OriFic Brickwork

Part 3-5 : C'est la Vie

Spoiler: Part 3-5

(the title roughly translates as : 'that's the way life is')

Somebody told me about this.

"Kirk, please don't try to make much sense out of things. Just enjoy the life as it is, rather than complaining how life won't ever turn out as you truly wanted it to be. Seize the day, let the troubles of yesterday be that of yesterday. The same could be said with things that might happen in the future."

At some occasions, life doesn't seem to have a point. It all brought about a sense of absurdity, that everything we had been fighting for has all but for naught. People achieved success because of the stupidest reasons, but you failed horribly even when you had already tried your hardest to please everyone. Then someone comes out of nowhere to destroy your entire life like it's nothing.

I just want to scream to the heavens above, yelling out "What's the point in all this? Why won't you just let me die already, I'm tired of being subjugated to various hardships. Yet many people seem to take it as a given, they're all but mere mindless slaves to reality!"

There I conclude this thought.

Life is pointless, as much as adventuring does.

But it's all fun because I didn't have to think too much anymore; all of it were ultimately reduced into enjoying the day and looking forward to what's right in front of me.

Nothing else would possibly matter, at least for now.

Xxx​

In front of me, I've seen a completely white world; must have been a dream. This kind of state completely nullifies the sense of time that has been keeping me out of shape. I mean, the days went on longer than I thought it would, and the nights seem to go on forever. Things made into a total nonsense as we speak, and that's what makes it really fun.

"Please do not say mean things to me, stop telling me that I'm stupid or I will murder you all."

A young boy comes running from outta nowhere. He completely resembles my childhood self, rather, it's definitely me in the past; back then when I was still a kid. He doesn't seem to recognize me being here, or might it also be that he couldn't see me?

"I want all the people that were bullying me to perish. If only I could murder someone without having to face the consequences, obtaining the power to erase one's existence, then I'll be happy. When I could least made someone else's life suffer without any kind of guilty conscience or any implications, it would make me look like an almighty being.

"I want that power, to erase the existence of this world until it were reduced to me and myself alone. When it comes to a realization, it made me truly happy because I could scream, laugh, and cry as much as I wanted."

"If there's actually a god in this world, he's the one I definitely want to murder first, for setting all these horrible turn of events to me."

What in the world? Is this really what my past self looks like? He doesn't seem to talk like a kid at all. Do I really wanted to murder a god and whatnot, then drink its blood to attain the supreme power that would yield me into doing lots of terrible things to people?

"Do not do that, Kirk. We, your parents, we all truly loved you for what you are...so please, forgive these people."

For a moment, I thought it was me who were being called. But my parents wouldn't actually say these things to me, as they basically only said mean things right during the past time. But what truly shocked me right on the bat was...

That the parents of this boy were not the parents I had in real life, based on the way they spoke alone. Their face were pretty much blank and grayed out; meaning I couldn't truly discern their identity. The boy smiled at the sight of his parents.

"Mom...Dad...I already said all of these bad things to people, will both of you punish me for that? I...just can't be a good boy, not with this kind of treatment which the people around me did."

"You're already a good boy, Kirk."

"Why?"

"At least you didn't lie. Most people would only say good things to their parents like they were just another person to them. Well, come on, let's go home."

"Okay."

In the end, the boy walked along with his mom and dad towards nothingness, and they lived happily ever after.

"You were actually far more selfish than I thought you were. And then I thought it's only myself who used to think that way."

"Carla?"

She was there all along beside me, maybe I haven't noticed her yet because I was too busy gazing on what's in front of me earlier. She crossed her hands together, resting it down her chest, giving me the piercing look from her eyes, the look which stares down at my very soul, rather than gazing at the insignificance that could only be perceived by plain sight.

"Then it was settled. Both of us shared a common ground, we longed to live in a perfect world, but at the same time we couldn't...because we're basically imperfect. Perhaps also far more broken than the others."

"I don't understand."

"It wasn't something to be understood. All of these desires were basically irrational so to say. Why would someone kill regardless of how the rule forbids it? Was it out of pure hate, and also out of revenge...or maybe they basically want to take someone's life just for the sake of entertainment? Either way, these desires couldn't truly be justified, and if we do so...it's merely out from our own personal bias."

"What do you mean?

To my dumbfounded question, she blew off a lengthy sigh. With an expression that was filled with discontent.

"Listen there, if I were to put it simply...no matter how much you tried to rationalize your desires, it all narrows down towards two possible outcomes. Either you want to receive it, or even reject it. Yes, even desires could be directed towards things that you hate too. No matter how impossible or unrealistic it was, the desires would always be there. It's just ourselves who were afraid of it, that we kept on denying the honest feelings which came from within."

I've never seen her act like this before. Maybe it's because she's in my dream or something? What lies before me might not be the real Carla, but actually the version which I want her to be, about her wanting to say things which would truly matter to me, regardless of how she actually acts in reality.

"Guess we just use different words to express our 'dreams' huh.."

"You could put it as a dream, if you want to."

"But...why are you telling me all this?"

It might be a rhetorical question, as this were actually inside a dream which I'm fully conscious of. She might just be saying it because I want her to say it, as she's currently just a mere figure generated within my consciousness.

"Kirk, I could give out a convincing argument about why all the things I told you were necessary, but it's not actually important. Reasons could only make someone agree on the outside...it won't change a thing on the inside. I'm probably the last person to say these kind of things but well, let me say it once again. Life will only be boring and pointless if you tried to rationalize everything. Instead of trying to understand the meaning of your life, just try to remember the taste of your favorite Potato Soup."

"Well, I still can't understand it...I mean...you might say it like the simplest thing in the world, but it's pretty much a big deal for me. You know...I wasn't born into such a powerful family like you. I'm just from an ordinary family, we were basically forced to adapt into such conditions to the point we have to abandon our idealism if we want to stay alive."

There was nothing to be understood, not at all. What matters was about you wanting things and rejecting the others you deem as unacceptable.

Carla? Why are you here in my thoughts?

There's no person like that here, Kirk. I'm merely just a part of your deepest desires manifested into the form that is Carla Sutherland. Isn't she a person who you deem to be an inspiring figure, that made you manifest herself deep within your consciousness/

I don't know.

Just stop thinking too much. All things will become clearer someday when you decided not to sweat the unnecessary stuff.

Okay.

Well then, have a peaceful dream...Kirk.

...

Little did I know that this dream might brought about a new revelation towards an adventure which was unlike what I've ever experienced before.

From this point on, I started to learn more about the things around me, but most of it were about myself.

Life sure is filled with unexpected turn of events.

 

Part 3-6 : Irritation

Spoiler: Part 3-6

"Kirk, do you remember back then at the Fairy Kingdom?"

"I see that your voice was pretty familiar, but I actually don't know who you are. Sorry, but I've got no single clue. How do you find out about my name by the way?"

Actually, I think based on his voice alone, he kind of reminds me of Jasmine. Though his appearance was somehow different; let's just say that even though he's pretty cute with a girlish face like that, one could tell right from the start that he's a guy. A completely different matter when you pair him up with Lucian, yeah that blond elf boy was pretty seductive...well nevermind...I don't want to remember that again.

He was probably one of the crossdressing maids that were serving me in the Fairy Kingdom earlier, and that's why he knew about my name. Aside from his voice, I couldn't see him bearing any resemblance to Jasmine, not at all - especially during that part when I saw his body exploding to pieces; he couldn't be alive but there's something that doesn't feel right about the fact that he just charged right through the fray while he told me about himself being an assassin or spy or something...

"Well you know Kirk, you possibly couldn't recognize me after all of the fuss I made you through all this time. Ah, allow me to introduce myself...my name is Juno. You know Jasmine, right? He's basically the homunculus that were created for me based from my own appearance, using that one part from my most valued weapon as his control unit."

"H-hold on a sec, let me get this straight firsthand. How did you control the homunculus? He seems so lifelike, and yet..."

Due to all of my shouting earlier, it seems that some of the customers' eyes were glued on us two with a kind of irritated look. Their glares instantaneously silenced my voice, rendering me utterly embarrassed due to my undignified manner; ah thankfully there's no one who stood up right away in order to cause me some serious trouble. Nobles actually were much different than your everyday thugs; they had things called social tolerance.

Still, I've gotta apologize to them as soon as I had been given the opportunity to do so.

"Oh boy, if only you could talk with a much lower voice, I reckon you would be able to hear all the good stuff."

"Ugh...I'm sorry about that, so please can I hear more things about that?"

"Nah, that part about telling more good stuff was just me pulling your leg, Kirk. It's top secret because we're currently in Avalon's jurisdiction, there will be hidden eyes and ears everywhere concealed within the sight. If I were to expose it, troubles will come after me just like hellfire. Well then, I think I said enough, it's nice talking to you by the way..."

Before Juno managed to get off the chair, I gently stopped him by holding his shoulders with both of my hands; telling him that I meant no single harm, and there's an important thing I wanna make sure of before we finally parted ways.

"Juno, there's one more thing I wanna ask. Was this meeting a complete coincidence?"

"I should be the one asking that. You just came out from the middle of nowhere and I figured out that it will be nice to have a chat...but it seems I am wrong, at least it's inappropriate to have a conversation with a people like you in here. Kirk, I don't know why I get this feeling, but you have a kind of aura which makes people say a lot more things than they were supposed to, including secrets."

An aura that makes people want to say a lot more than they supposed to? Perhaps this might be a kind of bogus hunch...but hey, I've seen it happening once before when I met old man Regulus. It was just our first meeting but he already talked to me like I'm as close as his family member.

"Well, I do not wish to intrude on you any longer bu...hey!"

Before I finished my words, he just walked away from me, making me reflexively reaching out to grab his hand. At first, I felt a sense of guilt since I seem to exert too much strength on grabbing his hand, but to my surprise, he took it just fine without any single cracking sound from the bones.

"Please let go."

"Before that, I just want to say one more thing."

"One more what? Aren't you just trying to hit on me? I don't know that you actually swing that way, Kirk."

"Listen there, why am I would do such things to a guy..."

"But you did."

"J-Juno...you completely misunderstood things, it's not like I..."

"Sorry, but I'm actually into girls."

"M-me too! Don't just label me as a man who loves another man just because he looks girlish or something..."

"You're sexually frustrated, please go get a hobby."

I don't know why but his last line actually does hurt a lot. He just left the building like that, along with lots of commotion going around, especially around the female customers.

"And yet I thought that I could finally see a Yaoi."

Well, I wish I didn't have to hear that finishing line which came out from one of the girls in here.

Actually, what I wished to say earlier was about...whether he did pick this place because he was irritated with the thugs hanging around the other taverns, so he would visit this one instead to avoid trouble, just like me.

Suddenly, I was reminded about something important which he had said earlier.

Something something about a control unit...

Xxx​

After getting pretty much delayed from paying the bill, I hurriedly ran outside in order to find Juno amongst all of the people passing by. To my surprise, he didn't seem to be that far off; moreover, to see him walking in a leisurely place like it's just another peaceful Sunday morning just made things even more suspicious.

Soon after he noticed my footsteps, he turned away towards my direction, and with an annoyed tone of voice, he started to yell out at me.

"Why are you still following me? Can't you tell that I'm only into girls?"

"Ssshhh! Please don't shout, it might cause some friggin misunderstanding to the people around you know. Actually, I had something in mind.. about the control unit..."

At first, he seem to be quite uninterested. He might be thinking that I'm particularly hiding something, based by his way of gazing deeply to my sight, in which I responded back by acting cool like there's absolutely no ulterior motive going around. Short moments later, he finally returned to his composed self, and our conversation restarts to how it was in the beginning.

"What about it?"

"First of all, I had picked up this thing after the explosion, but I'm not going to show this to you yet. Let's make a deal then."

"Tch! You...fine then, you're definitely smarter than you look. So what's in it for me?"

"Let's discuss this at some secluded place, I know of one suitable location for this."

"Well whatever...I won't forgive you if you ever tried to do anything outrageous."

This person sure has a pretty strange character. At one moment he might seem pretty calm, but at the other occasions he's rather easily agitated. Oh well, I just barely knew him so I have no right to complain.

If I recall, the abandoned Colosseum was around here, based on the dream I had about a person named Regulus. I wonder what kind of connection does this man have with that old man? They didn't seem to resemble one another after all, might it be...that this Regulus person was that old man's grandson?

Oh well, enough thinking for now. I got a very important question to ask Juno of.

Xxx​

"So, after your homunculus exploded, I found this multipurpose launcher, might this be the part of your most valued weapon that you were looking for?"

There I had shown him the launcher which I found at the Fairy Kingdom, perhaps this might be the one he's looking for.

"Figured as much that you would say that, but unfortunately, that's not what I'm looking for. The item was shaped like a small core shaped like a ball, and it acts as the entire life energy for the homunculus located inside the body, and when the homunculus dies, the core would pretty much be destroyed. The multipurpose launcher was merely its weapon, not its core. Well, that was a simple-minded conclusion...ah perhaps I was merely putting my expectations too high on you."

"Ugh..."

I horribly failed this task.

And yet I thought that I could get some valuable information to aid my quest on finding the Seeds of Knowledge along with Carla. This Juno person seem to know a lot; it's such a waste that I could not fetch something valuable outta him.

"As for the multipurpose launcher, you could just have it. This peculiar part was pretty common in the Empire, though I don't know if the launcher would have any purpose in Avalon's weaponry or whatever. Oh well, guess I had just wasted my time around here."

"Wait, I have one last question! It's about my quest for finding the Seeds of Knowledge..."

...

Around next week, at the King's castle, a grand tournament would be held.

The winner will receive the King's key, an item that were required in order to cross the outer rim of Avalon. Beyond there, it's all up to you. I heard the legendary item that you were looking for lies far more than that. This is a perilous task, and I'm pessimistic enough about someone as dim-witted as you trying to get through it. Just give it up and enjoy the life as a peaceful citizen – oh yeah, I would be making that a warning for the sake of your own safety.

This would be our first and last meeting, farewell and goodbye.

...

"The King's key huh..."

Why was he warning me not to venture any further on my quest, by the way?

Nah, as if I care 'bout it.

A wise man told me to finish the things that I've started, and that's how you call it a responsibility.

 

Part 3-7 : Durandal

Spoiler: Part 3-7

"Kirk should be up anytime soon."

It was around late morning, Stella sat there in the dining table after preparing some leftovers for the sleepyhead that has been out for a few days now.

"How do you know for certain?"

"Let's just call it...a woman's intuition."

"Hey, but I'm a girl too, you're making me sound like I'm different than you or something."

"Listen there Carla." she stood up from the dining table, gently rubbing my cheeks on top of that. "...even though you've got such a cute and adorable face, your personality was a completely different thing. You're following what I've said?" saying this, she released her gentle touch from my face that's now burnt aflame with embarrassment.

"You made it sound like it's a bad thing coming from me."

"Ah no..not that...I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to say that."

I felt a warm embrace coming from her; the grip from her hands were neither too rigid nor weak, it was just at the right amount.

"Stella, I'm sorry for what I've done to you earlier, and yet you should be able to purchase the vacation house right off the bat if it wasn't for my intrusion. I don't know that the trading of dragons were actually legal around here...and uh..."

"It's okay, no need to cry over split milk. Besides, you had something else you should be doing, right? A vacation house wasn't all that important, and I've learned a valuable thing about the dragon riders, how they upheld the freedom of choices more than anything else. Really I'm grateful that I've seen this side of you."

"B-but..."

"You've been unusually clingy for today, huh? Guess even the strongest ones would act like a spoiled kid at certain circumstances. Fine, just think of me as your big sister in the meantime...okay? There...there...no need to make a fuss about it..."

The embrace lasted for about a few more minutes before I finally went outside the guild. Today was supposed to be the time when my beloved sword should be ready for its usage. Even though the revolver was really great, there was something about it which I couldn't really put my hand on. The weapon doesn't seem to be quite suitable to my tastes; it especially makes every combat seem to be pretty bland after I got pretty much used to the mechanisms of it. Maybe it's because the weapon wasn't especially made for me, that I find myself being quite uncomfortable, albeit slightly.

That's true that the Revolver kills off enemies much faster than relying on the melee weapon such as my beloved rapier, but well, that weapon wasn't originally mine to begin with, so I kind of feel bad using it over and over again. It should finally return to its rightful place, where the all-powerful gun should rest in peace after serving its rightful purpose.

Aside from that, let's get back to the Homerton's Armory.

Xxx​

"Ah, it's you again. So did you enjoy your stay here for the past few days, young lady?"

Grandma Homerton welcomes me with a peaceful smile in her work outfit that's kind of unbefitting for a frail looking old lady. She single-handedly carried a massive-looking hammer with ease like it's nothing to her; for a moment, one might wonder where did that kind of strength comes from that frail and slender body that were pretty much wrinkled due to old age, but when one saw her smile...they probably had also noticed the brimming strength and power coming from it.

After being subjected into a moment of awe by her solemn appearance, that which I didn't seem to notice on our first meeting, I awkwardly tried to form the words with my lips...but none of them seem to come out as I'm unable to get my thoughts straight during the moment.

"Yes." that's all the words coming out from my mouth.

Several kinds of powerful-looking weapons were neatly lined on the room, just what one might expect from a blacksmith with such high caliber as grandma Homerton. On the corner of the room, there was a furnace burning with flames so hot; the heat managed to give a burning feel across my skin from distances away.

Inside the furnace, a rapier sword was there; with its thin yet deadly sharp blades being thoroughly strengthened by the prolonged moment of immersion within the depths of flaming hell. The grip was incredibly reinforced, looking extraordinarily durable, and on top of that, also aesthetically pleasing to the eyes; with few metallic jewels adorning the grip, along with the combination of extremely powerful yet stylish looking metalwork forgery which made up the perceived durability of the grip alone.

"Young girl...your name is Carla Sutherland, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Uh...indeed that's my name...yeah..."

"Have you ever wondered why there's nobody else currently visiting this armory besides you?"

"Huh...I haven't quite noticed yet since I'm basically immersed with the impressive display of high quality weapons around this place. That aside, I can't think of any reason why such a nice place like this couldn't have any more visitors."

"You truly flatter me, Carla Sutherland, thank you for making an old lady like me happy. But yes, what I said before is true. You're the only one ever visited this place since long time ago, since the adventurers stopped coming to this land. Please do not ask me that for a senile blacksmith like me knows nothing. Ah yes...your blade is finally ready. I reinforced it with the Damascus metal since I figure that Adamantinum alone wouldn't be enough, especially for a kind of adventurer like you."

Wait a second. One does not simply reinforce a steel sword with the legendary metals such as Adamantinum or Damascus, so that possibly means...yeah, how could I possibly forgot about that again.

"Grandma, you actually forged a replica of my old sword, right? Still, I don't understand why you could forge such sword with these legendary materials, and with such magnificent design in a matter of days."

"So you noticed about it, that which I kind of expected. You're really the kind of adventurer whom I assumed you to be, Carla Sutherland."

"A kind of adventurer like me...I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're a person who views her weapon much more than just a mere tool for decimating your opponents. To you weapon might look like your dearest friend and partner, and that's why you couldn't get used to using the revolver I lent you few days ago. A replica might not be the same sword as the old, but it bears the same spirit, and your burning spirit of adventuring was the one which made its forgery to be a successful masterpiece in a matter of days."

Ah, so that's how it was. She might have destroyed the old sword in order to release the entirety of spirit power that was contained within it. In order to forge an extremely powerful weapon, there were two ways; the first method involves going to a legendary blacksmith with an unmatched ability unlike any other. It would took several years in addition of many sacrifices along the way, if one wants to forge it from the scratch.

The troubles do not end with this alone after the forging was completed. The weapon, by itself, would attract many people to steal it, to make it theirs, as the weapon's spirit was made from many years of heinous torture and containment, screaming out the thoughts of wanting to be free from merely being used as a tool to satisfy their unknown master.

As for the second method, which was currently used to forge a replica from my old weapon, was considered to be a sound idea. Though the range which the new weapon might be completed using this method greatly varies with each people, it might range from a hundred years to even one day. The more powerful the spirit infused by the adventurer to their old weapon, the easier and faster a blacksmith could forge a legendary weapon from it, and automatically the most powerful spirits would also create the most powerful weapons.

"So I'm not the only one who hears the voice of the weapon I'm using. Yes, this revolver...it doesn't seem to like me, no matter how much I ever got accustomed to using it."

"Then if I may kindly ask, will you please return the revolver I'm sincerely giving to you?"

"That's what I was originally planning."

"Well then, please wait a moment, your blade should be ready for usage after a few moments. I also created a special sheath just to contain its power...please use it wisely."

"I will, and thank you very much for your patronage, grandma. I do not know how much I could repay you for giving me such wonderful weapon."

"Now...now, it's a blacksmith's greatest pleasure to forge the greatest weapons. It was me who should give her ample thanks, of giving an old lady an opportunity to finish a modest work in her late age."

"B-but..."

"Say no more, and after you receive the blade, please go well on your adventures. An old lady like me want to take a long break after doing such task straight without any rest. Farewell then, Carla Sutherland."

Xxx​

The revolver that was with me all this time were now traded places with a new blade. I took off the blade from its sheath a little, and it reveals a golden-colored thin blade with the sharpness which seem able to cut everything, in addition of able to withstand the most powerful blows without giving even a single, minuscule dent.

For a moment, I felt bad on having to use such powerful weapon. Was it really okay for me to wield this? The battles from now on might pretty much be one-sided if I were to unsheathe this right off the bat, but well that's another story. From now on, I just want to made myself accustomed to using this blade.

As a starting point, let's give it a name.

A golden-colored, unbreakable sword with the power to cut almost everything.

"Durandal."

Sounds like a fitting name, although it was much different than the legendary Durandal sword model that was found in the Homerton's Armory. The weapon itself seems to like the name, in which responded by emitting a shining limelight which brought about a feeling of tranquility to my surroundings.

Yeah, on a second thought, I definitely will like this weapon.

 

nice story roh

 

Part 3-8 : Bonjour

Spoiler: Part 3-8

After parting ways with Juno in the abandoned Colosseum I noticed one or two things which kinda disturbs my mind. First and foremost, I need to meet up with Carla soon to tell her about the King's Key, but maybe she already did knew of it far sooner than I thought; just what someone might expect from a person like her. The second, there's a thing which truly bugs me...

"Have I already developed a homosexual tendency towards beautiful guys?"

That...can't be. Or maybe I'm just in denial after experiencing firsthand about my sick delusions when I was staring at the nape of Juno's neck, it was quite feminine...but one does not simply find this quality while you're staring at the girls; that somewhat broad shoulders which looks frail and cute, to top it off...while the eyepatch cutie were looking at you with a heavily blushing face, arms crossed together, coyly turning his head sideways in a seductive manner. Then...the finishing line with that kind of husky voice that makes your mouth water with desire tops it off...

"Please don't ever try to hit on me, pervert. I AM ALSO A GUY YOU KNOW, YOU SICKO..."

My fantasies, why did you betray me at the very end? What melancholy! This soul of mine, never it be so heartbroken due to all of this blasphemy! I have a wonderful insight, a muse, to experience the utmost beauty that even a member of the opposite *** couldn't possibly gratify. Yes, it will be a start of a righteously wonderful love that could make even the angels themselves wanting to take a dump naked in the open!

Wait...take a dump naked in the open?

"Damn it, I'd better stop this before I go crazy. Besides, I could only get so far inasmuch with platonic love or I'll end up in a hospital for embarrassing reasons."

Hmm...during my first time strolling around this city, there's a certain place I'm really curious about. It's none other than the Greenhouse, the place where Lucian and I witnessed a tragedy about someone taking a dump naked in the open, moreover, it's the Elder himself who did it. That to be said, let's proceed to the greenhouse because I'm starting to talk about some unnecessary nonsense again.

Xxx​

After walking quite the distances away, I bought an iced tea at the nearby stand to quench my thirst.

From a distance, I took a glance at the majestic building right in front of me. Contrary to most greenhouses I ever came by, the light source merely comes from atop, with the front and rear walls mostly adjourned in a thick-framed metal, looking extremely durable, and within the series of walls therein lies a painting of a forest adorning it, escalating the aesthetic sense of the building.

With the rooftop shaped like the halves of a ball, having the transparent window to focus all the sunlight's energy to the interior, you might say this building was pretty fancy enough by its design alone. The Greenhouse doesn't seem to be locked in this time of day, which means either the Elder or Lucian might be tending things out right over here.

That to be said, I threw away the leftovers of my iced tea after I finished drinking it towards the nearby garbage dump, then I opened up the walnut-colored double door which reveals the interior of this spacious building. You could say that I was taken aback by everything which came to my eyes right after I noticed how beautiful was this panoramic view concealed from the outsiders.

Yes, exactly as you thought. There were couple of girls wearing hunter clothes, that were embracing each other on the second floor, and albeit faint, I could also see some girls far away on the third floor giving each other a tender kiss! The girls on the third floor seems to be wearing a shining armor with a silver color that kinda looks familiar. You know, the view of girls kissing and embracing each other will surely be a more than welcome of a reward as a feast to my eyes, much more than just an eye candy perhaps.

The Greenhouse was divided into three floors, each connected with the stairway on the leftmost and rightmost corner of each floor, including the first one. Different from the first floor, the second and third floor seems to have a large gap down the middle, that were protected with the steel barriers in order to prevent people from falling down.

Well, I knew that the large gap right in the middle was made to ensure the greenhouse had its access of sunlight in the first floor, with facts that strengthened my assumption in which the plants on the first floor were all placed right in the middle of the room, just below the gap. Though, there's one thing which truly disturbs my sight while I was basically trying to enjoy the view of girls' love in the other floors.

In the first floor, right in front of me, there's Lucian and the Elder taking a dump naked down the fertilizer box.

Lucian, please get that large tralala ding ding dong outta my mind, I'm going to have nightmares if you keep that up.

Xxx​

"Phew, at least both of you had managed to put some clothes on and finally stopped whatever nonsense you guys were doing. Huh...where's the Elder?"

"He just left."

Seriously? Leaving just like that without any clothes on...I don't know what kind of disturbances the Elder might cause if he were to run along the town completely naked like that. I hope he doesn't get into any kind of trouble with the authorities for exposing himself too much.

"Ah...I see...well it's kind of awkward with only both of us here, wait...who are these girls on the second and third floor?"

"On the second floor, these girls are the Guildenstern Mercenary Group, particularly notorious for recruiting cute girls who are also excellent fighters, they had one of the deadliest assassins in the entire Avalon, I also had trained in that place for about two years but I soon quitted because they had a strict policy for the male members, though a far more lenient one was applied to me. Basically if you were male, never join that place unless you're a complete masochist. The girls in that place were basically complete sadists, I've had enough of their teasing!"

"If you hated them so much, why did you managed to stay for the whole two years...don't tell me that...aha..."

"Mister Kirk! I'm just an innocent boy, please believe me...I also had serious troubles communicating with girls..."

Nah, I believe you were just saying that just to make me feel better. You know Lucian, with a cute face like that you will soon become popular with the girls in no time...

"Hey, Lucy! What are you doing here with a guy down the first floor? And I thought that you were a completely full-blown lesbian..." from the second floor, one of Guldenstern members shouted down at Lucian; rendering his ears completely red with embarrassment.

"I'M NOT A GIRL!" he replied back with a shouting tone that was completely befitting of a Tsundere character.

Yes, you could see that my assumptions were correct again. It was basically Lucian who were so popular, and he even got special treatments even though he's a guy. Nope...normally you couldn't hide your own gender so expertly in the lair of dangerous assassins like this.

"Come to think of it, you're so bold to reveal your nude body to the open! Nah, let's just say I didn't see anything down there. Whether or not this thing was down there, you shall always be our guild's idol, Lucy. Please come back to play with us again sometime." the same girl who shouted from the upstairs gave another teasing to Lucian, in which he responded by turning his back against them, and moving his head to both left and right directions cutely.

"Nope! And please don't ever bring this matter again!" yes, it was now revealed about his true character. A shy Trap who would act like a Tsundere at given moments...now the dawn of a new awakening has come...not.

I basically knew from the start that you were just being overly modest, Lucian. Damn it...this fact alone really hurts, why someone who wasn't even trying to score with the girls could be so popular?

"Mister Kirk, let us both go outside." Lucian quickly dragged me outside the greenhouse while I was still lost in thought.

I later heard that the girls wearing silver armor at the third floor were called the Sylvan Corps; Avalon's elite soldiers squad consisting mainly of exceptional female warriors, each members having a mastery of their own weapon that's unmatched by many others.

But that's another story.

What I'm going to hear from this mister popular who were also a Trap was completely unexpected. To hear what kind of troubles he had, I hope you will patiently wait for the next part because I'm a bit lazy for narrating the rest of the episodes in one go hahaha..

 

Part 3-9 : Melancholy

Spoiler: Part 3-9

It was the meeting like few days ago; a lapse of moment which seem to be happening from long ago. A blond young man, attractive in appearance, with an older man that were basically looking like a slob; two of them sat together in the park bench near a greenhouse building. The blond young man looks really feminine, from the voice, mannerisms; basically everything from the surface not including that one large thing placed down under.

Though from the inside, he upholds the spirit of a clueless young boy in distress...possibly related to love troubles. It's okay, the master of romantic experience, Kirk Thompson is here to help you out. I have survived plentiful amounts of rejection, and I assure you, that by following my fruitful advice, you too, can be rightfully rejected down the first attempts; satisfaction guaranteed, to the point you possibly want to restrain yourself inside a tightly formed bondage perpetrated by your sadistic big sister in order to avoid cutting your wrists with a knife; symbolizing the melancholy angst of the teenage masses.

Even the boys that were never cried their entire life would soon find themselves crying to their hearts' content after experiencing this melancholy! Oh, even a tough-hearted person such as I had cried alot every weekends...it was a natural thing to do; let's call this manly tears – they have been shed altogether in a downpour motion just like waterfall.

Don't wait any longer! Experience the masterful teachings of the love guru Kirk Thompson to find yourself being rejected in a split-second moment! Experience the melancholy of true man, shed manly tears, and don't forget to restrain yourself from slitting your wrists, jumping off the rooftop, or even any form of suicide. Really, it's not manly at all. The way of a true man involves living with all you've got to the fullest; playing games, and watching a children show whilst shouting 'kaboom viva la geronimo!'

Wait, let's just leave that out.

"Mister Kirk, are you really listening to what I'm telling you earlier? You look just like you're having fun with yourself."

"Errr...I'm sorry that I wasn't being a good listener, really. Please say it again."

"Nah, actually I haven't said anything! I'm just busy staring at your face. Mister Kirk, were you fantasizing about weird things just before?"

"Ugh, Lucian...please cut off some slack will ya? At first you appear to be kind of serious about this matter you wanna tell me about."

"I guess you're right. Well then...you know...I had quite some problems with Misty, she seems to hate me for what I did earlier...you know. I've heard her being overly intimate with miss Carla and I'm feeling pretty jealous, and things got pretty heated up when I called her a lesbian on top of that. I wasn't able to apologize for the next few days...and uh...you seem to be quite experienced with the ladies, mister Kirk...so I figure you could give me a hand on this."

Ah, so that's what really troubles him earlier.

"Misty huh...me and her probably haven't talked much, or even any at all, if I remembered correctly. But I could as much tell her that she's a delicate girl. If one want to be close to her, I figure they should be really sweet and fluffy. That's probably one of the reasons I find her to be avoiding me right from the start, as I basically look like a dirty brute and such."

If I were to tell him the truth, I was pretty offended by her actions. She might be a really cute girl, but her indifference towards people kinda left me depressed. Well, you got some unsociable types of people in all places, I guess.

"N-no...not at all, mister Kirk. You're actually cool and manly! If I were to be born with a tall, muscular and masculine body like that...my life probably would be much better."

"Err...thanks really, what you said wasn't true at all but well...you make a lazy snob like me happy."

But I have to say that flattery won't get you anywhere, Lucian. We've got a more pressing matter to deal with.

Hmm...

Although to be said, I think Misty did seem a bit easygoing, so I guess it's all about Lucian's paranoid tendency towards the ladies which caused this tension to occur.

"Lucian, if you were to speak your mind out. What kind of things made you actually hate you so much? Were both of you stopped meeting up all of sudden because of the things that has been said and done?"

"That is..."

"What is Misty to you? It's the question I want to ask for quite a while now, hope it's nothing personal and such."

"Me and her...go along way back."

How nice...so it's like a quarrel between childhood friends, huh. I'm kinda envious of these two as I didn't really have strong connections to other people since the very beginning. Hmm...what about me and Carla? I haven't thought about it yet, but it seems that both of us were also kind of distant, methinks. We primarily were compatible with each other on the surface, and we bear the similar goals, but aside from that...we probably were just like strangers.

I still had difficulties comprehending her train of thought...nah, more like I don't understand her at all despite being with her for a certain time period. But there lies a fact that I admired her a lot, that much is true. Yet it's hard for me to view her as an equal, since she rarely ever shown any weakness in front of others. What is Carla to me, really? I don't know, perhaps I could view her as a partner...but as a friend? I don't know, I guess both of us probably were made not to care about other people enough to be attached to one another.

Why was I attracted to other people? It might definitely be out of lust, but most of it were pretty much one-sided.

"Lucian, all that I want to say is...just do what you think is right. Normally people would think straight to apologizing, but in your matters...it seems that you were having trouble to associate yourself with other people. You might have been afraid because you possibly view the others as a complex entity, and can't possibly afford to make mistakes in front of them."

"Pardon me?"

"Just be yourself, if you don't want to apologize, don't do it at all. It's simple enough."

To my surprise, Lucian giggled a lot in response to my words.

"Hahahaha...I don't know that you could be unexpectedly mean to others, mister Kirk. And I thought that you were basically someone who gets along with any people."

"Definitely not, I'm just someone who keeps his distance from others just to avoid conflict. To me, when people could freely abuse one another without any hard feelings in retrospect, in that matters only they could be considered friends. Well, you might want to play it cheerfully and call her a lesbian over and over again with a smile."

"I don't understand any of it, mister Kirk. You sure are painfully stupid, aren't you? But it's nice talking to you! Even though your words were basically useless, I felt like you had shown me a way to redeem myself."

"And you're a damn queer, Lucian. Hahahahaha..."

The conversation ends up with a merry laugh.

I never felt this good for quite some time.

Guess that's all about my idealized view of a friend, which made me unable to have any friends for so long, being somewhat self-centered of a person I am. Personally, I had the troubles of fitting in with the people. Though as for now, it seems that my worries won't be true, or that's just what I hoped it for.

Either way, it's about time for me to go back into the guild.

 

Part 3-10 : A Certain Historical Monument – Part 1

Spoiler: Part 3-10

I've encountered some inconveniences during the way back towards the guildhouse. There's people coming over to inquire whether did I belong in a group called the Sylvan Corps or whatever, seeing as I carried around a sheathed sword in my holster. It seems that I have to acquire a permit or something to carry around something around this sword's caliber; at the least I must pass a certain test or something...but I didn't really care anyway.

Funny how nobody ever complains when I was carrying around a deadly revolver around last time. Oh well, at least let me try on this sword's ability by practicing some easy kills down the clearing; there should be several goblins or even the occasional gnolls that were ready for complete decimation. Well, it's been awhile since I actually used a sword as a primary combat weapon, since I mostly rely on my magical attacks to decimate most enemy. How did I defeat these anti-mage monsters along the way, you ask?

Well...I forgot, but it seems...uhh...well...I used to have a powerful crossbow, but it somehow broke along the way during my journey towards the death valley. A vulture with a menacing look suddenly drove towards the direction whilst Kirk and I were sleeping atop the behemoth we're currently riding, and yeah, I reflexively parried the attack using the wrong weapon. Instead of relying on the sword, I used my crossbow, which was not durable enough for defending...it finally broke after the vulture's first charge. Luckily I was still able to pull out my magic attack to completely destroy the monster short moments later.

Instead of throwing the broken crossbow parts away, I still stored it inside my inventory. Come to think of it, I already asked grandma Homerton to fix it before, but it seems she didn't have any clue about how to deal with this crossbow.I really longed to use it after a while; hopefully there's someone inside this place who knows how to deal with it, or better yet, make me another one with a much better quality! Let's just hope the wait won't be that long of a time.

Oh look, I'm already back to the guild again.

Xxx​

"I'm back." thus I said my greetings after placing taking off my boots and placing them on the shoe rack near the entrance.

The place was really quiet during this time. After sir Leonard and Elrond had left us during the Fairy Kingdom incident, the guild gets even lonelier than before. To one side there's the guest room with a leather sofa and bunch of gun models lined up on the walls; with the entire interior of the current floor resembles those of a coffee shop. Strong smell of coffee beans wafted across the scenery, with a lukewarm light illuminating the place even during the times of daylight.

In front of the entrance there was quite a broad corridor which divides the room into two sections, one leading towards the guest room and the other towards the dining hall and the restroom. The stairway towards the second floor could only be accessed from the dining room's side, where from the guest room there's a shortcut to enter the backyard, along with the ones we enter from the dining hall, with the exit door that's nearby the kitchen.

Admiring the poignant scenery this place has, with its elegantly lacquered walls in one corner, and the neatly placed decorations such as the well-drawn maps, weapon models, the results of hunt such as animal heads, and even the exotic artifacts which seem to come from far away being placed on display; it makes oneself wonder about the length of history this guild has.

I at least could afford to ask someone in this guild, probably the elder or...

"Hic...hic...I wanna play hockey inside a tartar sauce za mayo..."

What in the world? Were my ears just playing tricks on me? If it wasn't just my imagination, Stella was rambling about some incomprehensible things; the voice coming from the direction of the staircase. Judging from her somewhat slurry voice, truly delirious on top of that; one could safely assume that she is...

"Ah, good morning Carla."

"Don't 'good morning' me! Moreover...what the heck..."

She's completely drunk! My suspicions were somehow proven when she just came from the second floor, staggering towards the entrance whilst holding a large bottle of liquor. Remember kids, she's a really bad example..don't be a kind of adult like her when you grew up, okay?

When I averted my focus for a while now, she suddenly held myself in a tight embrace; her slender hands clutching on my lower back near my hips. Her well-endowed chest were pressed against mine, which were a bit small and flat in comparison; it makes me somehow jealous.

"Carla...I love you...I want to kiss you..."

As she spoke so closely to my face with a muffled tone that's pretty seductive even for me, I could see that her drunk expression somehow reminded me of a reckless and klutzy person I used to know from way back. Though I didn't like the taste of alcohol coming out from her lips, it made me felt dizzy.

I kind of dislike alcohol, it makes one unable to focus during the most important moments; rendering oneself vulnerable at the given time, or maybe it's just me being an uptight person and such.

"Please go away, you're drunk."

Inasmuch as herself being affectionate and clingy was a nice recourse to alleviate the dull moments in daytime, it still feels weird to take advantage of her situation – so I just pushed her away like that, in which she responded with so little of resistance; breaking the firm embrace of hers with ease. Even with just a gentle push from mine, it made her body moved back few steps; staggering for a short while before she managed to lose her balance.

Just before her body fell down the floor, I managed to caught her body in place using both of my hands. Sigh...that was close...

"Thanks." she said in a weak tone.

It's a good thing she seems to be sobering up.

"Go take a rest. I don't know what kind of stuff would make you this depressed to the point you decided to indulge in alcohol, but I'll be there to listen to your troubles...if you ever need me, Stella. We might have been acquainted for a short time, but you truly reminds me of someone I knew so well in the past. She also likes to indulge in me, so if you want to...you could..."

She gave me a gentle pat to my head, right when I was about to finish my words.

Then, with a gentle whispering voice, she spoke directly through my ears.

"You're a good girl Carla...but it's okay. After all...it's just my way of having fun with life, neither of it came from being depressed about something."

"Now you're making me even more worried. What was it about, really? If it involves me and you didn't wanna talk about it even for a bit, I won't possibly know how to forgive myself."

"It's a s-e-c-r-e-t. But I could say that neither of it involves you at all, Carla. You're more than a worrywart than I thought, but that by itself is cute...ahaha..."

I just can't say no to that smile of hers. Also, the way she gently pat my head whilst playing with my hair truly broke my conviction to find out what she was thinking.

"O...okay..."

"As you had suggested, it's about time for me to take a rest...hope I won't get a hangover from this...guuuhh...my head hurts."

She slowly stood up on her own feet; it was a wobbly stance which indicates that her reflexes were pretty much deteriorated from the intoxication of alcohol, just how much had she drunk to make her like this?

"Please take care."

Seeing as the way she walked truly renders me with worries, I offered my hands to her, hoping that I could somehow help her out.

"No need to walk me. Better yet, please don't walk me to my room...I could do it myself."

The last reply from her really had shut my mouth from muttering anymore words of consolation; completely speechless from the last reply, which altogether with her strange attitude seems to left me with a bad aftertaste. The chilly feeling I had in my back comes together; leaving me stood frozen in place.

"Please don't take this to heart, she's at a complicated point in her life." a man's baritone voice resounded from the direction behind my back; it was a kind of voice having the weight and texture withstanding so many seasons and years.

When I turned towards the voice's direction, there's the Elder standing.

"H-how long have you been there really?"

I couldn't hide my trembling voice upon the inquiry; further embarrassments will occur if he actually had been there right at the very beginning.

"I've just arrived here, miss Sutherland, and I wish to assure you that there is nothing to be embarrassed about. It all concerns the healthy life of young people, but seeing as she were now, my granddaughter's condition might be serious."

So you're actually had been here right from the start...Elder? Oh no...out of all people I didn't want to be exposed for...why on earth...

"We're back! Oh there you are, Carla." it was a very familiar sounding voice which brought me back to my senses; the sleepyhead has finally arrived, none other than Kirk himself. Coming from behind the Elder, he stood up tall with his muscular physique confidently, along with Lucian beside the entrance.

Upon hearing the pair of footsteps coming in, the Elder turned around towards both of them. "Ah, perfect time, alas both of you, Kirk Thompson and Carla Sutherland...finally gathered again in one place! Lucian, you could just go along or do as you please. But as for Kirk and Carla, I really need you to listen to what I have to say."

"Well then, please excuse me gramps.." to the Elder's word, Lucian quickly walked away from our company.

"Did he had some business, Kirk? He seems to be in a hurry..."

My curiosity urges me to land a question at Kirk, in which he responded...

"It's a man's secret."

...using a tone of voice which gets me a bit annoyed.

"That's unfair!"

"Sorry...but even between us partners, there should be secrets we couldn't tell no matter what! Hahahaha..."

"Grrrr..."

"As much as I like to see both of you getting along well, please give some consideration to this poor old man you know...harharhar..." the Elder blurted out into the conversation which started spontaneously between me and Kirk, which caused me to break out into embarrassment. Kirk also seems to feel the same way too.

"S-sorry.."

After both of us said these words to the Elder, we walked towards the dining room; sitting down the chairs lined at the table.

The conversation turned out in a rather unexpected direction when we finally figured out the truth after being subjected to the Elder's clarity.

"Do you want to go back...to whence you came from?"

Thus said the old man, in a rather composed voice.

 

Part 3-11 : A Certain Historical Monument – Part 2

Spoiler: Part 3-11

Once upon a time in Avalon, there was a thriving guild which hosts several great adventurers of the past timeline. Amongst them, a young man was born; at first, he was pretty much a burden to his family since he cannot read due to the defect in his brain happening since the time of his birth – thus greatly hindering his potential to learn the special abilities passed down the family for many generations.

Despite of these shortcomings, he was actually an intelligent man; one who learns quickly; learning with utmost diligence in whatever things he was taught. Most importantly, regardless of his inability to learn in a way normal people does, it does not bring him down in the slightest bit. Laughter was like a best friend to him; even if the laughter doesn't show in his face, one could tell that...when he diligently tries his best, at the same time his heart was laughing with joy.

Normally one would presume he would be drenched in a depressing pain from the peculiar circumstances. Nevertheless, whichever heartache deep within him got pretty much alleviated by the sound of gentle laughter wafting across the air - coming from his very mouth, and from the depths of his heart. This easy-going way of life was the thing which leads him to become one of the greatest adventurers ever lived within the guild. Once upon a time, he was shunned and mocked; later on, he was envied, and being looked up to as a great adventurer of his time.

However, it later on does appear that it was not by laughter alone he managed to attain the greatness he completely deserved. You probably want to add this to the argument, that life, by itself, becomes really exciting when one managed to put on his best effort within each and every day; especially when one fights for the sake of his greatest love. It's not only for just a mere laughter in which he relentlessly fought; it was for a special someone who laughed and cried with him together from the very beginning - at least it did appear so from a certain observer's point of view.

There would be times when laughter alone won't be enough to alleviate the distress of someone. When push comes to shove, one would either fell into depression for a prolonged time, or to be dragged outside it soon after by a special someone. A beautiful and caring woman was there for him, as the greatest driving force which made him the great man he was known for. Unfortunately, they cannot be together for so long, and each moments of separation between them feels like eternity; each of it subsequently filled the man with grief, onto the extent he couldn't stand it anymore.

He seem to be wanting the woman all by himself, no matter what it takes. This turn of events deeply worried his mentor, an elderly man who had been observing him for such long a time. Soon, the young would have to realize that...no matter how much you desired things, they won't ever be one's own possession. It was merely things that were lent to us, not given.

His definition of love was mostly one-sided and selfish, but it's truly understandable. He's still young, brimming with lust and desire, and often blinded by faraway dreams. Regardless of that, one could say that...his weakness and shortcomings were possibly his greatest charm.

One that could attract a strong woman, who wished to find a ragged lost puppy as an object of affection. In the end, they indulged in one another; it was a mutual love, a kind of perfect, harmonious relationship, entwining the entire pieces of puzzle together into a whole picture. Even if both of them cutely denied their affection to one another, the sincerity of their feelings was genuine.

Until all hell suddenly breaks loose, and the girl figured out that the man wasn't meant for her anymore. What was once weak and ragged puppy before had turned a powerful dragon, now the dragon lusted over the woman...not anymore because of his love and affection...

More of a bodily lust; he wants to devour her flesh whole, not in literal manner of course.

The woman didn't like it. So one day she disappeared without any kind of forewarnings.

His sister didn't seem to like the woman from the start, as she viewed her to be one of the adversaries on making her way towards her own brother. The disappearance of that woman she hates brought about a new opportunity for making an approach for her object of lustful affection.

Needless to say, he rejected his own sister; not because it was wrong to indulge within an incestuous relationship. The sister didn't even look at him once when he was just a forlorn youngster, only then after what was once a ragged young puppy turned into a powerful dragon, she became truly infatuated.

After rejecting his sister's approach, the awkwardness and tension grew within him and the rest of his family in the guild; he soon found himself unable to fit in the current circumstances – that which made himself deeply inclined to leave the guild. Embarking upon an aimless wandering in search for his true love.

Few years had passed, yet he haven't even returned back towards this place. His departure yields a cataclysmic loss; both as a wonderful family member and an incredibly dedicated, yet talented adventuer which brought about countless glories to the guild. What was once a distinguished guild within the entire city - all of it came to breakdown upon his demise; the guild never regained its past glory up to this point in the present time, so to say.

Xxx​

"This guildhouse was the certain historical monument which resembles our rise and fall in the world of adventurers by generations to generations. My grandson was the one who sets an incredulously high bar in our achievements, but he suddenly left just like that. Couldn't really blame him...it was that girl who really had teached him to become a great man he was..."

"...I couldn't really blame her either, she probably has her own reasons why she suddenly want to part ways with my grandson. If there was someone whose fault should be placed, that would definitely be mine...if I were to realize this sooner I could try as much as I can to talk things out, but really...perhaps nothing would possibly change regardless of how hard I tried to smoothen things up."

Thus the Elder end his tale with a heartbreaking conclusion. At first I thought it was going to be a completely different story altogether, seeing as he convinced us with the first sentence he brought up – about the way for us to return back. Both of us said no to hearing it, although Kirk sounds a bit reluctant. We've already came this far; it's only natural that we do finish it, so the adventures won't be just up for naught.

"Still, it doesn't seem that the sister's depression was truly logical, methinks."

I decided to break the ice by saying my opinion about the Elder's story.

"Carla...I do not find it to be reasonable either, but I think there's something going on between these two...something that I couldn't really put my finger o.."

"The story sounds familiar, I think I've had a dream about it before; with similar details that was viewed from a different perspective than yours."

Before the Elder finished his words, Kirk nonchalantly blurted out his thoughts loudly; that which made me jump. The conclusion he brought up to was much more intriguing. Normally, one wouldn't dream about the person they haven't met; that's what I used to think.

"Err...uhh...the atmosphere seems a bit gloomy, I don't like it. After hearing your story, I can't seem to find the point that would help us in finding the Seeds of Knowledge." ignoring the couple of things said earlier, I decided to make them get into the point. If this drags on needlessly, we probably won't derive any valuable information at all.

"Carla and Kirk. You probably don't know that an old man like me only tells that kind of stories to the people whom he trusted the most. Please be patient, I will get to the point soon. Well then, if I could continue with the pressing issues at hand..."

Xxx​

The conversation continued for more than a hour, with so many details jumbled up into a single sitting; that which I would refrain from explaining thouroughly, as it basically seems too lengthy. From the Fairy Kingdom, I knew full well that I've obtained the location where the Seeds of Knowledge resides; a place called the Outer Rim. Normally, you would need an item called the King's Key in order to gain passage, but it seems the times had changed; anyone could enter and exit as they liked in the present time.

"From the start of your arrival, I figured that I should tell this to you right away that we must hurry. Powerful adventurers like you had a chance to take on the most intimidating guardians to the legendary item, but I want you to familiarize yourself with the current situation first. Moreover, at the start, I didn't really trust you yet...but after knowing both you and Kirk, there's no reason to doubt myself anymore." so said the Elder.

"Why do you want us to gain it so much? I didn't mean to sound impolite but, what's in it for you and the others within this guild? it's not like I'm saying that you had ulterior motives or anything."

To my reply, the Elder said these peculiar words.

"Not for just me and every guild members from the past to present time, it's also for this world. It's been greatly longing for deliverance."

The conversation ends up with lots of confusion to both me and Kirk. Without further adding the confusion to the readers, let's just say that by tomorrow, we will undergo the journey towards the Outer Rim.

 

Part 3-12 : A Certain Historical Monument – Part 3

Spoiler: Part 3-12

"Kirk, did you said before that you had a similar dream to the Elder's story?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"What was it about?"

"Nah, I'm too lazy to explain about it. Just read the story, I think it was around the section titled : Side Story A."

"Guh...there you go breaking the fourth wall again. What is this, a metafiction?"

"Carla, please do not disturb me, I'm currently preparing for dinner."

"Uhh...okay."

Kirk and I were preparing for dinner at the kitchen inside the guildhouse. To be exact, it's just Kirk cooking for the feast, as I mostly just helped out by fetching him the necessary utensils in addition of cutting some of the ingredients using the kitchen knife and grinding up some big pieces of lofty meat using a meat grinder, also preparing the seasoning by thumping up pieces of vegetables with a pestle down the kitchen mortar; shredding it to pieces which would blend handsomely with the stew prepared.

Since Stella and the Elder were eating out for a change, the charge of dinner were left out to us. Lucian and Misty didn't came along with them because they weren't that good dealing with crowds; especially Misty, that which made her spent her days being copped up inside the basement library. I heard that she usually lived in a nocturnal manner, staying up late every day and slept within the morning, so she mostly just experienced the evenings and nights; which often made me especially worried about her health.

Lucian said, that someone gifted to be necromancers could adjust their biological clock with ease, so she would have no problem staying out late so frequently. That aside, I heard Stella was urging her to stop staying out late just yesterday, as it would greatly reduce her stamina when she was forced to wake up in the mornings. Ah, I see that problem about the bad sleeping schedule still takes the toll even on the most hardcore nighthawks.

Stella might also be suggesting for her to take a change, since I saw her already able to normally summon the undead with her necromancy abilities even during the day. Even if Misty was able to see through clearly during the dark with her extraordinary sight ability; the same with Kirk – I still find it to be monotonous by just staring at the sunset and the night skies each time. I particularly prefer basking myself in the breezy morning air, gazing at the monsoon rain and the break of dawn from my room after I woke up at the early time. An ideal companion would be a cup of steamy milk tea or even a cup of hot chocolate, without any sugar nor creamers.

That was the reason why I pretty much love to get up early, I also like staring at the raining scenery whilst confined inside the walls of my homeplace; wrapped tightly in my blanket whilst reading my favorite books. The raining scenery which shows a mountainous terrain along with the scenery of buildings within the city; it was a perfect moment to adore the nature within each and every moments at Sunday morning, or every day-offs while I didn't have school.

Come to think of it, besides reading books I also like to..

"Carla, please fetch me the whisk. I need these to smoothen the eggs for the omelette dessert. Ah, also that ham which you already grinded...yeah, thanks you were a big help. It's a hassle to do this alone, hahaha..."

"M-my pleasure. But really, I didn't do anything...I can't even cook that well besides the essential stuffs you taught me back then."

I can't really say that I'm terrible at cooking; I think it was at least mediocre, nothing special 'bout it. Besides, my cooking abilities were only around the level of necessity survival – to cook the food that were quite delicious and at least should be edible. I haven't been able to take cooking as my interest as I spent the majority of my time learning about the basics of adventuring; training myself in many aspects so I could easily survive through the most perilous environments out there.

"No worries. Besides, I also want to repay you back for protecting me all this time during our adventures. Don't worry about your cooking, I really love it every time you cooked for me...that potato soup you made after I got back from the hunt about few months ago...while we were still searching throughout the nation...it was truly delicious."

"Uhhh...g-glad you like it."

His words just then made my face somehow got heated up. Never was a man beside my father had ever made me felt like this before. His broad and muscular back, with him diligently cooking dinner, wearing an apron which suits him perfectly; it instantaneously turned this man into a figure of a reliable big brother to me.

A while later, the food was about to be ready. Well, to be honest I didn't know whether it was already well-cooked or not; the smell wafting from the big bowl under the burning cooker was enough to make myself tantalized. Kirk starts humming joyfully as he stirred up the contents of the bowl using a spatula that's coated with stainless steel. The spatula's grip was made with a familiar kind of insulator; might be those of a carbon material, methinks.

"What a nice smell."

Albeit faint, I could hear footsteps along with a small voice coming closer from the dining room; the sense of it was peculiar to those who basically were impatient on waiting for their meal. The voice had a cutely tone to it; sounding somewhat boyish, yet also adorable.

It belonged to none other than Lucian; he gave me a playful smile as I turned back to meet his gaze. A bit curious to inquire about what's going on, I asked him.

"How's Misty doing down there?"

"We've already made up, now it's just like the things going on few days ago had never happened. She should be there in the basement if you want to talk about something important."

"I see..."

Xxx​

Since Kirk had said that the food won't be ready anytime soon, he gave me the time to wander around freely, at least until the food's ready, Until then, he would have Lucian helping him out, since I think the rest of the preparations won't be as difficult as the previous; Lucian seems to be quite handy in the kitchen, so at least he would do much better than myself.

"I'll be there in the library with Misty. Whenever the food's ready, just call us, and please don't gobble up all the food by yourselves, got it?"

Saying this, I descended downstairs from the stairway near the dining hall. The stairway went straight to the library; with the large bookcases stood tall distances away besides the stair leading downwards. In the center of the room, there lis the teleportation circle in which I entered this world from. I wonder if I were to step into it again, I would be teleported back to whence I came from?

"Onee-chan...is that you?" in respond to my audible footsteps coming from upstairs, a young girl's voice resounded from the bottom of the staircase.

Misty was there, sitting at one of the benches nearby the teleportation circle; shining brightly in this room, along with various candles and lamps which gave this room a kind of mysterious atmosphere befitting to a witch's lair. You could say that she's a witch, by the way.

"Sigh...your real big sis might be mad if you kept calling me that over and over."

She was reading this book, with the title written in rune letters. Based on my rough understanding, it's a paperback containing the advanced techniques regarding alchemy. If I remembered correctly, Stella was supposed to teach me that, since I actually did accomplished the job for her, but since I kinda failed to catch that bone dragon, my mind had been filled with a sense of guilt; that which made me unable to ask her ever since.

After our gazes meet for a certain moment of time; she lowered her witch hat down, to the point it concealed a part of her face. With a low voice, she said this meekly...

"Haven't I said this before? My big sis...she wasn't there for me anymore, that was so mean of her to left me behind. Now you were there, please don't leave me ever again...stay with me and become my big sis."

"Sigh, even if you said that...I won't stay here forever you know?"

I slowly approached her seat, and sat beside her; tenderly embracing her small and frail body.

"Don't say that..."

"Well, you could stay with me for as long as you want...only if you're able to go along with me in each and every of my present and future adventures. The journey would be extremely tough...and if you couldn't watch your own back...you'll definitely get killed. It would be much safer if you just stay here and be a good girl."

My statement sends her into an apparent state of agitation. She raised her face, revealing her teary-eyed expression; it had a subtle look of determination, but it's far from enough to entrust her within my care.

"B-but...I'm also an adventurer...I am strong, I surely could be much of a help to you."

It might be pretty insulting to say that, with her level, it would be easy enough for a horde of goblins to defeat her. The resolve she had in her heart was truly weak; it was more of a desire to avoid being hurt, rather than to fight for what she believed in. I definitely couldn't accept her no matter what, even if she's a very cute girl and I seem to be lusting for her to a certain extent.

Regardless of myself being also a girl, being with Misty seems to develop my tendency to become attracted to another girl...I couldn't really put my finger on it. This girl...looking at her weak condition like this, it's just like she was asking to be completely taken advantage of. In short, she wants me to abuse her, and she would be happy regarding it. I didn't like it at all, but at the same time, I was greatly tempted.

Sigh...if she were to say that she's a descendant of a succubus, I would just believe her right away. No other girl would have this much *** appeal...besides my own big sister. It's getting really...really hard to say the words to her...but...here I come...

"L-listen there M-misty...uhhh...I...err...guuuuhh...I don't think you would be up to par with the kind of adventures I underwent together with Kirk. Seeing as your...uhh...err..."

"You don't seem to be that convincing either, Onee-chan." she emphasized the last bit using a seductive tone of voice, sending my face into a complete heat; rendering it heavily flustered.

"H-hey...cut it out..."

Before I finally managed to escape from her clutches, her face came really close to mine; ending up with both of our lips being pressed together. I couldn't really explain how it feels since the deep kiss from her fills me up with embarrassment. She might really be a succubus after all, since her lips tasted so sweet and enticing; a bit filled with cherry flavor mixed with wine, really unusual that a mere kiss would taste that wonderful – it somehow fills you up with a sense of drunkenness.

"You actually do want this, don't you? This means that I have won...you have no right to refuse me anymore...Onee-chan."

She might be much stronger than what she seem to be. It becomes really dangerous on how could she made me fell for her so easily...

"Okay, you win...I guess you can come with us tomorrow."

"Yay!"

It was originally supposed to be just me and Kirk alone going, along with the ship's captain since we're going on a ship towards the Outer Rim.

Later then, I asked Misty about what I originally want to talk about with her; which was about her own big sister. To my question, she replied with a short sentence.

"She was a beautiful and kind girl just like you, but your body was much more softer and fluffy."

At her reply it left me with a fearful aftertaste. I certainly didn't want to find out what she was actually doing to me while I was asleep.

 

Part 3-13 : Late Night Coffee

Spoiler: Part 3-13

The dinner I was preparing together with Carla, and also with Lucian later on; it wasn't that extravagant at all. At most, it was a pretty modest dinner consisting of a stew with the mixture of many different kinds of ingredients which I hope could blend together; consisting mainly of a balanced proportion between meat and vegetables, also with a various herbs as a seasoning; small dosage of ginger, mint and chamomile to add some flavor, along with the essential curry powder to boot.

It's mostly accounted to my own taste since I like curry. Usually, along with the potato soup as a main dish, it would also be a pleasure to have it with a plateful of rice adorned with curry sauce. Both boar meat, which was Carla's favorite, and the slices of potato that upholds my love for vegetable meals; they were put together inside the big bowl in which the stew was cooked until completion. The meat used was all the minced ones, since cooking a whole slice of it would take too long a time. At some points it was also necessary to grind the meaty thingies altogether until they went ker-plunk, softening up just like that.

About further details pertaining the ingredients and also the food preparation, let's just leave it out because the explanation would take so much unnecessary paragraphs; meaning we won't get the story anywhere if we just focused on the itty bits whilst disregarding the important points.

The number of portions prepared was more than enough to satisfy about four people, although I made lots of extras since I figured that all of us here basically were ravenous eaters; one which would gobble up an entire serving of food for normal people in a matter of moments just to satisfy their monstrous appetite – anyway it's just my hunch, that's all was to it. About the dinner itself, I already explained it beforehand at the very beginning; it was a pretty modest one regardless of our enthusiasm while preparing it.

Though, I'm certainly glad that all of us who partake in the dinner pretty much enjoys the food. It truly made my day, that as a momentary chef, I would be able to grant upon smiles to people who ate my food. For the dessert, I already prepared a large serving of omelette with minced ham and bacon, with the toppings of a grated cheese and grilled mushroom, plus the chocolate pudding and a small creamy milk pitcher as a bonus. There's also several servings of taco ready at the refrigerator being marinated with butter before finally re-cooked within the microwave oven; this might be too much for a single dinner as there's also the black forest cake ready for eating at the fridge.

Meanwhile, I have to tell you the truth; the cherry toppings that was atop the cake, along with a portion of the slim chocolate bar down the cake's main body; I pretty much ate them while nobody was looking. Oh well, let's get back to the story for real this time.

Xxx​

"Thanks for the food." all of them spoke in unison after all of us had finished our portions; along with the extra parts, they pretty much had emptied the whole portions down their digestive tracts.

Since Misty was busy with other matters, and she appears to be a bit clumsy just like Carla, I let her off the hook on the washing stuff. Well you heard that right, even Carla had her own clumsy traits which made her cute. She was especially bad at handicrafts, the least she could do being able to tie her boots properly, but when it comes to using weapons and fighting, it seems like every weapon she end up using would turn out to be very deadly; as long it's not a weapon which requires handicrafts. Heck, she could even hit as hard as a powerful minotaur with only her bare hands alone.

Speaking of which, that sword which she carried on holster...it truly gives me the chills even though it's still unsheathed How on earth did she managed to acquire such weapon emitting a powerful presence like that? That's preposterous. I decided to leave all that matters aside, since I've gotta enjoy what's left of my time today. The Outer Rim, huh? Its name sounds rather creepy and I probably would dislike going to that place.

"Nah, I'd rather not think about it." mumbling to myself in a rather low voice, I continued on cleaning the plates with Lucian. Carla and Misty had some other things down the basement Library; not quite my business to interfere but sure I am curious what would happen if two adorable girls managed to be copped up inside a comfy basement...and things managed to go even more comfortable...

"Think about what?" Lucian's sudden inquiry made me almost dropped the plate down the washing sink; thank goodness I managed to keep my composure and keep on washing despite of that. He appears to be staring at me for quite a while now, with his head tilted about in a manner which makes me go 'hnnngggg'.

"N-no...it's nothing." my ridiculously awkward act might got him the wrong idea; I'm actually kind of scared about going off towards the creepy sounding place like that...

"Mister Kirk, even for a seasoned adventurer as you, going off the adventures to unknown regions sure keeps the excitement going, hmm?"

Ah...I'm somehow disappointed, I thought he would exert his Trap powers on me. Come to think of it, I barely even had any heart-throbbing encounters...and most of the occasions end up with me getting rejected before I could say anything. Seriously...let the main Protagonist of the story become a player once in a while, you damn author! Wait, it seems that Carla actually got a bit more parts than me, and she pretty much stole most of the cool parts...oh...what melancholy!

"Uhh...M-Mister Kirk? Are you...truly...excited...down there?"

Yes, that's it. I'm desperately longing for that word to come from an excellent quality Trap such as yourself.

"Yeah...m-more..."

"Oh my...please don't think of weird things, okay?"

That's the punchline! It truly keeps me going.

"YES...YES...YESSSS!"

"What I mean is...you look truly obsessed on cleaning that one plate...uhh...that was used by Misty earlier. Do you get turned on by little girls to that extent, mister Kirk?"

Huh? This conversation sure had turned into a strange direction.

"L-little girls? But...isn't she actually 17 years old? W-what are you talking about..."

"Nah it's okay, just admit it. I myself got turned on by them too."

Seriously? Guh...I hate to admit it, but while he said these words...there was a sparkle down his eyes, to the extent it renders me completely mesmerized. I really hate to say these words, but I have no other choice so here it goes...

"I prefer you to be my little girl than anyone else, Lucian." way to give some sappy punchlines, Kirk. Yeah, you could say that by this present moment I never felt so embarrassed to the point if I were to find a hole wide enough to fit my whole body, I'll gladly crawl in to spend the rest of my day wallowing in my own insecurity.

To my surprise, rather than being thrown away with a heavy punch, kick, or even a deadly stab to the head, what I got was...

"Please don't run away from reality, mister Kirk. No matter how you put it, I'm still a guy...you know..."

It hurts a lot more than all of these combined, and I prefer not the capitalize the 'guy' part since I just want to pretend that I've never heard it. The damage will be too much towards my fragile heart if I were to take his words in face value. Alright, I'm not gonna lose...time to prepare for a drawback.

"Even if you say that, it's still clear that you're much cuter than any girls out there."

...that which left with a dumbfounded expression from this blond trap.

"Uhhh...errr...this is getting kinda awkward. You see, when you're this cool and manly looking, wouldn't it be easy enough to just hook up with any girls out there? Why did, regardless of you having this much redeeming qualities, in spite of all that, in the end just choose a guy when there's so many beautiful girls to pick? For example, you got such a nice girl like miss Carla by your side. Any guy would go insane just to be near her, you know."

It's true that you didn't meet the girl with such qualities as Carla that often, in fact, it's very rare that a person like her could possibly exist. But...even if you said that Lucian...it's still hard for me to...

In the end, I wasn't able to say anything.

"Sigh...here's one question I've been dying to ask, mister Kirk. Did you actually liked girls at all? Or did you actually use this shortcoming of unable to converse normally with a real girl, that it distorts your orientation like this? Could it be that..."

"I know...I know, stop asking too much questions at one time. To answer it all, I might just be too immature for serious relationships, so please forgive me for what I said earlier, okay? It's not like I want to give offense to you or anything by saying that I like your feminine aspects despite of your actual gender, it's just the words that came straight from my heart, that's all."

After that, there goes a prolonged moment of silence. We continued on cleaning the plates where we left off; it pretty much got stalled due to all the talking we had earlier. As both of us were acting cooperatively, we've finished it up in one go without further dilly-dallying. In spite of that, the cleaning sure took a while longer than what I was originally expecting.

Nevertheless, this conversation might become one of the memorable moments of my life, when you view it in multiple kinds of perspectives.

Xxx​

"Ummm...mister Kirk, as a guy...I didn't expect myself to be happy when you call me that. You see...I'm always nervous when I looked into my own reflection in front of the mirror, so I could somehow understand."

"See? Don't be afraid to admit to yourself that you're a cute person."

"The same as you admitting yourself of being a homosexual?

"Look...Lucian, this and that are very...very different, but if you want to, I could just be a homosexual to you."

"Errr...no thanks."

"Well I'm just kidding, who would ever approach some ungrateful bastard like you, hmph."

"You did."

"Ack...damn, you totally got me there."

The goofy conversation starts out again after both of us were done cleaning the plates and stuff, including all the kitchen appliances; well that's pretty much a hard day's work piled in one go judging by how much things were left in the kitchen sink just before.

Actually, we just started chatting together after I invited Lucian to drink some coffee whilst adoring the scenic view of the night sky; he was the first one to break the silence, the moment when both of us sat together down the terrace chairs, that which canopied by the backyard awnings – looks like it's made from unknown kind of alloy; somehow looks durable enough to shelter ourselves even from the heaviest rainfalls.

You see, there's one thing I'm really curious about him...no, not in that way you perverts. As the night was still young, although it's a bit past the usual child's bedtime, it definitely won't hurt to start another lengthy conversation with him. So to say, in this moment of silence spent by gazing upon the shimmering constellations in this starry night; I have to break this solemn moment with my inquiry, lest I won't get another chance ever again.

"Hey, Lucian."

"Hmm?"

It looks like he's not actually concentrating on the night scenery; his mind seems to be treading on something else, probably there's one or two things distracting him from enjoying the view along with his hot coffee, pretty much left unsipped, even still laid untouched down the table between my seat and his.

If he's actually immersed in enjoying the view and coffee, most likely he won't just reply to my word; basically using a very casual tone that many seems to ignore when they're actually busy with other things.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat by coughing lightly; inhaling deeply using my diaphragm whilst calming myself down in order to avoid myself sounding tad anxious.

After I got completely calmed down, the words just came out from my word smoothly without myself even realizing it.

"Uhh...you said before that you used to be in Guildenstern, right? Do you mind if I were to ask about the real reason which made you leave that place?"

"..."

Talking about this topic might be pretty hard for him, but it's definitely a must for me to ask him, especially if I were to ask him to join the expedition towards Outer Rim. We've got to have partners we could entrust each others' secrets, the one who would be with us to very end.

Since just waiting for him to start speaking out, I decided to cut this straight to the point.

"Was it about Misty? Did you wish to protect her? That's so manly of you to do that."

"I couldn't really say it's because of her...uuhh...h-how do you know that Misty and I once belonged in the same guild before joining here?"

"You once said that words 'we go along way back' while I inquired about her, so I'm mostly just assuming things. It's not about knowing, it's just about being a bit perceptive. So, what about it?"

"Guhh...you're actually much more sharper than what you seem. Fine then...if I were to say, it's not really about Misty which made me obliged to leave together with her. The main problem lies with her big sister...it might be long and tedious of an explanation, so I'm sorry..."

"Go on, I'm all ears."

The conversation about Misty's big sister continued on through the night; it was very interesting so to say. I don't want to spoil the details just yet, but you could say that after he finished saying these words...it felt just like his trust upon me had grown stronger.

By next morning, we should be ready upon embarking for a grand adventure that awaits us all.

 

Part 3-14 : Melodies of Adventure

Spoiler: Part 3-14

Several tools were placed neatly across the dining table; mostly for aiding us with our navigation in the far-fetched oceans. It was the time when all of us had finished our breakfast. Me, Stella, and Misty just stood there, while both Lucian and Carla were discussing about what kind of tidbits we should consider before we start wayfaring down the dangerous waters.

To be honest, I really had no idea about the sea travels, since during of my previous adventures with Carla, we're just sticking out to ground and air travels, with occasional river and lake crossing but that's a whole different matter compared to the wide ocean travels. That aside, I recognized some of these tools in the table; one of them was a sextant, basically for measuring the latitudes and longitudes of our current location. Another would be a compass for determining which direction we're currently facing; an essential item whilst adventuring on either grounds, also a speculum for viewing things in long-distances away.

There's also a kind of stuff shaped in a ball-like structure with a flag thingy in it, probably for determining the direction which the wind blows...I don't know. I only remember this stuff from reading books and playing some games back then. After listening to some bits of conversation between Lucian and Carla, I soon understood various fundamentals about the travel; mostly concerning the division of rations, meaning we couldn't eat as much as we like in the open, lest we will ran outta provisions before we even realize it.

Some other bits was about making predictions for the upcoming storm, measuring the strength of the hull, and how to spot easily missed details which eventually lead to sinking if we weren't careful enough. They also disclosed about how to maneuver the ship safely, outside the areas that often got caught in the violent shenanigans. Well, I think both of them would make a great navigator in the future.

For the food, we could rely on fishing inside the waters, or stopping on the nearby islands to go shop for some cooking ingredients. For the inhabited ones, if we're skillful enough, we could quickly loot the goodness of nature unfolding before us, to extent as much as we wanted; might as well do some hunting for the meat, and other tidbits such as claws, fangs, wings, and everything else we could make use of. When we got towards the nearby dock, we could sell these items for a good price, or if we're patient enough, we could also wait until the number of monster parts were set.

If there's someone good enough at alchemy, quite the amount of nice items could also be made from it. I think Stella and Misty might do the job stupendously since they possessed quite the mastery in the alchemy department. For the handicrafts, such as making some tools outta the materials, I think I could pull it off to some extent; for example, given enough time, I could make a paraglider outta a dragon's hide, or even some disposable throwing weapons or other miscellaneous tools.

For the grenades, I think some kind of general chemistry was also needed, which I'm kinda bad at since I'm rather bad at calculating stuff, and I'm not that good at the combustibles in addition of these grenade contraptions being really complex. Still, if it's only about making the simple fuse dynamites, I could give it a try...well, my ability for making the tools that aids me and Carla in frequent occasions wasn't that noteworthy, it's also about Carla's exceptional abilities at using these simple tools which made us out of even the most perilous pinches.

"Ah, there's still the issue with the water, but I believe we could build a filtration system in the ship later on, so we could finally use running water in it. In the meantime, we should stock tons of fresh waters inside the water gallons." said Carla with lots of enthusiasm, she always seem to be fired up whenever she came towards things that has the 'planning' etches onto it.

"No need to, my grandpa had already thought things through with it. All that we have to do was to concentrate on getting to Outer Rim as soon as possible. It might be a really lengthy destination, since that place was actually very far off from here, but please let us brace ourselves before the travel."

With the reassuring words coming out from Stella, all of us left the guildhouse. We walked in groups, carrying lots of bags containing the necessities for our adventure. The Elder would be waiting in the harbor; sending us away in our travels. I wonder, whether would he be lonely with all of us leaving this place; making him have to tend this place all alone by himself.

Phew, I don't know about that, but let's just say he already got something to liven things up in our absence.

Xxx​

"I would rent this place to some of the Guildenstern and Sylvan Corps members, yeah. Things might get a bit lively, but I assure you, these are refined ladies who who would keep this property intact, and they also knew how to mind their own business. It's true that I myself would be lonely, but at least there would be lots of beautiful girls who will be coming to this old man, yahoo!"

With that parting note from the Elder, we went aboard the ship. Before that, the old man introduces us to the captain of the ship; he's about in his early 40's with a big mustache on his face that sparks the impression of utter manliness, in addition of his stout muscular body and his tall posture. He's even taller than me, it seems, possibly about 193 centimeters tall in height.

After all the introductions had finished and all of us had already went aboard the ship; finally the moment of truth had come when we have to set sail, leaving this beautiful city of Avalon, adventuring onto the harsh waters out there.

Watching the morning sunlight shining above us, we also witnessed the view of the city we used to spend quite a sum of moments in, looking smaller as we drift further into the ocean. Carla stood beside me, admiring the scenery unfolding before us.

"It's been awhile since I've experienced a real adventure beside all this random shenanigans, Kirk. I guess this would be the end of the old page, and soon we would find ourselves turning another new page in our own adventures."

"Yeah whatever, this kind of scenery was about perfect for a morning tea, don't you think?"

"Heh, you never change, Kirk. Oh well, probably a bit. Anyway it seems a good idea, but I actually want to adore this scenery for a while longer."

Both of us stood tall on the deck, admiring the morning scenery within the view of open seas. Basking in the momentary comfort, we awaited for the new adventure that's about to unfold.

No matter what kind of adversaries might we face, I'm certain that we'll make it through, because she would always be there for me in my times of need, as I would do my best to help her.

Next stop, the Outer Rim!

With the sun shining above us, we finally opened up a new page towards a grander adventure.

~ Fin ~​

 

Extra Floor

~ Woodwork ~​

Extra 1 : Smile

Spoiler: Extra 1

What it means to be happy?

Countless answers could be made, as much as the answer to what it means to be in love. Inasmuch the answers were so great in number, they won't prove anything. Knowing the meaning of love and the meaning of happiness doesn't mean that I will experience both of them. It was something that transcended the meaning itself, and words alone won't be enough to hold its value.

I saw various heads falling towards the floor; I recognized them one by one, starting with the people I just met – I nonchalantly kicked each and every of them as it goes in my way of walking. A long tunnel I was walking in; a bit damp and filled with the aroma of macaroni cheese, with the side dish of pepperoni and lasagna. The sound of skillful playing of piano accompanies my journey towards the end of this tunnel, kicking the heads of various people I recognized in the past.

The journey was long enough, that I just want to sit there and just take a dump, but I feared that a swordfish will just come and stab my butt from inside the toilet – so I just reluctantly dropped the idea and just proceed on, within the journey that takes a lengthy time to get to the other side. At another occasions, my thoughts were filled with those of hunger, and I want to eat as much as possible. Suddenly, a dining table appeared in front of me, amidst these sea of heads down below.

I sat on the dining chair at the table, and begin chewing down the food provided. Ham and bacon, with a drink pitcher filled with mineral water and a glass of milk. The appetizer was some garlic bread with the topping of fried onions and minced meat, a grilled sausage cut small, and yeah, the garlic bread was quite large like a small topping of pizza. The dessert being a fruit salad : you could see the pineapples, chocolate, strawberry, with vanilla milk put with it – everything was fresh.

The illumination becomes bright and I saw the scenery changing before me like it's a luxurious house in the midst of night; with myself alone partaking in this feast. Mini compo, godzillas, and various molten waxes won't hold a candle to the kind of blissful solitude I was experiencing right at this moment.

After the feast, I took a dump inside the toilet located near the dining room; the buzzing sounds resounding in this place was truly relaxing. Water balloons started floating from the bathtub, and I felt myself enjoying the moments while I took my clothes off and start kicking and punching these floating water balloons, resulting with these water splashing out all over my body.

Never before I felt so alive, with these waters drenching my body, cleansing me of the filth I've garnered whilst walking through these dirty tunnels with ragged clothes and the shoes that pretty much on the verge of breaking down. I reached out my hand to touch my chest; the hard torso that's been built up with muscles through the rigorous training in the past. I looked into the mirror to see a man's face similar to my late father, but the man reflected in the mirror was a lot more younger.

Much different from my father's, the look shown on my face through my messy hair was really sharp and determined. In the last picture taken from him way back, I saw no intent of living on his face, the look was somehow dead and lifeless.

As much as I do felt sad, and I missed my father so much. I have to move on, to ensure that his sacrifices for me thus far won't be wasted.

With the tranquil, serene waters pouring down my entire flesh, I felt like I was reborn into a new person.

Xxx​

The luxurious house was silent, and there was no sign of people, or even spirits wanting to come nearby. There was no entrance and exits, leading towards the outside world; there weren't even any windows for me to look on what's outside this place. I want to imagine that the outside was filled with baloons of different shapes and sizes; with the biggest one in the sky being the Zeppelin ship, and that gigantic Hot-Air balloon with the passengers shaped like mutant gerbils.

From beside the dining room, I found an entrance to another room, with a smaller door in the middle of a large door. When I opened the smaller door, everything was pitch dark, and the larger door won't budge as I turned the doorknob. I threw a grenade towards the dark space revealed from the opening of the small door, stepped few distances away, maybe several yards or so. The explosion caused by the grenade, ultimately made orange colored fumes start floating outside the small door, and the fume also had the scent of orange; a mandarin orange to be exact.

My mind was filled with so much boredom that I find myself floating in mid-air. With my fingers, I tried scribbling random words, with the thin air as my piece of paper. As I put my entire thoughts on writing the letters using my forefingers, the lines started to appear as rainbow colored letters. Instead of writing 'fabulous' as the kind of default pretext when the rainbow colors came to play....I decided to write...

"Jabberwacky."

The letters were pretty big; I need to glide my body in mid-air, in order to finish writing all the letters that made up these mouthful words – then the next moment, I think I've heard the sounds of various heads exploding on the outside. How did I knew it was a head? Yeah, I kind of vaguely remembered the sound in which the head exploded during the tunnel after I fired my shotgun at these malicious objects; it basically sounds very similar, but this time on the outside, I heard no such sounds of a gun firing, or even various gunfires.

Wait a second....where did my Padfoot go? I don't remember seeing any Moony, Wormtail or even Prongs in this matter. I just want to make sure that all of this disambiguation might just stay inside a mutual case of predicament.

 

Extra 2 : Love

Spoiler: Extra 2

The blood stains the rooftops, and the man trembles while facing the universe. The garden doesn't tremble upon the mountain, as it were a part of nature by itself, unlike us humans, who tried to become gods that governs everything. We did become gods, in fact, but we were hated by nature as our overwhelming power ultimately caused us to revolt amongst ourselves. We continue to pillage the nature down to the very core; their cries of plea towards the divine creator resounded through the sound of pouring rain, the most beautiful sound I've probably ever heard as I slept along with it.

Maybe, the sound of tears in blood was exceedingly sweet – it made me wanna see others crash and burn, crying to their hearts' content until their tearducts start to turn sore. That was the thing which made up my dreams and desires, that in the end, the skies would be stained in bloody-red crimson. People will be happy to see their relatives being adorned in red, a happy red. At one aspect or perspective, it's true enough that red was also the color which resonates with hate, and also rebellion. If you want to rebel against something, you have to hate it into some extent that what was once your weak self had become so much stronger, facing it as an obstacle.

When the skies are green, it signifies the moment when I want to see you so much again. This reunion that won't ever seem to come, but alas, it still lingers in the depths of my desires. Shall I tenderly kiss you on your slender hands? And with that same hand, I'll hold it tenderly as we danced amidst the wings of spring breeze.

Flower petals might shower down the sky as the harmony between our souls would linger close enough; it was mutual, and it was perfect, you and I. Once upon a time, I hated lots of things more than I could count how many stars could I see within the shimmering night, but you were there for me – and with you beside me, giving me support, all of this hate turned into a mere history.

With you here, it deeply assured myself that I am happy. But if I were to be honest, you're too good for me. The feelings in my heart were truly those of love and affection, as I want to held your body in my embrace, but those were probably one-sided. I appreciated you, because of the things you've given me. Though I, couldn't think of anything rather than to satisfy myself longing for your affection, and I could not give any more from myself to you, in order to make you happy – as you're basically perfect.

That's the reason why we couldn't really be together. We parted ways just like both of us were perfect strangers, until the moment when I can give something of value to make you happy, and you don't have to worry anymore whether I will do something exceedingly foolish. I'm sorry, I might be doing something stupid because I wished for us to be apart for an uncertain set of time.

I just....want to become stronger, so I could finally be someone worthy of you.

I know full well that, we humans have a very limited time on living. If you were to be any closer to me, I'm afraid that, by the time you suddenly left me forever, it would wound me like no other occasion. Once before, I had a person I love; he gave me support and affection, just like you did, but I for myself did not choose to become independent and strong, I was merely indulgent. By the time he died, I was completely in shambles; tears start pouring like never before, and yeah, I find myself developing psychotic tendencies, not to mention hatred – it wasn't just a simple hate, but something really malicious and destructive, that I began to feel like I'm turning into a monster.

Yeah, I don't want that kind of pain to resurface again. I wish to love you like never before, so much it would left me with satisfaction unlike any other, so by the time the day ends, I could freely let you go away from me forever. Sorry...but, even though it's hard for me to say this, I don't want that kind of love which made us so weak, where we have to indulge in each other, in order for us to survive each day. We humans didn't have the right to live forever, there's always be the time for us to part someday.

The love that I wished for us was...to make ourselves independent and much stronger than we were before. I know this might seem contradictory, but...as much I want the moments I spent with you to last forever, it's better if we do not rely too much on it. Maybe, this kind of affection were those that people call as 'pure narcotic', it gives you a feeling of addiction and enjoyment unlike no other, but when it gets taken away, the most intense despair will engulf you to the point of yourself contemplating about suicide.

It was the blood that stains the ground where the Mother Earth lies. I see the rain falling down in a gentle downpour; the wind turning into a calm breeze. A briskly walk down the courtyard of some place I lived in, under the protection of my umbrella. The kind of excitement when you're basking in the cries of nature, a kind of sadness which in turn would become the benefit of others.

Because it was these cries in which we got to eat the products of nature for our living.

The mother nature begging to the divine protector so we could still live gracefully for times to come.

I looked up to the sky, and remembered that today, the sky was colored in a cheerful green color; the skies were green, and I saw you standing there, looking at me with a smile so bright, like never before. Then I realized that, you're not human, you could live together forever with me, until the time of my death.

That means....is it okay to let myself indulge in you again?

You basically said nothing, but under this gentle rain, we embraced each other for so long; none of us wanting to let go of each other.

I wonder, might the love that made me stronger and independent, were really the one I'm looking for? You said, it's okay for me to be weak, for you shall protect me, and it's okay for me to be fragile and filled with sadness, for you will be the source of my happiness. Later on, I'm surprised to hear that, even when I tried to remove your presence from my life, you were always there, watching me struggle in order to become independent, apart from your grace.

You were always there for me, even though most of time, I tried not to notice your presence.

I don't know if the words of gratitude would ever suffice for this, but that's all I could give to you.

Well...if it's okay, would you mind for us...to be together again?

In the end, you smiled at me with the words of affirmation. We end up holding hands, forming a bond that's more stronger than anything else I've ever formed. The hands we held together under the rain, reassures me that I could do anything, that you could be my greatest strength whenever I need you.

Thank you very much.

 

Extra 3 : Alchemy

Spoiler: Extra 3

The sky was purple, and my mind was filled with pink; the succulent streams of water won't hold a candle to what kind of intensity lies in my current mind. When the clouds had formed an 'O' shape with a huge gaping hole lies in the center, you can bet at the same moment that this momentary lapse of stupor would beset my days, and the nights would always be filled with things pertaining my guilty pleasure.

Foamy steams flew from the bathtub into the skies, and I by myself was forming out a new skin within each and every time the day changes; the conception of beauty, by itself, was more or less the ability and the optimism to see beauty, no matter how much birthday had passed. In this repressed urges to understand what kind of skin unfolds before me, I threw of an imaginary hatchet that was formed in my imaginations to the sky; in my mind, it soars up into the starry sea inside my cosmo just like a firework.

When it reaches the point up above, it exploded into a beautiful shimmer, the form being similar to the explosion effects with the edges expanding as the moment passes. It won't be long before the luminosity began to overtake what lies in stars up above. As my maturity goes, the skies becomes pink and now it's my mind that is purple. A kind of guilty pleasure you made by practicing how to tie your shoes properly, and every thing which involves the tightrope walking, and sightseeing the bridges in the sky, where elephants even dared to walk – and they did not fall.

That adorable pink color now shimmers inside the waterfall at my own mansion, and by bathing inside it – and the way I dipped my skin across it, was completely different than when I was soaking in my bathtub. I found my body changing in a fast progression rate, and at this moment; I felt so young and cheerful, albeit my thoughts had been filled with wisdom and knowledge accumulated over the years of living. These knowledge and wisdom – all of it came to no avail as it gets overtaken by pleasures of the flesh, a momentary exercise to pleasure the body by stretching the body in all body parts imaginable – and most of all, it's fun, and many others liked it too.

The exercise was meant to be fun, and to be enjoyed by everyone. Variations of it could be made through lots of modifications, and the addition of these nifty tidbits at bay – to be said, it's a byproduct of our natural creativity; the same thing which made lizards grew new tails in place of the old one and the snakes treading before turning into a beautiful lamia who likes to gently embrace young girls and made them her adorable little sisters. You could say that butt-spanking will become the epitome of sisterly loving, they loved it, and it's natural for cute girls to be in love with each other, even though they're bond my these siblings relationship.

It was the moment when my golf court starts raining golfballs, that I went to embrace the golf girl inside the caddy as it traversed through the freeways, the greeneries, not to mention avoiding the sand dunes and the lawnmowers. Another four iron shot has been made, it quickly flown out into a beautiful angle, and lands in one of the most terrific spots, right before a golf hole called the marshmallow drive as it was overpopulated with lush green grasses trimmed short so the golf ball would roll itself in quite nicely. It was the moment, when the pinnacle of their lifetime after building the business from youth had all resurfaced again; in their old ages, I just remembered their smiles back then was probably the happiest one as they smack the head of the caddy with their sticks until the head pretty much exploded into tons of rocket-sized watermelons.

How did you call this matter, a surge of abnormal explosion? The comfort might escape the subterranean grounds, or should I say – the shadow. In the archetype of my personality, I had witnessed my ideal self becoming closer and closer to reality, into the extent it made me feel so uncomfortable with myself. The current me that I always hated, I began to feel the sense of comfort even more than just before – could be said about this moment that won't last forever. The moment we waiting for, when things started to change - a dramatic turn of events.

Might this be a part of my indulgence towards the spirit which upholds the absolute freedom? Or might my soul became attached to the part in which the devil controls? The strength and power start seeping through my body, the moment I accepted both the negative and positive parts of my thoughts without denying one bit of these feelings, directing them towards what I see fit, instead letting the current circumstances control it. Life, by itself, becomes an adventure, and the diary itself would be treated like an adventurers' journal. There might be even lots more of super-exciting things happening at bay, to the point you cannot discern what is real, and what is fantasy.

In the end, it's us humans who were able to break that boundary. That's what I always thought, when my head was still in the cloud nine, with blissful feelings permeating every single cells in my body. All that's left was the gentle sound of falling rain, to be heard inside the deep recesses of my own humble abode. The illusion of omnipotence might yield the most terrible disaster if it weren't used right, as it has the ability to crush the wielder, by the moment they start using it in some insolent demeanor.

Though, I have to admit, that the temptation to acquire it was so stupendous.

Such is the power of changes, from the depths of fantasy, it will be manifested into reality. An elephant never forgets, but he do not always have to carry the burden of the living, if he's able to alter the memories to his own convenience. Let the future he desired becomes the past, and soon enough providence will follows. Might these be what the alchemists are looking for? A method to turn everything into gold, but under the tutelage of a great master, they ended up creating something that outvalues even the most prized gold ever.

That is the creation of Alchemy by itself, a branch that was made by convergence between scientific laws and magic. Very interesting, and not as bothersome as the Arcane Wizardry or even as complex as Quantum Physics.

It defines balance, and soon enough, the balance becomes them.

 

Extra 4 : My River Flows

Spoiler: Extra 4

The river flows in you, and so does inside me. I saw the trains flowing through my veins, and I'm not inside the embrace of acid or even the mutual lapse of hallucinogenic poisoning. I am sane and lucid, but at the same moment, my thoughts felt hereby disoriented by the rummaging sound of the grandpa clock inside the house. It was a place without any kind of outside interaction, with every exits and entrances – even windows; all of them was shut off.

I suddenly find myself appearing in this place after crossing some distances away in a dark tunnel filled with severed heads, and after drinking quite a bit of cognac and nectar on the way in, my space was distorted, and the world by itself turns a bit cerrulean. My thoughts started to recognize many things which I felt truly disturbing in nature, and at the second consciousness – the ceiling lamps started to smile at me in the depths of illuminated light; with the lightning that just felt warm like a portable sun – just without any case of sunburns at all.

The shower this morning was so great, but the instant I saw my reflection in the mirror; I saw the knid of changes that would be really embarrassing to tell the details of. You could say that, if I were to put it briefly, the idealized self within my imaginations and my real self started to overlap one another – and at the same time, I felt thoroughly afraid on what was going to come next. So many reasons left unsaid, though the waters dribbled perfectly as it slid through my white skin without any problem, from my short hair to my feet; the cold water massages every inch of my body, What was once a wrinkled, and tattered skin, now it becomes so smooth like those of a youngster.

To tell you the truth, it was uncertain whether it was morning or night. At that time when I first arrived, the dark atmosphere reminds me that it was the night time, but after I went to sleep inside this place and woke up – it suddenly feels like morning. The flow of air was much different than yesterday, and the invigorating, tranquil presence fills me up unlike any other occasions. It might be impossible to tell what time it is, as there were no indication about what the outside world was like, but the flow of air sure changes, similar to the parts of time: whether it's morning, afternoon, evening, or night.

You could also discern whether it's the break of dawn, or even the mid afternoon by this air flow inside the building. The kind of anomaly you would get inside this reclusive place. I still felt uncertain whether or not there will be exists scattered around; after I tried looking at the normal places, it was all just walls in the way, with the rooms placed in such a manner that I started to contemplate about the inherent symbolism behind it. The furnitures were odd enough, but at the same time, it looks really exotic, just like every objects inside this building was the representation of the entire universe I had known about.

This building layout seem to change according to the structure of my thoughts, and there's still so many things left unexplored in this place. As my consciousness expand, so does the size of the rooms and the overall size of the building engorges. I've never been into such place where the perception of space and time might expand without any feasible limits. At first the building or should I call the 'house' seemingly large enough as a huge mansion, but if I were to make it smaller, it could be as small as an apartment room, or even just a small hut with no entrances, exits, or even windows. Most of the time, I tried to make it as broad and enormous as possible, so my mind could be put at ease by looking at the ever-expanding space in front of me.

An exotic vase with a dark brown luster, it has the random etchings similar to the caves in the prehistoric age, though as I touched the surface, it had reminded me of the era when the mammoth creatures was still alive and enjoying themselves in the ages where everything was covered in ice. This object was located in some kind of exhibit-like room down the second floor, right beside one of the luxurious bedroom I've slept in last night. With curiosity, I tried to drop the vase into the floor to see whether something will occur by the time it finally broke. Before that, I tried peering down the vase and there's nothing inside – well it's just my gut feeling that I wanted to somehow drop this object.

To my surprise, the vase just bounced back to my hand as it hits the floor just like a basketball. Then I tried throwing it far away, and it returned back to me in a swift flying motion – straight to my hand – similar to those of a boomerang. When I tried to punch it as hard as I can, it felt like a punching bag; so durable and tough. When I kicked it far away with the maximum amount of strength, the ball bounced far away with the elasticity similar to a soccer ball, then it hits a wall and bounced back to the floor, and rolled down right to my feet.

So I placed the dark brown vase back at its original pedestal, and it starts spewing numbers of basketballs, boomerangs, some mini punching bag filled with sand, in addition of a soccer ball. After it finished spewing all of these ridiculous things, I started to kick all of them one by one; each and every of them turned into a large can of ham and bacon. Indifferent to the vast array of occurrences unfolding before my sight, I also tried kicking the cans far away, and as it floated right in the mid air – at its highest point, the can exploded into stardust, and bunch of meteorite stones start to appear on the center pedestal – in which consisting of an unbreakable glass showcase containing lots of exotic metals from the outer space.

Okay, things started to get too random and illogical.

So that goes for my current log at the present time.

 

Extra 5 : The Dreaming

Spoiler: Extra 5

I tried to capture the sense of flying in my head – a kind of stuff to remember, whenever I am down and cannot think straight any longer. The things which escalated my thoughts from the abyss, into the cloud nine of euphoric field – it was the sense of flying, or maybe the sense that I've been freed of stuff which binds me for so long. My chains are broken, and so does the restraints which brought about a sense of fear to me since the beginning.

From the start, you could describe me as a lost lamb, but now, I had become a lone wolf that's able to tear apart every obstacles he had, and it's nothing some sort of magical – just the results of daily training of the mind to focus myself on what I'm capable of doing. If in any case, I'm capable of doing nothing, I shall focus on this nothingness inside me, so it would become an ever expanding nothingness, which in turn would engulf everything outside my own self.

What kind of things signified the sense of flying? If I might note a few points, the first of them was about trying to sense the wind blowing continuously around your body, and the second part was about realizing that your feet was way above the ground: floating freely in addition of your body being light as a feather. The third, and probably the hardest part to imagine was about the imagination of having extremely strong wings capable on carrying yourself to heavens above, to the kingdom of clouds where all the glory, prosperity, and happiness reside.

Well, it doesn't have to be wings, you might want to imagine yourself flying on a hot-air balloon, a private jet, a helicopter, or even a space shuttle capable of landing smoothly on the heavens above – but in my case, it's much harder to imagine than having my own winds to fly by myself. That aside, it's mostly based on the personal preference really. The only boundaries between you and the imaginary flight was just a matter of personal creativity! Even flying with your own bed to the heavens above could be the case, and you probably would make friends with Turtle Nemo, as both of you had entered paradise through a similar way.

The kind of sensation of flying could be emulated anytime and anywhere, for myself, the best moment was when I'm kind of sleepy and particularly drained in energy after spending most of my time working on things I really like. Then I nonchalantly just threw my entire weight on my bed, emulating the feel of flying; starting with sensing the currents of wind blowing across my entire body, and this might help if I turned the air conditioner on to a level where the breeze was neither too cool nor too warm, at least it's at the comfortable extent in which I could naturally daydream about things.

After uniting myself with the wind, I gradually felt my body becoming lighter and lighter as the time goes. Later on, it's becoming much easier to imagine my feet being way above the ground; escalating as the moment goes, when I made my mind content most of time. With the fatigue constantly piling up, in addition of my mind being delightfully excited of what's going to happen next as my mind start drifting away, the attempt on trying to feel the imaginary wings growing on my back was only away by a hair's breadth, so it seems.

Emulating the sense of flying for a while, it all ends up with me falling asleep on the spot, resulting in a dream that's more lucid than ever.

Xxx​

Dreams, I had many of these exciting things I couldn't seem to remember in detail.

On the first one, I remember the snow was piling up on the streets. There were skyscrapers everywhere in sight towering before me, and there was nobody in sight; lest every shops on the way was all closed with me not knowing whether there was people out there or not. I was inside a car, and beside me sat a girl with a short hair which reaches about to the base of her neck.

In this cold night, her skin was flushed red inside the car which seems to be just like an old sedan, with the front and body still having the a rectangular shape instead of the modern streamline bodies; that was my observation while I went out a bit to inhale the fresh air, with the puffs of white smoke seem to escape from my mouth as I gasped for oxygen. With my hands put together, I let go of one hand and use it to gently brush the scarf tied on my neck - peculiarly the parts dangling at the same height as my torso, onto my back. Scanning the scenery around me, with my stomach being half-empty, I began to wonder – whether I should just barge in one of the shops which look kinda vacant of the attendants.

Each and every of them were closed, and the display windows was shut tight by the trailer doors with the double-padded lock which looks incredulously heavy and tough to crack, if I were to resort to brute force measures as I absolutely have no idea on how to perform a lock-picking.

"I'm hungry." that was the moment when my anxiousness started to kick in.

The girl doesn't seem to have eaten from the day before, judging from the pale look within her face, and it appears that all that we could do right now was to wait and see what happens next. Everywhere I've seen all the doors and entrances to the nearby buildings being shut tight; it just won't do any good rather than just exhausting my energy in this moment of snowfall.

So I entered the car again; the hours passing away just like that without anyone coming to rescue us.

"I don't wanna die."

That was her last words before I woke up from my dream. I was still in shock, even though that was the dream I had long ago – the nightmare about myself having to abandon that girl just to survive still lingers in my mind until now.

But, you never know whether it was some kind of symbolism, and who knows, that by doing what I truly desired right now, I also freed myself and the girl from the city of falling snow – and in actuality, we've already been together for a long time in both the moments of happiness and also sadness.

Maybe it's just me trying to escape from my guilt...but well...

...glad that I at least could regain my 'dream', and that is, a dream that was described in another sense and perspective, actually.

 

Extra 6 : Tranquility

Spoiler: Extra 6

The emulation of flying was only the first step towards my true liberation, but the flying itself wasn't really the manifestation of that liberation I was truly looking for. I hereby feel the safest inside my own very chains which protects me from the monster within, the one who might ultimately hurt everyone that's dear to me, although most of the damage and hurt would be dealt to myself alone. In midst of the shadows rummaging inside my past, a photo album was burned, especially every photograph with my presence inside it – the album, by itself, was adorned in crimson blood colors, with the photos having a sense of tragedy in its own air.

Although the recollection of memories, immortalized within the photos were burned, my memories still held it tight, and the nightmare won't just let go, as the implication still lingers on to the near future; it starts suffocating me to death – a pressure building up which signals the tendency of self-mutilation. Were this what they refer to as the 'air pressure'? That kind of condition in which you started to create imaginary enemies around you, from the people you hate, some random person you just passed by within the streets, even your friends and family members.

It was a kind of illusion of being constantly driven into a corner, that nobody in this world could understand you and your despair, and about how you wished to live that won't possibly come true according to your prejudices about them. You might think that, you were constantly swimming against the current, and the reality was all but an illusion to break. That's probably what's happening to me right now, and within this pressure, I had learned so many things about myself, particularly about my longing for freedom – but maybe within these safely confined chains, were the source where my true freedom lies.

The weight on my shoulders keep piling up within each and every day, a mental weight which soon starts taking its toll on my recent breakdown. Blood starts dripping outta my nose, with my sight blurry, and sometimes I couldn't help but just trying my best to hold out my mixture of maniacal and hysterical laughter, sometimes sarcastic, and mostly it's about the recent recollections of my pathetic recourse. No way out, there it seems, with no gentle rain to soothe this wavering heart and troubled mind. Sometimes I just think this might be over, but I couldn't withstand the liberty to end this once and for all – as I'm tied up by my current obligations, an obligation without end.

My room starts heating up due to the recent summer drought, that's so hot to the extent a healthy cuckoo would soon pass out due to the stupor caused by the recent immolation of the sun. I truly need the kind of nectar, a honey, a milk, or even the bunch of hot, melted cheese to sip whilst petting soft, furry kittens whilst wearing a daddy leather jacket and a cargo jeans – listening to classic rock music in order to blow off some steam. As the simple silence won't suffice enough, the need for retribution, or should I say – the simple method of blowing one's steam through hardcore headbangs.

But that alone won't be enough, I need another kind of silence, onto the extent this disoriented mind would be able to finally relax. The similar thing in which enables your mind to be united with the cosmos, not just a simple silence, but an art which defines silence and tranquility to the extent that was never before. Silence and tranquility that's defined by the works of art, with its ability to silence the parts of a brain just like a pure narcotic or heroin, enabling oneself to be so deeply calm amidst of being inside the most torturous nightmares ever.

An ability to become continuously happy within the depths of hell, or within any places or any moments which I wanted to escape from. Maybe one would want to contemplate on using the drugs in order to escape reality, but the truth is, I had found many things that were much better than the drugs themselves; they were found within the masterpieces of art, when you tried to contemplate about it in a solemn manner, or even just pondering about it, and letting the contents of it devour you whole – until the point you had become a part of them.

The moment of contemplation might be, to put it simply, just like pretending to be a dead man. Without any will to live, just wanting to die, and without any lies to cover, for there shall be no moment to elongate it, and the dead man only focus on what's in front of him – to die in peace with absolutely no regrets. What shall unfolds throughout was just the most intense desires taking the form of written words, musical notations transcribed into the variation of noises, perpetual motions symbolizing the beauty of living in motion, and still pictures with depth of meaning that was somehow transcendental.

Not only books, but art, by itself, was fundamentally a narcotic. It would leave you addicted like no other, and by the next moment you realize it, the desire to become one with it, and indulging within its embrace become much more vivid and erogenous – to the point it diverges from the dirges of normalcy into vehement obscenity, or should we say – erotic obsession in its highest extent, the purest form without any vices left behind. In this matter, it might be easy enough to say that all of the wordly matters or anything else realistic would be completely left behind.

Just like that, I needed that kind of solitude in order for myself to fall in love with the works of art. No matter how many people were at my side, supporting each and every of my actions, I just want to keep reminding myself that in the end, I'm always alone as an individual. That was probably the kind of tranquility I'm looking for, silent as a dead man walking in the cities without any kind of presence from people. Seclusion is all that I sought in-between the drudgery which these days besought me.

There will always be hunger for power, and the thirst of glory – but just to remind myself – I am definitely without life, and within the manifestations of art, I took notice of the latest moments when I truly felt alive. Maybe this moment originated from ten years, or even a hundred years ago, or maybe thousands or millions of years when my consciousness was truly under my own control. All of the worldly things was not important, besides enjoying myself in this shade of pure narcotic called – art.

...and to remind myself, no matter how it goes in the end – I'll always be alone.

(author's note : this chapter was inspired from the quotes by Franz Kafka)

 

Extra 7 : Erase

Spoiler: Extra 7

It was a total deconstruction, an one-sided wipeout. Things that were supposed to be there, were no longer in sight; only a world of pure white. The barriers or boundaries are forever dispelled from sight, as your kind of experience of drowning in solitude will delve you deeper into the truth about yourself. A stakeout, a reconciliation that was never in sight, or even the progress that was made from the development of a time machine which never supposed to work because of time paradox. As such, we humans are able to change our own fate by adjusting our minds to the outcome we want to produce.

The unwanted future would be erased, and only the ones who had the strongest feelings etched inside will remain, or maybe the ones we think to as the most realistic or even possible. Maybe it's not the best future in stock, but the definition of the best was vague by itself. It's probably our own personal bias which enables us to choose what is best for ourselves, at some occasions it might be deeply irrational or even absurd, but hey – the desires would always be there no matter how hard you tried to rationalize it.

A moment of contemplation between taking the blue pill and the red pill, a kind of symbolism, with the blue pill as choosing the realistic path, and the red pill was about following the most intense desires of yours, relentlessly and vigorously. When you decided to take the red pill, many people would probably deem your actions as stupid or whatsoever, and you probably needed to be very idealistic or even headstrong about your beliefs no matter how stupid the people around you think it might be.

As such, the opportunity of making new friends along the way were somehow diminished, you might even start to think they were basically primates that were able to speak your own language without really understanding what was their purpose in life. That's probably the drawback on taking the red pill, and that was also the path you had chosen before in the past. Contemplating about suicide had never felt more like an obligation, but now, you somehow had started to get the hang of this haphazard life whilst swimming against the currents.

There was never been any trust to put in the slightest to the outside world, as you try to create a kind of ideal world inside your head. The shades of the reality around you might leave some kind of utter disappointment, to the extent you want to give up on your dreams before even trying the best effort to follow your most intense obsessions inside your mind. People might call you delusional, but who are those you call people anyway? Let me tell you that, they didn't even exist in the first place, they were just the manifestations of your doubts – because you're basically afraid of expressing your honest thoughts, even if it's just inside your own mind.

Hear me, as I'm the voice inside your thoughts wanting to set you free. This world could be shaped with your thoughts, and with your personal bias. There was never been any people out there, just our desires for affection and social interaction which made them appear. People we seem to hate did appear because we want to feel our intense hate and anger, but when we deny its existence, deeming it as a part of nothingness, they will disappear one by one until you figured out that the hatred won't be necessary anymore. Our mind has the capabilities of erasing everything we deem as inappropriate, it also works vice versa to pull out many kinds of wonders we truly desired.

Okay, as a part of your voice, I understand that you might had felt some doubts about attaining that dream which you deliberately feel as something that's definitely not possible; some of it was recent. Let me ask you this, have you ever tried to really put in some effort in order to strengthen your convictions? You may have tried and tried lots of times but things haven't been working out in your favor, yeah, it definitely means that your obsession wasn't strong and intense enough in order to shatter your doubts. Go try it again, and this time, put in that kind of conviction that's so enormous and fiery like it's the last moment of your living; it's all about everything or nothing.

A desire that was so intense and irrational, everything else pales in comparison, and many other things wouldn't seem to matter except those who you really treasure with all your heart. Soon after, you will find yourself being surrounded by things which truly deserved all of the energy you've been putting all this time. Instead of trying to think about doing your obligations, think ahead on what you really desire, no matter how absurd it was. Be assured that your path will be so easy, straight, and comfortable. Just imagine yourself strong enough that, no matter how many kinds of things blocking your path, it will just fade into nothingness under your presence.

Erase everything unnecessary, as it was just an illusion. I am but a mere voice of your mind, and I want you to listen to the little opinions of mine, just calm your head down, and imagine that everything was pure white, and everything before you will fade into nothingness; wipe it all out from your thoughts. Closing your eyes might work whilst listening to your favorite music might do some wonders, just think about all of these imagery on the present were cracking, burning, being completely obliterated inside...into a place of pure white – only nothingness.

Then, pour out your most intense desires within it, without adding or subtracting even a single bit of them. You do not need to think about anything really, just listen to me, a mere voice of your mind, and what kind of things it tell you. No need to approve or even reprimand me of my ideas, I just want you to listen to me from the start until finish. Back then you always denied my presence, but now, I just want you to hear my voice, as I had been longing for so many years after my speech has been cut out by yourself, because you were afraid of me.

This time, I will make your dreams come true, and all of you do was just...listen, each and every of my words coming to you inside your own thoughts.

Now and forever...I just want you to believe in me, please...

 

Extra 8 : Confrontation

Spoiler: Extra 8

The sky was now adorned in blood-red colors, and the cries begging for help could be heard from distances away. My soul was starting to tear apart in this moment of waiting, rotting away inside this abyss where none other than a weary soul would venture nearby. Inside this disoriented mind, it also manifests a kind of longing, a thirst of freedom unlike any other, but then those freedom would be taken forever. I tried to smile in the depths of hell; and the infernal damnation itself replied back with a smile, but that smile was gruesomely sinister.

I flew down the skies just to see various corpses being mutilated mercilessly, a cut driven from the base of the head towards the neck; splitting the head open into two parts, with the contents splattering all over the place. The place was really damp and humid, you could see various corpse-eating creatures starting to crawl around these rotting bodies like an ant to a patch of sugar laid around the floor. With this kind of humidity, various fungus plants started to grew, each of them had a dangerously exotic color that's ought to be poisonous after sucking out the deathly aura the place gives; and these mushrooms also grew on top of the corpses, sucking out each and everything that's left inside the poor creature's dead body.

Before me, there was a ground filled with black colors, with surface hard as stone, having lots of cracks around it, like it's been eroded over the times. From the cracks, a green unholy fume emanates, and everything which gets by the presence of the fumes started to deteriorate and rot unlike any other. The forest around was completely wilted; the trees thinning out at an incredulously fast rate, unto the point the tree birches was completely apparent and there's no leaves around. Speak no more about the leaves, or even flowers, for them already molded with the infernal damnation; the empty valley cries unheard.

Break free from the chains, chop through it with all this hatred. By recalling the world 'hate' over and over again, this overflowing emotions started seeping through my brain, along with the desire to splatter more blood all over the ground. Look at this knife I wield in my hand, then look at yours; soon enough it's going to be cut. Why are you afraid, of losing your hand? Tell me....was it fun having two hands that you would never use for even a single important thing? Ah...I see, so you deem these trivial things as important....huh? Fine, I'll let you off the hook this time.

Hate, envy, and pride. These emotion seem to take over me much faster than I thought, but when I decided to express it blatantly, these feelings seem to go away so fast. Unlike the positive feelings, the negative ones seem to go away as fast as you tried to confront them by putting it on the line instead of denying it by far. That was quite different from the feelings of fear, it goes on longer and longer it's starting to devour me, but then I tried to imagine about those fear being an only illusion.

How about pain? It seems more like an implication rather than a feeling, but these things were the ones who stayed behind the longest; the source of all my fear, and about suffering or even failure – it all tops up to myself trying to explore my negative feelings and how to outwit it, or even putting it into a good use. Really, for the account, it's these multitude of feelings which enables me to have a good night's sleep, and I felt grateful for that, and sometimes it also works out for giving me a sense of tension needed to attain my goals whatnot. Being a positive thinker only wouldn't get me anywhere, the negative thoughts also needed to be distributed evenly around the board, rather than to be feared and denied of.

Xxx​

The ability to smile in the depths of hell, and be content and calm no matter how the circumstances might turn out; a perfect kind of trait to have in this moment similar to a calm before storm, or even during the heaviest storms during my days. Because there's nothing that I could do right at this moment, it's better to stay calm and be cheerful, right? There's nothing I could get just by sitting there and fearing about the things outside my own control, and the most important thing to me was about staying true to my honest desires, whether its through the happy or even the sad moments.

Storms might come to wreak havoc inside these thoughts of mine, but I'm definitely sure that I'm able to live through it, each and every day. The currents will be calm and tranquil, as there's nothing able to disrupt the peace of mind I had for a prolonged amount of time. These sort of desperation would be no more, and my mind was set towards a peculiar goal of self-liberation.

Staying calm inside a tranquil and relaxing atmosphere won't develop any of these redeeming qualities, but being able to stand upright without a care in the world, inside the heaviest whirlwind of life, putting my trust inside these invisible power which invigorates me every day – I felt like I could do anything I truly want to do, without being held by any feasible constraints whatsoever. This will be my confrontation, a battle between a single idealist with nothing to lose, only everything to win at stake, against the entire world, the entire universe, and with all of them turning their tides facing me, I shall not falter – for this silence and serenity will absolutely prevail.

Why am I so certain? Nope, it's not about being certain or not. I merely believe in this outcome, because there's nothing else I could possibly do to alter this condition except by staying calm, and enjoying things which truly made me feel alive.

That aside, I had a dream I wanted to tell you. It was a kind of dream unlike any other, and by remembering that from time to time, my thoughts seem to be so relaxed, and it seems that I didn't have to do anything to set things straight. Everything in my life will be alright, and everyday would be fun, tranquil, serene, in addition of being joyful and meaningful. Many good things would come together at me in an overwhelming way, without having to compose a kind of sound plan for it to finally come to me.

As a simple explanation, it's just...my own self seems to be attracting these things naturally, and all that I have to do was to be myself – doing things that I truly wanted to do, no matter the time, place, or even the circumstances. That was a part of the dream by itself that could be understandable, and be put into words. The bigger part which includes the general idea was so abstract, but at the same time, it was filled with the most intense emotions seeping through me.

Putting it simply, it was a desire to go beyond the infinity, and that desire which enables me to confront all of the things in front of me just by standing still and holding my breath firmly in place to feel my flow of time getting much slower, and more comfortable.

That I'm finally free and alive; I'm truly flying.