Chapter 6: Recalling the Future

Rihan groans as he opens his eyes. He's back in his room, but this time he's on the floor lying on his back. Everything is hazy. The only things he's able to focus on are his pounding headache and the sound of his own breathing.

"I feel terrible."

He slowly raises his hand and touches his forehead. When he does, his hand comes away bloody.

He winces. "Ouch!"

He remembers hitting the floor with a loud thud and the scrambled memories that were previously flooding into his mind disappeared instantly. A wave of relief washed over him and his mind became calm.

"Whew… That took a lot out of me."

He stood up and stretched. "Well, it seems like the first step has already succeeded."

He looks around his room, taking a moment to get his bearings.

"I wonder how long I've been unconscious?"

The clock on his wall shows the time is almost four o'clock in the afternoon, meaning he'd lost almost twelve hours in the blink of an eye. The soreness in his head is also gone, although he still feels tired. I guess this means it worked?

Well, only one way to find out.

"I'll try again," he mumbles under his breath.

Sitting down once again, he closes his eyes. This time, he focuses his thoughts carefully, trying to imagine himself back in his past. Visualizing the events that led to his death.

The images of his life flash in his mind, and he finds his mind growing clearer with each passing second. As he continues focusing, he starts to feel like he's actually living his past life.

He re-experiences each memory and relives every sensation—every emotion, every sensation of pain and pleasure.

His vision changes. He sees himself sitting beside his mother, listening to her story. "This is the day my father died." Tears slowly drip down his cheeks.

"Dad, why did you have to die?" he asked, tears stinging his eyes.

Then he sees himself stumbling home late, snuck in by his mother, his sister had fallen asleep.

"Hm…mmm… Rihan?" she mumbled in her sleep.

Hearing his sister's voice, who he hasn't met until recently, makes him smile.

The next moment, he heard the loud sound of the door smashing open, followed by footsteps stomping their way down the hall. He heard the door close behind him.

"Where were you?" a man's voice demanded.

He hears the voice of his best friend, who he hadn't even known existed.

"I hope we can be together someday." Rihan smiled. "If only I could live long enough to see that day." He felt a sudden stabbing pain in his chest.

"I don't care anymore." The voice of a girl he once loved echoed in his ears.

The scene changed. He sees himself stumbling through the woods, trying to reach his home.

"I'm so tired." He yawned.

He hears a snapping twig, followed by a scream. He turns to see a figure stalking him. Red hair, a pale face, dressed in black—it's the assassin sent by the Ancient Emperor.

"You're dead," the assassin snarls.

Just as quickly as the assassin approaches the scene quickly changes again. He listens to the voices of people he doesn't even recognize.

"I'm glad you're still alive."

"How could you learn something so slowly?"

"I'm sorry for everything." A girl's voice, filled with regret. "Please forgive me."

"Hey! That armour is amazing!" another girl exclaims. "It's like the real thing!"

"No way! It's so cool!" A boy cheers.

"I want it!" someone snarled.

"Maybe we should get some deep-fried chicken for dinner," someone suggested. "It's so good."

The scene shifts again and again. Faces of people he's never met, laughing, fighting, crying, screaming, arguing, smiling—the images flashed faster than he could keep track of.

Each one was imprinted onto his brain like a picture burned into his retinas. Memories of his past life were imprinted in his mind.

He sees his parents and his siblings, and then finally, the person he wanted most to save.

"I love you, Rihan."

He suddenly realizes he's crying. He wipes the tears from his eyes and stares into the distance.

"What's wrong?" a voice asks.

He turns around to the source of the voice—a young girl with silver hair and pale skin. She's wearing a white dress, like a bride staring at him with curious eyes.

This scene stayed longer than the others; he could clearly hear her soft voice.

"Nothing," he stammers. "I'm fine."

He looks at his hands. They're trembling slightly.

"Thank you," he whispers to himself, feeling a sense of relief. The sky above him seems unchanging throughout—as his mind continuously reeled with the memories he's yet to experience.

They continue like this until the sun started to set.

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His eyes are fixated on the red sky as it fades into darkness and an invisible sense of dread fills his body. The world around him seems to grow darker; his surroundings fade to black.

"That's the sky of the future," he whispers to himself.

***

The Grand Irricester Institute, Foundation Classroom

"Alright, that's it for today's lesson!" the instructor said. "Take a few minutes to relax, then we'll go over the next assignment tomorrow."

The students begin to file out of the classroom, talking among themselves.

"I'm going to take a quick nap," Sung Li says to himself as he leaves. "I'm exhausted after today's class."

"Wait!" Miss Shurong calls out to him. "Did you see Rihan?"

Sung Li sighs and shakes his head. "Nope, haven't seen him since our last class."

Miss Shurong furrows her brow. "Really? That's odd. I wonder where he went."

She looks around the room, but the boy isn't anywhere to be seen. "I haven't seen him since class ended yesterday."

"He must be sick or something. Maybe the Cow Fever got him." Sung Li snickers at his own joke, but she doesn't seem to notice.

"Well, let's not worry about him too much. We have more important things to do—like studying." Miss Shurong stares at her student with a stern expression.

A wave of shock ran through Sung Li's body as he stares at her in disbelief. What happened in the previous lesson left him unable to move; his legs quivered like a newborn fawn.

He stutters, stammers and stumbles as he tries to explain. "Uh, uhm, well, I mean, I mean—"

"I don't have time to waste on you today." Miss Shurong pauses to stare at him with cold, dark eyes. "If you don't study properly, you won't pass the test."

She stares at him until he stumbles out of the room, clutching his bag to his chest.

Sung Li pauses in front of the school entrance and pinches his nose. "I can't believe I got out of that without any trouble." He chuckles to himself. "That's the second time today I've managed to avoid a lecture from Miss Shurong."

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly; his heart is racing like it's about to burst out of his chest. "I need to calm down—I need to calm down."

A group of students walks by, talking amongst themselves.

"I don't know how she keeps finding ways to embarrass me." She shakes his head, then laughs. "She's really annoying."

"You're not the only one." One of the girls giggles. "She's always picking on me."

"I bet she doesn't pick on you because you're smart, though."

"Of course not." Another girl scoffs. "She picks on me because I'm beautiful."

Xiao Yi Ling was among the group of students, but she didn't say anything. She kept her eyes straight ahead, walking briskly. Her steps were heavy like she was carrying a heavy load.

As she passed by, she caught a glimpse of Sung Li before stopping short, then turned to look at him.

"Where's your friend?" she snorted.

Sung Li pinched his nose again and then snorted. "I wish I knew."

"What happened?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you two together after class yesterday. You looked like you were having fun."

He scratched his chin and thought hard. "Oh, you mean after Miss Shurong's hell class?" he asked.

"That wasn't anything. Just a friend helping a friend." He answered while shaking his head.

Xiao Yi Ling frowned. "Is that right?" She crossed her arms.

"I'm surprised you noticed he's missing." He gave her a devious grin.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Why? Is he missing?" she asked, her tone serious. "Did he disappear? I don't care what happened to him." —she glances around the hallway— "but if he disappeared, it'll be troublesome for the class."

Sung Li laughed. "He's not missing," he said, waving his hand in dismissal. "I just haven't seen him since yesterday."

Xiao Yi Ling furrowed her brows. "Tsk," she said, shaking her head. "I don't like it when someone irresponsible like you lot disappears without saying a word."

Sung Li raised his eyebrows, puffed his chest out, and pouted his lips. "I'm not irresponsible!" he snorted.

Xiao Yi Ling snickered. "Maybe you're not irresponsible but your friend is. That's why I'm worried."

Sung Li pinched his nose again and then snorted. "He's not my friend," he said.

Xiao Yi Ling stares at him. "Whatever," she sighed. "Anyway, tell him to stop his shenanigans."

Sung Li nodded. "I will," he said, giving her a wink.

Xiao Yi Ling continued to walk away, shaking her head.

He watched her leave, wondering why so many seemed to care about Rihan. He shrugged his shoulders, dismissing their concern. After all, one's an instructor and another is just a random girl, he thought.

The sound of thunder rumbled in the distance which reminded him of something. So, he quickly glanced at his watch.

"Ah! The mini figurine is about to go on sale," he mumbled while hurrying to the store. "I promised him, I need to hurry! Or he'll chew me apart!"

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