"Damn it!" I grumbled as the sunlight bothered my eyes, as if that wasn't enough; I heard the neighbor's roosters crowing in the distance. I regret moving to this village, I traded one problem for another.
I yawned and stretched upon getting up, leaving my room still in my pajamas and heading toward the kitchen.
"So, what will we eat today?" Jekyll left my body and stood beside me.
"Scrambled eggs and bacon. I don't feel like cooking something complicated." I took a frying pan from the kitchen shelf and placed it on the wood stove.
"You talk like you cook every day." Jekyll placed some wood into the stove and lit it with a match.
Shrugging, I added olive oil, eggs and bacon to the pan, stirring it with a wooden spoon. Meanwhile, Jekyll placed plates and silverware on the wooden table in the kitchen's center.
Peaceful minutes passed, the frying food and Jekyll walking around being the only noises. Unfortunately, that ended with the arrival of a rude book.
"Good morning, idiots!" Zon screamed as loud as possible, floating into the kitchen while we gasped audibly upon hearing the first insult of the day.
"What?" He asked, ignorant of what he did.
"Nothing, nothing…" I focused on the food, trying to ignore him.
"Wow, what a way to start! Don't I get a good morning?" He floated above one of the chairs.
"The morning was good until you appeared!" Jekyll exclaimed, slamming a plate in front of the book.
"Hey, what did the inkblot say?"
"Nothing important." I turned off the stove and placed eggs and bacon on each plate.
"BACON! FINALLY! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE I ATE SOMETHING SO DELICIOUS?" Zon threw himself onto the plate with his pages open.
*NOM*
*NOM*
*NOM*
I recoiled disgusted, seeing the book open and close on the plate, similar to a chewing mouth, and the crunching noises didn't help. How does a book eat? Moreover, where will the food go?
Looking at Jekyll for an answer, I stared disbelieved at the sight, Jekyll stabbing a piece of bacon, but instead of chewing it with his non-existent mouth, he brought it toward his forehead, where it stuck for a few seconds before slowly sinking into his body.
Speechless, I sat down and looked at my food plate. What the hell am I doing with my life?
-XXXXXX-
Changing into casual clothes, I closed the door behind me, slung my bag with Zon on my shoulder, and headed towards the village near my house.
The village's main part consisted mostly of stone houses and buildings, with small shops here and there surrounded by a large stonewall and gates leading to different plains and roads; each guarded by a pair of guards.
Technically, I still lived within the village, as the plains around were considered part of it. Most people living outside raised cattle, sheep, chickens, pigs, and other animals, or grew vegetables for consumption or sale.
We chose to live outside to avoid attention, unfortunately, this generated rumors and distrust among the village's inhabitants since this was an isolated place that received few visitors, so, normally, they didn't like strangers very much.
Our unexpected arrival overnight didn't help much, but putting these thoughts aside, I greeted the people I met on the way, farmers who woke up early to work in the fields.
They responded with an acknowledging grunt or quick nod before continuing on their way.
I reached the main gate; ignored the suspicious look that both guards gave me and entered the village. Honestly, I wasn't impressed, Seafront was busier, even so, I saw some points of interest.
The owner of a tavern opened the door of his establishment, welcoming his customers, a blacksmith focused on his work, forging swords and armor, a florist watered her flowers and left them arranged in an inviting way.
Some people fished on the riverbank while I passed the market street, seeing some sold products, mainly food, but there wasn't much variety.
We moved to a poor village in the middle of nowhere, a perfect place to plan our next move. Hm... Don't think that way, Hyde! You wanted to move to a peaceful place and now you have what you wanted! Make the best of it! Be polite, be nice, and try to make friends! This is a new life, so try to mingle with the locals.
Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention to where I went and bumped into someone.
"OUCH!" A familiar male voice shouted.
"Oh! Sorry! It was my fault, I didn't pay attention to where I went and..."
The words died in my throat and my hand remained stretched out in the air as the person paralyzed me, Nier.
SHIT! Jekyll and I screamed mentally.
"Damn it! What was it... Wait! Hyde?" Nier asked confused.
"HEHE! Hi Nier... How are you?" I replied nervously. Jekyll, quick! What do I do? I asked mentally.
"First, help Nier pick up the dropped groceries."
I saw a food basket throw on the ground, fruits, fish, vegetables, and other things. I quickly crouched to help Nier pick them up.
"I'm sorry about that, let me help!"
"No problem, I can do it myself; I don't want to bother you."
"Please, I insist." I smiled and Nier returned it with his own. Therefore, I helped him pick his things up from the ground.
"So, Hyde, what are you doing here? I thought you lived in Seafront."
"Now repeat what I'm about to say."
"Oh! Yes, that's true, but I decided to move. Things at Seafront got too hectic for me, especially after the accident."
"That's right, I heard about it. There was a huge explosion in the sea near Seafront, flaming debris rained down on the city, and some people were injured. Fortunately, no one died. I'm glad I left before this happened, but it's a strange coincidence that it occurred on the same day we met, isn't it?"
Hm... I believe Nier is asking an innocent question, he mustn't have made the connection yet.
"You can bet! I planned to leave Seafront; the explosion only strengthened my resolve." I finished helping him and we up, walking together through the village.
"Well, welcome to our little village, there's not much to do here, but it's a peaceful place with kind people."
"I noticed, even though they don't seem to like me."
"Don't worry, give them some time and they'll soon get used to you."
"I hope so; I don't want to get into trouble with anyone."
"Changing the subject, where do you live? Would you mind if my sister and I visited you? We could introduce you to the village's inhabitants, and my sister would love to meet new people."
"Right, I'm living in the stone house next to the main entrance, close to where most of the farmers live."
"Wait! Is that your house? The same house where someone threw a chair through the window?"
"Oh... You saw that... I had a little argument with my roommate about breakfast."
"And your bird too."
"My bird?"
"Yes, you bird. Sorry about this, but my sister and I heard the whole argument, including the screech of an animal that I assume was a bird."
"Of course! Of course! My bird! I'm sorry for our bad first impression. It seems the argument agitated my pet."
"I understand, maybe we can all meet someday, Yonah loves animals."
"I don't know if it would be a good idea. My roommate is quite grumpy and my parrot is a bit scary."
"It can't be that bad."
"Yeah, believe me."
Our conversation ended when we reached a fork in the streets. I said goodbye to Nier and we both went our separate ways.
"It was nice talking to you Hyde! Welcome and come visit us!" Nier waved.
"Leave it to me! I can't wait!" I waved back, then Nier disappeared around a corner.
"That was close!"
"You think? I didn't notice." I replied sarcastically, leaving the village through another gate, I don't want to risk meeting Nier again.
"Look on the bright side, you're making friends."
"And this friend realized how strange it was that the explosion occurred on the same day we met."
"Don't worry, Nier was just being nice, I doubt he tried to get information from you."
"I hope you're right…"
"The brat was annoying." Zon muttered inside my bag.
"Shut up!"
"Then come here and shut me up! All that sweet talk about friends and family makes me sick!"
I ignored him again and continued on my way, hearing music and someone singing, catching my curiosity.
Following it, I arrived at some ruins with a fountain in its center, a wavy red-haired woman wearing a white shirt with long black sleeves and a long red dress underneath sat on its edge.
She played a lute while singing in a language I didn't understand as several children sat on the ground around her, listening too.
I leaned against one of the ruins and heard her pleasant song, even though I didn't understand any of the words. Suddenly, she stopped.
"Can I help you with something?" The woman asked politely.
Looking around, I realized that she talked to me. I pointed at myself with a questioning look and she nodded.
"No, thanks! I was just listening to the song, you sing very well!"
"You've barely met the her and you're already flirting with her."
"Shut your mouth!"
"What did you say?!" The woman demanded offended while I widened my eyes, realizing what I just said.
"No, no, no! I'm very sorry! I wasn't talking to you!" I tried to diffuse the situation.
"Well, there's no one else here but the kids, you and me." She responded irritably.
"Listen, I believe we started on the wrong foot. How about we try again? My name is Hyde." I approached, offering a handshake.
She stared at me with disdain for a few seconds before turning to the children and speaking.
"It's time for you to go home; your parents must be worried. We can continue tomorrow."
With several confirmations and complaints, the children left, then, the woman stood up and accepted my handshake.
"I heard about you, you must be the newcomer. My name is Devola, and as one of the village chiefs, I would like to welcome you."
"AAAHHH!"
I jumped surprised upon hearing Jekyll screaming in my mind.
"Something wrong?" Devola asked worriedly.
"No, no, don't worry, I'm fine!"
"AAAHHH!"
This was a lie, as Jekyll still screamed like a lunatic.
"Listen, just talk if you need help. My sister and I are the village chiefs, we can call a healer." Devola said even more worried, extending a hand.
I was about to accept her help, but I saw my skin turning black the moment I reached out my hand. I immediately hid it inside my pocket, but felt my arm moving on its own, so I used my other hand to keep it still.
"DANGER! DANGER!"
I felt my leg trying to step away from Devola, I had to fight to keep myself in place, but the member shook horribly. She placed her palm on my forehead, measuring my temperature, I blushed at the proximity, but this was not the time to be embarrassed.
"My God! You're boiling! Wait here, I'll call for help!" Devola ran toward the village without wasting time.
"Of course, of course! Leave it to me!"
And without wasting time, I ran in the opposite direction toward the nearest building, the village library, a large two-story construction made of wood and stone.
Closing the large double doors behind me, I sighed relieved, leaning against it.
"Jekyll! What the fuck was that?!"
He didn't answer.
"Hello, is anyone here?" A female voice echoed through the library. Another red-haired woman appeared, walking down a stairway to my left, wearing clothes exactly like Devola, but she had straight hair.
"Hey!" I waved nervously.
Quickening her pace, she stopped in front of me and studied me with a hand on her chin.
"I don't remember seeing you before, are you new here?"
"Yes, that's right! My name is Hyde, and you?"
"Nice to meet you, Hyde, my name is Popola!" She smiled.
"AAAHHH!"
Not again!
-XXXXXX-
"Very well, Hyde! Time to start." Jekyll crawled from my body.
"Well, it had to happen at some point. I better learn how to use magic before I fight things I don't understand… Again…" I shrugged.
"Why are we here?" Zon floated beside me.
We stood in an area away from the village, full of shadows due to the gigantic rocks around us, a perfect place for Jekyll to train me.
"Training, I need to get better at using my sword and magic."
"MASO!" Jekyll shouted.
"MASO." I corrected myself.
"Hump! You don't need training with me here! Just point at the enemy and I will turn them to ashes!" The book said arrogantly.
"That's exactly why I need to train. I can't rely on your magic alone."
"If that's what you want, just don't come begging for my help when you're on the verge of death." Zon said irritably before floating away.
"Ready?" Jekyll asked, removing his ax from inside his body.
"Ready!" I drew my sword and assumed a fighting stance.
"We will begin with what is MASO, MASO is a particle from another world, incapable of being destroyed by conventional means, but the feats you call magic can be performed due to their ability to acquire practically unlimited energy."
Jekyll swung his ax, dark energy enveloped the weapon's blade before a projectile hurled towards the sky, exploding into a dark cloud in the distance.
"I think I understand, but how do I use MASO? I only did things by accident or instinct."
"This is an interesting question with several answers, and instinct is one of them. MASO is everywhere around us, but I discovered how to use it differently by already having a good grasp of how it works. We need to find an appropriate method for you."
"And how do we do that?"
"Well, they say the best way to learn something is to practice it." Jekyll stepped forward, swinging his ax toward me.
"HOLY CRAP!" I blocked it with my sword.
"Good reaction!"
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
"No, but the next facility's defenses will!" Jekyll stepped back and tried to cut my stomach.
I jumped back, dodging the blow, but I ran away as soon as I saw a darkness blade coming. I circled Jekyll, dodging the projectiles he sent, but couldn't move too far because our bodies were still linked.
I advanced toward him, taking an opening in one of his attacks, and tried to pierce his chest.
However, he twisted his body aside like water, dodging my blow, and bringing his ax down towards me in an awkward position. I raised my sword, placing my other hand on its flat to endure the most of the attack.
"I don't see how this will help me use MASO!"
"Are you even trying?! MASO is all around you, you have used its power before! Remember the feeling when you fought Neptune!"
"You talk like it's easy!" I parrying his ax aside.
"Believe me, it wasn't!" Jekyll tried to hit me again.
I jumped to the left, dodging the attack, and tried to cut his neck, but he twisted again, ducking until his legs disappeared into the ground, then, trying to cut my legs off.
I jumped, getting away of the attack, and I plunged my sword toward his head as I fell. However, he simply slid away while sending more darkness blades toward me.
Come on Hyde! Do something! You're not getting anywhere with this! I mentally screamed, dodging the blades.
"Is that all you got boy?! I expected more!" Zon shouted.
"Shut up!" I screamed, but had to focus on the fight to dodge another blade.
"That's your best answer?! Where is the warrior who killed the rust pile in Atlantis?!"
Nevertheless, I was torn between responding the book or I moving toward Jekyll, so I did both.
"I told you to shut up!"
"Whatever! But if you can't get rid of the live oil slick there, then you better not even bother trying to save humanity!"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, swing my sword toward Jekyll.
What I didn't expect was for flames to engulf the sword and a flaming wave to shoot toward Jekyll at my swing's end. I would yell for Jekyll to move away, but he swung his ax, sending a blade toward the flames.
Both attacks collided, creating an explosion accompanied by a smoke cloud. When it cleared; I saw Jekyll staring at me with what I thought was pride.
"Well, using your anger is not the best method, but tell me, what are you feeling?" He approached me.
"It's so strange, it's like something is running through my body, something powerful, but at the same time it's all around us." I watched the flames engulfing my sword.
"I want you to focus on that feeling every time you use MASO. I want you to remember what you feel right now until you can do it instinctively."
"Right! But could you answer one question before we continue?"
"Yes, ask it."
"It is about what happened yesterday when we met Devola and Popola. You panicked and tried to control my body, why?"
Jekyll was silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, he twitched erratically, slowly losing his humanoid shape and becoming a slime on the ground. Simultaneously, he muttered a series of nonsense.
"DANGER! DANGER! TWINS! BURDEN! MAKE SURE EVERYTHING GOES AS PLANED! EVERYTHING HAS TO GO AS PLANED! EVERYTHING HAS TO GO AS PLANED! HUMANITY… HUMANITY… HUMANITY DEPENDS… I'M SORRY!"
"JEKYLL!"
He stood still like a statue in his distorted form As soon as I shouted his name, but he quickly returned to normal as if nothing happened.
"Jekyll?"
"We've rested long enough, let's continue your training." He spoke seriously, moving away from me.
"Oh! He's mad at you!" Zon teased, but I ignored him.
I spent the rest of the day getting my ass kicked, regretting asking Jekyll the question as he intensified my training to hellish levels, but he apologized profusely for the overreaction when everything ended.
A few weeks passed, we spent most days training, meeting villagers, or picked more items from the abandoned city, gold, jewels, and other valuables.
We bought new furniture and decorations for our home and hid our fortune in the basement. Let's just say I won't have to work for the rest of my life.
-XXXXXX-
"Why do I have to dress like that? It's just lunch!" I fixed my hair in front of the mirror.
"Because the first impression is what stays! Nier is being polite, so you better be too!" Jekyll replied.
Sighing, I left my room and passed by Zon who sat on the couch.
"I will have lunch at a friend's house; you better not do anything while I'm gone!" I pointed at him.
"You can leave it to me!" Zon replied politely while I raised an eyebrow in doubt.
I left the house, but I heard a noise coming from inside as soon as I closed the door.
"WOW!"
CRASH!
I closed my fist tightly and breathed deeply, trying to calm my anger. Better go before I'm late. I walked the village outskirts, approaching a small stone house beside a rocky formation. Adjusting my clothes one last time, I knocked on the house's door.
"I'm on my way!" A young female voice responded.
The door opened a few seconds later, revealing a little girl with pale skin, white hair, and wearing a light green dress with brown sandals.
"Hello!" The girl waved politely while smiling.
"Hello…" I waved hesitantly, smiling nervously.
"Yonah, who's at the door?" A male voice asked and Nier tilted his head aside, looking at me through the door frame.
"Oh, Hyde! Yonah, let him in!"
"Yes, brother Nier!" She opened the door completely and stepped aside.
"Excuse me." I entered the house, cleaning my shoes on the carpet.
"You can sit down; the food will be ready soon!" Nier pointed at a table with chairs around it while preparing lunch on a small wood stove.
Nodding, I approached the table while looking around. Their lived in a small, humble, but well-kept house.
Wooden shelves full of dishes and pots were attached to the walls as a small wooden bed stood beside them. A stone staircase leading upwards stood on the other side of the house while a sword rested on the wall beside it.
Strangely, even though the house was old, all the furniture and decorations seemed brand new.
I sat down in one of the chairs while Yonah sat on the opposite one and faced me intensely. I looked away, nervous about the situation, but she spoke before I did anything.
"Are you the nice gentleman who gave my brother a lot of money?"
"Yonah!" Nier shouted, his face red with embarrassment.
"Yes, I am. How do you know that?"
"Oh! Nier came running home one day, talking about how a strange guy gave him a bunch of money to distract an old woman."
"Yonah!"
"After that, Nier used the money to buy a lot of food, renovate the house, and buy us new furniture and clothes. He also bought me a bunch of toys and the medicine I needed, he also told me not to tell you any of this."
The funniest part is that Yonah didn't speak out of malice, she kept an innocent look on her face all this time.
I looked at Nier, waiting for an answer while trying but failing to hold back my laughter. The boy in question just stared at me with wide eyes, a red face, and an open mouth.
"So who wants pork stew?!" He smiled nervously.
"Me, me, me!" Yonah bounced on her seat, ignorant of the entire situation.
The rest of the lunch was uneventful, we talked, had fun, and I knew the siblings better. Honestly, they weren't that bad.
Nier asked if I had more work for him, as the village was very poor and most of the businesses were family ones, so no one could afford to pay for workers.
I didn't have anything now, but I would get in touch if any opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately, Jekyll, Zon, and I had to attend serious matters the next day.
-XXXXXX-
"The next installation is here, isn't it?" I observed the scene in front of me.
"Yes, just follow my instructions and we'll get there."
"I already hate this!" Zon struggled inside my bag.
The Aerie was a cliff side village, consisting mainly of wooden and steel platforms and suspension bridges over a wide canyon. We didn't see any inhabitants, so I just followed the directions given to me.
I question the logic of building a village on a cliff, but since I don't live here, it's not my problem if this whole place comes crashing down. Although, I was a little scared when walking on the bridges over the chasm.
I hear the inhabitants voices inside as I passed by their houses, and they weren't exactly kind.
"Great! Another stranger came to cause trouble!"
"Go away! We don't want people like you here!"
"It's not enough that the accursed monster lives nearby!"
"I hope you get eaten by the monster in human skin!"
"Let me out! I'll show them who the monster is here!" Zon tried to escape the bag. I held it tightly and hurried my walk, crossing the village, and walking along several metal walkways built into one of the cliff walls.
"Stop and look up!"
Doing as he said, I saw part of a tunnel coming from one of the cliff walls, while the rest stood on the opposite one in the distance.
Jekyll removed one of his hands from my body and grabbing the tunnel's edge, pulling us up. We flew a little before landing carefully inside it.
The tunnel's floor had metal rails similar to the one in the previous installation. Following Jekyll's instructions, I advanced only to discover that it split into several paths.
We went left, right, right again, left, until we came to a large circular room with tunnels and tracks on all sides, and a circular platform in its center that it seemed able to rotate.
I approached a metal door on the other side of the circular room; Jekyll left my body and slid his access card into a device beside it. With a series of whistles and colored lights, the metal door opened and we saw a large metal staircase leading upwards.
"Well, I think that's it. We will enter another facility, aren't we?"
"Yes, be ready for the worst. Neptune tried to kill us; I do not doubt that the AI responsible for this one will try too."
"Thank you for the comforting words."
"You're welcome."
Therefore, I went up the stairs without wasting any time, wondering what kind of dangers I would encounter ahead.
END OF CHAPTER