As the Goblin King's body began to collapse, Cyan's thoughts swirled in a maelstrom of regret and nostalgia. " Sigh, to think I am from a foreign world, now I'm one again on death's door, even in this second chance I've been living in for the past 10 years." His mind recoiled in despair, his heart heavy with the weight of his own mortality.The countdown continued, its pace relentless. "Five seconds to body complete shut down - death eminent," the voice whispered, its tone unchanged, like a harbinger of doom.
The Goblin King's massive body, slow to respond to gravity's pull, began to topple, its massive bulk threatening to crush Cyan beneath its weight. Time seemed to slow, the air thickening with anticipation, as Cyan's lifehung precariously in the balance. And then, just as all hope seemed lost, a new whisper spoke in Cyan's mind: "Rune obtained. Rune analyzed and identified as the required organisms for emergency use." The voice continued, its tone clinical, detached, "Regeneration passive art, successfully extracted from rune, Activating art due to emergency medical requirements."
Cyan's body began to glow, a soft, pulsing light that seemed to emanate from within, as his cells began to repair and regenerate. The last words he heard were, "Restoration of body to full capacity, user will fall unconscious for 1 hour," as his eyes sealed shut, darkness covering his vision like a shroud.
Meanwhile, back at Renon village, Aris had just returned from a nearby village, the dusty trail behind her horse still warm from the journey.
She'd met with the guild master of the Apex guild, requesting mercenaries to aid in a raid to uncover the source of the strange occurrences plaguing their forest.
Little did she know, Cyan had already found and annihilated the problem while on what started as a scouting mission. As she entered the elders' tent, she found it empty, except for Marilyn, who paced back and forth anxiously, her leather greaves thudding against the earth floor with each step. The air was thick with tension, the silence oppressive, as Arise approached her worried mother.
Marilyn's eyes, red-rimmed from lack of sleep, turned to Aris, a forced smile spreading across her face. "So, how did it go?" she asked, her voice laced with a mix of worry and curiosity, her eyes searching for reassurance.
Aris's gaze never wavered as she gave Marilyn her response, her eyes piercing the tension-filled air "I am proud to say the meeting went well enough," she said, her voice firm and measured. "More so, why don't you just cut the crap and tell me the real reason you're flipping out?"
Marilyn's expression crumbled, her shoulders sagging beneath the weight of her worry. "Well..." she began, her voice barely above a whisper, "I feel terrible about how I spoke to Cyan yesterday. I regret speaking to him like Chief instead of his mom." Her regret hung in the air, palpable and suffocating, as she continued,
"I've been waiting and searching for him all day, until I bumped into Ryan, who told me he'd gone out for a training session alone in the forest."
The silence between them was oppressive, punctuated only by the sound of Marilyn's anxious breathing and the distant creaking of forest cricket's. Aris's expression turned worried, her eyes narrowing as she processed the information.
Aris: "What, you're telling me Cyan went out for training and hasn't arrived back yet?" she exclaimed, her voice rising in alarm.
Marilyn nodded, her eyes welling up with tears. "Yes, something is wrong. It's unlike him to come back this late, especially when he's alone. Can you go check if he's alright?"
Aris's face set in a determined expression, her jaw clenched in resolve. "Normally, I would say he's fine, but if this will make you feel better, okay then, I'll go and check on him. Plus, there's no telling if he's truly..."
The sudden clinging of the village bells cut her off, their mournful toll echoing through the air like a death knell. Aris's and Marilyn's eyes widened as they rushed outside, the entire village seeming to fall silent, as if the very earth itself was holding its breath.
The sound of the bells was palpable, each clang ringing with an ominous tone, as if death itself was knocking at their door. The ringing bell only meant one thing: "An attack." The villagers emerged from their homes, their faces etched with fear and concern, as the cold wind whipped through the village, carrying the scent of damp earth and ozone.
The sound of growling echoed through the distance, a low, menacing rumble that sent shivers down the spine, accompanied by the faint outline of a flying object, its shadow cast against the fading light of the setting sun.
Meanwhile, Cyan finally stirred, his eyes fluttering open as the light of the fading day welcomed him. His mind raced to the Goblin King and the fight, as he lifted his back away from the ground in a swift, fluid motion. Finding his location rather peculiar, he realized he had slept amidst the depth of the forest, the incoming winds of the night whispering secrets in his ear.
Cyan's mind was a jumbled mess of confusion and curiosity as he sat on the forest floor, his back against a tree trunk, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a mix of wariness and wonder. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, and the silence was oppressive, punctuated only by the occasional hooting of an owl in the distance.
"What happened to me?" he thought to himself, his hand on his chin as he tried to piece together the events leading up to his collapse. "I remember fighting with everything I had, then the next thing, everything turned black."His entire upper body was cased in a gruesome layer of green goblin blood, the stench of which cling to him like a noxious cloud. The cold, viscous liquid had seeped into his clothes, making his skin crawl with discomfort, but he seemed oblivious to the foul odor, too relieved to have survived the ordeal.
As he studied his bearings, the sound of his bones creaking and groaning with every movement he made was like a symphony of cracking twigs, a stark reminder of his mortality. The eerie silence of the forest was oppressive, the only sound the soft rustling of leaves in the wind, like a gentle whispering in his ear.
CYAN: "And this horrible feeling, why? It's the same as one has when they lose something important, but why am I feeling this cold and hollow sensation? I don't think I lost anything." He placed his hand on his left chest, right above his heart, as if trying to feel for something that wasn't there.
CYAN: _So why, why do I feel so empty inside?_ His voice was barely above a whisper, a soft, gentle sound that belied the turmoil brewing within him. His eyes began to sting, and before he knew it, tears were streaming down his face, a salty, bitter taste that mingled with the stench of goblin blood.
Cyan placed his hand below his eyes, wiping away the tears with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "I am crying, but why though?"He didn't know why he was crying, but for some reason, it felt right, like a cathartic release of emotions he didn't know he possessed.
As he wept, a voice spoke out of nowhere, its tone detached, clinical, like a computer processing data.
VOICE: _Memory fragments detected. The mixed emotions of emptiness you are currently experiencing have been caused by you recalling a significant amount of important information that was later retaken from your collective data._
Cyan's reaction was swift and precise, his body tensing with surprise. He stood up quickly, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a fierce intensity.
"Who said that? Show yourself!" he demanded, his voice echoing through the forest like a challenge To Cyan, the voice seemed to be coming from deep within the forest, almost as if the forest itself had spoken, its ancient, gothic trees looming over him like sentinels.
He twisted his head, surveying his surroundings, but there was nothing, just the trees, their branches creaking ominously in the wind. With a desperate attempt to seek out the source of the voice, he spread out his concentrated Aura, a palpable, electric sensation that crackled through the air, but detected no signs of life whatsoever, the forest seeming to hold its breath in anticipation.
He yelled, his voice raw with emotion, "Who and where the hell are you?!" His eyes scanned the surroundings, his guard up, his senses on high alert.
VOICE: "_I am but a mere fragment of your intelligence, and I have no location since I exist where you exist._"
CYAN: " _A what of what? I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that, you said it too fast, do you think you can repeat?_" He surveyed his surroundings, his expression serious, his hand curling a fist as if he was preparing himself for a fight.
VOICE: _A fragment of your intelligence. I have no body, no soul, but I only exist to serve you. Think of me as a split mind._
CYAN: "_Okay, as much as weird as it sounds, why should I believe anything coming from your mouth? Are you perhaps pulling my leg?_"
The voice echoed in Cyan's mind, its tone devoid of emotion, yet somehow laced with a hint of curiosity.
VOICE: _I cannot pull your leg, for I do not possess a physical body, but I do consider it to be an irrelevant task and a complete waste of time. I can, however, answer any query and help you increase your mental prowess, for I only exist in your mind. Think of me as an Artificial intelligence._
Cyan's gaze drifted, his eyes narrowing as he processed the information. "Artif-?, whatever that means, how did you come to exist in my mind?!" His voice was laced with skepticism, his tone a mix of confusion and wariness. The forest seemed to hold its breath, the silence punctuated only by the distant hooting of an owl and the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze.
VOICE: _The cause of my existence is unclear, however, I detect involvement of the missing memory fragments lingering inside your brain. That alone might have something to do with my existence._
Cyan's curiosity piqued, his eyes tilting towards the ground as he asked, "What do you mean by missing memory fragments?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his gaze intent on the forest floor. The trees seemed to lean in, their branches swaying in anticipation, as the voice replied,
VOICE: _About an hour ago, you seemed to have recalled immensely priceless information, which piqued the involvement of a higher archy responsible for the loss of information._
Cyan's expression furrowed, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by higher Archy. Do you think you can explain without the complicated words?" His voice was laced with frustration, his eyes pleading for clarity. The forest seemed to exhale, the trees swaying gently in the breeze as the voice replied,
VOICE: _Simply, a higher entity governing this world erased some information from your collective memory while you were unconscious._
Cyan's eyes widened, his gaze snapping up to meet the trees, as if searching for answers.
'Well, that explains why I felt that losing emotion, sigh. By entity governing the world, do you mean the Gods?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his tone laced with a mix of awe and trepidation. The silence was palpable, the forest holding its breath as the voice replied,
VOICE: _Possibly, yes._
Cyan's gaze dropped, his eyes narrowing as he asked, _But why would the Gods erase my memories?_ His voice was laced with skepticism, his tone a mix of confusion and curiosity.
The voice replied,
VOICE: _Two main reasons might be compatible with your inquiry._
Cyan's eyes snapped up, his gaze intent on the trees as he asked, "And that is?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his tone laced with anticipation. The voice paused, the silence stretching out like a taut thread, before replying,
VOICE: _The first is that they might have deleted the information to keep the world balance._ The voice exclaimed, followed by a moment of silence.
Cyan's gaze never wavered, his eyes fixed on the trees as he asked, "And the second is?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his tone laced with curiosity.
The voice replied,
VOICE: _They saw the information you recollected as a possible threat that needed to be completely annihilated before you had regained consciousness and finally awareness._
Cyan's expression turned skeptical, his brow furrowing in doubt.
"I think you are exaggerating a bit, right? I don't think I have that deep a relationship with the Gods. I am but a mere mortal, after all. Whatever the case is, I don't care. I've already got everything I need, so I don't think those memories were that important to me. They can keep them if they want, it's not like I'm seeking a fight or something."
The voice replied,
VOICE: _I for one, would disagree with your way of thinking._
Cyan's gaze turned incredulous, his eyes narrowing as he asked,
"why? Anyone wouldn't want to oppose powerful entities like gods, don't you agree?"
The voice replied,
VOICE: _In mortal logic, yes, anyone would rather ignore, but if I were in your shoes, I would rather choose the opposite, because in my logic, I believe information and knowledge are context that shouldn't be taken too lightly._
The forest seemed to hold its breath, the trees looming above like sentinels, their branches creaking ominously in the wind. The air was heavy with an eerie, unsettling energy, as if the very fabric of reality was about to unravel.
CYAN: _What do you mean by that, you don't expect me to oppose the rulers of this world, right?_ His voice was barely above a whisper, his tone laced with a mix of trepidation and curiosity.
The silence stretched out like a taut thread, the only sound the distant howling of wolves and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
VOICE:_You will understand what I mean eventually,_ the voice whispered in his mind, its tone devoid of emotion, yet somehow laced with an undercurrent of foreboding.
Cyan's eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing the darkness as he replied, "That response is concerning, but I already know what you mean. I am a hunter, after all, and in that profession, information is reliable, but crossing powerful entities is something unthinkable, so why don't we just forget that topic, forget we ever brought it up, and start a new one." His voice was laced with a hint of unease, his tone measured and cautious.
The trees seemed to lean in, their branches swaying in anticipation, as the voice replied, "If that is what you wish, I will oblige." The air seemed to vibrate with tension, the silence stretching out like a challenge.
CYAN: _You mentioned you are capable of answering any inquiry, right? How about we test that? I have three._ His voice was laced with a hint of bravado, his tone measured and curious.
The voice replied, "Yes, I did. Feel free to try. I will answer all three to the best of my ability." The trees seemed to nod in agreement, their branches swaying in the wind.
CYAN: "Okay then, tell me what Randell is up to at the moment?" His voice was barely above a whisper, his tone laced with curiosity.
The silence stretched out, the only sound the distant howling of wolves and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
END OF CHAPTER 9