It was the next morning, I got up from my bed and left my room.
I'm still here, in my apartment alone, it seems that my uncle already left to go to his job, the same sounds of a busy metropolis can still be heard through the open glass door from the balcony.
I went through the glass door and set my gaze for the second time on the bustling life that was present in the Empire of Lucradian.
I was scolded by my uncle for almost two hours last night for supposedly not eating the burgers he left for me in the fridge.
I let out a chuckle, I never would have thought I would miss the scoldings that I used to often despise from my uncle.
As I look beside me the transparent window with the same message as before is still here.
"If I accept this would I become an apostle of this unknown god?"
Apostles are people that bear the mark of one of the 7 gods.
People that bear such a mark will supposedly gain the ability to use specialized aura depending on the gods that blessed them.
Not only that it can stack with the aura gained from stigmatization, so imagine how overpowered an apostle can be.
This was the reason they were called the heroes that would lead humanity to victory.
With aura from a god and aura from a stigma, it is no wonder our hope was reignited the moment these apostles swore to protect us from the impending demons that declared war on us, and all the more devastating the moment we heard the news that they fell at their hands, or should I say claws?
The gods are seemed to only be able to bless a person with their mark after the person they originally shared their mark with dies and 100 years passes by.
This was the reason the gods couldn't just bless another person after the death of their apostles in my past life.
I let out a sigh, why the hell couldn't they just help us directly instead of giving us marks?
I came back to my senses and realized that I was deep in thought while looking at the transparent window.
It appears that I was the only one that was able to see this window, otherwise, my uncle should have pointed out this anomaly to me last night.
I looked at my phone and saw the date,
It was currently the 17th of August 2341,
"Oh, I vaguely remember this day"
I look at the current news on my phone and just like I remember, an apostle would be chosen today.
Sanguine, the God of War decided to bless his mark on Francesca Amberborne, a noble lady belonging to the House of Amberborne, she is currently the youngest out of the 3 daughters of the family.
As much as I wanted to know back then in my past life and even now what could specifically the mark of each and every god do.
It was kept a trade secret.
Almost every apostle that was chosen over the history of mankind kept their mouth shut on what their mark does.
I couldn't blame them, I mean openly saying it would be a huge weakness to them, as they would lose the element of surprise over their enemies.
I gaze my eyes again at the transparent window floating around me.
I was a person that took the idiom of "too good to be true" to heart.
I mean to be granted the opportunity to be sent back to the past and now be asked to accept guidance from a god that seems to be more powerful than the known ones, with nothing to be asked from me is highly suspicious and quite alarming.
Of all the people to be sent back to try to avert the apocalypse that would befall this world.
Why me?
I was no hero, I didn't have a powerful family backing me up, nor the skills and talent to save this accursed world.
As much as I was grateful to see everything in peace again, to see my uncle again, and to be given another chance at this world.
Why me?
Shouldn't the heroes that risked their lives and died trying to fight for our salvation be given this opportunity instead of me? a nobody?
I then realized the transparent window became even clearer than before and its dim light shined even brighter as if it was begging for me to give it an answer.
I set my gaze on the sky.
It was bright and blue adorned with white clouds that float peacefully on the horizon.
Fine, since I was given this chance, this opportunity, I'll stop being a b*tch, I'll take it.
"I accept"
The clear window that floated around me disappeared almost instantaneously after finally hearing my answer.
"Huh? Now what?"
I then felt that my body was losing strength, I struggled to make my way back to my room, to lie down in my comfy bed.
But my body was drastically losing too much strength and my head started to feel like it was spinning around as I stumbled on furniture trying to reach my room.
"Ah, F*ck,"
That was the last thing I said before my vision went black.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
What the hell happened?
I try my best to pick myself up but my head that was spinning earlier was now replaced with a painful headache.
I check my phone to see what time it is and to my surprise, it was way past 10 pm.
There were a couple of missed calls from my uncle and a text message from him.
"I don't know why you aren't picking up my calls kid, are you sulking because I scolded you last night? anyway, I won't be able to come to your apartment for some time because of work, I already sent you your monthly allowance for the next month, as I may be too busy and might forget about it.
P.S - Eat the burgers"
A small smile formed on my face while I read the text message.
but it was only for a short while, as another transparent window suddenly pop out from thin air in front of my face.
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Name: Cain Leobrera
Age: 17
Marks of Men - None
??? - None
??? - None
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I was incredibly confused by the contents in the transparent window.
"What does it mean Marks of Men? and why are the other marks hidden from me?"
Instead of finding answers by accepting God's Guidance, all I got were more questions.
"What the hell do I do now?"
As I was about to brainstorm what could these things possibly mean, I heard a voice lacking any sort of emotion.
"Hello, Mr. Cain,"
I was surprised and quickly looked at my surroundings trying to figure out where it came from.
"Hello?" I say while looking around to see if someone broke through my apartment.
"Do not be afraid, Mr. Cain, I am the voice of guidance"
"Voice of guidance? Wait are you in my head?"
"Yes, as the voice of guidance, I was created with the sole task to assist you, Mr. Cain, and no, technically I reside in your soul"
"Well, as the voice of guidance can you tell me what are these marks that this window is talking about?"
"Marks are engravings that when etched into a person, he/she gain power depending on the maker of the mark"
So the marks function the same as the ones that the 7 gods bless people with.
"Wait, it says here, that there are marks of men, did they create their own marks?"
"Yes, Mr. Cain"
"But how is that possible, from what I know only gods are able to have such an ability, and mortals like me would need to be blessed with one?"
"Through sheer effort and dedication paired with sacrifices and talent, a mortal can eventually reach a state of enlightenment and with that, they develop a mark of their own which they can choose to share with others or keep for themselves."
"But mankind has been in this world for centuries yet there was never a reported case of a man able to achieve such a thing?"
"I do not have an answer for the question you ask, Mr. Cain, I am not omnipotent, but know that it is possible"
Marks of Men, just how powerful could a person be to be able to gain an ability that should've only belonged to gods?
"Hey, uhh,"
"Yes, Mr. Cain?"
"Do you not have a name?"
"I do not have a name, Mr. Cain, I am merely the voice of guidance, with the only task of assisting you,"
"Can I call you V?"
"....."
"Hello, you there?"
"Yes, Mr. Cain, you can refer to me as V"
"Well buckle up V, this is going to be a long night"