In this village that resembled the Middle Ages, he heard talk of the king.
"Could this be the world of the king they always talk about? But even they don't know where the king is."
He heard that they had found a giant throne. He approached a few scattered people and asked, his voice hoarse:
"And the prime minister? Where is he?"
"Ah!" said the woman. "If only we knew! He leads the demons everywhere and brings carnage!" They looked at him strangely, with suspicion. He realized that his body was much larger than theirs. He must have been a giant of two meters, towering over them by a good third - they seemed particularly small.
Did they consider him a demon? Someone who followed the prime minister? But, they didn't seem to respect or be on the prime minister's rule, who was said to control all of the noble's land.
"Hey, I'm just asking, I don't want to see him."
Their eyes said aloud about their non-belief.
"I just can't remember much." he quickly added. Anyways, that person seemed to be an alcoholic. He saw no specter - did they incarnate different people based on their nature? He refused to be seen like this.
"Drinking all day isn't going to help matters," she said coldly.
"But now I want to change." His voice and frightening face made each of his words misunderstood. A beautiful person was generally better perceived and considered more social, earning a higher percentage of money. It was a sign of good health, impacting every other characteristic with a holy halo—not necessarily a good thing.
Their looks didn't brighten up, but one did speak. "Listen well." Her friend wanted to tell him something, gesturing, but she turned and said, "We must give him a chance."
"But this isn't his first chance."
"We must be like the king: allow everything, forgive everything. Perhaps, like Alain, he will understand, hopefully."
She turned to him.
"The king is the one who gives us all the energy."
He translated in his mind: he is the origin of the system. Perhaps even the origin of the powers that remake the world.
"He is powerful and protects us, but someone has rebelled against him. He is like the night, the prime minister. He goes here and there, watching the world, changing people so that they become extreme! They want to desert the village! Change!"
The word 'change' was particularly emphasized. It was as if evolution was not to happen in this village.
"But isn't it good to change?"
His interlocutor's gaze changed to fear and then consternation. "Change? What good is it? If a human changes, what remains of himself? One may see a little part of the shadow he had once been! If you do not exist, your path is wrong, and even the king might not do anything to save you. We all have a role! It's unhealthy to want to change it! If we do... the king might erupt in anger, then it won't be just demonic creatures killing us every decade! It'll be the real end."
She spoke, terrified. The giant blinked his eyes. They could respawn? Kinda like him or Sengrar? But mixing up the two powers together? He heard his heartbeat, not out of exhaustion this time.
"But I mean, we grow. And you don't seem satisfied with my role."
"But it's that you don't respect the king!" she said very seriously, as if shocked that he did not understand this reality. "I won't explain it to you!"
The alcoholic blinked.
The lady sighed. "If we change up to your brain, what are you then, if not particles of energy?" She gestured towards the little fireflies that shone. When the alcoholic looked at them, he was fascinated by them. So much so that the lady's subsequent words sounded only like distant buzzing.
"Are you listening to me?!" the lady asked furiously. "I know I shouldn't get angry, but heaven!"
A butterfly flew next to the fireflies, its wings floating freely among the fireflies before piercing them. The scene instinctively made the alcoholic recoil.
"Always looking at and feeding these things? Abandon them! The king put them here to serve us! They are our fuel! When you dump wine into them, you are killing their energy."
"But, they seem to like it?" These words escaped from his mouth before he had time to think them over like he always did.
This reminded him of RedStar's wanted poster about butterflies. The poster had said he had followed the butterflies.
The black butterfly flew off to one side amidst the fireflies.
"But seriously!" the lady's voice echoed as he began to chase the butterfly.
The butterfly flew, pursued by the alcoholic whose heavy steps slightly shook the ground.
They were heading towards a forest in the opposite direction of the palisade. The alcoholic pursued it, and the butterfly stopped.
There was a corpse.
The alcoholic staggered and fell to the ground. His body began to tremble.
"Damn! Why am I reacting like this! It's just an illusion!"
The man was without arms, and one of his eyes had been devoured, like a part of his face. Blood had soaked different parts of the grass.
Given the decomposition, he hadn't been killed long ago.
He somewhat resembled Alain.
[The Red Star does not forgive. It sacrifices everything, even what it does not own.]
The system resonated in his mind. He looked up, looking at the massive reddish star in the sky.
Did goblins worship such a thing?
He pushed strongly with his hands and stood up, out of breath. The butterfly, the body, and even the village—which should have been visible given the distance he had traveled—had disappeared.
He was alone in the forest.
And the fireflies came to him. He waved his hand, but the fireflies passed through, the alcoholic absorbing them into his body. A feeling of pleasure filled his body. He felt his body stimulated. His giant body of 2 meters was distorted, and he grew a meter.
[You have acquired the power of sacrifice. Energy obtained from all sources +50%. Energy present in your body +50%.]
The alcoholic blinked. He pursued the fireflies and found himself back towards the village.
The system appeared again.
[Noble's domain.]