"Hah!"
"Fuu~n"
"Gaaah!"
In large space in the middle of the Merez Forest, two men stood face-to-face as they held up there respective weapons.
More accurately, they were a young teenager who seemed to have just arrived at his peak growth phase and a handsome adult male, looking no older than 30.
The young teen, with his messy silver-gray hair and sharp silver-gray eyes, charged at the handsome male with intense aggressiveness.
With a shout, the young teen instantly closes the between him and the man and raised his left hand which holds an ornamental dagger in a reverse grip towards the man's throat.
Despite the imminent danger, the handsome man was unperturbed.
Just by using his left hand, he instantly stopped the young teenager's momentum and grabbed the teen's fist which held the dagger.
Then, with flowing motion, the handsome man quickly spins around and lands a right kick directly into the stomach of the teen.
The teen, without a way to defend himself, took the full brunt of the attack and was sent flying back.
While the teen was flying backward, he wasn't going to take the fall damage lying down.
Gritting his teeth, the teen forced himself to flip backward in the air and land on his feet. His feet were dragged quickly across the forest floor before coming to a complete stop. What an amazing amount of force.
"What's wrong? To just choose to do a simple frontal charge against me. I don't remember teaching such a thing."
"Hah…hah….tsch! Haha….As expected, it didn't work. I was just thinking that if Master had thought I would never do such a stupid move it would inversely mean I could take advantage of your surprise…or so I thought. Anyways, Master! What do you mean you never taught me that? It is not like you taught me anything specific at all…."
The handsome man rested the flat of his sword on his right shoulder as he reprimanded the young teen.
Somewhat winded from the previous kick, the teen nevertheless retorted back. It seems like they had this type of conversation many times.
It is as you guessed, the young teen was Ashe Daemon and the handsome man was Ashe's Master Rheves Verstone.
"What stupid things are you talking about now. It is like I always told you, 'don't think, feel'. If you had done that, you wouldn't have thought such a stupid tactic."
"Ahhhh! There you go again. Like I understand any of that! If you had taught me some actual technique, I wouldn't need to do it at all!"
"Talk time is over. Are you gonna come over or am I gonna have to come to you. Your choice."
"Gunununu…."
Rheves lowered his sword from his right shoulder and pointed straight towards Ashe.
After being called out, Ashe regrettably stopped talking and took his fighting stance.
[GG, Ashe. GG. Keep going! Don't stop. I believe in you!....*chew**siiiiiip*]
The one who continues to cheer on Ashe was sitting on a comfortable black velvet couch, a drink in one hand, a bag of popcorn in the other, and watching the two battle through the viewpoint of a floating screen.
That's right, the one and only, Aaron Amano. Or me.
As I continued to take a sip of my cola I had created using my thoughts and memories, I constantly focused upon the holographic-like floating screen.
.
.
.
Having died in a subway accident, I, Aaron Amano, had found myself turned into a split soul, who is now living inside a young baby boy's body.
However, the young baby boy is not an ordinary existence. The baby boy was in fact the body of the most unpopular character within super popular MMORPG Verstronia: Dreamless Stoy (VDS): Ashe Daemon.
My split soul had been then forced into a strange situation. One half of my soul continues to contain the past memories of when I was alive as Aaron while the other became the soul of the newborn Ashe.
While still confused about this crazy situation, I nevertheless began to enjoy the situation. It helps that although Ashe was overall the most unpopular character in VDS, he was in fact my favorite.
Residing within the soul world within the body of Ashe, I continued to monitor his growth.
However, an unavoidable truth begins to bare its fangs during my situation.
Ashe's mother, Aileen Daemon, began to succumb to her 'curse'.
If nothing is done, Aileen will die and Ashe would be left alone.
I know this because this is exactly the plot of Ashe's main storyline within VDS.
Aileen Daemon, a war hero who fought during the Scarlet Border War, defeated Xoketh, a Demon Lord who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere during the battlefield.
At the same moment, Aileen was going to deliver the final blow, Xoketh had used unique power only beings like Demon Lords can use: a 'curse'.
Because of the 'curse', Aileen suffered under intense pain and torture. Furthermore, once Aileen completely succumbs to her 'curse', Xoketh would use her dead body as a vessel for his revival.
Information about Demon Lords and 'curses' has long been lost within the annals of history. Almost no one in the current time knows a way to dispel it.
However, there had been one final hope. A 'nameless' medicine that uses almost all common plants. The only difficult ingredient necessary could be found with the forbidden Merez Forest, the Blackthorn Rose.
Even with the recipe, the difficulty of not only procuring the last ingredient, it is also nearly impossible to preserve the medicine normally.
Unless made and stored with a special Aether saturated environment, such as in the Merez Forest, the Blackthorn Rose would wither and release poisonous gas. Even after grinding it to powder, the powder would sublimate if not made in the special environment and turn into poisonous gas.
Not one to give up, Aileen made an important decision.
She then decided to live within the forbidden Merez Forest and make the medicine herself.
Pregnant with Ashe at the time, Aileen wished to live for her child's sake.
She immediately set off and built a wooden house from scratch within the forest.
For 5 years, Aileen and Ashe had lived within the Merez Forest. Due to Aileen's strength, the family lived relatively safe the entire time.
Aileen had been able to create the 'nameless' medicine effectively within the Merez Forest's environment.
There had been no problems for the first five years.
However, nothing lasts forever.
The 'nameless' medicine had begun to lose it's effectiveness. In order to prevent the 'attacks', Aileen needed to made more and more of medicine to take it at a time every month.
This time she made a mistake in the amount that she needed.
Aileen immediately went to the ground.
Ashe, shocked by this, felt extremely worried about his mother.
Unfortunately, having remembering Aileen's strange habit of gathering a certain flower, Ashe decided she must need that and set off into the Merez Forest alone.
Unable to stop Ashe, Aileen regretfully lost consciousness.
The history I have spoken until now about Aileen could be found within the plot of VDS.
According to the plot, young 5-year-old Ashe would eventually stumble upon a patch of bushes where Blackthorn Roses grew in number.
Excited, Ashe was unable to notice that the whole time he had become surrounded by a pack Merz Forest Wolves.
With no way of retaliating, Ashe was on the verge of being torn apart.
Suddenly, a strange event happened.
When Aileen had battled Xoketh, she had already been pregnant with Ashe.
After receiving the 'curse', Aileen gave birth to Ashe.
This birth caused a unique situation within the bodies of both Aileen and Ashe.
Xoketh, who had a part of his soul absorbed into Aileen for his revival was somehow binded to Ashe's soul and was removed from Aileen's body with him while the 'curese remained in Aileen.
Without the continuous feeding from Aileen's 'curse', Xoketh's revival had been slowed down significantly.
But it was not a complete stop.
The Xoketh within Ashe, whose power had somewhat return due to Ashe's negative feelings, took control of Ashe's body.
Using his body, Xoketh instantly killed the Merez Forest Wolves and the danger past.
However, Xoketh was not done.
Still possessing Ashe's body, Xoketh continues to run wild.
It wasn't until the appearance of one of Aileen's comrades during the war, Rheves Verstone,who came to visit, that Xoketh's rampage was stopped.
By the time Xoketh had been stopped, much time has passed.
Ashe, who had been unconscious the entire time Xoketh took over, woke up only to see Rheves. The time was already reaching evening and Rheves had made a fire.
After talking with Rheves about the getting the Blackthorn Rose for his mother, both him and Rheves instantly tried to go back to where Ashe home is.
Since Ashe was merely a 5-year-old, he did not take heed to memorize the way back so it took even more time.
Once Ashe and Rheves reached the log house, what greeted them was what to become Ashe's worst nightmare.
Aileen was dead.
It was too late.
Ashe, who wished that this wasn't true, had his mind broken and shattered.
Rheves, who felt responsible, took Ashe under his wing and promised to raise his in place of Aileen.
This is the events of what will happen if nothing was done.
However, I was only a 'Soul-half' am unable to do anything.
The promised hour has come, Ashe reached the Blackthorn Rose, Xoketh's 'Soul' took over Ashe's body, and my soul along with Ashe's was swallowed by Xoketh.
My soul had been on the path of destruction. I had no ability to speak off. I was about to die a second time.
Then a miracle happened.
Having heard the inner voice of Ashe's pure wish to save his mother, I gathered the last of my tattered will to try to fight against Xoketh's 'Soul'.
As I did so, changes began to happen to my 'Soul-half'.
What used to be only soul body that seems to made of white mist turned into humans hands.
With my new appendage, I was able to tear and pull apart Xoketh's 'Soul' from Ashe's 'Soul'.
More of my 'Soul' began to evolve into more body parts. As my body began to take shape, my repelling force became stronger.
Once my soul fully changed to the appearance of my previous lifes body, I had successfully repelled Xoketh with an exploding punch.
My final punch had not only finally repelled Xoketh, it also created another miracle.
I was able to take control of Ashe's body. However, I could tell that this take over was temporary and Ashe will regain his body eventually. That was what I wished for.
I had things to do.
I immediately convinced Rheves, who had just arrived right before I had finally repelled Xokeht's soul and saw my takeover, to bring me and Blackthron Rose back home before it is too late.
Once we had reached home, I immediately ordered Rheves to help make the medicine.
With the medicine, RHeves immediately began to feed Aileen using it.
Thanks to the medicine, Aileen's life was saved and I had changed the future.
.
.
.
After Aileen was saved, a lot of things happened afterward.
Rheves became the Ashe's Master.
Rheves and Aileen made an agreement that he would come and help her harvest the Blackthorn Rose in her stead.
Ashe will learn to fight from Rheves as to one day take over that duty.
That is what basically happened for a period of 10 years.
Ashe had grown since then.
Due to his training, he was allowed recently to explore Merez Forest on his own.
Because of that, Rheves doesn't come to the log house as often as before as per their agreement. Today he was visiting because he wanted to see Ashe's progress.
In regards to how I am doing…. let us just say progress has been made.
Compared to 10 years ago, I am able to do a lot more things within the Soul World now.
As always, I am unable to establish complete communication with Ashe's soul.
I can always hear and understand him, but not vice versa.
However, there is one chance every day that I can try to 'make him remember one thing I said'.
It is not something I can do right now, though. Save the fun for next time.
…..Today is Ashe's 15th birthday.
This is the age when VDS's true story truly begins.
Rheves hadn't said anything about it yet, but it is a matter of time.
[Oh…?]
"….OK. Let's end our sparring session here. Hmmm…I'll give you a passing grade."
"Hah…..hah...hah..."
It seems that training is over.
I made my popcorn and my cola disappear. Righting my posture, I put all my attention towards the screen once again.
It finally begins…..the beginning of chapter 1!