Arven

"Time heals all." Charlie said.

Slinx squeezed out a smile, he barely had energy to wake up for school. After what happened last night it was almost impossible for him to sleep again. And those painful words lingered in his ears:

"Not good enough for her." Slinx said depressingly.

Charlie snapped back, "Hey don't you say that! My buddy is the best man anyone can ask for. Kind, empathetic, creative… And besides, this girl you're obsessing over probably isn't even real! I don't care how real your dreams seem but no reason for you to feel butthurt all because a figment of your imagination rejected you!"

"I guess… I do have a tendency to get attached to things easily…"

"Anyways…" Chris sighed, " Don't hold any of this to yourself again okay? You know how emotional you can get dealing with these issues."

"Hang in there bud, I'll be here the whole day as long as you need me alright?" Chris patted Slinx on the back showing his support. Slinx smiled and thanked him, he was glad to know he had someone to rely on even if the sky fell down.

...

It was half past midnight, Arven had just finished his work. He stretched out his arms and let out a yawn, but before he could let his body end its shift, he picked up his phone and scrolled. He didn't really want to, his body definitely didn't want to, but his mind insisted and ruled with an iron fist. He went through his social media feed, casually scrolling through the dozens of people that he met once or twice, he really did not need to know what they ate for lunch today. Despite knowing the meaninglessness of his actions, he carried on almost ritually.

He saw a story with someone who was wearing a ring. It was an ordinary ring except for the fact that there was a beam of green light coming out of it. It was an account under the name of "Slinx Wilt".

"That's a cool effect" He thought. He gave it a like and decided it was probably time to sleep.

He laid on his bed and turned his brain off.

...

There was a small barn not that far away from him. It was a place he had heard of many times from his grandpa. He walked towards the barn and reached for the door, he remembered opening the door before he was teleported to this large room modernly designed with marble and quartzite. There was hardly any furniture in the room, it made Arven feel like he was a tiny little fish in a massive glass tank.

Arven walked around for a while, at first he just walked in circles close to where he believed he spawned, but then something in the distant corner caught his eye: A man. Although scared, the curious Arven approached the figure with caution. And as soon as the man was within a talking radius, Arven immediately recognised who he was.

"Grandpa!" Arven cried.

It was not often that Arven would dream of his grandpa. For the longest time his grandpa had stayed in a care home far from his residence. Arven visited him occasionally in spite of the warnings his parents gave him. Unlike his parents, Arven adored the old man. He was a mysterious figure who always had captivating tales from the past to tell. Oftentimes Arven would spend the whole afternoon with him just to listen to how he and his friend used to plan on making a utopia. His grandpa would speak with such passion that sometimes he would find himself out of breath.

The fragile man turned his back, and on his face was an expression of worry and fear.

"Arven! Oh dear grandson! I missed you!"

"I missed you too, gramps!" Arven replied.

"I didn't want to do things this way, but you're my only hope to stop him!"

Confused, Arven asked: "Him? Who's him?"

"Walder. He found the rings." Jeffrey said sternly.

Hearing those words sent a shiver up and down Arven's spine.

If there was one thing that Grandpa Jeffrey regretted in his life, then it would be how things ended between him and Walder. The two idealistic geniuses formed a dynamic duo back when they were young. Walder, the more charismatic one out of the two would often be the one to sell their vision to the crowd. Jeffrey, on the other hand, would be the one working out the science and details to their inventions. Walder had promised to make a world where no child would ever cry, and Jeffrey promised to deliver.

Until he realised that what they wanted was different.

"He says he's different, but he's not." Jeffrey said. He placed his hands on Arven's shoulders

"The world cannot end up in his hands, or else we are doomed to repeat history."

Arven felt the immense pressure placed onto him. And yet it was something Jeffrey had prepared him for, it was just a matter of time that the tyrant would make his move.

"Is it time Gramps?" Arven asked.

Boom!

The room started to shake violently, cracks formed along the walls, the ceiling started to tremble and debris and pebbles started to fall. Arven and Jeffrey fell to their knees and the walls came closer and closer to them. The room was shrinking, rapidly.

"He's here! Arven! You have to find the ring!" Jeffrey cried.

Suddenly, a rock came slashing towards their direction, with what strength he had remaining Jeffrey pushed Arven out of the trajectory of the rock, but unfortunately could not avoid it himself. The rock hit Jeffrey in the stomach and he let out a scream in pain.

"Gramps!!" Arven tried to help the old man back to his knees, but another stone came flying straight towards him. With an instinctive split-second dodge, the stone narrowly missed his head by inches.

"I think it would be wiser of you to run, little boy." A deep echoing voice covered the room, it gave a powerful warning to those who stood in its way.

Jeffrey gave one last order before preparing for the worst. "Leave…. Arven…." He pointed towards the door, which looked like it would collapse any minute.

Arven ground his teeth, he was no match for Walder's sorcery. And he had a mission to complete. He looked at the wounded Jeffrey, knowing this was likely the last time he would dream of him, or see him. Arven forced himself to run towards the door, the least he could do is to not let his grandpa die in vain.

But just as he started to run, he felt a tight grip to his ankle. He looked down and saw a hefty chain tying him to the ground. The voice that surrounded them gave out a deep menacing laugh that craved for the despair that its victims felt.

Jeffrey lifted his hand "Oh no you don't!" A gun appeared in his hand and he aimed it towards the chain. Bang! The chain broke leaving Arven free to sprint.

"For someone who's over 70, you are way too stubborn, Jeff." Another chain started to reach for Arven's other ankle. Yet this time, Arven was prepared. He purposely altered his pace and quickstepped around the traps that were waiting for him.

"Run Arven! Find the ring!" Another boulder came blasting towards Arven. With the last bit of strength remaining, Jeffrey conjured a shield and proceeded to tank the continuous rain of stone and debris that were all aiming at Arven.

Jeffrey held his ground for dear life, pouring every single ounce of strength out. His vessels were bursting and his face was bright red, his heartbeat was racing and his muscles were giving in to the fatigue. He wanted to give up, but he knew either way there would be no tomorrow for him.

"Dream with me, Jeffrey." The voice said in a sad and calm tone.

A sudden shot hit Jeffrey from the side. The conjured shield broke the instant its owner lost consciousness. The rocks and debris continued to hit the unconscious man, eventually outright burying him.

"Gramps!!!!!!" Arven yelled in despair, yet it was no time to mourn. The walls were closing in on him ready to compress him, the door in front of him was ready to collapse any second and conjured chains emerged ready to seal it shut forever.

The door was just metres away, and the chains were slowly creeping along the door. Arven gave out a furious howl, and charged at the door with his whole body, slamming the door open and falling into the dark abyss that awaited him on the other side.

"Ah!" With his eyes once again opened, he was now back to the comfort of his own bed. Still Arven felt his body shaking violently. Partly due to the fear of returning to that nightmare, mostly due to the sheer anger and frustration towards himself for not being able to stop Walder. Feeling how powerless and weak he was, Arven shed a tear.

Despite everything that happened, he still had to go to school.

But it was fine, school was indeed where he had to be.

He knew where and who the ring bearer was.

...

The bell of the last section rung, as the teacher left the classroom, the students of class

4C returned to their natural groups to talk about their trivial lives and initiate pointless banter.

That is how society functions, similar-minded people bond together and get along to do things they are passionate about. Those who struggle to form these connections are isolated and doomed to be loners whose existence is neglected and denied. Usually with Charlie around Slinx would not really see himself as one of those left behind, but with Charlie leaving for tutoring again, the feeling of hatred grew a bit more inside of him.

"Hey, are you Slinx Wilt?"

An unexpected question caught Slinx by surprise, he looked up to find a stranger in front of him. It was a boy who looked a few years older than him. He looked fairly similar to Slinx, with the only distinct difference being the birthmark on his right cheek, it was in the shape of a half-moon and the size of a chestnut.

Confused, Slinx questioned back.

"Yes. Do I know you?"

"We met last year during the school picnic. We were introduced by your friend Charlie."

Slinx was in shock. His presence was so obscure that not even all his classmates remembered his name. He was so used to being completely forgotten by people who just met him a day ago. And somehow this person standing in front of him remembered a moment even he had forgotten.

"My name is Arven." Arven pulled out the seat in front of Slinx's desk and sat down,

"Slinx, we need to talk."