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Chapter 1: Well, This Is Unusual
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"Phew, quite cold outside... Perfect for the next adventure." A young dark-haired man stated. He was rubbing his itching eyes, seemingly just woken up.
He had only a grey bathrobe on. A large part of his chest was apparent, and he didn't care. He appeared to be quite leisurely, lazy, and simply living the life.
He also appeared to be healthy with a well-defined and maintained body, and his smile could tell anyone of his satisfaction with his life, so one has to wonder what led to his next course of action.
He wasn't too handsome but handsome nonetheless, let's say he lies in the average line of handsomeness though his healthy and strong body gives him a few more points.
He took one last glance at the window before going to wear his clothes. There really wasn't much to see outside, just a small town, cars and pickup trucks passing by from time to time.
However, there was a bit of beauty apparent far away, green hills and grey rocks in the far distance, that was his goal.
He wore his clothes which consists of a black sports suit and a grey coat, quite the inconsistent clothing but he cared for none of that now.
He picked up his large duffel bag before heading downstairs. He handed the hotel receptionist the room key before getting into his car.
He also has a pickup truck, a black RAM 3500 to be specific, simple, and nice. He placed his bag in it then set out.
The way there felt nothing but boring. The beauty of nature kept that from happening, and the scenery only got better the closer he got to his destination.
A dramatic scenery. He made sure to drive far away to an isolated place, right in the coastline, at one of the most dangerous cliffs in the world.
The man exited his truck already feeling the coldness of the air and the heavy wind that's especially dangerous if one's too close to the edge... Like he was.
He glanced at the waves colliding with the rocks far down the cliff, and the ocean going as far as the eyes can see, the beauty of nature is something he will never get bored of.
The man walked back to his car with a smile of excitement apparent on his face. He was in his late twenties yet his expression was that of a child looking forward to unpacking his Christmas gift.
The difference is that his Christmas gift is strange, too bizarre. He took off his coat and even went as far as taking off the upper part of his sports suit leaving only the sports pants on.
He then took off his shoes and placed all of his stuff in his truck before rubbing his hands together and walking towards the cliff edge.
"I wonder if it'll be like last time or something different... Something more exciting.
I missed this. Well, it was my fault, my last adventure was too dangerous leaving me with broken legs... Now that I think about it, this is even more dangerous, perhaps I'll even die?"
His bright brown eyes shone more than ever as he spoke to himself. It was as if he truly believed he will live through it.
His goal was obvious. What was going through his head wasn't known because before him is a jump almost nearing the 100 meters mark, that's certain death.
However, his goal doesn't seem to be suicide, and he doesn't seem to be that crazy.
"Phew, no reason to wait any further, just jump." And indeed he jumped without even a sliver of hesitation, and his scream sounded right after, one of excitement and happiness as he fell to what can presume to be his death.
"Wait what?? This is new." However, something different happened this time, something he had never witnessed as he muttered to himself.
A bright light that formed into a large bright whirlwind formed far beneath him, and he didn't get to wonder much about it as he fell right through it.
All that the man witnessed after that is an even brighter light a white from all directions that seems to go for only a few seconds.
The man didn't seem to be too worried as he thought in his mind, 'Did I die? Well, that's a surprise, but what about the light before?'
He didn't dwell much on that thought nor did he get time to as he muttered one last thing before disappearing, "Well, whatever happens, happens... And this.."
His words came to a halt as he found himself in a dark alley. The stench was bad and he could see puddles of... Well, disgusting things all around.
'What's happening? And what just happened?' The man was certainly confused but also strangely calm as if what happened isn't the most bizarre thing he's ever witnessed.
He started observing his surroundings, noticing it was incredibly dark. It was night and there were very few lights around.
Moreover, he had only his sports pants on, and he was barefooted, those weren't exactly good circumstances.
He wasn't bothered by that, in fact, he was smiling as he thought to himself, 'Fucking exciting, an adventure I didn't expect. Now I just have to solve the mystery.'
He started walking through the alleyways, not that bothered by the disgusting stench. He noticed a few beggars around and the deeper he got the more there were.
He continued until he reached what looks like an abandoned warehouse. Its state was quite poor, so the poor chose to take it from themselves. It was indeed filled with beggars.
The man knew he needs to get information about his location first, so chose the easiest way to get them. One of the used newspapers around the trash.
He opened the newspaper and took a close look at it, specifically anything that can insinuate his location.
'Hmm? Gotham??' Various expressions surfaced on his face until he simply let it all out, "Hahahahahahahahah... Hahaha..."
He was laughing like a maniac, and he would've continued to do so if not for the timely interruption of one of the homeless.
"Buddy! have you gone crazy? You look better than most of us, did the wife throw you out of the house or something?"
"Indeed, it honestly feels like the whole world has thrown me out though I'm thankful for that." He recovered his normal cheerful self and responded.
"Aw? The wife was that much of a nuisance huh? Anyway, you're welcome here until you get your shit back together. I'm Ralf by the way." The homeless man said, too used to cases such as these.
The homeless man also got his answer on the reason behind all the scars all over the man's body. Perhaps the wife beats him up, quite roughly at that.
"Well, I guess thank you for having me, and I'm Ian, just Ian."