Chapter 43: Waking for Sadness

Chris began to feel nauseous. He was about to grab the knife with his hand, but the man had already pulled it out of his body and swung it at him again, trying to stab him.

’FUCK!’

Chris had wanted to prevent the man from pulling the knife out. Keeping it inside the wound would have helped slow the bleeding to some extent, but now it was too late.

He quickly grabbed the man’s hand before he could stab him again and twisted it.

"AGHH!"

The man released the knife, which fell to the ground.

Without thinking, Chris grabbed it and slashed at the man’s neck before he could react.

*Slash!*

"Ghugh... Kguhg..."

The man began to gurgle as he clutched his bleeding neck. No matter what he did, he couldn’t stop the bleeding and within seconds, he died.

Chris stood up, holding his bleeding wound with one hand and the knife with the other.

He approached the two men who were still on the ground.

The first man was clutching his leg and screaming in pain. He didn’t even notice Chris approaching from behind before the knife slashed across his neck.

*Slash!*

The man grabbed his throat, but it was already too late. Within seconds, he was dead as well.

Chris turned around and walked toward the last man, who was still lying on the ground. His thoughts were becoming blurry, and the only thing on his mind was killing the men who had attacked him.

As Chris approached, the man panicked and tried to stand up. However, he tripped in his haste and fell back to the ground. He began crawling backward, staring at Chris with a terrified expression.

"Y-You stay away!"

Chris ignored him.

"Don’t you know who we are?!"

As he spoke, the man raised his hand and revealed a tattoo of a black bull on his forearm.

"We’re from the Black Bull Organization! If you dare kill me, our organization will hunt you down forever! There will be nowhere you can hide!"

Chris completely ignored his words. At that moment, he couldn’t care less.

As he approached the man, he swung the knife with all his strength.

*Slash!*

Before the man could react, the blade cut across his neck, and fresh blood began pouring from the wound.

"Y-You... Khugh..."

Within seconds, the man’s consciousness faded, and he fell to the ground, motionless.

Chris dropped the knife and stared at the dead man’s body for a few seconds.

After a while, reality finally caught up with him. He looked down at his hands, which were now covered in blood. Both his own and that of his enemies.

He immediately doubled over and began vomiting on the ground. His hands and legs trembled uncontrollably.

’I... Did I just kill someone?’

Chris had never expected that the day would come when he would have to kill another human being. The reality of what he had done hit him hard.

He looked around at the dead bodies scattered across the ground, still trembling.

’I need to run away!’

He knew it was only a matter of time before another group of men came after him.

Turning around, Chris quickly left the park and headed toward his old apartment.

When he arrived, he noticed that the lights were on. Someone else was already living there.

He silently climbed over the fence and entered the backyard. Then, he approached a tree and began digging into the ground with his hands.

After a moment, he pulled a backpack out of the dirt and opened it. Inside was a stack of money, along with some medical supplies he had secretly hidden there earlier.

He opened the first-aid kit, poured some alcohol onto a piece of cloth, and pressed it against the wound in his side.

"UGH!"

He winced as the alcohol stung the wound.

Taking out a strong adhesive patches designed for injuries like this, he pressed the wound closed with his fingers and stuck the strips over it. They were made to close wounds quickly without the need for stitches.

Once he was done, he slung the backpack over his shoulder, pulled his hood over his head, and left the place, praying that the wound wasn’t as bad as it looked.

From what he knew, the knife should have missed his vital organs, but there was no way for him to be certain.

He then headed toward a specific bar in town. He had heard that someone there could arrange almost anything for the right price, and he desperately needed to escape.

Once inside the bar, he approached the bartender.

"I’m looking for Johnny."

The bartender looked him up and down before pointing in a direction.

"The last table in that corner."

Chris nodded and turned around, heading toward the table.

When he arrived, he sat directly across from a dark-haired, middle-aged man with a scar over his left eye.

"I need help. I have money."

The man looked at him and nodded.

"What do you need?"

"I need transportation to the border with the Wilds. In secret."

The man raised an eyebrow.

"Now, that’s a request I’ve never received before. But I won’t ask any questions. You’ll need to pay upfront."

Chris reached into his backpack, pulled out a stack of money, and placed it on the table.

"Will this be enough?"

The man glanced at the money and nodded.

"Enough."

He took out his phone and typed something. A moment later, he looked at Chris again.

"A car will arrive in front of this bar in five minutes. It’ll take you to the border."

Chris nodded and immediately stood up, leaving the bar.

Sure enough, five minutes later, a black car with tinted windows pulled up in front of him.

"Are you the one?" The driver asked.

Chris nodded.

"Get in."

He opened the door, climbed into the back seat, and settled inside.

...

A few days later, Chris stood in front of a small town near the border with the Wilds.

He headed into town first, spending the rest of his money on a simple bow, a reinforced knife, and as much food and medical supplies as he could carry. Once he had everything he needed, he left the town and entered the Wilds.

As he walked through the forest, he began recounting everything that had happened to him once again. Every insult and every word of ridicule that came to mind caused the rage inside his chest to grow until he could no longer contain it.

He clenched his fist and punched the nearest tree with all his strength.

*Bam! Bam! Bam!*

He continued striking the tree repeatedly, releasing all his pent-up frustration until both his hands began to bleed.

Ignoring the pain, he looked up at the sky.

"WHY?! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?! WHAT DID I DO WRONG?!"

*Slap!*

He suddenly slapped himself. Then again, and again.

"Wake up!" Chris yelled at himself.

He clutched his head with both hands, feeling as though he were on the verge of losing his mind.

Finally, he sat down on the ground and took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

Once he had regained his composure, he finally understood what was happening.

This wasn’t reality. It was all a dream. He was simply reliving his past.

At some point, he had forgotten that he was participating in a challenge designed to test his resolve. He had begun experiencing those moments as though they were real.

Something was influencing his mind, trying to make him forget that none of this was real while amplifying his negative emotions until he lost control of himself.

Suddenly, a strange light emerged from his forehead and transformed into the silhouette of a person standing in front of him. The figure had a human shape, but its features were completely unrecognizable.

"You’ve finally managed to regain your senses. It took you longer than I expected," the figure said.

"Who are you?" Chris asked, staring at it.

"I’m you, and you are me," the figure replied.

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?"

The figure seemed to shake its head.

"It doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t understand. What matters is that you’ve managed to regain your senses, and now you must wake up."

Chris tilted his head.

"How am I supposed to wake up?"

"The exit is right in front of you, yet you fail to see it."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Let me ask you a question. How does someone wake up when they’re sleeping?"

Chris furrowed his brows and thought for a moment.

"By opening their eyes?"

"Then just open your eyes."

Chris focused on his eyes, trying to force them open even wider. Then, suddenly, he felt as though another pair of eyes had opened, even though he had thought his eyes were already open.

It was as if he had possessed another pair of eyes that had remained closed until now.

He felt dizzy for a moment before finding himself lying on a cold stone floor.

Pushing himself up, he stood and looked around. He was back in the same room he had entered when he first arrived at the ruined tomb. He was surrounded by dried-up corpses, while a golden sphere continued floating in the center of the room, directly in front of him.

He reached out to touch it, and the moment his hand connected with the sphere, thousands of images flooded his mind.

First, he saw a little girl with platinum hair running happily through a forest, followed by a man and a woman who looked similar to her. They appeared to be her parents.

Then, he watched as the girl slowly grew up, living a happy and carefree life among the elves. Everything seemed peaceful and harmonious.

That was until one day, when a sudden catastrophe struck.

The little girl was curious about the world, and one day, she secretly left her home and ventured deep into the forest. Her parents had never allowed her to wander too far, but that only made her curiosity grow stronger.

She continued exploring the forest happily, unaware that she had wandered too far from home.

Suddenly, she noticed large shadows moving across the ground. Looking up, she saw several strange men wearing masks and cloaks, flying above her on corpse-like birds.

"Quickly, grab the child!" One of them shouted in a hoarse voice.

Another man flew down and grabbed the girl by the arm, pulling her toward him.

"Who are you?! Leave me alone!" The girl screamed.

But nobody listened. The masked man was just about to place her on his mount when an arrow suddenly flew toward him from a distance.

The man quickly jumped back to avoid it, releasing the girl in the process.

The little girl turned around and saw her parents running toward her from behind.

"Mommy! Daddy!" She shouted, running toward them.

"Sweetie, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" The woman asked as she embraced the girl. She looked remarkably similar to her daughter.

The little girl shook her head.

"Okay, I need you to listen to Mommy very carefully, all right?" The woman crouched down and spoke with a serious expression.

The girl nodded.

"Mommy and Daddy need to deal with these people. You must run home as quickly as you can and find the Sage. Tell him exactly what happened, okay?"

"But Mommy, what about you and Daddy?"

"Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll be back soon."

The man approached the girl and gently patted her head.

"Listen to your mother. Go now."

"Always remember that Mommy and Daddy love you more than anything in the world!" The woman said, kissing the girl’s cheek with tears in her eyes.

The girl sensed that something was wrong, but she still nodded.

"Okay, now go! Hurry!"

The little girl turned around and began running toward home.

She ran without stopping, her heart filled with unease. She increasingly felt that something was wrong, but she didn’t know what to do. All she could do was trust her parents and follow their instructions.

When she finally arrived home, she immediately ran toward the Sage’s house.

"Little Aelia, why are you in such a hurry?" The Sage asked with a smile.

The girl quickly recounted everything that had happened, and the Sage’s expression grew more serious with each passing moment.

"Stay here, child. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll go look for your parents, all right?"

The little girl nodded repeatedly.

The Sage turned around and left the room.

She waited for a long, long time before he finally returned with several other elders from the tribe.

The girl looked at them and noticed that they all wore sorrowful expressions. Some even had tears in their eyes.

"Grandpa Sage! Where are my Mommy and Daddy?" The girl asked.