Haunters of the Haunted

The sun beat down, a perfect summer day, when it happened. Just like that.

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I never thought something wrong would happen. Not on a day like this.

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It all moved too fast. A blur of confusion, a sickening lurch in my gut, and then...

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My mind went blank. A suffocating darkness, a void where thoughts used to be.

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I can't... I can't even remember what happened clearly. Just fragments, like shattered pieces of a mirror.

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I wish... I wish I could go back to the past. Before it all went wrong. Before the mistake.

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To think that everything I've done, everything I've built, could be destroyed by a single misstep. The weight of it crushes me.

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I lost myself to anger. The burning rage deep inside my heart that I couldn't get control of.

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I still remember those words clearly, just a few words, but they were enough to break me inside. "What a joke," he said, his voice dripping with disgust.

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Should I have done better...?

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Am I... am I even fit for this work?

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"Ain't fate too cruel for you my boy..? A white figure of an old man was floating far from the distance within the void, his voice echoed faintly but strong.

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What...? Who...? Who are you?

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"Challenges come and go, child. They'll be gone if you face them properly!" A voice, soft but firm, cuts through the silence.

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What do you mean?

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"I mean... This challenge is yours. No matter how daunting or trivial, it's not a true test if it's just like everyone else's, is it? Every obstacle is a chance for you to rise above. They are given to you, not by others, not to crush your spirit, but to strengthen you further more."

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What are you saying?

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"Well, it's up to you if you remember my words. I sense that sooner or later, we'll meet face to face... Goodbye... The New..."

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Wait! What do you mean by that...!? The old man looked back at me, I couldn't see his face, but I was sure enough... that he was smiling...? Everything turned white immediately...

End