Chapter 2: Chapter 1 | A Glimpse of the Beginning and the End.

Chapter 1: A Glimpse of the beginning and the end.

 

***

 

THE BODY WILL RETURN TO NATURE, BUT THE SOUL HAS A CHOICE.

 

 *

[Five Lives Were Taken, But the Investigation Has Been Decided to Stop.]

No personal data was left due to this mystery explosion that occurred on March 9^th yesterday at a house in Arallean Village, and the evidence that might have caused the explosion had been destroyed without a trace. Apart from the victims, most of whom were migrants without a clear background, the house of the incident was also mercilessly wrecked. Thus the investigation team decided to drop the case.

But what kind of explosion might have occurred in such a small house in the middle of the woods?

By Darren Gihan
Today’s Sandfort on Monday, 12 March 1318.

 

 

Three days earlier.

Florian had three major problems at the age of twelve: Sorcery, his race, and his responsibilities.

His magic power had been awakened since he was four; it was even considered very early, as he would definitely have great magic power when he grew up. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case for him, whose magic power was relatively weak and underdeveloped.

Howsoever, giving up his dream of becoming a great sorcerer did not seem to be in his vocabulary.

Florian would do anything to achieve his selfish dream… even sell his soul if necessary.

With great concentration, Florian drew a deep breath and stretched out both hands forward. His palms emitted a golden light of mana, creating a golden magic circle, and one by one, runes appeared to fill the path in the circle.

It was slow and lame and weak.

When the magic circle finished, it shone brighter for a second, but nothing moved from the well; not even the sound of gurgling water could be heard. Nothing at all. Even the magic circle disappeared shortly after. And it's not surprising.

Despite his failure, he was glad it did not harm him or anything like his previous attempts. 

I'm still way too far from Felix.

Florian was aware of his lacking. After all, no one taught him properly in Sorcery Arts, and he could only study rune spells after finishing his work at the Stanfield house, Felix's house. Either he learned it with Felix—only when Felix was in a good mood—or sneaked in to see him learn magic. But most of the time, Florian learned on his own, relying on his poor memory against runes spells, and practicing to control magic circles at home, though mostly failing.

"Brother Ian!"

A shrill voice jolted him up; his pointed ears twerked twice, and his whiplike tail with a tuft at the end swung once.

"Yes?!"

With a bit of panic, Florian hastily pulled on the rope to lift the bucket of water from the well and placed it on the ground. Of course, he did not forget to fix his position — only to look more relaxed, as though he had just used magic.

"Oh, did your water magic finally work?" Asked Lita cheerfully, tottering toward him like a living rose. She was six this year, small and shrewd, and had crimson hair brighter than Florian's blood-red hair.

Florian stiffened but forced one corner of his lips to curl up. "Perhaps?" He lied, with his gaze pointed at a bucket full of water. "I guess I need to borrow Felix's magic book again, so I can do it even faster."

Lita wrinkled her small nose, her brows knitting. "Young master Felix would have a grumpy face if you sneak into the library and stealthily read his spell book again!"

Florian raised a brow, his fox-like eyes drifting to Lita, who was struggling to lift the bucket of water. The bucket was large enough that Lita could have room assuming she sat in it.

"Would he?" he asked cynically.

Sighing, Lita gave up on lifting the bucket and pinned her chin up to look upon her not-related-eldest brother. "Yes," she confirmed. "Last time, he even said"—she was trying to mimic the face and tone that Felix usually had when he's upset—"'When will this poor faerie have a shame?'"

Florian held back his remark at how Lita could mimic Felix's annoying face so well, and instead showed her a shock and disbelief look; his jaw was slowly dropping.

"Let's not drop by after I take care of the horses tomorrow," Florian murmured, clucking in annoyance.

"Wha—no-no! I still want to eat their expensive candies again, brother!" squeaked Lita, but got an immediate waiver from Florian, who dashed towards the vegetable corps.

Florian was quick, even with a large bucket of water in hand. Well, he was unreasonably stronger than an average twelve-year-old boy because half of him was a faerie. And not just any faeries, horned or winged, Florian was the tailed faerie—a faerie with the strongest physique.

But dissimilar to faeries who should be Elementalist, Florian could not be one because he could not control nature elementals.

Having only the characteristic of a faerie wasn't really an advantage to his life, either. Whenever he went to places crowded with humans, he had to use a cloak to cover his pointed ears and coil his tail under his pants, which was very uncomfortable for him. Faeries living with humans wasn't uncommon, and Florian, in fact, might not have done that and mingled, living freely with humans. But he was a nobody. Not an Elementalist. Not the son of an important figure or whatever. And not pure-blooded, either.

He was just a nobody faerie with no obvious information about his background.

The house Florian lived in was not an official orphanage; it was just a house of a generous lady named Rebecca Rivka, who created her own family with abandoned children she rescued. Her two-story house was more than enough for the four kids to live together. And the house was located in a secluded place away from the rest villagers, quite close to the Forest of Gluttony.

For the necessity of life, their primary income was from the vegetables they grew in the garden behind the house. But Florian had started making money since he was nine by helping to care for the horses and cleaning the stables at the Stanfield residence. Even though Florian used to do the job with the previous eldest child who used to live with him, he now did this side job by himself, or sometimes the new young boy, Kieran, helped him as well.

Well, Florian had become the eldest of the four children. Like it or not, he had to take on the role of the 'reliable eldest brother' to the three younger children. Despite how he kept complaining. Despite how he only wanted to have fun and laze around.

"Did you succeed in using water magic?" asked Kieran, who had been waiting for the water.

"I guess?"

Florian's voice sounded so annoyed as he lied again. Placing the bucket of water, he sighed and brought his chin up to stare upon the vacant blue canvas, trying to ask the uncaring universe —

Why was his life so hard? Why couldn't he be born into a wealthy family like Felix, thinking of nothing but studying and eating sumptuous food?

"So annoying," was his only comment on all the complaints in his mind.

A little nervous, Kieran dragged his gaze away after glimpsing Florian's somewhat scary face. Since he hadn't been at Rivka's house long enough, he was still not used to Florian's annoyed manner. Let alone his intimidating look, Florian's straight face and unusually sharp gaze often gave him goosebumps. 

"Wha-what is annoying?" Kieran faltered while stiffly fetching water with a smaller bucket in his hand. He just had to do something else so that he could try not to listen to Florian's babbling.

In his honesty, Kieran would prefer it if Florian vented all his anger earlier in the day than looking scary all day long. Something could be destroyed or burned by his rage, as Florian was the only one who could use magic in the house but couldn't control it well.

"That bastard, Felix—how dare he call me a shameless faerie? Didn't he know I'm only half, half-faerie?!" grunted Florian, letting all anger and annoyance creep into his voice.

Yeah, I might be shameless, but I'm a half-faerie!

Kieran, on the other hand, was still focused on watering the vegetable crops while trying to ignore Florian's grunts. This was nothing new for him, but still hard to get used to. Either hearing Florian's complaints or even his vicious plots—

—why did Florian always do it when he was around?

A year had passed since Rebecca took care of him in Rivka's house, but never once did he find it easy to always need to listen to Florian's complaints or to hide the wicked things Florian did.

Kieran had always been Florian's partner in crime, whom he hated to be one of. 

Just why does it have to be me? Kieran honestly wondered.

"Aha! I will tell Maman you just said a bad word!" Lita exclaimed, her index finger pointing at Florian.

Kieran quietly snorted at her shrill words.

Florian sucked in a breath, heaving his chest. "Don't tell her, please? And I will give you a week's worth of my dessert."

Lita's lashes fluttered twice as she turned towards Florian with a cheeky smile. Most likely, an evil plan crossed her mind at that moment. Florian was sure about that.

"Two weeks!" She grinned, bright in the eyes of others but somehow wicked in Florian's eyes, like poisonous honey. 

"Ten days."

"Twelve!"

Florian swallowed back a swear word. "Deal." He forced a nod and twisted around, unwilling to see Lita's smile any longer.

Where did that innocent baby learn to smile so wickedly like that?

He did not realize that Lita had learned it from him.

Leaving the two youngest children to continue watering the crops, Florian headed to the house to grab something to drink, but the scent of sweet chocolate wafting under his nose triggered his hunger to greet him earlier.

"Wow—chocolate biscuits," he murmured, hunger all over his features.

He swept his gaze over the chocolate biscuits arranged in the basket and some still lying neatly on the wire rack. With unbearable hunger, his hand didn't hesitate to reach for one biscuit.

But someone slapped his hand with a wooden spoon.

"These biscuits are for young master Stanfield. Didn't you hear he is going to the capital this afternoon?" asked Rebecca Rivka, who was often called Maman Rebecca.

Florian held back a wince and murmured something under his breath. "I thought he would go in two days?"—his hand stealthily took one biscuit—"they have tens of servants, but none of them can make biscuits like this? Unbelievable."

"Don't you dare take the biscuits from the basket, Florian!" squeaked Rebecca, hitting him with a wooden spoon.

But Florian had devoured the biscuit into his mouth before defending himself from her not-so-hard hits. His face even showed a sense of satisfaction despite how he received blows from Rebecca.

The chocolate is so rich that I finally feel alive, Florian said internally.

Even though Rebecca couldn't use magic, Florian had always wondered if she used some sort of magic in making food, especially sweets.

"Aih, ought to deliver this basket of biscuits before midday," Rebecca grumbled, her Varaklich accent thick and rolling.

Florian rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. And before he gave more complaints, Rebecca continued.

"And also, bring this to the postal service."

Florian frowned, then received the letter in aggravation after a glance at the recipient's name.

"Locke?" He read out, a grim scowl falling across his face.

"I understand your hatred, but he is still our family, Florian," Rebecca went on without hesitation, "talk and apologize to each other, and you guys will be back like the old days."

Florian scoffed, slightly crumpling the letter in his fist. "He was part of my family," he uttered with a low, sneer laughter, and Rebecca fell into silence; she seemed aware of how sensitive this topic was to Florian.

But soon after, a click of the door opening broke the silence. And as the groans by the rusty wheelchair followed, Florian turned and saw a sickly boy in a wheelchair. He took a deep breath, relieved to see the warm smile on the boy's pale face.

"How's your fever?" he echoed, raising his voice as he tried to change the topic, then gracefully slipped in another biscuit and dashed over Zed, a sickly boy who was a year younger than him.

"Much better," Zed replied and received the biscuit with a quiet chuckle as Florian beckoned him not to tell Rebecca. Thanks, he mouthed, then asked, "Will you go to the Stanfield house now, brother Ian?"

"He must go now," Rebecca chimed in as she arranged the rest biscuits into the basket.

Sighing, Florian finger-combed his bloody-red hair, then hovered over the wall hooks to grab a dark cloak. "But I still detest the idea of sending the letter." He eyed Rebecca and Zed with a faint scowl, lapsing the surrounding into silence again.

"Brother Ian," Zed called out, trying to look into Florian's eyes. "What Maman said is right; you shall talk and apologize—"

Florian chuckled in disbelief, stopping Zed from talking. "But I have nothing to apologize to that bast—Locke for." He quickly folded his lips inside his mouth as he almost said a bad word, his eyes moving to rest on the wooden ceiling.

"Brother Ian," came the meek call from Zed as he approached him. Zed had been with Florian the longest—together with Locke—so he knew well how stubborn Florian was, especially how Florian changed ever since Locke left the house. "Then, please forgive him." Zed paused and waited for Florian to look at him. "Locke sent us a letter a few days ago asking that he was planning to celebrate his birthday with us. Perhaps this could be a chance to be like what we used to be."

Florian huffed in disbelief, revulsion flaring in his veins, yet his face looked as though he was about to laugh. Then he looked at Zed and felt annoyed; pent-up frustrations just coming to the surface. He knew well Zed could be very forgiving and remained level-headed, even after what Locke had done to them. But, again, Florian was different. Despite growing up together, he was nothing like Zed, who was known for his mature and kind personality.

Perhaps if Zed's illness hadn't been the issue, Zed could have been the perfect example of an older brother to Lita and Kieran.

But no, I can't compare myself to a sick person!

"You talk as if everything's easy for you, Zed," Florian spoke after pulling himself from his reverie. "And you know that Locke has a new family, a fucking rich noble family! And doesn't even need to work like us—like me. Why would he want to celebrate in this poor place with his previous poor fam—"

"Ohhhhh, this young man needs to be grounded for a full month now! Have I ever taught you to speak such bad words and with that kind of tone, huh?!" ranted Rebecca, showering Florian with powerful hits of the wooden spoon. "Auuuuhhh, my poor life! Now, do not complain, and deliver this to young master Stanfield or you won't get dessert for two months!"

Florian bit his lower lip and reluctantly took the basket of biscuits and the letter, a swear word coming out through a small sigh in the process. And without saying goodbye, he breezed towards the front door and left the house.

 

---

 

"Is it fifty-five biscuits already?" asked a boy with one brow hiked. His flawlessly combed caramel hair, without a single strand of hair messing up his hairstyle, could make anyone blinded by its glow.

Florian etched a wide, mischievous smile on his face. "I was hungry on the way, so I apologize in advance, young master Felix." His face got brighter beneath the shadow of his hood, especially after seeing Felix's annoyed expression.

"So some of the biscuits have been contaminated by the touch of your hand?" Felix hissed, grimacing.

Florian gulped down a laugh. "Oh, I was joking, young master Felix—knowing how sensitive you are, I would never have done that. And Maman even said that it's even sixty biscuits in total." Pausing, he slightly leaned forward because Felix was shorter, then whispered, "Though I did spit and curse the dough before Maman baked it."

"Seriously, this lowly faerie—" Before Felix finished his sentence, Florian quickly cut in.

"Half, young master. I'm a half-faerie." Florian ended his words with a simple smile.

Felix narrowed his eyes at him, working his jaw. "So, you prefer to return without money, huh?"

Florian slightly flinched at that threat, then quickly masked his face with a smile and the expression of a good person. But he was sure that Felix knew how fake his smile was.

"It was a joke, young master. Please pay for the biscuits, or we will starve to death for an entire week."

Even his tone sounded dignified.

Felix held back his sigh and gestured to his butler to take the basket of biscuits, so his hands were now vacant, which was the time for him to brag and vex Florian. It was practically like a ritual every time he was with this half-fae.

"Just so you know—I will go to the capital earlier because I need to recheck my mana core, since my tutor is already convinced that I have reached the orange shade, which means I will be attending my first year in the academy as a Moyner Sorcerer," explained Felix, in his typical honeyed voice.

Florian had many things on his mind but chose to remain silent—honestly trying his best to hold back from rolling his eyes or letting any response that could show his jealousy.

Indeed, Felix had made him jealous of him for literally having everything Florian wanted the most; money, a fancy house, talents for magic, private tutors, and probably… parents, too.

But he had no time to argue and vex each other for hours, as usual.

Wow, unbelievable. I could tell he was at least a Moyner after seeing how fast he casts magic. 

Despite the amazement that Florian had in his mind, his response was short and monotone.

"Oh, wow—very impressive, young master Felix."

Felix slightly narrowed his eyes; he felt somewhat odd as he expected Florian to be annoyed and would return his flexing with annoying taunts as usual. But considering he had no time to argue, he chose to move on. 

Letting out a fake cough, Felix twisted around and gave Florian the last glance over his shoulder. "Follow me."

Florian was a bit surprised by Felix's order because—It usually takes thirty minutes for him to brag and annoy me, but what's this? Anyhow, he held his suspicion and followed Felix agitatedly. Then, he was even more surprised because Felix took him to the library.

Does he really know I often sneaked here and stole his books?

Florian began breaking out in a cold sweat under his dark cloak.

"You can take these books and figure out how to reach my level," Felix said haughtily, his grey eyes pointing to the pile of books on the table.

Florian was at a loss for words; his jaw slowly dropped, but his eyes glitched in excitement. He could not sneak those six specific books back then because Felix cast protection magic only on the shelf with books about magic.

What storm hit him last night? He wondered, sweeping his gaze over Felix and the books.

"But these…" Florian tried to drag the words out, but it was harder than usual. Despite the excitement that overwhelmed him, part of him still wondered if the Felix in front of him was real. "Are you… sure?" he asked, scrutinizing Felix's features. Like, for real? I believe some of these books are very rare and expensive.

"Well, I'm going to learn in the academy anyway, and I have mastered all the contents in these books," murmured Felix with a shrug, then stared at his only close childhood friend for a long few seconds.

Hated to tell his honesty, Felix pitied Florian, who he considered his rival. Although Florian was way too far from being good at sorcery and still lagging in sorcery arts, he always felt rivaled by the half-fae boy, who oddly had human mana instead.

Felix pitied his rival but did not want to lose, nor did he want Florian to continue falling behind. He preferred to compete with equality. It's classier and fairer to him.

"Thank you."

Florian added his thanks with a sincere bow, causing Felix to feel somewhat awkward.

Felix let out an uncomfortable cough. "Anyway, I must go now, and here's the money for the biscuits. Do convey my regards and gratitude to Maman Rebecca," he said, almost stammering, and placed the money atop the books before leaving the library first.

You are reading story The Wicked Player at novel35.com

You, cocky bastard—always surprising in both magic and personality, said Florian silently while smiling beneath the shadow of his hood.

***

Florian's mood changed quickly just like the weather. The vexation he felt when he left the house was nowhere to be found, as joy and excitement filled its place. He even looked excited when delivering the letter and even greeted most of the villagers he knew in town.

But as a result, it took him over an hour and a half to get back home.

Out of the hustle and bustle of town, only woods became the feast for his eyes, as the northwest territory of Sandfort was surrounded by forests and hills. No more icy wind biting the skin, for the green flags came, the parade of spring in bright bloom. The weather was not too cold and not too warm. It was a very delightful season, but still not his favorite. Florian adored warm weather, especially sunny summer days.

Listening to the orchestra of birdsong, Florian unknowingly whistled to harmonize with the melodies. It was soothing and pleasing… and echoed even louder in his ears because he had sharper hearing than average humans.

But it was none other than the half-fae hearing that allowed him to hear an explosion, gliding into the chirping of birds that were even closer to his position.

"What was that?" Florian halted and frowned, his ears twitching a couple of times. But when he realized something, shock and worry slipped through his spine. "The source of the explosion is—"

Before Florian had even finished gathering his thoughts, he dropped all the heavy books he was carrying and sprinted, giving all his faerie strength to reach his house as quickly as possible.

By the time he nearly arrived, dark smoke billowed in the air and blocked his view, causing him to slow his pace. Getting more closer to his house, he stopped and froze; it seemed his soul had left his body to see the terrifying sight before his eyes. Half of the house was gone, shattered wood and glass pieces straggled around, and the ground surrounding the house cracked as though there was an explosion centered on the base of the house.

It was still noon, but it felt somewhat gloomy because of the haze.

To all the mess—

Where's everyone? Where's my family?

"Aaahhhh!"

Kieran's loud cry snapped him back from drowning in a quandary. With the scream coming from the woods, Florian frantically took a piece of stick from the ruins; it was pretty decent and sharp to be a weapon.

A bandit? Big bear? Monster from the Forest of Gluttony?

He did not know what enemy was waiting for him, so he ought to bring something as a weapon.

"What the hell is that?"

It was nothing like any monster he saw in the book. There were so many unique and creepy monsters in the Forest of Gluttony, but Florian couldn't remember seeing a two-headed dog with greasy and thick dark skin from the two books about monsters of the Forest of Gluttony. Or perhaps he didn't discover enough? He couldn't tell. 

"Brother!" cried Kieran, with Lita in his arms looking limp and pale as bone. They huddled on a tree branch no more than two meters tall.

Florian quickly had his focus on their wounded body and was shocked as he noticed one foot of Lita's had gone, with blood streaming down like a leaky faucet. Whereas Kieran was covered in scratches and blood all over his body. 

A great pang gripped his heart to see them in such a condition. And he already felt like blaming himself for what had happened to them.

Then the monster's growl snapped him back as it turned and rushed toward him. Besides being terrifyingly scary, there was something odd about that monster—what was the cut on the rightmost side? Was it supposed to have three heads?

"At this point, it's like something straight from hell!" grumbled Florian, gathering his golden mana to strengthen the stick in his hand.

Florian tightened his breath to steady his trembling body, but his rapid heartbeat couldn't help echoing in his ears as the monster rushed towards him. As soon as the monster was about to devour him in one attack, he aimed at the wounded neck—and he did. The monster stopped and tried to bite the shaft while looking in great pain, but Florian immediately pushed harder so that the shaft sank deeper into the flesh but made a slight crack in the middle, almost breaking even. Seeing that, he immediately forced out his golden mana even more powerfully.

The scary black dog roared in pain, wriggling like crazy as it tried to reach and bite him.

But Florian didn't waste the chance, so he kicked the dog's front legs, stomped his body, and knocked it down. But it's still alive, obviously. Without wasting a second pause, he withdrew the stick, broke it in half, and swiftly stabbed into the dog's body with his mana to give more force to the thrust.

The dog gave the last few squirms before its whole body stopped moving. Black blood flooded the ground; the stench almost made him almost gag.

Florian took a step backward while trying to catch a breath, then darted towards the tree where Lita and Kieran were.

"Jump," he said through panting, with both hands outstretched in front. "I'm here," he continued, a single tear rolling down his cheek unnoticed.

Lita was the first to jump and followed by Kieran.

Florian tore off his shirt to cover the blood of Lita's lost feet with his shaking hands.

"What happened?" He finally dared to ask, but Lita and Kieran seemed to be lost in horror, with tears streaming down their cheeks.

Florian thought again. It was pretty lucky that Kieran and Lita could climb trees, as they loved to play in the woods. But what if they couldn't? He shook his head to push away his bad thoughts.

"How many monsters are there?" he asked again.

After a moment, Kieran finally went on, "Three monsters came out from the black hole… but the other two are chasing Maman." His voice was strained and shaking.

Florian felt as though his heart dropped to his stomach. He nearly lost his control of staying calm; his spirit weakened, and his limbs and knees went limp. Bad thoughts kept crossing through his mind like a wild breeze. The question about Zed had reached the knot of his throat, but he swallowed it back. As the eldest, he couldn't let bad thoughts weaken him.

"Let's go find Zed," Florian told them, then strode over the house with Lita in his arms and Kieran beside him.

He thought it would be better to take them together so he could protect them immediately.

His steps towards the house never felt so heavy. As Florian drew closer to the house, a foul stench clotted the air, like bear meat left to rot in the barrel for weeks. The stench stung his eyes and stippled his arms with goosebumps. And with the sight ahead, his movement stopped; he was stunned to see the view before his eyes.

A huge dark hole was right next to his house, with dense dark clouds swirling in it, splashing wild electricity and emitting a tremendous dark aura.

"Just what in the god's name… is that thing?"

"Brother…" moaned Lita weakly; her body trembled and felt colder and colder.

Florian's heart sank as he noticed it, so he held her tighter. Please, Lita, please… hold on!

Then, a weak moan came from the house startled him.

Zed!

Giving one last glance at the black hole, Florian turned around and braced himself to shove inside the house, and the murky haze swallowed him whole.

His destination was definitely Zed's room on the first floor, but almost half the house had gone flying, so it was difficult to see the way to the room because of the heavy damage and the strange, eerie fog. The wooden floor was covered in rubble, creaking every time he stepped on it.

"Zed!" Florian called out as he found a part of Zed's wheelchair.

After moving the fallen door and the other few ruins, he found Zed wedged under the ceiling logs, lying down, with his bleeding head drenching the floor. His wheelchair broke. He looked so miserable.

Florian slumped and stood on a knee. "Zed! Zed!" His cries were breathless. "Say something, Zed, please!"

"G-go…"

"What?"

"T-the portal will open once again."

Zed's voice was too low and frail to the point that Florian, who had a good sense of hearing, found it difficult to capture the voice.

"Go—before the real portal is open."

Portal? What portal?

Florian shifted to the black hole again, which he guessed to be the portal as Zed mentioned.

What the heck is happening here? 

Before he could gather his scattered mind, various groans from the backyard jolted him back. And nothing except the creepy black dog came to mind.

"Ohh shit! Make haste! Escape from here first, Kieran!" Florian shrieked in wild panic, then hastily tried to drag the feeble Zed with him, yet Zed seemed to refuse to follow him.

Oh, please!

His mind turned into a chaotic mess. All emotions simmered within him to the maximum. To the point that he didn't know what to do and just wanted to give up on everything and die. But he could not. He did not want to. Not now.

But at that precise moment, the ground suddenly shook, and the ruins dropped like rain even savagely. The two three-headed black dogs even stopped their movements as the black hole slowly shone a blinding light.

Florian jerked his head towards the portal, which strangely shone brightly and caused him to squint. The two monsters across the portal stopped and grimaced, showing their bloody teeth as if anticipating what would come out of the portal. But he ignored the portal for a second and planted his focus on the two black dogs. Even though his vision was rather hazy, seeing a bracelet stuck to the dog's teeth caused his heart to twist. He bent his body forward, narrowing his eyes even further to focus on the bracelet again.

It was Rebecca's bracelet that Lita made special for her fiftieth birthday a month ago.

"No…" Florian abruptly shook his head in disbelief. "No… it can't be! SHE CAN'T DIE!!!!" he screamed, sobbing, suddenly out of breath.

"Florian, go… please, I beg you to leave and stay alive," said Zed, whose voice suddenly rose. Then he grabbed Florian by the cloak to bring his sanity back and gave him a stern look that left Florian confused and surprised.

Florian looked into Zed, with frustration and grief filling his weepy face. Zed knew Florian was thinking about giving up and nothing else, so he stretched out his weedy hand to wipe the tears off Florian's cheeks and whispered almost silently, Leave and stay alive, I beg you, your...

But Zed was cut off by an earthquake that got worse.

Florian faltered in his position, then stumbled as he rose. Feeling frantic, he still forced himself to make decisions. He told Kieran to get out of the house first, put Lita on his shoulder, and attempted to drag Zed out of his room.

But the earthquake just got even worse and worse.

Kieran was panicked as he tried to get himself out of the house. On the other hand, it was difficult for him to see the path properly because the dusty smoke drowned the air while ruins kept falling like rain and blocking the view. But before he could hear his brother's shout, a large piece of wood fell on him, right at his head.

"KIERAN!!!"

Florian was late. Everything was late.

Everything is my fault.

But he had no time to mourn. 

Wiping his wet eyes and nose with the back of his hand, Florian carried Zed and Lita out of the house first. But suddenly, a savage wind roared from the portal, with sizzles and strange noises reverberating throughout the area, giving his entire body a peculiar sensation that made him momentarily freeze. Then his hands unconsciously let go of Zed and Lita's bodies, and his attention embedded upon the portal.

"Just… wha—"

Florian lumbered towards the portal as the strange feeling invited him to come closer, then stood at the edge of the house, a meter away from the portal. His dark cloak was fluttering hard by the savage wind.

The dark clouds no longer swirled in the portal but bright clouds instead. And the portal was tantalizing, persuading him to jump into it.

"It feels… so strange."

But then, a sudden calmness distorted him. The earthquake stopped, and the wild wind seemed sucked into the portal. Everything strangely went back to normal, like the calm before a disaster. And after a few terrifying seconds of serenity, with only a brief pause, an enormous explosion occurred from the portal — BOOOOOOM — throwing everything away without exception and mercy. The shock wave swept the dark fog away and replaced it with a cleaner mist.

Then five unknown people in oddly eccentric outfits came out from the portal, soaring into the sky before slowly descending as the portal below them disappeared.

Although the portal had gone, it left such a vast hole in the ground. And the house was nowhere to be seen, except for the wreckage scattered on the ground.

Those five people were having a conversation—quite serious, it seemed—but Florian could not hear them well, nor did he understand the language of those strangers. After all, he was over twenty meters away from them.

Strangely, they also seemed to be the foes of those three-headed dogs.

After Florian bounced far enough, he found himself in the forest with none of the children around him. His limbs felt heavy and dull, with soreness creeping up his body so badly for the very first time. By being alive but in pain, he hated himself for being a half-faerie with a powerful physique because he would rather die than live a life as a poor half-fae with no family and house. 

Besides his desperation, something weird and new echoed in his ears; it was like a subtle chime sound — like the sound of a bell, but much softer and pleasing.

In his curiosity, he tried to lift his heavy eyelids.

[Welcome, player]

Florian bashed his eyes open as the transparent, light blue screen strangely appeared in front of him, floating. There were letters in the middle that he could not read or recognize the language. No—he had never seen such letters in his world.

"What…?" He breathed a groan and scrubbed his hand over his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating or something.

But the same table screen appeared again after the first one had gone in a blink.

[The system is inspecting the current world. The system is adapting to the present world.]
[The system has adapted to the new world.]

[The system is inspecting the player. The system is adapting to the player.]
[The system has adapted to the player.]

[Welcome, player.]

Player? And what system? What is this weird blue screen?

He swept the table screen away with his hand, and it disappeared. Then somehow, the strength in his body was drained, as though a wave of sudden exhaustion consumed him whole. He was sure he had a pretty good amount of energy before, but where did it go?

With every passing second, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his whole body went limp, unable to move even an inch. He urged himself not to faint, but he had lost. And the same chime sound kept echoing in his ears like a lullaby as the drowsiness sank him even deeper.

*Ding*