A STORY

"It's good to hear that," Noah said with a smile, then paused for a moment to catch his breath and added, "So, when will we leave?"

Luo Yan hummed, closed her eyes, and tilted her head as she thought about something. Then she opened her eyes and asked, "When will you be discharged?"

"Probably soon, I'm not really injured in the first place," Noah answered, sure of his response.

Luo Yan smiled, her crimson eyes gleaming slightly, and said, "That's good. We'll leave in two days then, I have something to do tomorrow."

"Alright then," Noah agreed, feeling a bit curious about what Luo Yan would do the next day, but he avoided asking or getting involved in matters that weren't his concern.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to it now. We'll meet two days from now in front of the school gate," said Luo Yan, standing up from the chair, heading toward the door. She looked back at Noah, waved her hand, and smiled before leaving, leaving Noah alone.

Noah stayed silent for a while, looking down into his lap, then up at the ceiling. He glanced at the open window and the curtains swaying in the breeze before sighing in relief.

"I can't believe I convinced her to give up the 'Fallen Angel' dungeon just for an S-rank item. How naive is she to fall for such a trick?" Noah thought to himself as he adjusted his sitting position and leaned back on the pillow.

"Well, I should thank her for this naivety... Anyway, it's not important right now," Noah said, then paused as a system prompt appeared in front of him.

[You have gained your first story: 'The One Who Killed His former Self' from A-rank.]

"What is this?" Noah thought to himself, feeling both concerned and confused.

[The One Who Killed His former Self: In the depths of the Daedalus maze, he stood before his echo—a frail shadow of what he once was. His hollow eyes observed, whispering forgotten fears. Steel met flesh, and silence prevailed. The echo faded, swallowed by the abyss.

The maze trembled at his death. 'Nagairus,' the guard, screamed from the depths, its many limbs writhing as its golden mask cracked. It pounced, but fate was rewritten. One strike shattered its essence, along with the unknown entity it birthed—a child of darkness, nameless.

The air thickened, the walls sighed, and the maze shifted. The way forward lay open. His past lay at his feet, slain. His journey had begun.]

"W-What is all this?!" Noah exclaimed, shocked as he read the text before him.

"Is this a narration of what happened inside the maze? A story?!" Noah wondered to himself as he focused on the words of the story.

[Do you want to add this story as the first chapter in the gospel?]

Noah stared at the new prompt that appeared in front of him, feeling confused and anxious.

"G-gospel?!" Noah thought, realizing diving into this system might be risky, especially since he knew nothing about it.

[No gospel found for the host. Would you like to create one or just record the story alone?]

"I don't understand anything. What is this story? And what is this gospel? Can't it at least explain like it does in other situations?" Noah thought for a moment, staring at the strange words on the prompt. Waiting and thinking would be useless since Noah didn't understand what the story or the gospel was, so he figured it was better to adapt and continue. This was something he had learned.

"Let's create the gospel," Noah said, choosing to make the gospel in the hope of gaining some information about it.

[The host does not have the necessary components to create the gospel. The story will be recorded on its own as a paper inside the system.]

"For heaven's sake, if I can't create it, why ask me?" Noah thought to himself, slightly annoyed.

[The story 'The One Who Killed His former Self' from A-rank has been successfully recorded as the first chapter in the form of a paper.]

A light appeared in front of Noah, and from it emerged a completely new, soft sheet of paper, as if it had just come from a printing press. The paper was pristine white, perfectly flat, with no wrinkles or defects. The dark ink stood out clearly on the surface, written in beautiful, organized handwriting, adding a touch of elegance and dignity. The edges were straight, with no tears or signs of usage. There were no stains or marks on the paper, making it look as though it had just been written.

The title "The One Who Killed His former Self" was written in bold, clear text, reflecting the grandeur of the story inside.

"It has manifested in reality..." Noah said as he held the smooth paper, which contained the story the system had just narrated.

[Would you like to save the first chapter in a named collection?]

Noah raised his head to the new prompt that appeared before him.

"Collection? Oh, sure," Noah said.

The paper then disappeared from his hand like particles of light, leaving traces in Noah's empty hand.

[The first chapter has been successfully added to the collection.]

[Would you like to name the collection?]

"Name it?" Noah asked, confused.

[A name related to the chapter's content, a name reflecting the host's desire to live.]

"Desire to live...?" Noah said, looking at the words before him. Those words carried deep meaning for him, as he had grown accustomed to believing life was meaningless, until recently when his eyes opened to the light and he realized something. Noah pressed his lips together, and the light of life reflected in his black eyes.

"...Rebellion, choose rebellion," Noah said confidently.

[The collection has been named "Pages of Rebellion" as per the host's wish.]

"Yes, rebellion, that's the meaning of life for me. The freedom I seek, and the revolution I walk toward, that's my goal in this life," Noah thought to himself, reflecting carefully on his words. The system prompt vanished, and the statistics window appeared in its place.

[Name: Noah Grace, Age: 18, Gender: Male, Level: 9

Strength: 17, Speed: 20, Agility: 18, Intelligence: 26, Luck: 14

Skills: "Field of Influence" S-rank , "Foresight" C-rank

Available Stat Points: 10]

"My level went up twice, and I gained a lot of stat points from killing Nagairus and that other thing. Well, it doesn't matter, I'll try to balance them," Noah thought to himself as he began to develop his stats until they looked like this:

[Name: Noah Grace, Age: 18, Gender: Male, Level: 9

Strength: 20, Speed: 22, Agility: 20, Intelligence: 28, Luck: 14

Skills: "Field of Influence" S-rank, "foresight" C-rank]

Noah stretched, leaning on the bed, and looked toward the open window. Sunlight streamed into the room, illuminating it, and the breeze gently teased the curtains.

"I feel lonely..." Noah said, then fell silent, reviewing his words. His face couldn't help itself as his lips curled into a slightly sad smile.

A few hours later, Noah was discharged after a final checkup. Since he wasn't injured, he left the hospital. Outside, Noah walked from the hospital door into the garden, which was full of purple orchid flowers. The corridor was empty, with only a few people around. Noah looked up at the sun, shielding his eyes with his hand from the strong rays, then looked ahead and saw the principal Edgar walking toward him. He stopped in front of him, smiling warmly while stroking his beard.

"The principal?" Noah asked, confused.

"Congratulations on your discharge," Edgar said, smiling and stopping his beard-stroking.

"What are you doing here?" Noah asked, sensing that his visit wasn't just to congratulate him.

"All I wanted was to take a quick look at you and make sure you're in good health," Edgar said.

"I see..."

"I also wanted to talk to you about something private."

"What is it?" Noah asked, his eyes widening with curiosity.

Edgar looked around, noticing a few people nearby who might overhear them.

"Let's sit over there first," Edgar said, pointing his finger toward a bench in the garden shaded by thick green trees. He turned his back to Noah and began walking toward it, waiting for Noah to follow. Noah followed Edgar to the chair, and they sat together.

"What is the important matter you wanted to discuss?" Noah asked.

The principal's smile faltered for a moment before disappearing, his expression becoming serious, with a look of pity and mercy.

"Noah... Can you tell me what happened inside the labyrinth?" Edgar asked, his voice sounding a little shaky.

Noah stayed silent for a moment, and images of what had happened inside the labyrinth rushed to his mind. He pressed his lips together, feeling some bitterness about discussing the subject.

Edgar noticed Noah's discomfort and quickly tried to reassure him.

"O-Of course, if you're not comfortable talking about it, you don't have to tell me—" Edgar said, trying to calm Noah and remove his concern.

Noah slightly parted his lips, the pressure on his lips leaving white marks that soon returned to their pale pink color. Despite the bitterness in his throat and tightness in his chest, he was sure that the principal was the only one who would know about this,or will hear the story directly from him. Talking about your problems with those who are around you is a cure, but what if you had no one to talk to? This was what Noah had been going through his whole life. The family he lived with was kind and gentle, very kind to him, but he didn't want to burden them with his problems. He thought that their care for him put him in great debt, so he never dared to express his discomfort or even say 'no'. He would always nod like a soulless puppet moved by strings on a grand stage called 'reality'. Therefore, he knew that this story wouldn't be told, at least not by him, because he didn't have anyone to talk to in the first place.

"I'll tell you... It's not that important anyway", Noah said, with a frown, which caused the principal to be slightly surprised but he kept his composure and simply nodded.

Noah told the director everything that had happened, from the moment he was kidnapped by his echo, to Nagairus chasing them, even up to the point where they killed it and the appearance of the strange creature. However, he kept quiet about the girl that appeared in his consciousness.

"Unbelievable...an Echo helps a human... The copy helps the original. I've never heard of anything like this before! Not to mention the strange monster that emerged from Nagairus's stomach. This is truly unique news!" Edgar thought to himself, filled with excitement and curiosity. He felt an intense desire to go straight into the labyrinth to explore it himself, but he held himself back a bit.

"If I were dead, he'd be free and be able to see what's outside the labyrinth, but he chose to sacrifice himself and die", Noah said, looking down. However, the principal noticed the absence of sorrow or regret in Noah's voice, which contradicted what he was saying, and the emotions he was supposed to feel.

"Well, Noah never had friends before, and the first one he made was his Echo, a monster that was supposed to be his enemy, but sacrificed its life to save Noah. This experience will likely leave psychological scars on him", Edgar thought silently to himself, while observing Noah through the corner of his eyes.

"principal…", Noah said, lifting his head to look at the blue sky above him, and the pure white clouds that freely drifted in the air without constraints. The principal felt Noah was about to ask something serious, at least for him, so he felt a little tense. He tried to think of a piece of wisdom that would fit whatever Noah would ask, so he could come across as a wise, knowledgeable man.

"Who decided that echoes are monsters?",Noah asked. At that, the principal sighed with relief, his muscles relaxing a bit, feeling at ease, since it was a question not too difficult to answer and didn't require wisdom.

"I don't know who decided that, but it's mentioned in the books of our ancient ancestors that they are reflections of the human self, seeking to kill their source, which is humans", Edgar said.

"History then… That's true. As humans, we believe what the books written by humans before us say. They could lie just like us… Was truth always this easy for humans? Is it this simple for us to accept it without any doubts? What if we are the monsters then? Just foolish, lying monsters who get rid of what we don't understand, of what isn't like us, and of what we don't comprehend.", Noah thought deeply while staring ahead, feeling slightly disappointed.

"…No, who am I to judge humans? I'm a lying monster as well, foolish like everyone else", Noah thought to himself, then smiled a little.

"Noah, are you okay?" Edgar asked, worried about Noah's health, as soon as he saw his smile. He thought the boy might have lost his mind.

Noah stood up from the chair, and his smile widened.

"Yes, I've never felt better actually", Noah said, then added, "Anyway, I'll leave now. I don't have any reason to stay here."

Noah turned his back on the director and walked away. The sun shone on Noah, and the breeze gently tousled his black hair as the violet orchid flowers swayed with each step he took forward. He had left the hospital.