Chapter 4: Protagonist
This person was standing superior to the entire pillar. My suspicions were correct; the protagonist wasn't sane. This person was incredibly handsome, and his looks alone would earn him patrons. I don't know why; I just felt a sting of Déjà vu when I locked eyes with this person. This person also…
Was headed towards me now.
"Who are you! And why are you here?" He demands.
Before I could even bat an eye, he flashed in front of me and grabbed me by the neck. The guards grabbed Liam. Struggling was useless, this person's hand was apparently made of stone, by the sheer force he can exert. I know I can't look weak in front of this guy, all the efforts I made to impress the celestials would be wasted. Luckily, the person in my head was on time.
{Firstly, please stop calling me 'the person inside me'. Just call me Jebaka. Now about this guy. His name is Sebastian. Having him as an ally would be a good idea, and with you could fix him. He relive his life, every time breaking further. Also, as you mainly magic power to -,you invest even more into it.}
"Answer me! Who are you!" He demanded.
"Um Sebastian, you do realize it is hard to talk when you are squeezing my throat." I spoke.
[Celestial Enemy of the Story chuckles at your comment. 100 coins were sponsored.]
Sebastian asked coolly, "How do know my name? Why should I not just kill you right here on the spot?"
"Sebastian. Should be Sir Bastard. Because I'm great use to you. Because I'm able to shape the way the future will work. Because you will eventually die a slow and horrible death. Because you will keep reliving your life. Do you like that, Sebastian? Do you enjoy seeing your companions die? I will take you to the end of the world." I announce.
"What? You and that guy and that little child?" He sneers.
It's a good point. My 'team' was barely just made. However, I couldn't back down so easily.
[1000 coins were invested in Stamina. Stamina Lv.2 — Lv. 12. Your resilience reaches 2 digits.]
[1000 coins were invested in Strength. Strength Lv. 2 — Lv. 12. Your strength reaches 2 digits.]
[1100 coins were invested in Agility. Agility Lv. 3 — Lv.13. Your agility allows you to run like the wind.]
[1600 coins were invested in Magic Proficiency. Magic Proficiency Lv. 4 — Lv. 16. Magic surges through your veins.]
I tell him, "I know what you will never know. I know what you will never be able to reach regardless of the thousands, millions of lifetimes you may complete."
I use my verse-bound boots and run as fast as I can, buying as much time as possible, and take out my pen and write as fast as I can.
A mystical string of the future, colored gold as a sunset, flies in and burrows into the heart of the man in front of me, showing him each and every one of his sins, each and every person hurt by him, each and every mistake he made, and how he could finally make up for those sins. By firstly not killing me.
The golden string of lights did in fact penetrate Sebastian. I hadn't expected it, after all, what I wrote was in a big rush, and I was very vague with my words. I had no imagination of what he saw, but it was gruesome and horrifying, because I saw him flinch.
In fact, I now wonder how many lifetimes he actually went through. Even if it was only a few, not even double digits yet, I'm sure he would have a hell of a ride in the imaginary space he would be viewing from. Even if it was only this lifetime, he would for sure be watching many, many people suffer. I know this alone would never change Seb. After all, he killed them himself without feeling a hint of hesitation, rewatching it would not change much. I hoped something would change though. Maybe a corner, a piece of his heart would feel pity. I needed to move now, because he seemed to be escaping from this vision. I flung myself towards Liam, reaching for my Quillblade, and stabbed the guards holding him down. Liam looked sheepish, and muttered, "I didn't want to hurt them like Sebastian did." I know how he probably feels. I don't want to sound like a villain, but this new world requires a bit of adaptation.
"Where's Ash?" I asked Liam.
He points in the opposite direction. Some adult seems to be leading him away. I suspect that they are not his parents because they are probably dead or somewhere else. I rush towards him, grab his arm, and pull him back to where Liam is. Suddenly, Sebastian got back on his feet and started charging at us with his light blue sword in his hand. I was about to try pulling both Liam and Ash away with me, but Seb was too close. That's when Liam activated another one of his skills. I saw thousands of pages piled up into a wall created from thin air. The wall seemed to be based on the same substance that made up my skill too. We might just have a special type of thing as story related entities.
When the sword hit the wall, Liam winced in pain as sharp cracks immediately started developing in the wall. The pages that were so carefully built up from Liam's years of reading were tearing apart, the words flooding from the page. Such a waste of stories in such few seconds was crazy, so I tried something out. I took out my pen, closed my eyes, and started writing. I started to fill those blanks and those paragraphs that were torn out and destroyed by Seb's blade. That's when I got a new message.
[Stigma: Story Narrator has activated.]
That's the first time I activated a stigma.
[Celestial One of the End gasps at your stigma.]
[Celestial Watcher of the Abyss looks in surprise at your potential.]
[Celestial Hounds of Heaven is curious.]
…
[Your fame has increased a miniscule bit.]
The fact that the celestials gave such a reaction to my achievement was interesting. That, however, was a problem for later. With my pen, I saw that the holes in Liam's wall were slowly being filled. I saw the worlds that I repainted and the stories I repaired. However, this was not a moment of celebration, because at that moment Sebastian activated his own skill. I shouldn't be able to see any notifications other than my own, but for some strange reason I saw Sebastian's message.
[Skill: Eyes that See all has been activated.]
The next message was for me.
[Skill: Eyes that See all starts searching for your past and future.]
However, I don't think those eyes will be able to see that much because at that moment I surprised everyone for the second time this moment.
[Skill: Story Insight has activated.]
Millions of thoughts sprang through my head at once. Before the disaster, after the disaster, my plans for the future… I could barely focus on one thought because millions of scenarios were all squeezing in me.
[Skill: Eyes that See all was badly damaged and backs off cautiously.]
[Celestials wonder about you.]
[Your fame as an entity spreads slightly across the Cosmic River.]
The Cosmic River huh? That must mean "the story". I see that Sebastian looks stunned. Before he could reply to me though, Liam, Ash, and I had already left.
However, I heard something no one else heard. From the depth of Sebastian's heart, the faintest voice said:
Really…?
"Did you know Sebastian before? You said a bunch of stuff that was censored, and I couldn't understand it." Liam told me.
I didn't think of that before. I guess stuff that shouldn't be revealed yet will get censored to prevent spoilers for the celestials or something like that.
"No, I didn't meet him before, I guess it just, I don't know, hit me or something." I speak.
I wasn't completely lying. I don't know why, but something about this person just felt familiar to me. It wasn't like how I kind of knew Liam when I first saw him, it was like we were once connected or something. It was because of San that I learned about him, but I already knew him. It doesn't make sense. It's like the feeling I first felt back then when the trials started.
Liam shrugged. Ash looked at me and asked in a small voice, "Sky, you know a lot about this world. When this is over, do you think that we will get a prize?"
When this is over. I thought, "Well, IF this is over one day." But how could I say that to Ash. It hit me again that he was just a child. A child who managed to survive in this world of blood, who probably had to kill someone to get here, a child who blamed himself for the death he caused. Ash could be a bad person, but I don't believe that. Ash is clinging on to the hope that this will one day be over. The least I can do is to not destroy that hope. What if there is no end to the horror— that's not a problem I can solve.
"Yeah, maybe there is. Maybe there's a medal at the end of this that we can get." I told him.
I was never very good with people. Maybe what I said will pain him more. But what I know is that I will try to reach that ending. I will take my companions to the end of this horror show.
As I stare at the setting sun, I think to myself, "Seb would do a better job than me. Liam would do a better job than me. Even Ash would lead people better. But somehow, somehow from our short time together the role fell to me. It feels like my destiny to fail. But if there was a chance for my new friends to live happily one day, then I will do my best to pave a way for them. I was always cursed to live an unhappy life. They weren't."
I know what I yearn for is far beyond my reach. My hopes are ever so unlikely to happen. But I know that if it is possible…
[Skill: Story Insight starts planning ahead.]
Protagonist fin.