Artin, the leader of the masked crew, face contorted in a mixture of frustration and disbelief, is practically vibrating with suppressed rage.
"Seriously?" he sputters, gesturing dramatically at the bewildered-looking victim. "Another one? Are we cursed with Penniless aura?"
The crew, thoroughly unimpressed with their leader's dramatic tone, simply shrugged and exchanged weary glances. "This is getting old," one mutters, adjusting his mask.
Suddenly, their attention is drawn to a peculiar sight. Standing amidst the chaos, Ethan, who stares vacantly into space, his eyes wide with an unsettling mixture of terror and existential dread.
The masked men, the aspiring robbers, cautiously approach the bewildered youth. "Hey kid," their leader begins, his voice dripping with forced cheerfulness. "You alright there?"
Ethan remains unresponsive, his gaze fixed on a particularly menacing-looking cloud. "Hey," the leader repeats, waving a hand in front of Ethan's face. "Kid! You seem to be having a bit of a disconnection from reality."
The crew erupts into a flurry of unhelpful dialogues.
"He's sleeping!" one declares confidently.
"No way," another scoffs. "Who can sleep with their eyes open? It's a new level of dedication to the art of napping."
"Maybe he's suffering from a rare condition," a third suggests, "where the brain shuts down, but the eyes remain inexplicably open. Like a malfunctioning surveillance camera."
Artin finally became angry by their useless babblings and turned towards them. and started lecturing them.
The subordinates, however, notices a subtle change in Ethan's eyes. His fingers twitch, and a low growl rumbles deep within his chest. Then, with a blood-curdling shriek that could shatter glass, Ethan unleashes a terrifying scream.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Due to the sudden horrifying scream, Artin, who was near Ethan, lost consciousness.
The masked men crew startled as they scattered like cockroaches. unaware their leader was lost his conscious.
"Ghost! Run for your lives!" one yells, sprinting away.
"Holy moly, he's possessed!" another cries, tripping over his own feet in his haste to escape.
"Wait, where's Artin?" a third shouts also running in marathon, suddenly realizing their leader in crime has vanished.
The remaining three men exchange panicked glances. They look behind them, expecting to see Artin, but instead, they are greeted by the sight of... nothing. A chilling silence hangs in the air.
"I think I'll just... head home," one mutters, disappearing into the night.
Seeing that the remaining two had also decided to leave, they went to their houses, completely forsaking their leader.
while mumbling "If you are alive, we will meet again tomorrow, leader"
"Rest in peace, leader. May you be reincarnated in another world."
...
Ethan, who had finally regained clarity of reality, mumbled with gasping breaths, "I was back! Back, back from... where?".
He controlled his breath as he questioned himself, "Something is not correct."
He definitely knows that he went to a strange place, but he doesn't remember anything except a few names.
"The cradle of creation, The Crimson Keep, Title: Eternal".
'What are those names again? Names? What names? What I even thinking about?'
Ethan pondering was interrupted by snoring.
"rr zzzz rzzz"
It was leader of masked crew leader.
'Wait-what, why the hell is he sleeping on middle road and where is his crime crew?'
he looked around but there were no one in that except he and sleeping leader, seeing that Ethan sighed.
By pulling and pushing, he put the leader under the roadside tree and left.
'Whatever, I am going to go home'
...
Ethan comes to his apartment as he completely forgetting about the things he experienced in the crimson keep. A few names were stored in his deep inner conscious.
"So today is also a boring day."
"Wait a minute", 'Something is not right, how did the leader of masked men end up sleeping on road and where are crew members'.
Ethan pondered has his eye touched clock on wall time: 11:45. He signed
'Even when I take the short route, I end up arriving late. I think I will just sleep. There goes my examination tomorrow. I am totally going to fail the exam'.
...
Next day
Ethan woke up with a jolt and ran to the bathroom as he vomited. "What the hell was that dream?" All he saw was endless bloodlands towering spires.
"Strange, why do I feel familiar with that weird place."
He turned towards the clock and realized it was getting late for school.
While he was bathing, he noticed an unknown bruise on left hand and a painful right leg.
"It appears that I need to consult a doctor once more." he signed and ignored it.
...
At one of the many Schools, where children of lower district of Southern city studies.
Ethan walked in with a slightly pained expression as he dragged his aching right leg. He entered his classroom, waiting for the inevitable.
His classmate and best friend named Liam, called him
"Yoo! Ethan, you look terrible, what with that sleepy face?"
Ethan was about to respond, but before he could do so, the classroom doors opened with a loud noise, interrupting the students.
"Enough chit-chat Dimwits, sit in order of your register number in those empty classes" the students reluctantly complied, with a few remarking on their strict lecturer.
"He never changes, does he?"
"So harsh"
"Ah, who created these dreadful exams?"
"I understand your sentiment, my friend."
"I still wonder how in the hell he got married though."
Hearing that, the lecturer's lips twitched and thought, 'That's because I am not an idiot like you'.
Ethan and Liam parted ways as they are in different exam halls.
The examination has commenced, and students are diligently writing down the answers they recall.
Ethan, however, saw the question paper, he answered a few questions, then gave up on the exam, and started sleeping in the exam hall.
Time had passed, and the examination had ended.
Ethan woke up and found the room empty, his answer sheet missing. Thinking that the invigilator had taken his answer sheet, he left the room.
In the corridor, he heard the voice of his best friend.
Liam inquired, "Ethan, there you are. I have been looking for you."
"About that, I was sleeping in the examination hall," Ethan honestly replied.
Liam, however ignored that answer and asked his important question "how was your exam?"
Ethan, "It was terrible I only wrote few answers, and then I fell asleep in the exam hall."
Seeing the state of his friend, Liam asked, "Shall we go to a new movie on Sunday? The budget is on me."
Ethan grinned, "Sounds like a plan," unaware of Liam's reason for the treat.
'Haha, it seems I am not the last ranker in the class,' Liam thought and grinned like an idiot.
...
Three days passed
During these three days, Ethan did not hear any whispers, which him quite happy.
"Looks like whisper's are gone, just as that bald doctor said".
However, every morning, Ethan experiences body pains. "Was my body become sensitive or something, it seems I need to eat more food."
In school, results of exams finally arrived making students nervous they know they will be in trouble if they got low marks as they remembered their strict lecturer warnings.
Ethan and Liam are aware of their positions as the lowest rankers in class, yet their curiosity wants them to check their rankings as they approach the notice board.
Liam searched for their ranks. He found his rank but not Ethan's rank at the end of the list. His heart sank as searched for Ethan's rank. Middle ranks, higher ranks, top ranks. Finally, Liam found Ethan's rank.
TEST RANKINGS:
1: Ethan
.
.
.
98: Liam
Seeing that Liam felt surprised and betrayed he slowly turned his face towards Ethan, who had a dumbfounded expression.