Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Cave, sweet cave

-Alan POV-

That just made me feel alive again.

After I got enough of the strange apple fruits from the trees I decided it was time to get back to 'work'.

"Okay, the last thing on the list, getting a provisional shelter."

Although at first glance it might have sounded simple, let me testify against this first thought. It. Is. Not. Simple. At all.

It was already getting late, and as I looked up, I could tell how the light from the sun was slowly fading away. My vision was already compromised, I needed to hurry up.

Even more, how on earth am I supposed to find a secure place to stay at least this night, in the middle of a forest?

According to the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the standards for an emergency shelter must at least protect you from the elements and weather conditions basically, the overall individual survival.

When I read about it, I thought it would have come in handy at some point in my life, but being here, alone in this forest makes me realize how useless this information was.

"Hahahahahaha..."

Well, enough blabbering, let's see what I can find.

...

It was getting dark quicker than I expected, and as time went on, my despair only grew.

I started thinking about the worse cases, where I ended up being eaten by some unknown animal.

That was until I spotted a rocky cliff, hidden in between a relatively dense part of the forest.

As I went to investigate I found an opening on the right side of the cliff.

Of course that doesn't mean anything, if the opening connects to a deep cave, it is rendered useless: how am I supposed to know no wild animals are living in the deepest parts of the cave?

And so, as sweat started coming out, I carefully took a peek at the situation inside the cave...

Yes!

It wasn't deep, the cave wall was around 10 meters long from the entrance, and on top of that, if you stayed crouched at the furthest point from the entrance, you could hardly be noticed.

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I decided on staying and proceeded to immediately lay down. I was shattered. After all I went through today, I felt like an old man already.

How is my sister doing? Is she cooking her meals properly? She is older than me, but she always asked me for treats when the opportunity came up... Maybe I spoiled her too much...

And as I thought of these kinds of unimportant things, my tiredness caught up to me, and I started sleeping deeply, just the way I woke up this same morning.

---

-??? POV-

How could the oracle be wrong?

The prophecy told me that the hero elected from the goddess, would descend this same day, but as much as I waited, sitting gallantly on the throne of the welcoming room, there wasn't a minor change in the magic levels of the surroundings.

The ministers had started worrying and the servants were confused, no one knew what was happening. For centuries the invocation ritual has always been performed successfully, and this being the first time failing no one knew what to do next or how to proceed.

That was until out of nowhere, the voice of the goddess could be mysteriously heard as she exclaimed:

"Oh my dear followers, my dear people... The invocation ritual has been prolonged, but you shall not worry. I have found the ultimate hero, who will bring you salvation from the ferocious demons responsible for the recent and upcoming rampage around the kingdom."

At last!

I was ecstatic, never before had the goddess herself directed a message toward us, mere mortals.

The room started glowing, and a magic circle was projected on the marble floor.

This will be the one!

I am sure this man, this hero, is the one who will finally put an end to this war!

---

This was a certain king of a certain country, where Alan should have been transferred.

What this certain king was ignorant of was that the man he thought would only bring happiness to his kingdom's people, was the cause of one of the greatest crises this world would ever witness.

This new 'hero', was the goddess's last choice, chosen out of despair, one she herself, the one who loved everyone equally, was against, truly the definition of a scumbag.

What will Alan, the one who somehow managed to avoid the goddess call, do next?

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