[There are innumerable books in the world, many of them are ignored, others may become famous, some teach us and others are forgotten. Some accompany us ephemerally, while others permeate our souls...].
-In the forest, at night, a faint light coming from a campfire falls on thin, almost translucent pages that seem to be on the verge of breaking because they have been turned so many times. The letters, barely legible due to the dirt of the fingers that have gone over the paragraphs countless times in search of an answer, pale before the blood stains peeking out from the edges of the pages. I turn the pages again and again carelessly, searching for an answer. I dive into the sea of letters until I hear the voice of the man I must protect.
"Come on, time's up."
-Sitting on a log, I turn to look at him. Black hair and eyes as yellow as the sun, which stand out in the night and watch me sharply. I glance briefly at the book before closing it again. It's rough this leather cover, it's been through a lot, so much so that you can barely read the title. Leaning on my spear, I rise to my feet as I follow this blissful hero.....
-Advancing through the small camp, I wonder: how can someone like him be considered a hero? What does it take to be one? Do you just have to say you are one and that's it? Eyes fixed on his back, he paused for a moment.
"What are you looking at?"
-Hey, is he upset? It's hard to tell; he always has an intense stare, no matter the situation. "Ah" sigh, what am I thinking? Averting my gaze and with an annoyed tone I simply replied as usual.
"Shut up, I'm not looking at you."
-looking at me in a dismissive manner, he sighed.
"You should get more rest."
-Huh? I was kind of annoyed! How could I? We've been here, there and who knows where else, all because of your damn hurry. We've just been running away, you don't even give me time to take a simple bath."
"You could have washed if you weren't glued to that book the whole time." He replied curtly.
"Shut up! You know why I can't stop reading it...."
"Really? So what does the book say?"
-Hesitantly, I looked at the book again, remembering what it was. [Icn] that was the title of the book I held in hand. It's a very rare artifact of unknown classification that was given to me at the age of 18 by this guy I follow. According to him, no one but me can read it; even he doesn't know what it says. But...is what is written here really notes from my previous life? Who would believe that?
-This is the fifth regression of the world and, according to the content of the book, every time the hero dies, the world restarts due to his destiny. However, he always ends up getting involved in this war and will end up dying anyway no matter what he does.
-I know that there are still many questions and unknowns about the future, but I am sure that, if I can put together the pieces written by my previous regressions, I will understand the message and we will change the future. So I will tell you everything in due time.
"Well..." -Before the words were out of my mouth, a stench of blood flooded my nose.
-Filled with blood and barely holding his arm, a soldier was running desperately while screaming in anguish.
"We're under attack, we're under attack, we're under attack! Everybody wake up, we...!"
-The moment our eyes met, the soldier running in the distance fell in an instant; a dagger pierced his throat. On the ground, full of blood, he was trying to crawl with one arm while still trying to scream.... However, his voice could not be heard. Angrily, I looked towards the forest where I finally saw the enemy, as the soldiers ran towards them.
"They found us, run!"
"Protect the heroes!"
"Don't let them pass!"
-the soldiers shouted as the enemies approached, taking out the soldiers fiercely. I stowed the book in my belt and tightened my grip on my spear, ready to support our soldiers. However, something grabbed my arm. Huh? What are you doing? Looking at me as usual, he stopped me.
"What are you doing! Let me fight, I'm not a hero."
"Are you stupid? If you go, you'll die."
"Can't you see they're dying for us!"
"And what are you going to do?" - her voice was cold...
-Maybe he's right. Maybe he's not strong, but does it matter? He probably still doesn't want me to die because I'm useful, but doesn't he feel anything? Even his gaze doesn't change when an arrow grazes his side. Why doesn't he do anything? Please... filled with rage, I vented my thoughts.
"I know I'm weak, I don't have your strength and you may be right, but this is not the way a hero acts!"
-Amid shouts and arrows coming all around us, I waited. Please let me help them, I thought as I looked at his hand holding my arm. However, I shouldn't have hoped that he would change.
"Shut up... Don't waste the chance we're given, let's go!"
-This fucker, he really doesn't care about throwing away lives like that. Has he ever cried? Does he even know how painful it is to lose someone? Surely not... Stopping putting effort into freeing myself, I looked at him. I guess he leaves me no choice. Preparing to attack him, a voice interrupted us....
"Alex! Via! Take quickly, stop fighting and let's go. The others are already ahead of us."
-It was Thomas, who was looking at the two of us with a smiling face, trying to hide his fear and frustration as he grabbed those old bags stained with dirt. He was only a year younger than me, but he was always trying to put up with what I couldn't. Still, I couldn't accept it.
"You too!...Thomas, don't you see, if we all go, we can make it?"
-Thomas, head down, tossed the backpack to my chest, interrupting my complaints as he handed the other one to Alexander.
"Please stop it, can't you see that no one wants to do this?"-he looked annoyed.
"But..."
-I already knew that. Just watching his little hands shake made me swallow my words. Of course no one liked the idea, but then, I can only watch soldiers die while feeling so helpless? In tears and watching the scene, I whispered:
"Next time."
-So, turning our gaze back to Thomas, we decided to follow the cowardly hero through the dense forest. While in the distance the clashes of metal echoed in this night, making as we walked away, the noise of the forest became the protagonist.