As the little girl, Frost, innocently questioned the tears, the woman quickly composed herself, her face smeared with a mix of mud and tears.
Eddie, feeling an unexpected surge of empathy, took a deep breath to steady himself and reached out to help her, but she swiftly blocked his attempt and rushed out.
Eddie stood there for a long moment, watching her leave, the weight of the situation settling on him. "Little Eddie, why is mommy crying?" Frost asked, her curiosity unsated by the emotional display.
But she quickly diverted her attention to the big red pinwheel in her hands, proudly showing it off. "Look, isn't my pinwheel pretty? I got it downtown! There were also candied apples, but mommy didn't buy any. Little Eddie, I want to ride the carousel, the high carousel makes the pinwheel spin fast!"
Eddie was sweating at the thought of all these new responsibilities and the expectations of a jubilant child. Carousel rides and high-flying pinwheels? It seemed like the real Tommy might have been a regular at fulfilling such whimsical requests.
He definitely couldn't risk revealing himself by outright denying her request, nor could he risk the safety of the child by literally putting her on his shoulders for a carousel ride.
In a moment of inspiration, Eddie scooped up Frost, mimicking a makeshift carousel with gentle lifts and swirls. Her laughter filled the room, a sweet, infectious sound that made the awkward situation a bit lighter.
Just as he was getting the hang of this impromptu playtime, the woman returned, her face still damp but her eyes alight with excitement. Noticing Eddie's interaction with Frost, she beamed, her maternal pride evident.
"Eddie, let me see your talent and your guardian beast from the summoning tome! I knew you would succeed. After all these years, it's finally happening! Quickly, open the tome, let's see what guardian beast you've been blessed with!"
Talent and guardian beast? Eddie's mind raced, not entirely sure what was expected of him but feeling a strange confidence that knowledge would come to him as needed.
Eddie, now more bewildered than ever, realized that he wasn't just dealing with a case of mistaken identity but had actually been catapulted into a whole different world. This wasn't Earth; it was Dragonrise Continent, a place teeming with mighty individuals where strength dictated status.
Here, the three imperial dynasties and the four major families, including the Winds, Snows, Yues, and Flames, ruled, while four mystical sects pursued the ultimate truths in seclusion, emerging only every three years to scout for new talents.
In this world, the crème de la crème wielded a rare and special artifact known as the Summoning Tome, a gateway to becoming a pinnacle warrior. Without it, one's chances of reaching the apex of power were slimmer than winning the lottery.
In Dragonrise, everyone was a summoner; there were no mages or knights, just summoners with an array of abilities ranging from elemental summonings akin to magic to beast summonings reminiscent of epic battles.
It seemed that owning a Summoning Tome was akin to getting admitted to Harvard or Cambridge amidst millions of students—a rare feat coveted by many but achieved by few.
As Eddie contemplated the enormity of his situation, he hoped his newfound talent wasn't related to his expert level of procrastination or his knack for finding the best online deals on collectible action figures.
"Please, let it not be anything to do with my bachelor lifestyle," he prayed, imagining the horror on the woman's face if his talent turned out to be 'Epic Couch Potato' or 'Master Ramen Chef'.
With a mix of apprehension and curiosity, Eddie flipped open the Summoning Tome to find a large portrait of himself staring back.
"Well, that's flattering, but it doesn't bode well for anonymity," he mused, his mind racing as he tried to prepare himself for whatever was about to be revealed.
It was like waiting for the most significant character reveal in his favorite RPG game, except this time, the character was him, and the stakes were his very existence in this new, strange world.
Eddie stared at his surprisingly cool-looking avatar on the tome's page, only to roll his eyes at the title underneath: Level 1 Novice Apprentice, Beginner. The annotation that followed was a punch to the gut: "You are among the weakest in the world, but as a Summoning Tome owner, you hold a glimmer of hope to become strong."
"Well, thanks for the pep talk," Eddie muttered under his breath, feeling a bit insulted. Surely, he was at least stronger than an ant!
Skipping over the degrading assessment, he moved to the part about his talent. According to the tome's knowledge, each person had a unique talent, with very few duplicates among the population. Eddie braced himself, hoping his talent wouldn't be something embarrassingly related to his bachelor habits.
But what he saw made him break out in a cold sweat. His talent wasn't in the culinary arts of instant noodles or the fine skills of video game mastery. Instead, it was a unique, rare, and enviable Gemini Talent.
On the left side of the illustration was a mysterious silhouette that vaguely resembled Eddie's own. On the right was a figure shrouded in shadows, barely recognizable as Eddie, if not for the pair of glowing, wolf-like eyes piercing through the darkness.
The description of his twin talents was enough to make him want to crawl into a hole.
Disguise Talent: "You are as cunning as a fox, as stealthy as a snake, and as adaptable as a chameleon. Your entire being is shrouded in illusion, impenetrable to others. Your talent grows with your level, currently at level 1."
Insight Talent: "You possess the vision of an eagle and the intuition of a seer. You peer into souls like the Grim Reaper, unfooled by any deception or illusion. Your talent strengthens with your level, currently at level 1."
Eddie nearly collapsed, thinking, "Am I really that sneaky and insightful?" Sure, he had his moments of cunning, especially when it came to scouting out the best deals online or sneaking an extra cookie from the jar, but this was a whole other level.
And while he prided himself on a certain level of perception, especially when it came to discerning the finer points of his favorite entertainment, he hardly felt like the piercing seer described in the tome.
"Great, now I'm a sneaky, soul-piercing savant in a world of summoners," he sighed, trying to wrap his head around his new, rather dubious, talents. "Just another day in the life of Eddie, I guess."