Growing up in his past life, he drifted from one place to another, brought along by his merchant parents. Although the way is full of adventures, it is also full of adversaries from dangers that might pop up from nature or men's corrupted intentions.
It was always eventful, full of emotions that seemingly heightens to the highest skies, or plummet to the deepest oceans. He learns new things along the way regarding the brightest and most beautiful parts of the world, while also seeing the darkest, dirtiest, and cruel parts of it.
At a tender young age, he often asked himself how would life be if he was but a child of a villager. How pure, mundane, and simple their days appear to be.
He often meets groups of children along the way, playing, teasing, laughing, and even fighting and crying with each other. They could do all this in a cycle because they don't ever need to worry about the possibility of not meeting each other the next day.
That simple wonder turned into a simple dream that he looked up to as the life that he would want to have someday.
Once he reached adulthood, he searched for a place to temporarily settle down using funds he loaned from his parents. Starting that moment on, he walked in the direction of what he wanted his life to turn into.
He was happy. He's finally building the life that he dreams of with his own hands. He started building his weapon shop from the ground up in somewhere commercially advantaged area in the royal capital.
Soon after paying his parents what he owes, he would find 'that' peaceful village and build a place that he could call his own. He would find the perfect partner along the way and bring them into his home to build a family together. He imagines living with them in harmony and wholesome day-to-day life. He vows in his heart that he will do so even in the darkest times when fate throws hardships to them once in a while.
He has a simple dream. He has a bright future and he can finally reach that day soon. The day when he could fulfill his dreams and live happily ever after. Like in the fairy tales sung by the bards. Like the books depicting the lives of amazing and successful legends.
He is almost there however, he soon died, along with many others from the plague that sprung in the royal capital.
But a miracle happened. He never expected that the next moment he closed his eyes and breathed his last breath, he would wake up and start a new life as a toddler. However, the world has changed. Or perhaps it was not the same world at all.
For some reason, the people around him do not utilize magic for the ease of their life. Instead, they have gadgets and machinery of various kinds.
For example, there are gadgets and appliances in their home solely for jobs he finds rather simple to do even with his own hands. Such as washing machine, vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, and even the bidet attached under their toilet bowl. These things couldn't be considered as 'hard' labor that should be done other than themselves, but unexpectedly, life could even be more convenient even in these matters.
What amazes him the most however are the accessible gadgets lying everywhere to communicate over long distances, search for answers, learn the news, and get entertained.
In his previous life, although some people could communicate using telepathy, only a few magicians are talented enough to communicate such long distances. Compared to mobile phones, the communication systems exclusively available to the royalty and nobility that he used to find amazing in his past life now seem more like an embarrassing joke.
Entertainment set up by the fighting Coliseum, magic theatres, and artifact auctions now seem rather boring in comparison to TV shows, dramas, and PC or mobile games.
If people want some of their curiosities and questions answered, they would have to go through some requirements and a lengthy process. First, they have to be lucky enough and live in bigger cities with libraries if not, they won't be able to at all. Of they are, they could pay it a visit, browse isle by isle until they find the right book. But here, with a few seconds of typing and a push of the search button, every possible question a human could possibly ask a whole lifetime could pop up from a small device in a matter of seconds.
Then there are the amazing ways of commuting and transport. It could last a whole day to compare how convenient it is here to the horse-drawn carriage, sailboats, and magical airship exclusively for the royalties.
Even though the world he used to know has magic, wizardry, witchcraft, necromancy, and sorcery, he couldn't help but think that there is nothing more magical than science and technology. Such ease and convenience would not even touch the edge of his wildest dreams before.
Once he turns old enough to go to school, he always eagerly looks forward to the next time he learns new things. He never misses a day to study and never loses his drive to broaden his knowledge and view of this amazing new 'world'. He is always a curious and knowledge-hungry student who would rather feel happy whenever he could learn more. He eventually gets high academic evaluation scores and the top seat in class and school as deduced from all those factors.
"Will, it seems like you also topped the test this week huh? At times like these, I always wonder if we deserve to have such a son like you. So sensible, responsible, smart, considerate, mature, Handsome, and Perfect! Every praise in the world wouldn't be enough for a son like you!" Says Will's father with a broad grin on his face. His excitement and pride for his son could be easily seen, making Will feel quite overwhelmed.
Sitting beside his younger brother, diagonally from his mother on the dining table, Will almost chokes on his food but soon only returns a nonchalant response.
"Thank you, Father, but I think you're exaggerating. I am only doing what I should do in school. It's me who always gets surprised to how much almost everybody else doesn't want to strive for more knowledge" Says Will and then scoops soup for his little brother's bowl.
Hearing this, his father thinks that this response is as expected from his son. "That's right. How is it that people would want to play rather than study right?" he laughs once again rather boorishly.
"As if you could say that after leaving a below-average performance in school back then…" Will's mother smirks and then picks a piece of a takeout chicken and put it in her husband's mouth.
"Honey, how could you bring that up In front of our children?!" He can't help but make a huge reaction to that. His face looks full of embarrassment as he peers at Will to see his reaction.
"Well, it's true anyway. Why would you want to hide that? Don't you think your sons should have the right to know how their father did back in your school days? I'm sure they wouldn't mind it… Whatever you did, how much achievement... Rather, how much you've never achieved anything wouldn't change the fact that they love you" Says Will's mother with a sweet tone and expression, ignoring her husband's silent protest under the table.
"But still. What about my image as the father?"
"About that… You don't have to worry…" Will's mother giggles and appears to enjoy her husband's reactions. She seems to find him adorable to tease.
Will thinks that his current family is fascinating and rather a bit too laid-back. Even the wife could make fun of and tease her husband like that. This is too much of a contrary to the strict hierarchical norm in families in his past life.
It could be very overwhelming at times and Will wouldn't know whether to laugh or feel nervous but this way is also the image of 'living in harmony and wholesome day-to-day life' that he wished for in his previous life.
Whenever they gather in a room, Will's parents never fail to make it lively and sometimes even boisterous. Filling their faces with smiles and laughter by bringing up amusing things they encountered through the day or bringing up shameful memories.
"Big bro, I want that chicken too," Says Will's younger brother while timidly pointing at the chicken at the center of the table. Will's younger brother is five years old and couldn't reach it yet so Will picks a few meaty pieces and brings them to his brother's plate. His little brother thank him in his adorable sincere voice and expression.
"By the way," started Will's mother. "Rick's mother told me you wanted to quit the tutoring? I thought you guys agreed to continue the tutoring throughout high school. What happened?"
Remembering Rick's lazy face, Will heaves an exhausted sigh. "Right… Although I received the payment for the tutoring, Rick barely learned anything. There's not even a hint of improvement from his scores on the tests this week. I felt like I was robbing them. But that was just something I mentioned in the heat of the moment. I'll try my best to drill the appropriate knowledge in Rick's head to make up for everything. We still have a lot of time till the final exam… I'll make sure he takes it seriously this time" Says Will with the heat of determination in his eyes.
Will is tutoring a friend, Rick three weeks before the exam. Since they're neighbors and also coincidentally became classmates this year, Rick's mother asked Will's mother to have Will tutor her idiot son.
Unfortunately, Rick treats the whole tutoring as a time to bond with his friend since they're what you consider childhood friends. He easily gets distracted, won't finish anything halfway, and starts playing around. Will, as the mature one couldn't resort to the forceful manner to someone with zero motivation. However, after receiving the fruit of labor without doing the labor, Will felt very guilty and wanted to quit the tutoring. But thinking about it again, since he already received the payment, he would feel even worse if he can't have Rick show any improvements.
"Is that so, that's great! For all I know, Rick is a good kid. He only needs to focus his energy on the right places…" In Will's mother's mind, she is worried since Rick is the only friend her son has as much as she thinks about it. If they happen to fight and break apart, her son might instead turn socially inept due to his rather overly strict and unapproachable disposition.
They steadily eat their meal while having warm conversations and a bit of banter and joking. Will stays silent and serious as usual and only speaks while answering their trivial questions. He feels like he's watching his family from a third party's perspective. Feeling quite detached, however at the same time, feeling warm and comfortable. He feels genuine happiness and satisfaction with them, but a block of unease is hindering Will from really living in the moment.
After dinner, the family then goes to the living room and watches a family movie, laughing and crying through different scenes. Then, they dismiss and leave each other words wishing for a good night's sleep before returning to the bedrooms.
In his room, Will takes a warm bath to remove the day's sweat, dust, and pollutants. Ever since he discovered the bathtub that only the royalties and nobilities could have the leisure to use in his past life, it becomes Will's place to feel like the winner in life. This is more than he could imagine having in his previous life. He is living and even surpassing his dreams.
He regularly relaxes himself in the bathtub for a good thirty minutes while reading books or browsing the internet from his phone.
Walking out of the bathroom in his sleepwear, Will is heavily distracted by his phone while making his way towards the chair.
On his phone is another article about strange phenomenon and happenings that has been popping up on the internet lately.
It says that some newborn animals have shown signs of mutism and the ones in the zoos that have been trained have turned aggressive. Some even turned to cannibalism which is strange for their docile species.
"And I thought that this world is relatively peaceful. I wonder why these have been happening lately… why now?" Mutters Will while grabbing the hair blower with his other hand.
While having a foreboding feeling, Will recalls another incident that trended on the internet last week. Sudden changes in weather in some tropical countries where it started snowing. The first snowfall since like forever. Dormant volcanoes started becoming active. Sinkholes swallowing up houses.
"I hope nothing bigger is going to happen…" After saying that, Will suddenly feels like wanting to take that back. A strange déjà vu- like feeling he can't describe.
Will's eyes turn sharper and grip his phone until his fingers turn white. Having lived and ended a much harsher fate in his previous life, Will would rather exchange anything else to continue the peaceful and steady phase of his current one. He is finally living his dream, he's also controlling the direction of his life with his own hands. Why does that fate always pursue him while he's almost there to his destination?
Glancing outside the window, the moon slightly above the horizon is giving off a creepy vibe with its rather warm color. It is enshrouded with unusual deep orange color, bathing the night sky with an unusual hue.
The moon reflects on Will's Irises. He vows to protect his family no matter the cost.
The next morning, before Will parted with his family reluctantly to go to school, he tried convincing his parents multiple times that they should stick together and stay at home for now. With all the happenings around the globe, he is anxious that something might happen to them while he's away.
"The neighborhood is luckily rather peaceful. And besides, you also still have a lot to learn in school right? It's very unlikely of you to suddenly want to skip the day's class" Will's mother could understand now why she feels like Will is getting more and more anxious these days. However, she has her duty as a licensed medical doctor and needs to continue her job even more at times like these. She looks at Will with a troubled face.
"I mean, didn't you see what's on the news? Something terrible is happening to the world!" Will anxiously retorts. It's the first time he's raised his voice at his parents, making them feel this is so unlikely of him.
"Aren't science your thing? I'm sure there's some logical explanation for everything that's been happening. You're still so young don't be such a worrywart. We'll just call each other when something happens. There are a lot of emergency countermeasures in your school and the company too. Also, I still have a lot of things to finish at work, I might get fired if I don't finish them soon!" Will's father tries to appease his son by reasoning with him and also trying to make him laugh just like he always does.
Looking at them like this, Will feels like his parents don't seem to have a lot of sense of crisis.
Although actually they are worried but they also have a lot of things to take care of. They need to buy necessary things for emergencies as much as possible. It's also a lot better to let the kids go to school with other children and adults than to leave them alone in the house. In case of emergency, the school already practiced the drill and had emergency measures and supplies since it is one of the evacuation centers set up by the authorities.
Will looks at his little brother while feeling anxious. Will still wanted to retort however, his parents beckon them to go already looking at the time. Will has no choice but to go. Holding his brother's hand, they go to the bus station.
Inside the bus, Will instructs his brother on some emergency measures several times, making sure he also remembers to call him or their parents when something happens. Will put his number on the speed dial number one on his little brother's smartwatch. Tom, Will's little brother nods a few times. Reassuring he will do so when the time comes.
Will is in the seventh grade while his little brother is on the other side of the campus in the first grade. They have seven years age gap, Will is twelve years old while Tom is five. Will is usually left to look after his brother since he is rather mature and responsible for his age. His parents are reassured to leave the younger one at Will's side. Tom also usually depends and sticks to him and does whatever Will instructs him to. They are more like a parent and child disregarding their ages.
Later in school, before the class starts, the room is full of gossip and murmurs while whispers about the strange happenings around the globe are moving out of each student's mouth. Everyone's face looks grim and anxious.
"I can't believe our school still hasn't canceled the classes despite what's happening around the world right now. When will the government issue an evacuation alert?" Shouts a classmate with an exaggerated angry voice. Finally, he couldn't keep his frustrations inside any longer. He stands up and everybody else in the room looks at him as if he's looking for a death wish.
"That's because no emergency has happened to the country yet… Didn't the government already ask the citizens to be cautious and prepare in advance? The government still has the job to keep the society and systems working while preparing for any upcoming disasters. That is to avoid mass panic and uncontrollable crowds, resulting in more damage and casualties. Every day they are reposting various disaster countermeasures and also make us practice emergency drills for the exact purpose of making us ready in case of a disaster. So unless there are reasonable circumstances, we cannot shut down our systems so as to avoid anxious and uneasy citizens. The lowered price for preserved consumables and necessary items is the government's silent way to remind us to hoard food and materials, and be ready and prepared for our survival. We might not feel it but I'm sure the government is doing their best to keep us safe…" Will standing in front of the class says. As the class representative, Will has the responsibility to control his class from any riots and naughty students. This time, his duty is to reassure his classmates and make them hush down before their homeroom teacher arrives for inspection.
"Everyone the teacher will arrive soon. You better get back to your seats and hide any gadgets before I take them away" adds Will with an air of authority. The other students could only do as he says.
Will is famous around the school for his mature and rather strict bearing. Most are intimidated by him, which results in him having only a few friends around. Although he dreams of being surrounded by a group of friends even in his past life, Will couldn't possibly act like them due to his memories as an adult.
Will returns to his seat. Rick, one of the few people who can bear his overbearing personality is sitting beside him.
"As expected from our ice king. You could hush everyone down without giving a chance for anyone to retort!" Rick whispers with amazement, and somehow, a hint of proud air " They thought they could take advantage of the anxious atmosphere around the school to finally cause some chaos in the room!"
"You're exaggerating. Like everyone else, I also feel anxious about what will happen. I understand how they feel. However, we can only wait and depend on the government for further instructions. We still don't know what kind of disaster will strike us so there really isn't any basis for what action we'll take next.." Will gives back a rather serious reply, not minding Rick's frivolous manner and the exaggerated nickname he was just called.
Based on the news, the disasters that keep popping up vary and sometimes divert from the usual climate and geographical features of the affected place. So it's really unpredictable what disaster might strike at what place.
"You say you're also anxious huh…" Rick mutters slightly disbelieving. Taken aback by the sudden seriousness in the air. However, even the rather easygoing Rick also feels restless about the disasters he often hears about everywhere.
Then they proceed with the class as usual. However, the students could tell the anxiousness of the teachers as they are going on with their lectures. It seems like no one is unaffected and realizes the seriousness of the situation.
Lunchtime at the cafeteria.
"This is so frustrating! It's so nerve-wracking! What is going on with the world?! Is it true that "the end" is finally coming? What are we still doing in school then?!" Rick grunts while gripping his spoon and fork and hit the table with a bang.
"You're only complaining since you're itching to skip school…" A girl holding a tray of lunch sets arrives next to Will. She bends her body forward to sit down, making her uniformly cut hair slightly above the base of her shoulders sway.
"What?!" Rick, hit exactly where it hurts couldn't retort right away. "Th-there's that… But I really am anxious for our safety you know?! Aren't you also scared?!"
"Sure I am. But what can we do? 'The end' that they are talking about is bigger than us humans. If it's time for us to perish, then it's time for us to perish. Our struggles would only mean nothing in the end. You saw those movies right? There aren't much humans could do in the apocalypse than die out from the face of the earth " The girl says so trying to appear cool, despite deep down, she also feels the same way as Rick.
Jess peers at Will trying to see how he would react, never imagined that Will's reaction is far from the nonchalant response that she expects from him.
Will's face turned indescribable as he listen to their conversation. He suddenly then stands up without a word and starts walking away from the two that are left confused.
"W-where are you going? Wait. Will!" When Rick could finally react, Will is already placing his tray back on the counter.
"I just… Don't feel like eating anymore"
The two are left speechless, wondering what happened.
"I-It's because you were spouting nonsense! What have you done? I haven't seen Will like that before…" Rick couldn't believe Will's unusual behavior. For him to actually walk out of them during a conversation. Although Will wouldn't contribute much to the conversation but he would usually observe them and input wherever necessary.
Without eating a single thing too. Will normally wouldn't leave even grain on his plate to waste.
"What?! Don't blame me! M-maybe He really didn't want to eat?" Jess's voice inevitably turns meek at the end of her sentence, unconfident about whether it really wasn't her fault.
Throughout the next series of classes, the quiet Will turn even quieter. Seemingly dazed while lost in thought. Rick beside him was given the cold shoulder every time he asks if he was okay.
"Will… is everything alright?" Will still wouldn't reply even after a few tries. Rick could only dejectedly and reluctantly stop trying.
Soon he also silences up. "It must be the first time I stay still during a class in my whole life…" Rick thinks to himself with a self-deprecating smile. He could only silently observe his friend from a side glance.
In-between classes, Will would check his phone like clockwork. Even more unusual of him. Will wouldn't usually exclude himself from the rules, in fact, his phone would be left untouched except for an emergency, which never really happens.
Rick is a bit disappointed since his image of Will is that of the unbothered ice king who could even make adults feel intimidated. Why is he making such a huge fuss over what Jess said? Or did something really happen?
Rick gawks at Will's phone and sees the weather app being constantly on refresh, then a news app, next he would text his brother and parents if they're okay. Seeing that his mother couldn't reply even after a long while, Will's face turns solemn.
Ultimately, an article notification pops up with a big bold headline saying: "THE APOCALYPSE AND WHY IT'S FINALLY COMING NOW. THE WORLD'S SIN IS PILING UP TOO MUCH AND NEEDS TO BE CLEANSED. Tap to read the whole article"- Which Rick also happens to see.
With that, Will's body turns stiff from shock.
Rick couldn't handle his friend's abnormal behavior anymore. He put his palm on Will's hand holding the phone. He then realizes that those hands are cold and slightly trembling. Will's face, especially his plump lips are pale, his eyes unfocused, and his whole body language screams of anxiety and panic attack.
Rick grip Will's hands that it hurts and then covers the phone's screen off his eyesight.
"Will! Everything will be okay. Everyone will be safe. This is the last class. We can go home soon…" With genuine worries in his eyes, Rick makes his voice as gentle as possible.
Will's unfocused irises flicker, seemingly finally waking from a nightmare. He finally realizes that he is panicking, and panicking wouldn't help at any given moment.
"Is it because of what Jess said? You know that's just nonsense… 'T-the end' is nothing but made-up! As if something like that would actually happen… We don't believe that right? H-how about scientific explanation, I'm sure with your brain you could come up with some logical explanation as to what is going on…" Although Rick isn't one hundred percent confident, he still tries to make his words sound reassuring as much as he could. Still holding Will's hands, he peers at Will's complexion.
Finally, it seems like a realization knocks him back to his senses. Will returns to his usual bearing.
"Thank you…" Will says and then puts the phone upside-down under his desk.
The school ended and Will rushed to fetch his younger brother. Rick that is worrying about him ditched his kendo practice and went along with him, all the way to Will's family residence.
"Thanks. For what you did earlier. I didn't realize I was worrying too much…" Will says while offering Rick a glass of cool fruit juice.
"No… You were acting kind of strange. You were so out of it…" Rick looks around the house. "Your parents are still not home?"
"My dad should be on his way right at the moment. Mom's shift wouldn't end until seven…"
Knowing this, Rick decides to stay until the adults come back. He used to come and barge in back in the day anyway so Will doesn't even care much. Rick starts doing what he wants casually, obviously used to every nook and cranny of the house.
In the hospital. A patient is hurriedly taken to the emergency room. The hospital bed is rattling from the patient's severe convulsions. The patient's body temperature and heart rate is dropping significantly at a visible rate. The doctor tries his best but there's no guarantee that the patient could survive.
The base of the patient's neck is bulging with visible blue and green veins, going up his face and to the ends of his limbs. The patient's bloodshot eyes roll behind his head showing only white veiny parts.
The nurse beside meekly moves further from the patient, visibly terrified.
The patient's family members outside the emergency room that are being coaxed to calm down by some nurse start bursting into tears while listening to the heart rate monitor slowing down by the minute and the doctor's hastened movements.
Inevitably, the patient is soon announced dead.
Based on the patient's previous medical records, he was rather healthy with no significant previous case of illness. Based on his family's testimony, it seems like the patient went hiking and when he returned, suddenly started showing signs of his health declining.
No one knows what poisonous plant, animal, or pathogen he encountered in the mountains to make him fall to his death like that. No such symptoms from any medical case were similar to that of what they just witnessed.
The deceased needs to be isolated before they figure out the cause of death whether it's infectious or not. Also, whether If it is or not, they that had close contact with the deceased need to be quarantined immediately before it is verified that it's safe.
The mother slumped on the chair listening to the doctor's explanation. It seems like she couldn't even cry or wail any longer due to the shock. The father makes a fuss. It doesn't make any sense how their son can die just like that?
While the doctor is trying to appease and reason with the family in the hallway, a faint rattling noise, barely noticeable, emerges from within the deceased isolated room.
The next moment, unbalanced footsteps slowly approach the source of the noise coming from outside the room. With a thud, the door slightly trembles. Everyone silenced.
A nurse perplexedly takes a peek through the glass window to see if someone was left behind. Which is strange since they made sure to properly isolate the deceased shortly after the declaration of his death.
"M-Marcus! it must be him! How could you lie to us!?..." The mother finally brakes from her daze and pounces on the doctor hindering the way to the door.
"Ma'am! Please calm down, we need to have you and anyone with close contact with the deceased…" The doctor halts midway through his sentence when a series of pounding noises rumble from behind the door. The mother also couldn't help but stop in her tracks.
The nurse peering at the window couldn't see whatever that's behind the door because it is separated by a slim wall. The nurse looks around the room and sees the waiting chair toppled.
The nurse looks back at everyone with confusion and a terrified face then points at the hospital bed through the glass. The curtains have fallen on the ground, putting the empty hospital bed on clear display, leaving only the creases on the sheets.
The father of the deceased who could see what was inside the room starts fuming with anger. He shoves everybody aside that are blocking the door, including his wife then grab the doorknob, twist it open and the door pushes on its own.
Whatever that's banging from behind the door dash outside and bump into the father.
"Marcus!" The mother exclaims.
End of chapter.