me. Maybe he does not want to part me. Oh what will I do—'
Smiley continued 'I can not find Ella'
'… oh'
Rhina delusions of "the cute innocent child wanting to throw tantrum into for not wanting to part ways" broke into "him leaving her behind for a random girl who seduced him like in those dramas"
Rhina somewhere inside her heart felt betrayed but soon came to a realization, 'Wait… who is Ella?'
Smiley described her features, 'You know, she is a girl with I know with dark blue hair, blue eyes and a bit taller than me, she has helped me some times but I can't find her anywhere'
Rhina seemed confused but assured Smiley 'If I find her. I will tell her that you said good bye so do not worry about that much'
She wondered 'Ella huh… What an odd name.'
Rhina had lived in this village for a long time and knew everyone around but that name was not a common one for her to forget.
Ananke, who was inside the cart overheard this conversation with his closed eyes, seemed conflicted in his own thoughts.
Smiley climbed into the cart with just a leather sack looking at people around him as he thought to himself:
I need to change. I need to find what I am supposed to do. I wouldn't try to end it all or look for an easy way out. I will no longer run away. There are still many people who care for me and I can't let down those who hold dear memories of me. Isn't that right, Master? I will change.
He smiled brightly as he took a step into the unknown world he was once so afraid of. For the courage he had, it felt like the dark gloomy land which opposed his existence turned into a flowery path of roses, welcoming him and singing in his radiance.
For now. Nothing could stop him.
This is the story of the young man known by many names, titles and pasts. A boy stuck in endless regression without any knowledge of the past, emotions laid to waste and an uncertain future.He must overcome the mysteries left behind for him. To return back to everyone he loves…
[Tutorial Completed]
[advancing…]
[Act 1 => Arc 2.]
[Begins…]
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Write Note:
Thank you for reading Arc 1 of my story. As I mentioned, this will be more of an experimental novel with many things that defies your traditional and Webnovel writing rules. This may lean more towards the mystery genre as the reader learns the world with MCs perspective.
Just a heads up. This is a choiceless novel where "our" presence will define how the story continues. No need to take this seriously as the author will mostly just ignore the people's pleads.
=-=-=-=-=-=-
The cart was now in motion while Rhina and Cor with a few more old folks there.
Rhina said 'Remember to eat properly and come back safely'. Smiley smiled as he said 'I promise.' reassuring her he will be fine while waving back.
Rhina said 'Do not forget to take a bath… Oh and do not be swayed by evil people'
Ananke thought 'I guess she was worried about him even when she did not showed it'
Rhina continued 'And if Ananke causes you trouble, tell me, I will teach him a lesson'
Ananke could feel it. A cold stare behind her gentle smile that threatened his life. Truly a devil looking down at him even from the depths of hell.
Ananke accepted the fact that he should never put her on his bad side… but accepted his defeat 'Well too late to regret that' for he had already left the bag of coins on the counter which Rhina gave him for Smiley's spending.
Ananke asked, looking at his sack which contained his clothes 'Is that all?'
Smiley responded 'I mean I had two other sets of clothes but someone tore them apart.'
Ananke almost choked 'Mindful of your wording, it will only create misunderstanding' thinking 'I guess I will need to get him a new sword and clothes in the town.'
Smiley asked curious 'Why? What's wrong with what I said' to which Ananke changed the topic 'Moving on to the bigger fish…'
Ananke turned his head towards the front side of the cart and asked, annoyed while still maintaining a professional smile 'And why are you still here…'
There seated the leader of the town soldiers in the cart with them and he said 'Just making sure you do not kidnap the poor fella—'
Ananke instantly cuts in, 'The truth.'
'I missed the timing when camp was moving out. Just hanging till the next town.'
'Which kind of camp moves without a leader and the town of Satus is not even that far. Go for a walk, it is good for your health'
'Now now, making an old injured man walk'
Ananke raised his eyebrow in doubt and said 'Injured old men do not go out hunting in the first place—'
The leader said to Smiley ignoring Ananke 'Why don't you come work with me instead of him. I will pay you for an internship and even sponsor you.'
Ananke paused 'That is a pretty good deal— wait not.' as he shook his head, 'Smiley, remember what Rhina said? Do not be swayed by evil people like him'
Ananke and Camp Leader were passive aggressive among themself as Smiley thought 'This is going to be a long road trip…'
He stared outside the cart, looking towards the village. He saw the wooden fence gate where Smiley met Ella last time. His eyes widened up as he could imagine Ella just standing at the gate, the same place where he last met her… But of course it was nothing but his wishful thinking as he mumbled 'I guess– you were the only one who was good at finding me.' Smiley regretted, suffocating in his own thoughts.
He reattained his focus and rubbed his hand against his neck's trapezius muscle and stared at his finger, 'Look at me… I am getting scared of a dream… Just where did you go Ella? I never even got the chance to thank you.'
When he looked to his left. He found only two grown ups fooling around.
Smiley looked at Ananke as he smiled and said 'Thank you for helping me' as he tried resting his arm onto his sword's broken halt as a habit.
Ananke looked up and replied 'Don't worry about it, I barely did anything.'
Smiley asked 'About this Awakening… Do I really have to defeat a demon king or something?'
Ananke seemed puzzled before replying 'You got quite an weird imagination but no, no one knows which disaster will arise for this cycle and I do not think that is for you to worry about. After all you look too young to be from the hero cycle'
Smile asked confused, 'And what exactly is a Hero cycle?'
Ananke answered straight away 'Just like awakening, A Hero Cycle is the 100th year cycle after which a hero is born. Once every 100th year, a child is born who is destined to become the hero and they are awakened by the world while receiving the Blessings of the world. How old are you?'
Smiley replied 'I am not sure about that'
Leader said 'You look to be around 14 to 15 at most. You are younger than children born during the custom'
'Customs?' questioned Smiley to which Ananke replied 'A hero is chosen in every 100th cycle period so people tend to have children in that span. It's more of a custom made up by people so their child can become a hero.' Ananke paused 'But of course it's not like it can change anything as the hero is chosen by the world itself and can not be altered.'
Leader raised his eyebrow confused upon hearing this.
Smiley questioned 'So custom is just useless then?' to which Ananke replied 'It is not exactly a bad thing either as a generation of strong younglings are born with the hero. Peasants, Nobles and even the King himself follow the customs so it is actually more influential as the hero can meet strong individuals, connections and allies.'
Ananke continued, 'It would be good if you enrolled two years earlier with other kids.'
Smile froze… 'Do I really need to go to school? I am not good at writing…'
Looking at Smiley worried, Leader and Ananke looked at one another sharing the same thought, 'Yeah, he is definitely from the East.'
The leader replied this time 'I mean if what he said is true and you have awakened, let it be hero awakening or normal, you will be forced to join the capital academy, this kid was too' as he pointed towards Ananke.
Ananke replied 'But we are keeping it a secret for now, you never know what these people will do once they find out a young boy without any guardian is awakened out of blue.'
The leader laughed 'Only your awakening was a disaster.' to which Ananke stared at the leader, telling him to keep it a secret.
Smiley questioned 'What happened at your awakening?'
Ananke responded 'Nothing much. Everyone was just confused on how I randomly awakened out of nowhere'
But his tone was different which smiley immediately noticed but only replied with 'I see, must have been rough… Do you guys know each other?'
Ananke replied 'Well it`s a long story… actually not really. We have met a few times before'
Leader claimed 'And not a single time have I met you and had not to fill out mountains of paper work afterwards.'
Ananke responded 'Haha… sorry for the trouble?' to which the leader responded 'You don`t sound to be… Well at least you have grown up decent enough' to which Ananke smiled pridefully.
The leader instantly turned that prideful smile of his down claiming 'But I still hate paper work so I would prefer you letting this old man rest.'
Ananke stared at Smiley eyes and asked 'But why are you eyes back to black?'
Smiley looked with confusion 'Because they were black?'
Ananke told Smiley 'I told you when you are awakened, your eye turns to the color of the awakened rose. Your awakened rose was orange and so should your eyes be. It's a permanent change that does not go in reverse from what I know so it is weird that your eyes are back to normal.'
Smiley seemed confused as if he just said something so absurd that does not make sense and asked puzzled 'Someone said they liked my black eyes so does that mean they will stop liking me if I change'
Ananke was surprised by this unexpected philosophical question of life and flattery to which he simply responded 'Well that is a good question… Anyways, In simple words, you might not have yet fully awaken and could be stuck at the stage between first and second as you may lack Originality'
Ananke continued, 'But look at the bright side, since you were awakened in the Void, we can just hide it for now.'
Leader coughed. Ananke responded 'Obviously our old champ will keep it a secret' with his arm over his shoulder.
Leader looked disgusted, 'You really are talking about committing crimes in front of a strict town captain…' and then looked towards Smiley, 'I guess— I can keep it a secret for now.' almost dotting on him like a grandfather.
Smiley asked 'How do you get Originality then?'
Ananke thought it for a moment before responding, 'I guess being delusional.'
'huh?'
Ananke said it like a youthful dream, 'The best OG user is a delusional one. What's a youth without being delusional once. I mean have you really lived if you haven`t been delusional once? Oh the youth~' but got cut in my Smiley 'Enough already. It feels like you are a girl dreaming of love'
Ananke explained 'Originality ture function is unknown but those who are delusionals have better imagination and control over it. After all, they are already lost in their dreams and desires, in their own world.'
Ananke kept on singing Oh the youth~. While Smiley looked towards the trusted adult in the cart, the Leader who just closed his eyes and nodded 'He isn`t wrong. As ridiculous it sounds, that is the truth.'
Ananke continued 'There are countless possibilities in one life, Be as delusional as you want, you are still young and carefree'
Leader looked at him like a petrified stone, 'I don`t know if its really right choice to leave that boy with him'
Smiley could even see small flowers around Ananke as his hair waved in the wind even though they were inside a closed cart.
Smiley asked 'Why are you using wind to make your hair dance?'
Ananke was surprised, 'Woah, I am amazed you noticed. That is one of my perks of OG. I have the "Blessing of Wind" so wind spirits are under my control which lets me use it better than anyone. I have been constantly searching all around us to ensure nothing happens.'
Smiley thought to himself 'but that does not explain why you are using it to flap your hair around like some Novel Protagonist…'
Now smiley could even see dramatic light shining behind him that was burning his eyes.