The girl blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting such a response. "Gifts?" she echoed, her eyes widening with a mix of curiosity and confusion.
"Yes, gifts," Riley repeated, a mischievous glint in his eye. "If you avoid me throughout the entire day, I'll give you a gift at the end of it." He didn't wait to see her reaction, turning away with a dismissive wave of his hand.
The lie was a calculated move. The last thing he needed was more distractions, and the girl seemed gullible enough—or perhaps innocent enough—to take his words at face value.
As he walked away, he could sense her lingering gaze on him, but she didn't follow. Good. He needed time to think, to plan his next move.
The garden seemed to stretch on endlessly, each step taking him deeper into the serene landscape. It was a stark contrast to the desolation he remembered from the waking world.
Most of the Earth's terrain had been ravaged by the relentless advance of Nexus creatures, the once-bustling cities now reduced to crumbling ruins.
The scent of fresh grass and blooming flowers felt almost alien, a reminder of a world long lost to chaos and destruction.
Riley's mind, however, remained focused on his immediate goal: finding answers. The serene beauty of this place was undoubtedly deceptive. This was still the Nexus Trial, and behind the tranquil façade, something malevolent lurked, waiting for the right moment to strike.
At least that was his best guess.
He knew he had to locate a place where he could gather information, where he could begin to unravel the mystery of this strange realm. His thoughts kept returning to the angel statues he had encountered before he had fallen into this Nightmare.
They held the key to his survival, he was sure of it. But what was their significance? What role did they play in this twisted game?
The answer, he reasoned, would be found in a place of knowledge, somewhere that stored the secrets of this world.
A library.
The longer he stayed in the Nexus realm, the weaker his soul becomes until it dissipates then his body would become a rift, allowing Nexus creatures into earth.
Remembering that he was in an unfamiliar environment he turned back to the girl.
"Where can I find the library?" Riley asked the black haired girl.
"Uh?" She blinked a couple of times, the question took her by surprise "Have you lost your memory?" she asked.
"It's foggy" He admitted.
Riley didn't inherit any memory of this world, so he had to figure it out himself, he smiled dryly at the black haired girl "Can you tell me?" He repeated his question.
"Before I tell you the direction to the library, you should consider seeing your fiancé." She said "She's in the main house"
"Fiancée?"
"Seems you really lost your memory" she said folding her arms "You were obsessed with her that you had to commit suicide when she decided to call off the engagement"
Riley couldn't believe he was now playing the role of a useless young master, he'd be happy to have been placed in the position of an arrogant young master. He was disappointed in the Trial.
He'd thought that the spell knew what he loved and would help him accomplish it— except from the sky diving though.
"Ryan?" She called softly.
Riley blinked a couple of times, he glanced around but couldn't find anyone behind him, the turned back to the black haired girl.
"Ryan?" she called again.
"I think I have to go, my fiancée is waiting" he walked forward passing the black haired girl, "Never keep a woman waiting!" he yelled as he walked past her.
The black haired girl glanced at his receding figure, she mumbled: "He's changed"
Riley walked towards the tall manor in the distance, he intended to change his role without the permission of the Nexus Trial. He couldn't keep playing the role of a dumb young master, they die quickly if they are not the main character.
Well they'd live in most novels and movies, but with his Doom attribute, he'd die— either in an assassination attempt or banished— at least the latter is better than the formal.
He arrived in front of the manor, the guards allowed him in, of course he walked around— not allowing any maid to lead him, he preferred to walk blindly— not physically— and soon he arrived in a large room, the room had a large table and several chairs around it.
At first he had thought it was the dining room, however the setting of the chairs made it obvious it's not a dining room.
"Ryan?" A soft female voice called him from behind.
"Who the hell is Ryan?" he asked throwing his hands up in the air in consternation.
"You can't remember your own name?" The voice asked again.
This time, Riley turned back, he saw a beautiful lady. She had a sensuous, supple and lithe body, her hair was dark blonde. Her large gray eyes was fixated on him.
"I remember my name perfectly well, it's unforgettable, it's just not the one you are using" he replied with a shrug "How may I help you, miss"
The blonde furrowed her brows.
"I'd heard from the doctors that you had a severe head injury and you were expected to be in coma for at least two years" she replied folding her arms.
"Since you are awake, I want you to sign the document I brought…" she trailed off.
"You are my fiancée?" Riley asked surprised. "And this document... Let me guess, it's about calling off the engagement, right?" He asked.
"Your mother forced it, and now she's dead, I know you are obsessed with marrying me because you want to fulfil your mother dying wish. But I'm not interested"
Riley couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "Your reluctance is understandable," he said, his tone amused. "But I have to ask—if you never wanted this engagement, why didn't you reject it outright from the beginning?"
"The woman's expression softened slightly, a hint of regret creeping into her voice. "It was arranged when we were children. Back then, I didn't even understand what was happening."
Riley's eyes sparkled with mock curiosity. "Ah, a classic case of childhood betrothal. How quaint. Reminds me of those old royal marriages, like Marie Adélaïde of Savoy in the 18th century. But let's be honest—those arrangements never end well, do they?"
She stared at him, clearly bewildered by his casual attitude and historical references. "This is serious, Ryan," she snapped. "I don't have time for your games."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Relax, I'm not here to waste your time. I'm actually quite interested in what this document says." He extended his hand, gesturing for her to show him the papers.
Well he had to settle things fast, the library was the only place he needed to find, he's pretty sure there's something waiting for him in the library— to him library always has a secret book— always waiting to be found.
"Where's the document?"
As if anticipating his request, she pulled out some documents from her — well nowhere— it just appeared out of thin air.
"A magician" Riley beamed, "Now I'm not divorcing you"
She was taken aback, he had asked for the document, she had pulled it out and now he's not wanting her to go because she pulled out the document from her dimensional storage, is it some sort of joke to mask his obsession of not wanting her to leave?
"It's not magic, Ryan" she said. "I pulled the document out of the dimensional ring" she raised her hands to his face, making sure he saw the ring with a red gem on it.
"I want it" Riley immediately squeal, "I swear on both bodies of my dead mothers to sign the document if you give me the ring"
She hesitated, her eyes showing suspicion.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Let's just say I've developed an interest in collecting unique items. The ring is a nice piece, and I'd like to add it to my collection. Fair trade, don't you think?"
She glanced at him, his eyes were shining, and the once obsessed young master was not even looking at her, all his attention was on the ring— a common one at that— he could get hundreds of the rings by snapping his fingers.
'He's changed' she suddenly realized.
Ryan was not the obsessed young master she grew up with, the Ryan in front of her was very curious, and with her ability she was sensing something— something was not right with this Ryan— his behavior was not stable.
It was as if he had experienced a trauma, his mental health was not stable, and he might experience constant mood swings... 'what happened to him?' she thought.
Seeing her hesitation, Riley leaned against the table with a casual air, crossing his arms. "I could negotiate, but where's the fun in that? The terms are simple. I get the ring; you get your freedom. It's a win-win."
Finally she moved.
She took the ring off and threw it at him, the ring was snapped out of the air by the curious Ryan.
"How do I use it" Riley asked almost jumping.
"Pour your soul essence into it" she replied curtly.
He tried— but nothing happened.
"I'm sorry to tell you" she spoke "you don't have the talent for magic…You never did... since childhood"
Immediately, Riley's excitement died down, his hope to be able to perform magic was crushed, however he didn't lose all hope, he just had to conquer his first Nexus Trial and then he would get a chance to perform magic— he'd be like a trickster— those magicians he'd see on stage and those awakeners who'd always save the world from the Nexus creatures.
With his mood worsened, he collected the document— well snatched it, he skimmed through it and confirmed it was about calling off their engagement , he took the pen she presented and proceeded to sign the document, however just when he was about to sign a thought came to his mind.
"There should be a parting gift"
"A what?"
"If you want me to break off this engagement find a suitable compensation for me" he spoke "I'm handsome, so I'd expect a 'handsome' gift"
She grimaced.
"I'll add the condition of the gift to the requirement just please break off this engagement" she spoke after hesitating for a while.
Without wasting time, he signed the document, and he could hear his Ex-fiancée breathe a sigh of relief.
"Just like that, huh?" she murmured, more to herself than to him.
He flashed her a grin. "What can I say? I'm a man of my word." His voice carried a playful undertone, but beneath it was an unspoken promise that he wouldn't be easily outmaneuvered.
He chuckled slightly, he wondered what Ryan would think after he completed his trial— would Ryan die— or would he wake up to discover he had accepted to break the engagement off.
However he remembered again; this people were just illusions created by the Trial— the real people had long been dead— and they would remain dead.
Eventually, after wandering around like a lost sheep, he found the library he was looking for, as a young master he was granted access into the library, the black-haired girl was waiting for him there, her hands on her hips.
"How did it go" she asked immediately he entered the library.
"One of the rules of the library is to always keep quiet, in short, no noise" Riley voiced.
Much to his surprise, she lowered her voice and repeated her question almost as loud as a whisper.
"I signed the documents" he replied proudly "Of course with compensation, uh a fair trade"
"What?" The black-haired girl screamed, her eyes wide open in surprise "Father will kill you"
He shrugged.
"Come to think of it, what's your name" he asked.
"Took you long enough, it's Jasmine" she said
Jasmine sighed in resignation
"I never thought someone or anyone would be mad enough to ask the royal family to compensate them for calling off an engagement that was supposed to benefit our family"
She paused for a while.
She then gave a long sigh.
"Well you won't live long, but I'll come to your funeral" She spoke with much sympathy.