Oscar etched his name into a tree, next to the entrance of the village. Just to pass the time. He was bored.
The villagers felt like they were doing him a favor, allowing him to stay for however long he wanted. And he was grateful for that.
But, he would eventually have to leave. To find that orc. Something was telling him that the orc was somewhere nearby. Throughout the entire fight, it felt like Oscar was being toyed with.
The orc wasn't trying. Oscar grumbled.
"Hey."
Ranoy's voice was something that I instantly reacted to. I turned around quickly. She was standing there, dressed a lot more casually than before.
"Ah, what's up, Ranoy?"
"Nothing. I was walking around, and didn't think you would be here."
"Hm."
"What're you doing here, anyway? With no jacket at all?" she asked me. I forgot that I hung my jacket on the wooden fence.
"I'm just a little bored. I'll be leaving the village pretty soon. There's something I need to find."
"What is it?"
"Eh... that's not too important. Just know that's what I need to find to get home."
"Where are you from, Oscar?"
"I'm not sure. I was a slave for a large part of my life."
Ranoy suddenly looked down, playing with her fingers.
"Ah... sorry. It must be a sensitive topic to bring up."
"No, it's fine. If you asked Julian about it, though, it would've been different."
"Julian? Who's..."
"Just an old friend that I used to know."
"Hm. Well, I've lived in this village my entire life. This is my home to me."
"Home?"
"Yeah. When you think of home, what do you think of?"
Indisputably, Oscar thought about his time as a slave. It was grueling. But he wasn't alone. Julian, Veind, Oscar, and Elyse. They were all with him. That could be considered as home too, right?
But then again, the barracks were home to him. General Yesynore played a pivotal role in his life, as a role model. His mates, Kai, Leah, and Lio. They all made him feel comfy in moments.
Jisvo and Isalda were both good mentors. These weeks have felt nice for him. The training was torturous at times, but it was all going to a good cause.
Alize was probably the comfiest Oscar ever felt. Everything she did felt so calm.
Wait a minute! Now's not the time to think about another girl!
"Uh, I guess where I'm residing in Anore, with my family." Oscar lied.
"Hm. I see. Well, you should get some sleep. It's the dead of night, after all."
"You're right, you're right."
Ranoy got up and walked off to her home. She left footprints in the snow. Oscar turned around, watching her walk off.
There was no need for Oscar to sleep right now, though. He needed to tap into his element. To get stronger.
But how could he possibly do that? He didn't know much about this... Esoterik thing. So he sat in the snow and closed his eyes. And waited. Patiently. In the dead of night. In the silence.
...
..
.
"Wake up!"
Oscar jumped awake.
He found himself in some field. A field without end. The grass was white, caked in snow. There was a cold breeze blowing through.
He sat up. In front of him, there stood an old man. Time did its part on him. Grey hairs, wrinkles, all of that. But strange enough, he looked like Oscar.
"What the... who are you?"
"I'm YOU!"
"Huh..?"
The old man started laughing, or cackling, rather. As Oscar looked at the old man, trying to understand his appearance, it felt like looking into a lake. He looked like Oscar, but different.
"Then... what am I doing here?" Oscar rubbed his head, confused.
"You're dead."
"WHAT?!"
Oscar jumped up. The winds grew stronger.
"Relax, relax. I'm just joking with you. You aren't dead, but you're almost dead."
"How? Did somebody attack me while I was in the snow?"
"No. Although you're resistant to cold, it's not at the level that you think. You didn't activate your Esoterik ability either, so there was no chance of you surviving."
"Ah. So... wouldn't I wake up normally?"
"Nope. You didn't eat anything. It's gonna take a while for us to wake up."
"How long?"
"Quite a bit. Maybe two hours, or so. But, I'll have to warn you."
"Warn me about what?"
"There's some trouble for you when you wake."
"Can't you speed up the process?"
"I can. On one condition."
"What is it? Hurry up, tell me!"
"You'll have to let me take control of your body for a little bit."
"Fine, deal! Take it for some time!"