"Huh!" Chiron slowly opened his eyes. His head ached a lot. He felt like he had just been hit by a moving bus.
"Was that a dream just now!?" He asked himself. However, he felt something moving on his face and looking to his left, he saw the immature face of a two-year-old.
She had a paintbrush in her hands, hands which were also stained with different colors of paint. The moment she met eyes with him, she dropped the paintbrush in panic and ran out of the room.
"Shit! It wasn't a f**king dream." He face palmed. He felt an intense urge to cry. "Absolutely anywhere, even hell would have been better than this messed up book."
He tried his best but could not hold them in any longer. The tears started to fall and run down his cheeks.
"This had to happen when I finally made it?"
And he was right. He had transmigrated when his life had just gotten better. He did not even have the opportunity to enjoy it to boredom.
As he silently wept, he could not help but remember how it all came to this.
Chiron was an orphan in a different world. All the caretakers at the orphanage said he had been dumped at the doorstep of the orphanage in the middle of the night.
Growing up there was far from easy, there was never enough of anything to go around. He had to learn different trades just to live a somewhat satisfying life. He lied and cheated his way on a daily basis just for survival; it was not at all an easy time for him.
As if the hand fate dealt him was not enough, he was given yet another blow.
The dreams started when he was around twelve. They were always of a different world, a place he had never been nor seen. It was a mystical world with beasts one would only hear about in fantasy stories. At first, just like any kid his age, he was fascinated by these dreams and shared them with others.
Growing up, however, was a necessity for everyone and before long people started to think he was crazy. Even the caretakers at the orphanage said the same thing. With time, he too started to think it of himself. He would sleep at night and would see through the eyes of a different person in a different world.
When he awoke, he would be brought back to his world and soon enough, differentiating the real world from the one in his dreams was seemingly impossible. After all, he was not only seeing through the eyes of the other person in the dream world but was also feeling the person's pain and a multitude of other sensations.
Sometimes, those sensations would linger into his waking hours, it was distracting, to the point he became a walking problem to all around him. He would be seen in a corner muttering to himself, and on multiple occasions, would not eat and even abuse drugs to make sure he stayed awake.
He also became prone to extremely violent tendencies.
While most people enjoyed sleep, it was a nightmare for him; he dreaded it. A nightmare he did not want to meet. The caretakers were worried for him, so much so that they created an opportunity for him to begin therapy. In the end, therapy only made matters worse. The only thing he received in return was a long list of prescribed drugs that on several occasions nearly took his life.
Soon, the orphanage got tired of him. Paying for his bills was only draining their pockets and depriving the other kids of needed resources. He was kicked out to the streets where he had to fend for himself. Under rain, snow, or sunshine, he hustled. Bringing to play those little skills he learnt from the orphanage to put food in his mouth.
Yet, it was not enough. He had to engage in all sorts of odd jobs anyone could think of just to get scraps. Some days it was good but on others, he would have to resort to stealing food from rats.
All this happened to him and still he had to face the torment of the other world whenever he closed his eyes to get some rest. At a point, he accepted the term, Madman but, on a fateful day, he told his problem to a fellow homeless person. A young girl that at the time, had fallen ill with cancer.
She would bug him to tell her stories of his dreams and he would. To his surprise, she enjoyed the stories he had to offer. For her, they were the light in her slowly darkening world.
After a while, he had no choice but to write his stories in a book for her to enjoy. Over time, having dreams about the other world no longer seemed like such a bad thing.
One day when he was at his daily hustle, she took his book to a publishing company. This was something that made him angry when he found out. To his surprise, the publishing company looked at it, and had even requested for the full book.
He was elated.
This was the turning point in his life. His book, although very lengthy, got a royalty contract. It was loved by many and soon made it to the big screens. Unfortunately, there were quite a few undesired occurrences involving his young female friend and although he had made a lot of money from the book, he was unable to save the life of the one person in the entire world that truly cared for him; believed in him. Her cancer had reached a stage that she could no longer recover from, and life cruelly stole the one person that did not call him Madman.
His book made it to the big screens, having an anime and movie adaptation, however, the book had a twist at the end. The protagonist died, and in the most brutal way imaginable.
This made fans extremely angry. Angry enough that he had no choice but to hold a press conference on the matter. When asked why he killed off the protagonist, he simply said that it was not his business.
In truth, he really did not consider it to be. As far as he was concerned, he had made his money and after living a terrible life for so long, he wanted nothing more than to enjoy his wealth.
However, the fan that had asked the question was not very satisfied with his response and actually pulled out a gun. The guards tried to stop him but it was too late.
A bullet right in the chest was all it took to end it all. He did not even have the opportunity to enjoy the satisfaction of what he had worked so hard to achieve.
More than anything, Chiron hated this world. His life was messed up because of it and now, he had been plunged into it against his will.
As the waterworks flowed down to his chin, he noticed a beeping icon. He tried to touch it but found that he could not. Yet, every time he turned, it was right in his line of sight which meant that it was not on the wall or the ceiling.
He really desired to see what the icon was and as soon as that desire arose, a screen opened up.
//FATE CHANGE SYSTEM//
>>STS<<
Rank= Nil.
Health= 10
Strength=5
Agility=2
Luck= -10
Spirit energy= ??? (unusable)
Major Fate Changed= 10 points
Minor Fate Changed=Nil
>>Please allocate points<<
He did not understand what any of it meant, so, he tried to sit up to better ascertain what he was seeing, but a sudden jolt of pain from his crotch area made him lie back down.
Shit! I almost forgot. According to the novel, the MC was circumsized at the age of five, as a rite of passage to manhood in the clan.
Chiron lifted the sheets covering his lower half and it was exactly as he suspected. There were blood stains on his crotch area. The circumcision had taken place when he was out. Looking around the room, he realized it was exactly as he remembered the MC's room from his dreams. The room was lighted by blue light lamps on the walls commonly called Spirit Lamps. As the name implied, they were powered by Spirit Energy.
The room was simple, with the only decoration being a hand-drawn picture of a woman, framed and resting by his bedside.
He attempted to stand in a bid to observe his environment some more but, he heard someone approaching. Not sure who it was, he gave up on the idea and proceeded to lie back on the bed, closing his eyes and feigning sleep.
The sliding door to his room was opened and a middle-aged man walked in. He had dark hair, a chiseled face, and a well-defined build. He also had a small beard on his chin and wore clothes that reminded Chiron of 15th Century Japanese attire.
If Chiron's memory served correct, the man was the MC's father and if he was indeed going by his dreams, he was called Aleen Chivalry.
Aleen took several steps towards Chiron. Sitting by the bed, he buried his head in between his hands.
Chiron, pretending to be asleep, was surprised to hear his father slowly sobbing by his side. After a while, Aleen wiped his tears, "You would have to forgive me, Chiron. You are now a Tamashi and living in this world will not do you any good. It would be easier if your father is the one who sends you to the afterlife. That way, you won't have to suffer the harsh times of this world."
"Huh!? What the hell is this man talking about?" Chiron thought to himself, "Wait, did he just say Tamashi!?"
His confusion was short-lived as an answer presented itself when Aleen took a pillow by the side and slowly placed it on Chiron's face.
"MMmmm!!!" Chiron tried to shout but he could not. Aleen applied even more pressure suffocating him.