Calm Before The Storm 1

Somewhere between the boundary of the fourth wall, a train containing only two passengers moved forward as it past through the borders containing many realities including the «Real World» which is outside the definition of 'Fiction'.

The two passengers inside; a male who has a horn on his forehead, thin face and pale skin. His hair is thin and black; he has long eyelashes and dark circles. His countenance is calm and fresh, although somewhat edgy. He wore a white coat with a slender physique, making him stand out like a veteran warrior.

One thing noticable is that the man had slight burn scarring/tanning due to some unidentified reason. He also has scars on his hands and presumably the rest of his body as well from the numerous fights he has been through.

As for the female sitting comfortably and looking at the universes they passed through the window, she was dressed in a combination of purple and white dress that looks like a cross between a wedding dress and a princess dress. Her eyes are light purple, with a face of slight fierce yet cute and gorgeous at the same time. She is also wearing purple gloves and white that barely cover her tights. She has a purple flower hanging on her neck and some parts of her clothes.

The white theme is repeated in her hair, which fades from white to purple at the tips. She also wears a pink scarf and a feather-shaped hairpin. She is armed with a pair of wings on her side, a gun and a sword on her hands.

They watch the window as the train moved like in slow motion due to the fact that it's speed can't be measured by normal means.

"Miss Finality." The man finally spoke up after a long time of being silently reading a novel. He placed his phone inside his pocket and turned his head to the girl.

The girl, who remained quiet for a couple of second, shakes her head lightly and said, "It's Riana... Stop calling me that, Monarch of Dreams."

"If you stop calling me with that nickname, I'll probably stop calling you Miss Finality, too."

"Mou~ That nickname sounds cool."

"Is that so...? I guess I won't stop calling you with your nickname." He closed his eyes, ignoring the comment the girl said.

"Boo...!" She pouted, turning her head back to the window. He just ignored this and looked at the nebula outside the window. He didn't say anything, and heaved out a sigh.

"You're no--"

Before the girl could even finish her sentence, the man cut her short and sat down on the seat.

"Are you sure about this choice?"

As soon as he said this, the girl went silent. Few seconds later, she made a light head shake and stood up before leaning on the pole behind her.

"I'm fine with this," She smiled. "While I'm heading on a trip to the 'End', my friends will be going to the new 'beginning'. It's a win-win scenario. They get to live a happy life while I become the sacrifice for their happiness... Isn't this the same choice you chose the moment you step inside this train billion years ago?"

He sighed and replied, "We are not talking about myself. It's about you. Although you became one of the most powerful being in your universe, there are still opponent you have yet to face. I've already became accustomed of facing tough opponent in my lifetime, and I would admit that it cost me to lose many things... The reason why I am saying this to you is to make sure that you understand that the being we'll be facing are more stronger than the people you've fought... At the very least, we can only thank the No.1 that all of us are still alive today."

With a curious expression, the girl looks at him and asked, "Who's the No.1 that you've been mentioning since before the conversation even started? And also, who's the guy that the No.1 couldn't even kill?"

"Hmm... Since you're new here, I'm sure that you haven't noticed the «Great Reset», am I right?"

"Great... Reset?"

"Great reset. It is when universes gets reset by some sort of being that is what we normally called as «Caretaker» after experiencing a malfunction. Even in your universe, there's a «Caretaker» that maintain the balance according to the «World Laws». If ever someone were to break those law, even tampering a little bit, it's the «Caretaker» job to maintain the balance by causing a great reset. Of course, no one will be able to remember anything whenever that happens."

"If that's the case, after obtaining this kind of power, why didn't the «Caretaker» from my universe fry to reset everything?" She asked.

Chuckling, the man leaned his head to the window. He responded, "In every universe, there will always be a malfunction... This is just a theory, but the reason why the «Caretaker» exist is mainly caused by ten people. As of now, we only know one person that caused too many universe to reset. And that person is the one even No.1 couldn't even find nor kill using his abilities."

The girl swallowed her saliva as she stared at him with worried eyes. Upon noticing this, the man looks at her and smiled.

"Worry not, he's not a bad person, though he's a huge troublemaker, and not mainly active unlike the other nine, however, if he did make his move, I'm sure that we'll immediately notice the change that is happening..."

After a brief second of silence, he continued.

"We're not going to face him, but... Hmm... How should I say this? I guess you could say that No.1 got tired of dealing with his stupid jokes, so I received an order from No.1 himself to recruit him?"

"Wait, if the No.1 himself couldn't even find him, how will we even--"

At this moment, her sentence got cut off after they both heard a mechanical voice from the speaker.

[We're almost at the next stop.]

***

-Huaa....

Yawning, I stood up from my bed and went inside the bathroom. I bathed and brushed my teeth before going out.

-Ding!

"Huh?"

I turned on my phone and clicked the notification that appeared in the screen to check what it was about... And damn it already ruined my morning.

[ Timer left : 00M : 01D : 18H : 12M : 09S ]

"Fuck..."

I cursed in my breath before turning my phone off and putting it inside my pocket... A reminder that I wanted to forget, why does it have to appear anyway?

-Tick!

I locked the door behind me and walked through the corridors. Looking outside the window, I saw many people. There were some from various different backgrounds, and they all seemed to be enjoying the time they were talking to their sons and daughters. Some people had set up stalls around and were selling food and drinks, while others were playing games.

The numbers of people went up again. They're already filling the whole school ground outside. Not only that, many people are still coming in the gate.

"Right... Today is the festival. I guess they were here to attend and watch the tournament to see who's going to be the champion."

Unfortunately for them, it was already set from the very beginning that Arthur will become the champion... Obviously, it was because that he is the main character.

Fufufu... If not for the fact that my family are rich, I would have gotten a loan yesterday while I was out and bet few thousand of gold on him becoming the champion. I'm sure that I'll be getting a lot of money in return.

As I walked through the silent hallway, I noticed a familiar figure walking beside me. I turned my attention toward it and took a quick glance from the side of my eyes.

"Persia...?"

Persia heard my voice, "Athan...." and became flustered after noticing who I was. She cleared out her throat and said in a whispering voice, "I didn't noticed you... Sorry."

Gesturing my hands, "It's nothing." I responded with a forced smile plastered in my face... I wasn't really sure why, but I feel miserable, for some reason I don't know, when it comes to dealing with people like Persia. I didn't mean about her status as the princess, but to her as a girl... It's not that I like her or some sort, but I don't know many things about how to deal with a woman.

"So... did anything fun happen in the last few days you were out?" I tried to make a topic that we can talk about. And also, I didn't really know about why she left the academy and was gone for about few days, and I only found out about this yesterday after I got back and heard some of the students mention this kind of stuff.

Persia walks at a moderate pace, keeping her pace slow to allow me to walk beside her without being left behind.

"We haven't spoken in awhile... So... what things do you like to do in your free time?"

And so, it became more awkward after I heard her say this.... Ugh, why do you have to say it in a sentence that can lead people in a great misunderstanding.

If there were students around, I'm pretty sure that they'll be adding a bunch of rumours saying I'm hitting on a princess or some sort.... God, I'm thankful that my room and the other students that was important from the novel is separated from the others. We were in a building that specialized only for us.

Clearing her throat, Persia tries to change the topic, "Did you know, Lilian's whole family, except for her, got banished from this kingdom after their own son told the princess about every dirt their family had been hiding from the beginning before committing suicide?" I became curious after I heard this. Michael, spilling the beans about what their family had been doing? There's no way that's possible.

"...?" I stopped walking, "What do you mean by every dirt their family had been hiding?" and turned my head to look at her direction.

She glanced at me and continued, "It's just like what I said. He told Lumine everything before committing suicide by stabbing his own throat with a knife in front of her. And also, Athena's family, the Valbery Household got promoted into Marquis this morning? Their title went up by two after what happened."

I was silent when I heard everything and pondered for a moment.

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺...?

First, I feel that William is upset about something; followed by Alicia's confession; then, the match with Roche; the look of the people around me, and last but not the least, Michael died and his family, except for Lilian and her little brother, got thrown out by the King.

"Athan, did you and William got into a fight?" Persia asked, removing me from those thoughts. I broke down into cold sweat as I tried to avert the question.

I took a glance at the window and, "William is outside. Look." I pointed my index finger to the window. She looks to where I'm pointing at before her expression suddenly brightened.

"I better go!" She rushed away and immediately went to where William is.

I sighed heavily in relief, "What a save..." Before I continued walking.

Moments later.

After parting ways with Persia, I went to the second-year dormitor, just next building beside the dormitory I was in, to find Leo and Aries just to accidentally stumble upon Alicia sitting dazedly in the lobby.

"Damn... Why am I meeting too many people I don't want to meet right now?"

I had already thought this might happen.

Alica looked at me.

"…"

I could read countless emotions in her eyes. She had been worried what our relationship will turn out to be after rejecting her confession, wondering if we'll remain friends, and now that I was in front of her, she seemed unsure of how to begin.

Instead, she averted her gaze and bowed her head to look at the floor.

My chest felt tight, as if it were constricted.

Would we become strangers like this?

If so, wouldn't that actually be better?

Shouldn't I be glad for this situation, in which we both try to unburden ourselves of the emotions we carry for each other, if only a little?

I wanted is to remain friends, however, I'm not sure if she'll accept it.

But then again, I have gotten close to since childhood and managed to meet her at the academy after just a few years.

If I were to leave now, I'm sure that she'll probably forget about her feelings about me and fall for the protagonist, Arthur, later on.

Yes.

It would be less painful for her this way.

Yet, I couldn't find any comfort. I knew that whatever I said would be a lie. We can't have everything, and I had made a choice.

I had chosen to reject her confession.

I had to distance myself from her, Alicia de Vladimir.

And so, heaving out a deep sigh, I tried to pass by her.

𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩~?!

But then… She grabbed the hem of my clothes as I attempted to pass.

"…"

"…"

I couldn't ask her to let go.

It wasn't a strong grip, rather a delicate one, as if she didn't even realize it.

Though I didn't know what to say, I couldn't just leave her like this.

With just a slight twist of my arm, she would have let go, but she held on ever so lightly.

Not long ago, she would have held on so tightly that she wouldn't let go.

Our relationship had been shattered by four mere words: I like someone else.

And so, it wasn't even her hand, but the hem of my clothes, held so very lightly.

It seemed as if Alicia thought even this action was wrong.

"I... Umm...." I tried to speak, but I couldn't think of a proper response.