Plop! Plop! Plop!
The sound of raindrops falling on the umbrella distracted Andrew, who was patiently waiting for the bus to return home. Andrew had just graduated from high school when a violent storm suddenly broke out, even though there was no forecast for rain today.
"It's a good thing I listened to Grandma and brought an umbrella... how the hell can she predict rain from a pain in her bones?" Andrew wondered in a whisper, though he didn't need to since there was no one with him at the bus station.
Andrew looked around at the dark, lonely street, wondering why the bus hadn't arrived yet. With nothing he could do, he sighed softly and took out his phone to continue reading the novel he'd been reading for a month.
It was a dark fantasy novel, where even the protagonists aren't spared a tragic fate. Currently, there were a total of three complete novels and a fourth in progress. Each novel featured a different protagonist and was set in different eras, or so readers speculated, since the author never established a clear timeline.
The only novels known to take place at the same time were the third and fourth, since at the end of the third novel, the protagonist, Vana Rosegold, was killed by Cristel Stronghold, the protagonist of the fourth novel, thus initiating the fourth novel.
'A rather crude and cruel ending for someone like Vana' thought Andrew. Knowing Vana's history, he had always wanted her story to have at least a decent, less cruel, ending.
Andrew continued reading for a few minutes until he finally reached the end of the fourth novel, which had a rather surprising warning for Andrew.
[
Cristel sheathed her sword and removed her right glove to wipe the blood from her face. She then looked at the slaughtered bodies of the enemy army without any remorse. Her mission was almost complete; she just needed to gather information from the other enemy outposts.
Cristel walked carelessly toward the captain's tent. Upon entering, Cristel opened her eyes in great surprise. In front of her was a young, albino woman with black eyes, completely naked. Her eyes reflected a lost and unconscious look. Her body was battered and she had a mark on her stomach with the figure of a griffin, the mark of the enemy kingdom.
Cristel walked toward her, cupping her face and examining her condition. In a matter of seconds, she realized that her anima and magical core had been completely destroyed. They had ensured that she couldn't escape in any way.
"Vana... she's drugged... no, she's completely broken. Five years after your disappearance, we thought you were dead; I wish that had been the case, so you wouldn't have to suffer all this." Cristal touched the mark on Vana's stomach with sadness and anger. "Branded like mere livestock, an unfair fate for someone who only knew how to love her people. You didn't deserve this, my friend."
Cristel left Vana's body leaning against a piece of furniture, then stood up, taking one last look at the woman who had once been a high-level magical knight. With a decisive look and a sigh, she drew her sword, piercing Vana's heart in an instant.
Cristal sighed with regret and sadness, then gathered the necessary documents and took Vana's body in her arms. She would see to it that Vana was buried in the land she protected and loved so much...
Well, friends, that's all I have to share with you. It's been a pleasure writing all these novels and that you enjoyed them, but unfortunately, I can't continue writing. I'm currently out of energy and ideas, and no matter how hard I try, I can't continue with the novel, so I've decided to leave it here until further notice.
Thank you for all your support.
]
"Wait, what!? It ended the same as the third novel, only from a different point of view. All this time, the fourth novel was in the same time frame as the third?!" Andrew complained, disgusted. "So, who was Cristel mourning at the beginning of the novel? What about the night king, Crystal's greatest enemy, or Cristel's rival, Silia? All of that will be discarded just like that? Damn Erik, this is the last time I'll listen to your recommendations. You always choose authors who never finish their books!"
Andrew began searching various websites for information on whether the author would continue with his novel when suddenly a strange sensation ran through his body.
"187 cycles, 23 years each cycle, for a total of 4,301 continuous years searching for the key... searching for you."
A trembling, yet anxious voice was heard a few seats next to Andrew. Andrew was completely paralyzed with fear, as he was more than certain there was no one at the bus stop but him; it was an old man sitting with no protection from the rain other than his own hood.
A great current of cold ran down Andrew's back, and the rainy, damp atmosphere changed to a colder one. The drops that had seemed to fall a moment earlier stopped mid-fall, leaving them floating in the air.
A few seconds later, the sound of a cane hitting the ground echoed throughout the dark street, and instantly the raindrops turned into snowflakes that began to fall, creating a great blizzard. The extreme cold invaded Andrew's body, leaving him even more frightened.
'What's going on!' Andrew thought, frightened.
"It's time to go home, Finn." The very tall old man appeared right next to Andrew. His long white robes covered his body, and his brown hood covered his face, revealing only his long gray beard and a somewhat battered white cane. "Countless lives are dying because of your absence, Finn."
"I… I'm not Finn, sir… my name is Andrew" Andrew said as quickly as he could, thinking the old man had misunderstood the person.
"Oh, no. You're Finn, you just don't remember yet… But don't worry, I'll help you remember." Without warning, the old man placed his hand on Andrew's chest, and for the first time, Andrew could see the old man's eyes, blue eyes filled with a strange light that made him look mysterious and powerful.
Before Andrew could react, an immense pressure appeared in his chest, and in an instant, he was thrown backward with great force.
"I'll see you on the other side, young Finn. In the meantime, take care on your journey" the old man said goodbye to Andrew's blurred vision.
—
Dreams, that was the only way Andrew could describe what he was currently seeing. After the old man touched his chest, everything went dark, and the cold or any other sensation disappeared. Then, he began to see strange visions. These visions showed places like forests, cities, and houses. Sometimes they showed monsters that seemed to be taken from a fantasy story, and other times, he heard conversations or, more accurately, orders from people he couldn't see clearly, asking him to carry out certain missions.
The visions seemed to pass faster and faster than the last, until he reached a vision where he was expelled from a group of adventurers due to his low rank. At that moment, Andrew woke up suddenly, sweaty and breathing heavily.
"Wasn't it a dream?" Andrew, or rather, Finn, wondered. The memories of both lives had merged into Finn's body and world.
Finn sat on the edge of the bed he was in and looked closely at his room. It was so strange, yet familiar at the same time. Finn stood up and walked over to the bathroom mirror where he checked his appearance. It was almost identical to how he had looked in the other world, only now he had a much more athletic body and had several injuries that he couldn't remember how he got.
"That old man... did he send me to the world of the fantasy novel?" Finn wondered, as in several of his memories he could recognize the names of cities and some elements that were also in the novel. 'I feel... calm, too calm' Finn thought, finding it strange not to be overreacting to his current situation.
Finn washed his face and then walked to the only window in his small room. Outside, there was a huge city that reached the heavens. The houses and shops were nothing more than buildings that stretched to the heavens and were connected every three floors by floating streets. It was as if one city were right above the other, leaving some spaces between the streets so the light could pass through without problems.
'The capital of Firorn, I had already seen it in the memories of the previous Finn... but seeing it with my own eyes makes it even more impressive' Finn thought, amazed. 'I can't believe the old man actually sent me to the world of the novel.' Then he directed his gaze toward a specific place.
At the gates of this great capital, there was a large building as big as any other, but this one had a logo of boots with wings attached. This was the Freewalker Guild, the guild where Finn performed quests and his next destination.
'I don't know what worries me more, the fact that this world exists or the fact that I accepted the idea of living here so quickly... Maybe it's because I kinda fused with someone from this world...' Finn thought.
—
In a house on the outskirts of the city, an old woman stood in front of the door, watching the rain fall steadily. The old woman seemed to be waiting for someone. The sound of a cane hitting the street caught the old woman's attention, and she saw an old man with a long beard slowly approaching and standing in front of her.
"After all this time... Why didn't you just give up and leave him here with me?" The old woman asked. "He would have been very happy here."
"You know I can't do that. Finn doesn't belong in this world" the old man said. "It's been 15 years. You know very well that he would eventually be taken back to his original body."
"But he was happy here, Merlin" the old woman replied. "There was no danger for him here."
"Morganna… at the end of it all, you did come to love young Finn like your own family" Merlin said with a slight smile.
"Love him? And how could I not, Merlin? When you brought him to me 15 years ago, he was just a baby. I raised him, watched him grow, and now… I watch him go into a world where chaos and pain reign. Tell me, Merlin, how was I supposed not to become attached to my grandson?" Morganna asked sadly.
"I'm sorry, Morganna, I'm so sorry, but this must be done, and you know it," Merlin said. "Thousands of lives hang in the balance, and I think Finn may be the key to saving them."
"You've turned back time countless times just to save that filthy world. Why not give up now? Why condemn my world too?" Morganna asked. "That world is doomed to die."
"It's not fair, Morganna. Don't ask me for such a thing. I can't just let them die, not when I can make a change" Merlin replied sadly.
"But you can't… that's why you took my grandson" Morganna said.
"I'm sorry…" Merlin apologized.