"I knew it."
Alex boasted as he looked at the window that glowed a faint pale-yellow.
In his eyes a singular simple statement reflected.
[Naming of rite has been completed!]
Tsszt!
[Master Alex(Autax) has now given his dream cores true names to behold.]
'Wait a minute whose Autax?'
'Dream cores...?'
Tsszt!
[Master Alex(Autax) has completed the 2/3 parts of the 1st dream.]
Tsszt!
[Master Alex(Autax) has met the conditions to go on to final phase of the 1st dream.]
Tsszt!
[Rewards shall be granted momentarily.]
[ _ ]
[ _ ]
[ _ ]
Tsszt!
[Congratulations! Master Alex(Autax) has received the following rewards]
Stats access
Str:??
Agility:??
M.H(Mental hax):??
Wpn:??
S.H(Style hax):??
Core Drb(Durability):??
The flurry of statements flashed in his eyes, but not enough to to coz him to flinch.
For it seemed that Alex had attained more interest in the stats log that he was seeing right now.
He looked at them with a complex wariness and recognition as if he knew what they were, but could not tell in how to use them.
'Hm... this is just like a video game... but... most of the other stats don't really make sense to me.
He thought as he stroked his chin with his left hand that crossed and rested on the right.
The window's screen flickered once more as the stats remained which slightly confused him.
He looked up and down on the window as he tried to see if there was an error that was fixed.
His eyes darted left and right.
"Uh...."
Up and down.
"Uh...."
Diagonally even.
He searched and his eyes strained and even got worn out.
"Hah...."
He sighed as he clutched his eyes and rubbed them gently as he then stopped to look down.
But as his eyes fell.
"H-huh?"
A he gasped perplexedly as his head snapped towards the bottom of the list as he saw something.
A statement.
And it read.
[Special Traits access
"Special traits?" he uttered in confusion as he then back up at the top of the stats window.
"Stats access... granted."
He looked and compared the two as he realised that though this was just the beginning...
"Tsk, huhhhhh. I guess I'll have to live with this then?"
"Besides..."
If he'd just rushed into everything...
"I'd end up flopping over my ass with all the shit that would be pilled over me."
So instead of questioning further he sighed in acceptance as he said, "Uh... are there any more rewards?"
....
A brief silence after Alex wondered on if he should take the opportunity to get the information on this 1st dream or whatever it was.
And just as he turned...
Tsszt!
"Hm?"
[Conditions have been met.]
Tsszt!
[Master Alex has proceeded to receive 1st half of the 1st reward.]
'First half?'
Tsszt!
[Would you like to commence with the final phase of the 1st dream?]
[Yes!] or [No!]
He looked and didn't think match of it with a blank look on his face as he stretched his hand out to tap the yes icon.
But as his finger was about an inch away from the screen...
[We would advise you not to do that right now?]
The orbs said as Alex's head snapped in their direction and his finger wobbled as it paused, just an inch away from the yes icon.
The left corner of his lips frowned as he spoke, "Why?"
"Aren't things supposed to end here now?"
[....]
The orbs remained silent.
He then squinted his eyes slightly as he thought,'The is screen thingy mentioned something about the orbs being my cores... could that be a reason as why they don't want this... first dream to end?'
'But if they're mine shouldn't they obey me?'
"No."
He spoke with a laced and controlled tone to his voice.
"Can you give any specific reasons as to why? This... dream its all been a mess..."
He paused as his eyes furrowed and his frown dug even deeper on his face.
"I was just minding my own business. And then I bleed. I go to a nurse thinking that everything was gonna be fine..."
"But do you know... do you know... what i saw on my body while that weird nurse and my friend were talking... huh?"
He said his voice struggling to maintain its composure instead of waver.
"Wounds..."
He answered as pointed towards his abdomen.
"Big."
Hah.
"Deep."
Hah.
"And over flowing with blood."
Hah.
He said as the terrible memories of that experience flashed with every after word he spoke.
"I wanted to cry."
"I wanted to die."
He said as he head and hands dropped as he added, "But I couldn't... I wanted my mom, dad and sister to be there."
"Do you know why? Coz I was scared."
"Haha."
He laughed a broken wet laugh as if were from sulking for a long time.
"To any person who'd watched too match anime for their own good..."
He said as he then lifted his up looked into the endless top of this even emptier void.
As he added, "They probably would've thought that it was about time they got to be reincarnated was it...?"
"Oh I-I dont really know..., haha. Oliver likes talking about that stuff way too much for his own good."
"Tttaha."
A whimper escaped from his mouth as if he had been holding for quite the bit of time now.
"Doesn't... doesn't he know we're in the 11th grade?"
"He'll fail i-if he doesn't get it straight man, sob, sob."
Tears strolled down his cheecks as they moistened a pale shell that should've peeled off the moment he got here. But was it possible? Maybe if he cried for day that could happen.
And his skin would stay on.
A skin that he ignored caring for much. Only smearing vaseline so as to keep it smooth.
That skin held a whole lot of memories...
Memories he didn't want to let go of. Memories ge swore to protect with his life.
He told himself this after he had a talk with his dad from a years ago on a camping trip.
He saw the long pale transparent withered piece of skin lain somewhere at a tree near their camp site.
So he picked it up and ran to the camp site where his dad was sitted on a portable relaxation chair.
He ran up to him as fast as possible.
He called out to his father who saw what he held and furrowed a brow as he got closer.
He reached his dad and showed it to him.
Upon inspect his Dad's eyes shot open a bit.
As he as he Akex from where he obtained the skin.
Alex was baffled that was skin. Amd he told his dad.
His dad then ruffled Alex's hair a bit as he comforted him and told him about the life cycles of snakes and how they shedded off their old skin so as to to grow longer and bigger as they left old behind.
Alex thought about this deeply and suddenly...
Drip!
A tear fell from his eye.
Drip!
As another followed.
Drip, drip, drip!
Alex's father got worried and asked him what the issue was as he hugged him.
Alex then asked him if people shed off their old skin to. Alex's father was stunned. But only for a split second before laughing and ruffling his boy's hair once again.
And told him no as to why he asked that? Was he afraid of it?
Alex said yes, but because the thought if people shredded off their skin that they would grow and leave their old memories behind to.
That and the pain he thought would be involved as well.
His father laughter and calmed as he patted him on the back and he said that he was truly blessed. As he reassured that.
"You will never lose your memories my son. Never when there's a God to protect you and family all around you to give you memories for you to latch on for the rest of you life."
He then snapped out the flashback as he slowly straightened himself as he chuckled, "Ha ha. I zoned out again."
He then turned back to system window as stretched his hand towards the yes icon on it's screen.
The hope that glimmered in his shone as bright as any kind of light he'd ever encountered. Maybe even brighter than the sun's light.
He thought.
But...
DUUFF!
A heavy bang erupted from his behind.
He didn't turn this time as he continued to push his finger towards the button.
[You can do that.]
The orbs said.
[Or you can talk to them fir a little now and-]
"Why? HUH?!"
Alex exclaimed as his body trembled slightly as if it were a dam that barely hold against a great river's pressure.
A pressure so high.
"Why, huh?"
A pressure so relentless.
"Tell me!"
[....]
A pressure so strength sapping.
[Because Master Alex. If you go throught that door you will awake to your loved ones.]
His finger stopped just half an inch away from the yes icon.
"So?"
[So if you do. You will come back. But when you do... like many others.]
'Huh? Many... others?'
A pressure so devouring that...
[Don't you know... that there are others like you. Who might have gone what you've gone through, but... the ones who haven't gone through what your about to go through...]
[But without our guidance... you will perish just as many others have when they returned.]
"Did they return on purpose?"
[No, they did not. But right now... before tell you what you need to know.. you need to go and settle things first.]
Alex thought as his body then stiffen and steadied he rise as
And whipped his tears as he walked towards the door of light that seemed to be open.
He pushed his palm in and removed it.
Nothing happened.
He frowned as he then said, "How much time can you give me?"
[...Barely more than a minute.]
He frowned and then he smirked as he said make it upto 30 seconds at least.
[.....Yes... Master Alex.]
Step!
He plunged in left foot and leg through the door.
Step!
And this right as held onto its frame.
As he sighed and said,"Thirty seconds at least. Broken Fog."
[Who is Broken Fog?]
"He he he.... we'll have to find out right after my little trip to the hospital."
Every push, tide and wave of water that once over whelmed this dam.
Had held back and put in its place.
He then fell into the light endlessly beamed from the door.
Where was he heading? Could this be trap? Or an opportunity?
Well whatever it had been.
He knew one thing.
And that was...
"Hey guys, I'm coming home."
[Hey y'all! Please read the author's note before you leave.]