How many times have I been told not to go into the forest at night?
Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, and I thought the warnings they gave me about the woods were nothing more than stories, just to scare me; only now that I found myself being chased by a bunch of bloodthirsty
Not giving up, I speeded my way through the trees, making use of all my physical abilities and relying on my knowledge of the forests, which I had frequented since I was a little over 6 years old; for some inexplicable reason, though I was out of breath, I felt my body gradually becoming faster and faster, and at the same time, I began to hear the fierce breath of those beasts that I felt so close to my neck move away more and more; In that moment, I was not far from the exit of that wood that now seemed to me infernal, and realizing that those damned wolves could not catch me, I relaxed a little, believing that by now the danger was behind: unfortunately, the worst was yet to come...
My attention, which until a moment before was at its peak, became lower and lower as I no longer felt as threatened as before. But this, only made me relax further, beginning to pay no attention to the space around me.
It was at that moment that, my distraction, coupled with the fact that it was getting dark led me to make a gross mistake; without my realizing it, I ended up on top of a beast trap pit, camouflaged with dry leaves and soil, with a light wooden board that held the whole thing up. When all my weight ended up on top of that trap, the great tablet broke suddenly, causing me to sink; it was all so fast, so quick that for a few moments, I did not realize that I was falling into the void. It was only when suddenly everything became dark around me, that with horror, I realized what was happening.
I fell for several seconds, in which I searched desperately in the dark, something to hold on to, until, however, my free fall was abruptly interrupted when my body was brutally pierced by strange blunt objects placed at the bottom of that bloody ravine. The pain I felt at that moment was something I will not easily forget; legs, arm and chest were pierced by those I understood were sharp black bamboo reeds, used for their extreme hardness and for the deadly poison they contain inside;
"Oh, fuck..." I said with a string of my voice: the pain was so terrible that I couldn't even scream... Which is a contradiction, but if you don't feel that kind of pain, you can't understand.
After a couple of seconds, however, the terrible pain that I felt gradually disappeared, leaving room for a huge sensation of sudden fatigue; [I am perhaps... dying?!] I could feel all my blood coming out of my body copiously; my breath was so labored that I seemed to be in apnea, and for a few seconds now I had stopped hearing the noise. Yes, that must have been the Death, which with his cold hands on my neck, she was dragging me into the world of the dead.
"H-Hel..p...bruagh!"
I desperately tried to cry for help, hoping that someone could help me, but not only did I no longer have the strength to do this, but as soon as I opened my mouth, lumpy and boiling blood poured out of my mouth, leaving me a terrible iron taste in my palate;
Damn, I was just a 13-year-old boy! How could I die that horrible way?! I had in mind to travel outside this stupid and foolish village, I wanted to discover new places and maybe one day marry a beautiful girl, but apparently, in this life of mine, I could not dream and be happy: from the sudden and mysterious death of my father, only negative things had struck me, such as the fact that I could never become a
My body suddenly became cold, very cold, and my senses began to slowly abandon me; by now my senses had disappeared like my hearing: yes, this was death, which had completed its task: I was dead.... Or at least I thought I was.
------
".... Where the hell am I?"
I suddenly woke up in a huge white space.
I looked around for several seconds, and realized that, in fact, I was completely alone; I also controlled my body, and in addition to the fact that my wounds had magically disappeared, and I felt in full strength.
"Is this... the Heaven?" I said thinking aloud, as I began to wander in that infinite white space, without an apparent destination: in normal cases, it would be wise to stay where I was and study the situation, but at that moment I had not much else to do, since well... I was dead, apparently...
Because of all that space, I didn't feel the perception of time and space, but two things were clear to me; the first was that I must have wandered for days without even realizing it, which is strange, since until recently, I had not felt any sense of fatigue, arrived only after realizing what was happening; the second, was that no matter how much I walked, I would not find anything in here; damn, if I had died, Couldn't they at least send me to heaven and give me a chance to hug my mom and dad?!
"Where the hell am I?" I said exhausted because of all that walk, throwing myself on the ground, almost desperate for the situation; I was beginning to think that I would stay here for the rest of my days without anyone, and to the very idea of thinking about it I risked becoming crazy: not only was I dead, but there was a real chance that I would spend the rest of my days alone!
But as I began to panic, suddenly I heard in the distance steps coming from behind me: At first, I thought it was all in my imagination, but then the steps became more and more audible, and when I turned, I saw a human figure approaching me: his steps were slow but regular, and the closer he came to me, the more I felt a strange feeling coming from that person; only after several minutes, i finally saw the look of what seemed to be a man. In fact, "it seemed", because despite his appearance was that of a normal person, the strange feeling I felt became stronger and stronger, seeing in him something that made him interesting, but at the same time, gave him a sinister impression, which made me quite restless;
"Excuse me for making you wait, Erwin." said the mysterious figure with a little smile, beginning to look closely at me;
I had so many questions to ask them at that time, such as how the hell he knew my name, if this was heaven, if I was really dead, or if he was some kind of angel or demon. But all these questions went into the background, because as soon as I met his gaze, I had the feeling of knowing him. Such a figure never goes unnoticed because of its beauty, and I was sure I had never seen it; but at the same time, something in his gaze gave me the distinct impression of having seen it somewhere, literally sending me into confusion. It was similar to a Deja-Vu feeling, with the only difference that what I felt at the time was a feeling that increased with each passing second.
"You will have many questions." - the man in front of me spoke, slowly approaching - "One thing is certain: you are not dead."
"Uh? I'm not dead?"
The man in front of me nodded, unleashing in me a strange sense of relief and joy: I thought I should abandon the idea of being able to live and explore the world, but in one way or another, I had managed to survive...
But then a question arose: if I wasn't dead, then what the hell was this place? And if he wasn't an angel, then who was he?
"I know you want answers, really, but unfortunately we don't have much time, so please choose your questions well..." said the man, his face slightly gloomy;
When he said that sentence, I was a little worried: What did he mean by short time? I was a bit anxious after hearing his sentence because I wasn't sure what might happen soon, like if I'd return home or die. Even if he had told me that I was alive, I couldn't trust a complete stranger.
I had so many questions to ask him, but a bit out of a hurry, and a bit because of the excitement of the moment, I asked him the question with the simplest answer;
"Can I at least know your name?"
When I asked him the question, the man had a strange gasp; from his face, one could understand that he certainly did not expect this question... Or at least, this is what it seemed to me, since for a few seconds, it seemed to be completely blown away by that question;
Then, all of a sudden, he started laughing. A laugh so loud and strange that it caused me a lot of discomfort and embarrassment.
"What...are you laughing about?" I said quietly, with a slight embarrassment;
"Hahah... well, with all the things you could have asked me, my own name..."
The man stopped laughing, and with a smile on his face, he finally answered my question - "You can call me Giltor, young Erwin..."
Of course I didn't ask for his name out of courtesy; I wanted to know if his name would evoke in me some old memories, since at that moment, I was almost certain to know him. Yet none of this happened, leaving me with more doubt than certainty.
I wanted to ask him a lot more questions, but all of a sudden, my vision started to blur, and I started feeling sleepy, very sleepy. I didn't understand why, but I knew that at any moment, I would fall asleep, although at that moment, I wasn't quite sure that I would wake up, seeing how things were; at that moment, I was really afraid of dying.
"That's why I laughed at your stupid question..." - said Giltor, beginning to shake his head, slightly disappointed by my question. - "Your body is not yet ready to stay long in the "Nim-Ruh"...
"Nim... Ru....?" I said with a thread of voice, not understanding what he meant by that.
"Listen carefully, now I will only say important things... so try to remember everything" - asserted Giltor, while I slowly lost consciousness, trying to stay awake with all my strength, even if it became more difficult with every passing second - "You're not dead right now, but you've been forcibly entered the Nim-Ruh, and this has provoked your awakening in a "forced" way... This wasn't supposed to happen now, but in several years, that's why I was here, as the guardian of your power... Damn, if you hadn't been so stupid! But by now the die is cast, we can't do anything about it... So make sure you commit yourself out there!"
As he spoke, I heard half of the things he said to me; so his whole speech was very strange and confusing. Only two things I had kept in mind: that he was the guardian of something, and that what had happened to me was not normal... or at least I believe.
The mysterious man looked at me for a few seconds, and after careful analysis he snorted loudly, enraged by what was happening;
"Well, the boy won't remember anything I think!" said the man nervously, scratching his head; then, he put his hand on my forehead, looking at me with an almost sorry look... I didn't understand why, but those eyes made me a little anxious.
"Be careful out there, boy..."
Just then, I closed my eyes, feeling nothing around me.
----
"Uuurgh..."
Erwin opened his eyes; this time he was not in the woods, or in that infinite white space, but in the bed of his room; Erwin's memories were very confused: he remembered everything that had happened to him in the woods, and above all, he remembered perfectly well his state of health: he realized that, by this time, he must have died, given the type of injuries he had caused himself.
He was sure that once he closed his eyes, he would never wake up again; how the hell was it then that he was still alive?
"What if.. just a dream? No, it's not possible..."
For a moment, he thought he had imagined everything, but then his memory recalled the fear, tension and immense pain he felt that night. [I can't have dreamed it all, it's impossible...] thought Erwin, who at that point, wanted to confirm if his were simply stupid doubts: he got up from his bed, and quickly, he stood in front of the mirror, taking off his shirt.
As soon as he did this, a strange smile appeared on his face, combined with a sense of complete disorientation and a pinch of fear: in fact, there was no scar on his body.
"But how...?"
Suddenly, as Erwin was immersed in his thoughts, a man opened the door of his room, standing still on the edge of the door and looking at him with a look that promised nothing good;
Erwin noticed after a while of his presence, and only when he noticed the man, he made a small jump back to the fright;
"R-
"A few seconds ago" - said the man with a serious expression, looking down on Erwin, who could see in his eyes the man's anger, frightening him a little.
For a moment, his mind was beginning to make him believe that it was all the result of an ugly, indeed terrible, very realistic dream; but the moment he saw Ron's particularly annoyed expression, that idea went to pieces, since in fact, Ron had strictly forbidden him several times to train in the woods
"Are you all right?"
"Uh...yes, I think..." said the boy, who certainly did not expect that question from the man, believing that maybe nothing would happen to him; but as soon as he lowered his guard, the man, with quick and imperceptible steps, approached the boy, hitting him with a punch on the back of the neck, causing Erwin a huge pain.
"OUCH! YOU HURT ME!" The boy yelled, immediately touching his head for the pain he felt. At that moment he cursed himself for not preparing for the worst, since he knew Ron's character very well, and knew that this would be his reaction.
"Well, that's just a small part of the lesson I'm about to give you..." - said Ron, who despite his relaxed face, began to crack his hands, as if preparing for a fight - "How many times have I told you not to go into the woods, huh? Why don't you ever listen to me, you idiot? If you go at least make sure you don't fall asleep in the woods, you damn idiot... If the hunters hadn't found you...mh?"
"Asleep...in the woods? What are you talking about?"
When asked, the man looked strangely at Erwin for a few seconds;
"Don't play dumb, Erwin! You fell asleep in the woods!" said Ron, this time raising his voice a little. But looking at Erwin's expression, he realized something was wrong.
Erwin at that moment was completely confused by the whole situation: he knew that something had happened in the woods, he was firmly convinced of it, but now the situation took on unexpected implications since he did not remember at all that he had fallen asleep!
[I don't understand anything anymore! ]
Erwin remained a bit silent, and at that moment the only thing he could do was to tell Ron everything, not to further aggravate his already bad situation.
Erwin told to Ron everything in detail, without neglecting any detail; of course, Erwinhad no memory at that time of what happened after his "temporary" death, nor of that man named Giltor, and yet, as he told his story, He had the distinct feeling that he was omitting something really important, but nevertheless, he decided not to tell this particular to Ron.
"So, in summary... A bunch of Lupix Ferucis chased you into the woods, you were able to outrun them, but just when it seemed done, you fell into a trap-hole... and died and then rose again..."
Ron had every reason not to believe one word of Erwin: the boy, in order to train secretly, was able to create the most incredible excuses. The story he had just heard could have been the queen of all excuses, as it was so incredible that it seemed like a child's fantasy; yet, this time Ron noticed how Erwin's eyes were serious and sincere, And that only raised the doubt that that story so fanciful that he had just heard might be true.
"Assuming that's true" - said Ron, scratching his head - "It's more likely that you've come into contact with some kind of poisonous plant or some kind of gas that, upon contact with your skin, has made you delusional, making you imagine everything. I'm pretty sure that's what happened; if not, then..."
Ron quietly stood up from the chair, going to a small bedside table in the single hallway of his humble home; Erwin wondered what he was looking for, and was immediately answered when Ron returned to the living room holding a small crystal ball;
"What is that sphere?" - asked Erwin, intrigued as to why he pulled out that strange sphere - "I-It's not a sphere for the truth, right?!"
"... Shut the hell up. Hold this ball in your hand."
"And now what?"
"Let's wait."
Ron began to observe the sphere, while Erwin, not knowing what to do, began to observe the sphere, not knowing what to expect from it; but after a few seconds, something unexpected happened; the sphere, began to emit a faint blue sea light; light that gradually became more and more shining, until forcing Erwin to close his eyes.
"Hey old man! What is this?!" asked Erwin who, as soon as he removed his hands from the sphere, stopped shining;
Ron, for a few seconds, had a completely surprised expression; [I thought...I believed that Erwin's story was the result of some type of poisonous plant, since in the woods it was easy to come across these plants... I had the doubt it might be something else, but this...]
"R-Ron... Ron! What's going on?" asked worried Erwin, seeing the confused expression of the man; Ron looked at Erwin, and after a few seconds spent observing him, a radiant smile appeared on his face;
"Erwin, tell me, do you still want to become a Gifter like your father?"
The boy, of course, was stunned by this question: his biggest dream, was to become like his father, a Gifter of the first order and an exceptional adventurer, but unlike him, Erwin did not have a basic requirement to become Gifter: In fact, he had not been able to awaken his core and control the energy that produced it, that is, the aura, important thing so that a person can even think of being able to take on the job of Gifter.
So even though Erwin wanted to become a Gifter more than anyone else, it would have been difficult, since he didn't have the qualifications to become one... Or so he believed until that moment: Erwin wondered the reason for that question, and only then, when his eyes fell on the sphere he recklessly dropped, he had a kind of intuition.
[No...it can't be true! ]
As soon as he saw Ron's face, he did not need to ask him any questions: Erwin began to cry suddenly, without being able to stop: in these days, he had passed away to be a sort of nullity in his eyes, to die prematurely, then mysteriously come back to life; the boy felt he was losing his mind, indeed, he believed that it was now a matter of time, before going completely mad.
But everything that had happened to him in these days, all the sufferings and doubts, seemed like a sort of test to give him the greatest reward he could imagine, because in a totally unexpected way, he had managed to awaken his heart.
"So? what's your answer, brat?" Ron pressed him, expecting the most obvious answer;
Erwin wiped his tears quickly, and without hesitation, he finally answered Ron's question;
"Yes, I'm ready to become a Gifter... the best of the Gifters!"