In the middle of the road a young man could be seen walking slowly in the center of the crowd, he kept on walking with his eyes lazily looking around
Observing the people around him, each focused on different things going their separate ways
"Sigh..."
'Another day, no change, the same faces focused on the same things, an endless monotonous loop'
But then he shook his head lightly as he looked at his clothes
'So much for following my dreams, But I don't know if I could get the job..., I should be able to unless something unexpected happens after all my CV is petty good...'
Midway through his thought line, he stopped and laughed lightly mocking himself
'This feels like a prison...'
Even though he thought so, his body still accelerated as to get to the interview in time, after all, he still has to get money to eat or else he won't have anywhere to live next month, as an orphan, there is no other way, moreover, he had worked so hard for so long
From childhood to now, from school to university, internships and part-time jobs, all that work so that he could finally get a stable income and improve his living conditions, no longer having to worry all day about whatever he'll have enough money till the end of the month
Even though this job isn't his dream one, it still is a very good one, after all at the time he chose to abandon his unrealistic dreams of being an adventurer and chose to face reality
'Oh There it is, this should be the place'
Looking at the huge establishment in front of him, he Put on a 'radiant' smile on his face as he threw all other thoughts out of his mind focusing on the important thing next
But just as he was about to enter something strange happened
"THI...THIS IS??!!"
Everything stopped, time suddenly came to halt, looking around him Lorien could see the birds in the sky frozen mid-flight, all the pedestrians froze mid-movement
He could even see a drop of sweat falling from a passerby's shin frozen in the air defying gravity
"Did the world finally bug out??!"
Undeniably he was quite shaken after all such a supernatural event is very weird even for someone like him who's been baptized by reading and watching all sorts of anime, web novels...
The world has never been this silent, Usually, Lorien loves silence as it calms him greatly, but now it was different, this silence was terrifying and the noise of his heartbeat which kept on growing higher and higher didn't make it any better
But just then when Lorien thought he was going to get a heart attack as he could feel his heart almost jumping from his chest, a voice sounded from all directions, it was the voice of a woman filled with mystery and majesty
"Do you want to know the meaning of life? do you want to live....a real life?"
Hearing this question a burst of horror flashed in Lorien's eyes as he instantly thought of one of the novels he read before and so he answered instinctively
"NO!!"
"Huuuhh?"
The woman seemed surprised at his response as she thought
'Umm.. it shouldn't be like this, shouldn't he happily agree?'
"Uhhh, why did you disagree? from what I observed you shouldn't like your life on earth that much and you have always dreamed of going to other worlds to adventure and live a free life, so why not agree when this opportunity is right in front of you?"
Hearing the genuine confusion in the woman's voice Lorien calmed down slightly as his mind started turning at light speed analyzing the situation
'This should be the one who stopped the time all around, to do this it must be a terrifying being'
'Moreover, the style isn't the same as terror infinity so it may be a misunderstanding'
'And from what she said it appears that she investigated me beforehand and knows me very well and as far as I could tell there is no hostility, so i can try and directly ask her'
"May I ask, Are you the god in Terror Infinity?"
Hearing this question the woman standing at the core of the world paused as her mind was filled with question marks, but then she gave up thinking about it as she looked at the Akashic records and did a quick search
'Hey, Siri *Cough* I mean...Akashic records what's terror infinity'
Receiving the answer her face instantly turned weird as she couldn't help but want to cry
'No wonder he would instantly refuse, that's a bigger prison...I just wanted to act cool...who would have known this would happen
After a couple of minutes of silence, Lorien started to get more nervous as a sense of dread filled his heart
'Did I piss her off? will she just kill me?'
But thankfully she finally spoke again but this time she sounded like she was about to cry without the earlier mystery
"I wanted to act cool who would have known such an accident would happen, ughh here you go...this should do it"
Before Lorien could react a burst of light entered his brain as information started to appear, this information basically explained what the woman wanted from him and what will happen if he agrees
Digesting it Lorien finally gave a long sight of relief as the nervousness was swept away replaced by a huge sense of excitement that filled his entire body causing it to start shaking
The information basically contained 3 things
First of all, if he were to agree he would be given a treasure that will allow him to travel to other worlds, record their coordinate...etc
This treasure also has the ability to awaken talents, as for other abilities they are unknown for now
Secondly and the thing that made him most happy is that there are no restrictions, no such things as tasks and rewards no time limits whatsoever, he can enter and leave the world whenever he wants and he doesn't need to do anything
Of course, this has a negative side, as compared to the 'systems' he read about he has to get stronger on his own and get everything on his own, so this treasure is actually nothing but a 'taxi' that will get him from one world to another
But even then for Lorien, this is the best he could even which for as he could never stand a 'system' ordering him what to do
And Finally, it was the thing that assured him the most, it wasn't a part of the treasure, it was simply a message or a verbal contract
This message contained what he needed to do later if he were to agree and become strong enough, everything was above the table, this was a very fair trade...
No, it wasn't fair, he actually won a lottery after all the woman wasn't sure he would even become as strong as she needed
'Such good terms, there are no restrictions whatsoever, I can do whatever I want, moreover, all I need to do in the future is help her fight in a war when I become strong'
'This war should be very dangerous and she didn't tell me any information about it, but it doesn't matter this trade is very much worth it, after all, you get as much as you pay, I can't expect to get everything for free'
As for the thought that this existence is just tricking him, Lorien didn't even bother thinking about it, after all, right now he is nothing but an 'Ant', a mortal that can be killed with a finger and there is nothing to gain from tricking him
Moreover, he could infer from her actions and the form of the contract and its fairness that he has great potential and that she put everything above the table as to have a good relationship with him as she probably knows that no one likes to be manipulated even for their own good, but even then he won't push it too hard and start acting arrogant
After all, such terms are a huge gift and the opposite party isn't obliged to do anything for him, and so if he were to act arrogant he may lose this chance, Lorien doesn't believe that he is her only choice, the most optimal yes, the only no
Taking a deep breath of air he looked at the sky and asked the last question on his mind
"Why choose me?"
"I didn't choose you...destiny did"
'Huh?'
As if seeing the confusion on Lorien's face she continued explaining, but this time her voice was filled with both pride and majesty
"Part of my power is Destiny Manipulation, so I didn't choose you, I simply trusted my own strength and power"
This time she didn't leave him any time to ask more questions as she asked solemnly
"SO, Will you Agree to this Contract!"
Closing his eyes for a second as to calm himself, he looked at the sky, his eyes seemed to have a fire burning in them, Called Hope,
"I Agree"
His voice didn't have the hesitation he had before nor the earlier cowardness and fear of the unknown, it was filled with determination, as soon as his words fell Lorien could feel a clear contractual connection appearing with this woman
"Hahaha! I hope I can see you again! Don't let me down and die midway!"
With her voice falling a light shot into Lorien's head causing his eyes to widen
"Wait!! What's your name!!"
"Oh, My name is...."
But before Lorien could hear it he lost consciousness as he instantly disappeared into a space crack
---Author---
Lorien: Meaning (God of Dreams)