tyranny of reality

After a long freezing night, the dawn brought glimmers of warmth. The golden gleam softly kissed the land and ignited the birds into a hymn of melodies.

Arthur was lying next to an old tree, inhaling the atmosphere and cherishing every second of it. He drew his knife out and inspected it out of boredom.

'A knife only does what it is told to do, for good or bad. It all depends on the person using it. I always have to play my cards right.'

Arthur abruptly got disrupted by someone shouting from afar.

"Arthur, I'm glad that you came."

Arthur got up and looked in the direction of the voice. It was Leitus walking towards him, excited.

"How can I say no to my good friend," Arthur said as he expressed his friendliness.

Arthur scanned Leitus and saw him wearing a sheath behind his back. He was carrying an axe and a scabbard for his dagger. It seemed like Leitus was prepared for anything.

"Are we going hunting or to explore a cave, Leitus?" Arthur chuckled as he asked.

"Oh, just in case we run into things. Who knows, it might be an inheritance." He laughed for a while before responding.

'He still thinks he is the main character of some novel. Inheritances are rare, and besides if it was one, why would he bring me with him? Perhaps he is thinking to use me as cannon fodder.' Arthur thought as he planned if something happened, even if chances are slim for an inheritance.

"Does your parents know about this Leitus?" He asked.

"Yes, on the way from the capital, but my dad just laughed at me when I mentioned this. I doubt this cave to be something like that, but it just looked cool, you know. My dad is a genius; he could surely tell if this cave was an inheritance and get the goods for himself." Leitus looked down, ashamed as he answered.

'As I thought, even his dad doesn't take him seriously.'

...

Arthur and Leitus started to walk towards their destination; it was around 1 hour and a half away. Leitus avoided talking as he was excited other than minor details about his travel to the capital which he managed to tell when they had a break by a lake.

Arthur wanted to extract some information from Leitus, but he let it go for now. Instead, he thought about his plans.

They finally arrived at their target location; It looked like an ordinary cave, nothing like Leitus described. He mentioned there was writing on top of the cave. Yet, it just looked like a typical cave.

'I've wasted all my time just to come here. For a while, I gave it a slight chance of it being something great, alas.' Arthur cursed Leitus in his head.

"Hmm, maybe I saw it wrong, or it could be somewhere else. However, I'm positive it's this. It doesn't hurt to check it out." Leitus sighed as he stepped inside.

Leitus was greeted by many bats flying out, making him and Arthur react to cover their head.

Arthur followed from behind and walked for about ten minutes. It was surprising because, from the entrance, it looked like a small cave.

"This cave is abnormally big, don't you think, Arthur?" Leitus asked.

"Well, you never know," Arthur answered.

Leitus was holding a sphere that projected light, Qi powered it, and you could refill it at a shop in the capital. He received it as a gift from his father when it was revealed that he had an aptitude.

Many mysterious items that use Qi as fuel to power themselves are called Qi Artifacts. From what Arthur understood, it is a way for the government and wealthy families to make money from people with poor aptitudes.

Leitus suddenly stopped moving, which made Arthur bump into him.

Arthur took a peek at it; he saw a human skeleton seated in a lotus position, clutching an antique book that had endured the passing of time. The red dragon on its cover gleamed coruscating as ever before. It was so sumptuous that it could deceive the eyes into seeing the dragon slither; it was emitting a hegemonic and officious aura.

Arthur and Leitus did not utter a single word. Instead, they kept staring at it.

Suddenly, a translucent man arose from the remains. His long white hair draped over his shoulders, and his beard fluttered grandly in the air. His grey eyes glistened with the vicissitudes of life as he looked at the two younglings in front of him.

He emitted a sage aura that made people idolise and revere him; even Arthur felt deep reverence towards this old man.

However, the old man appeared to be in agony, his face contorted from time to time, and if one paid enough attention, one could see some injuries concealed beneath his shrewdly white robe.

"I don't know how long it has been since my death. It's currently the year 1492 of the Waven empire and 2135 internationally. My name is Janryc Krado; during the war between the Axugon kingdom and Waven Empire, I got betrayed by my very close friend over the general title and seat."

Arthur glanced at Leitus, fully knowing what was going to happen. He noticed Leitus was hovering over his dagger.

"If you have an aptitude for the fire element, this book will be my inheritance, and it should guide you. I formed a vendetta against my friend; I want retribution and protection for my family. If you don't do this, the book will anathematise you to your demise."

'It's currently the year 2291, and there shouldn't be an issue with the family since they will be no longer alive. I don't know if I have fire element aptitude, but I could use it as a reference or sell it later. I would let it go, but Leitus will let me go. I should eliminate him without a knife.' Arthur quickly calculated his options.

Arthur got closer to him and wrapped his right hand around Leitus's neck, then he clasped both of his hands, palm to palm, giving Leitus no air. Leitus tried to get his dagger with his right hand, but Arthur knew of this; therefore, he took him to the ground, leaving him no option.

After a while, Leitus went unconscious, but Arthur did not let it go to ensure he was dead.

Arthur heartbeat slowed down from the adrenaline rush. He let go of Leitus, stood up and looked at him with an expressionless gaze.

Unexpectedly, Arthur saw a dark mist appearing around Leitus. He was puzzled about this. However, Arthur felt an attachment and could not comprehend this feeling; he felt a sensation from Leitus's dead body.

Upon touching Leitus's body, all the dark mist rushed to Arthur's fingers, and he absorbed it.

Arthur felt a euphoria, elation, delight to the point that he could not control his excitement and looked up, forming a devilish smile. He felt fulfilled and an achievement undescribable.

If one were attentive, he would be able to see Arthur's eyes turn icy cold, and he was beginning to lose his mind from it.

"This feeling... I'm in paradise, wrapped in God's absolute affection. Nothing can ever replace this feeling." Arthur started to laugh uncontrollably.

'Everyone thinks they're the main character, but we are all side characters at the same time. It's the tyranny of reality, Leitus.' Arthur thought of this as he chuckled for one last time.

"No, no... someone help me. Ahhhhhhhhh... it burns...."

Subconsciously, Arthur could see Leitus sinking into everlasting darkness. His voice started to fade away as he screamed.

After a while, he looked down at Leitus's body to see wrinkles on his face as he had lived for generations. It seemed like all of Leitus's life force had been consumed. Even his eyes turned white as he had been in anguish.

It was then that Arthur realised how much he had changed. He couldn't recognise himself anymore. When all the excitement disappeared, it was then that he felt hollow.

As Arthur closed his eyes, a deep voice shouted in his mind.

"Erra, your terror will always haunt Zion. You should choose to protect us or leave."