After immersing himself in the pages of history and geography books, Vaelen glanced at the clock and was startled to find that it was already midnight.
"Wow, I completely lost track of time while reading," he chuckled to himself.
Gently closing the books, he decided to leave the magic books for tomorrow. "I guess I should save the excitement of learning about magic for a fresh start in the morning," Vaelen thought with a smile.
As he made his way to his comfortable bed, Vaelen's excitement soared, and his mind wandered into the realm of possibilities. "Just imagine shooting fireballs from my hand! It's like having superpowers, too cool to handle!" he fantasized, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm.
Every teenager nurtures dreams of possessing extraordinary abilities, much like the superheroes they admire on television. Vaelen, too, was no exception.
Vaelen tucked himself into the warmth of his bed, his heart bursting with excitement for the new day ahead. It had been a difficult day for him, dealing with all sorts of messed up situations, and he eventually fell asleep.
.
.
As he lay asleep, Rudy suddenly found himself in a different environment, his mouth agape and his eyes wide with surprise. Questioning himself, he wondered,
"Did I transmigrate again?"
In this strange vision, he saw a little boy, probably around three to four years old, sitting alone on a bench in a park while other kids played in the distance. There was no adult in sight, so Rudy decided to approach the child to analyze the situation.
But as he neared the boy, something blocked his path, causing him to stumble and fall. "What the f*ck!" Rudy cursed, but quickly became embarrassed when he realized he had cursed in front of the child. Attempting to apologize and ask the boy something, he was taken aback by the lack of response.
Undeterred, Rudy tried again, attempting to gain the child's attention. However, once more, there was no reaction. The boy seemed to be lost in his own world.
Then, a boy with short crimson red hair came running towards the lonely child with a friendly smile. "Hey!! Why are you here alone?" he asked.
The timid boy looked up, his eyes filled with hesitation, and replied, "T-they don't want to play with me because of my girly figure."
The boy with crimson hair just laughed it off and said with a mischievous look, "Then why don't we teach them a lesson by winning a game!!!?"
Though the timid boy initially resisted, the boy with red hair persistently pulled him along, and they ran towards the playground to continue their play.
As Rudy observed this heartwarming scene, he began to realize something. "Am I seeing the past memories of Vaelen?" he wondered.
The scenery shifted, and Rudy found himself in the same place, but the sky had darkened, indicating that he had skipped a few hours in time.
He saw all the kids getting ready to go home, but the lonely boy and the boy with red hair remained seated on a nearby bench, covered in dirt from their play. The petite boy was breathing heavily, as if he had been engaged in some physical activity, while the red-haired boy couldn't stop laughing, holding his stomach.
When the laughter subsided, the red-haired boy looked at the petite boy with a smile and asked, "Today was fun, right?"
Pouting, the petite boy replied, "It was fun for you, not for me."
Caught off guard by petite boys adorable pout, the red-haired boy couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Cute."
Curious, the petite boy looked up at him with those enchanting eyes that could charm anyone. The red-haired boy felt an inexplicable flutter in his chest, but he quickly brushed it off and attempted to steer the conversation in another direction. He extended his hand and introduced himself with a proud flair, "Oh, my name is Vaelen Hart. What's your name?"
With a proud grin, the red-haired boy declared, "Remember me, for I will be the greatest sword grandmaster of all time, even surpassing my DAD!!! My name is...
Liza Turner!!!"
"Liza Turner," Rudy repeated, as his voice overlapped with the voice of the red-haired boy, who was actually a girl named Liza. Rudy realized he was witnessing a cherished memory of Vaelen and Liza, the childhood friend of Vaelen and one of the main heroines in 'The Truth of Acalis.'
Back in the past memory, as Liza introduced herself, the little Vaelen looked at her with admiration, as if he had encountered a superhero for the first time. His attempt to say something was interrupted when someone called out, "Val!"
(This is Vaelens nickname so I am going to use it from now on)
Both Val and Liza turned to see two beautiful, mature women approaching. Their eyes lit up, and they exclaimed in unison, "Mom!!"
But when Val's mother appeared in the scene, Rudy's emotions became complicated. He was still affected by the real Vaelen, even though he was only an invisible observer of the past.
As the scene shifted once more, Rudy found himself witnessing more heartwarming moments between Val and Liza, watching as their friendship deepened with each passing day.
But despite the joyous memories, Rudy couldn't shake the feeling that something would change. And indeed, one day,....
......everything did change.