In a small room, there were a few book shelves and a wooden table and chair at the centre. On the table stood a lamp whose light reigned over the open book before it. On the chair sat a young man of 23, his red skin soaked the light to make it appear even reddish and his neatly styled silver hair complimented his contrastingly handsome features.
His eyes moved along the lines of words that were engraved in the book before him. It was a story that kept him captivated after each and every chapter.
"What life..." His voice trailed in awe.
Still, he could only wish just like in his previous life.
"You've been reading that book for a week now," A voice emerged from the darkness behind him. "Poor thing."
Gentle footsteps came towards him from behind and he could hear the gentle sway of a body in the darkness.
The furry creature jumped onto a flat-surfaced platform that was the same height as the table.
Its green eyes flashed at the red-skinned boy and back at the book he was reading.
"Do you think life comes to you by reading about the other life?" The fox asked.
"It's better than nothing," White head muttered, his gaze keen on the book.
"Sire," The fox continued. "I granted you my system to help you start a life for yourself yet you refuse to take actions."
"I am taking actions," White head replied. "Gathering knowledge from these beautiful pieces."
The fox shook her head and hopped onto the book, using her paws to obstruct him from going on.
White head rolled his eyes and sighed. "What do you suggest?"
"It all starts with leaving this city," The fox proposed.
"Liesl, it has always been my wish to leave this place. You're right, what if the other parts of this world aren't so bad?" White head slowly nodded.
"You see," Swift rings of shadows swept over the fox and its appearance switched to that of a black cat. "Life starts when you decide to take hold of it. Otherwise, it may never begin and you may die without having lived a life."
"Everything I am is my life," She added.
"I need a name to start my life," White head looked at her. "The woman has still refused to name me. Names are free in the world yet she refused."
"Very well, Sire," The cat licked her paw before she was once again bound in shadow rings turning her this time into an owl.
A digital screen appeared in front of his eyes.
[Do you wish to proceed with naming?]
"Yes."
[Choose a name from all ten listed. If the names listed fail to meet your requirements, please do make another request]
[Emmet]
[Asher]
[Finn]
[Tristan]
[Oliver]
[Jude]
[Kai]
[Luca]
[Milo]
[Rhys]
White head stared long and hard at the names on the screen. They were all nice names but only two managed to pique his interest.
"I am having a hard time choosing between Kai and Emmet," He rubbed his chin.
"Very well, Sire," The owl replied. "Here are a list of distinct surnames to go with each name you have chosen. After which, you can decide on one."
[Kai:]
[Kai Tanaka]
[Kai Callahan]
[Kai Winter]
[Kai Everett]
[Kai Archer]
[Emmet:]
[Emmet Murphy]
[Emmet Quinn]
[Emmet O'Connor]
[Emmet Jacobs]
[Emmet Daniels]
After carefully going through each of them, he was finally able to settle for one that stood out to him.
"Emmet Quinn."
[The name - Emmet Quinn has been chosen by host]
[Host will now be known as Emmet Quinn]
[Name: Emmet Quinn]
[Nickname: The devil's incarnate| White head| Red devil]
[Race: Human]
[Status: None]
[Strength: ???]
[Stamina: ???]
[Speed: ???]
[Intelligence: ???]
[Stats have yet to be unlocked]
"Why locked?" Emmet looked at the owl in front of him.
"You have yet to venture into the realities of life on Earth," Liesl explained. "My sole purpose as your system and companion is to help settle in the life you want."
"I see. Which city would be great to start a new life for myself?" Emmet further inquired.
"Starting of with three well known cities in the country..." Liesl began, her voice explaining to him all that appeared on the digital screen before his eyes.
[Emeria: Famous city known for its lush buildings and lands of greenery with an emphasis on eco-friendly technologies. It is well one of the areas known to be successful for those willing to develop a trade or small business.]
[Dyla: A city known to be the home of restaurants and food shops. With the help of advanced technology, food business has managed to reach an easier level of exchange between the Chefs and their customers.]
[Gystell: A city known for its advanced technology. It is one of the cities well known to prosper trades and small businesses.]
"Emeria seems quite a nice place," Emmet sounded impressed after viewing a few clips of the city from the screen.
"Emeria is as good as it sounds when deciding to set up a life and a career," Liesl said and slid back to the platform beside the table in her cat form, making sure to wrap herself in a way that made her feel majestic.
"Tomorrow morning will be just perfect to set out," Emmet said to himself.
"That's the spirit!" Liesl cheered him on.
Just as he was about to continue reading, he heard a violent knock on the door.
Liesl immediately reduced to wisps of shadows that seeped into the ring on Emmet's finger.
"I'll be out in a second!" Emmet shouted to the hearing of the person who was eager to being down the door with knocks.
"One more second will cost you!" The annoyed voice of an elderly woman responded.
"To hell with these people," He muttered, immediately closed the book, and returned it into one of the shelves.
He opened the door and stepped out to meet a woman who was in her early sixties. It was raining and dark so she held an umbrella over head and held a lamp with another hand.
"I only let you in since there would be no customers for the night but things changed," Her face was scrunched up in disgust and fear as she spoke. "Pay me for all the time you spent and get out. I don't want to scare important customers."
"Sure," Emmet nodded and quickly reached for a handful of coins from his pouch.
He threw the coins on the floor, causing some to travel in the opposite direction.
"That's 20. 5 for the extra second," He sneered. "Stretch your back a little, you're welcome."
With that, he stepped out into the rain. His time running home figured that the people he came across ran faster than he did, not because of the rain but because of the devil they saw.
"Stupid people everywhere," He chuckled lightly.
He finally got home, drenched though, he wasn't cold. He had suffered more things than to feel the impact of the rain.
"Ma, I'm back," He took off his jacket and hung it on the nail beside the front door.
"Where did you go?" The woman emerged from the kitchen.
"I'm not a child anymore," was all he said.
"You never listen to me. Why are you bent on disgracing the two of us? I have told you to never leave this house till the day we finally find a cure for you," She scolded him.
"Because?" He raised an eyebrow.
She looked a little startled. "What do you mean?"
"Did you name me?" He asked her. "So I see no reason why you try to boss me around."
"I am your mother!" She didn't look pleased. Her son had grown into the image of the devil and she could see it.
Shouldn't she have killed him from the day he were born?
He walked closer to her and arched his back till his face was right in front of hers.
"The devil bows to no one. And I am the devil you fear."