BOOM! BOOM!
The gunshots cleanly pierced through the guard's head, their lifeless bodies falling to the ground.
Feeling his consciousness fading, Mikhail saw the 7 wormholes closing for once and all.
But as he succumbed to the darkness, he saw the two last remaining controllers of the group advancing towards him.
'Fuck.'
Unfortunately, he had no energy left in him to do anything now.
In the final second, he saw them nearing toward him with furious expressions on their faces.
'Such an early end-'
SLASH!
Before he could understand what happened, dark overtook him.
The headless bodies of the two advancing controllers was the last thing he saw.
***
In the remains of a destructive and fierce battle, a figure could be seen descending from the sky.
Their silent but fierce presence made it seem as if the world was put on hold.
The strewn bodies of soldiers and monsters on the crimson-blanketed ground didn't matter.
Their eyes were locked to a single man who lay unconscious on the battlefield.
And the only one still alive.
His condition was fatal, to say the least.
The torn clothes were drenched in blood, the majority of it being his own.
Deep gashes and wounds covered his whole body, making his face almost unrecognizable at a glance.
The leaking blood pooled around his body as the black-haired man drifted to death with every passing second.
But unlike one would expect, his expression seemed to betray his condition.
It was one of peace and calm, as if what just happened to him didn't matter.
As if he was at peace with what just happened.
The wind whipped and pooled around the ground as the figure softly stepped on the ground, cushioning the step.
Their emerald eyes were still fixated on the man's body.
Despite the man's condition though, there was no sign of empathy or worry in the figure's eyes.
Rather, it was one of curiosity and intrigue.
In the midst of the battlefield, it was her soft voice to break the stretching silence.
"Interesting."
***
'Hmm?'
Mikhail's eyes opened to a small wooden house.
Warm unfiltered sunlight entered through the open window, illuminating the simple interior of the house.
'Why are the walls so big-'
Mikhail was unable to complete his thoughts as he felt his body move automatically.
'What?'
He couldn't control the person's body which he was currently in, only seeing the world through their eyes.
'Why is the world so bi-'
Realization finally hit him.
He was in the body of a child.
'No wonder.'
Despite his large view, the house wasn't that large from a general view.
It could barely even be called a house if he had to be honest, as it was no larger than a normal room.
It was definitely larger than their individual camp tents though.
But…
'Why does this seem so-'
Before he could complete his thought, the boy suddenly moved from his bed.
"Ungh."
With his small body, he carefully got down the wooden bed, running to the door.
Not being able to reach the handle, he hurriedly ran towards a nearby corner.
From there, he carefully inserted his small hand inside of a small gap within the wooden planks.
Taking out a small crowbar, he inserted it under the gap of the door.
"Hngh!" He pulled with all the little strength he had.
Creak…
With a creaking noise, the door was let out of the handle, opening up the entrance for him.
Mikhail felt joy well up within him, or rather the boy at his success.
Running back to the gap, he put the crowbar inside, hiding it carefully.
Following that, he ran to a nearby table, not caring about losing his breath.
It seemed as if he was in a hurry.
'Why does this-'
His eyes widened when he saw the boy pick up a book from the table.
The cover wasn't all that shiny or well-kept, even torn from the edges a little.
But it was the title that left him surprised.
'21 Stories Of Freedom And Love'
Before he could think anything about it again, he was taken by surprise when the boy happily rushed out of the house.
There was a rising sense of happiness and enjoyment within him.
Almost as if it was the best moment of the day in the boy's daily life.
But the ongoing question still plagued Mikhail.
Why was he enjoying this? And why did it feel so familiar?
The boy couldn't be him.
There was no memory in his early life where he ever did this.
The difference was of heaven and earth.
But then, why?
'I need more information.'
For now, all he could do was just see what happened later on with the boy.
Coming out of the house, he saw the bright sunlight hit him straight in the eyes.
As he adjusted to the brightness, the view before him became clear to his eyes.
'It looks like a village.'
There were wooden black houses all around, placed at even distance on the sides of the ground he was standing on.
But there was something strange…
The streets. Or rather, the whole village..
Was completely empty.
Not a single person could be seen in the area.
'What is this place?'
He was certainly sure that he never knew any place like this or even similar to this.
It made no sense.
The boy moved once more.
But unlike what Mikhail was expecting, he didn't run through the streets of the village.
Rather, he snuck around to the back of the house, as if hiding from something.
Sneaking around in the long grass and behind the trees, the boy hid in the shadows.
Mikhail saw him keep moving like this until he reached an exact same house as before at the end of the street.
From there, he saw the boy look around at the backside of the house, as if trying to find something.
It was then that a voice entered the boy's ears.
"Here." It was a soft whisper of a girl.
A warm feeling of joy rose in the boy's chest as he quickly ran to the voice.
There, in the corner of the house and hidden in the long grass, he saw a little girl.
But…
'What the hell?'
The girl's face..
He couldn't see it.
It all appeared as a glitching blur to him, with only her smile available for him to see.
Just like the boy, she had a warm and teasing smile on her face.
She quickly put a finger to her lips before the boy could say something.
"Shhhh, hold your excitement." She whispered.
The boy finally realized where he was and nodded, scratching his head in embarrassment.
The girl chuckled, standing up as the boy gave her his hand.
It was only then that Mikhail realized that she seemed to be older than the boy, standing taller than him.
Of course, he could be wrong as he was only judging from the height.
"Let's go." She whispered, not leaving his hand.
The boy nodded happily, the two quickly running away from the houses in the long grass.
Mikhail saw the two head down the long grass and trees for a few minutes before finally stopping.
There, before him, stretched a large lake, the clean water shining under the sunlight.
"There." The girl whispered, gesturing to a spot under the shade of a tree right by the lake.
Even though they were quite a distance away from the village, the girl was still whispering.
'They are hiding from something.'
That much was confirmed.
As the two sat down under the shade hand-in-hand, Mikhail felt a rising warmth in him.
'This boy…'
From what he could tell from just his emotions, it looked like the girl meant the world to him.
The current moment was his happiest time of the day.
But why…
'Why do I feel so attached to her as well?'
Why did it still feel so familiar?
Nothing. He could remember not a single moment from this dream that had happened in his past.
'It must be since I'm in the boy's body.'
He was seeing what he was seeing. He was feeling what he was feeling.
That was the only reasonable explanation.
Under the shade of the tree, Mikhail saw the two happily enjoy the breeze of the wind, looking out over the lake.
It was then that he saw the boy take out the story book from his back.
The instant that he did, he saw a blush come up on the girl's lips.
"You brought it?" She asked, almost saying it out loud from her excitement and happiness.
"Un." The boy nodded cheerfully.
Mikhail saw the girl's smile turn wider as she pulled the boy into a hug.
Calming the girl down, the boy opened the book, turning to a specific page number.
'This doesn't seem to be the first time he's doing this.'
The two happily poked their heads in the book, with the boy tracing his small finger over the words so the girl wouldn't lose track.
They read silently and blissfully, enjoying each other's company.
Time stretched for a long time before Mikhail saw the boy take a loud yawn.
"Are you sleepy?" The girl whispered, chuckling.
The boy nodded after a moment from embarrassment, trying to hide his face.
"You didn't sleep last night?" she asked.
The boy stopped, frozen at her question.
But after a moment, he nodded slowly again, trying to hide the blush that was creeping on his face.
Mikhail saw the girl laugh, the cheerful smile on her face spreading wider.
"It's okay," she said, adjusting her position before putting his head in her lap.
"You can rest for a while here before we leave." She chuckled, ruffling his hair.
Mikhail saw the boy freeze at the sudden movement, embarrassment welling up in him.
But more than embarrassment was happiness and enjoyment.
It was clear that he was loving it.
"Come on now, don't waste your time and close your eyes." She pouted.
The boy hurriedly nodded, not wanting to make her sad.
"Un." He closed his eyes, not able to see the smile that returned on her face.
"Good boy." She ran a hand through his hair.
Darkness overtook Mikhail as well when the boy closed his eyes, now only being able to hear the girl's voice.
"Rest and sleep well."
Her soothing voice hit like a comfortable pillow to the boy's ears, tiredness overtaking him.
Unfortunately, Mikhail knew that this dream wouldn't just be a happy one.
There was definitely something up.
And he was right when he heard a sharp cry of pain from the girl in the distance, his eyes opening with a snap.
Mikhail, or rather, the boy woke up to being dragged by a group of people, fully covered in black.
In the distance, he could also see the girl being dealt the same treatment by another group.
The boy's shocked eyes met the girl, who had tears streaming down her face now.
A sense of struggle and desperation overtook the boy as he tried to force himself to break free.
Unfortunately, he was too weak.
His hand stretched out in a hopeless attempt to grab the girl despite the distance.
And the girl did the same.
Mikhail could feel the pain and hopelessness in the boy as he saw the girl being dragged away from him.
It was as if his world was breaking down into pieces.
Not just the boy…
But Mikhail as well.
He didn't know the girl.
He didn't know the boy either.
He didn't know anything that was going on.
But then…
'Why does it feel so damn familiar!?' He cried out, his thoughts unable to get out.
Why did the boy's pain and desperation feel as if it were his own!?
Why did he want to fight those captors for the girl?
As Mikhail saw the girl being taken away from his vision, he cried out loud, despite knowing his voice couldn't be heard.
Just like the boy.
"NOOOOO!"
At that moment, the world around him disappeared with a snap, his body shooting up from his bed.
The scene around him changed to the infirmary where he saw his squadron around him, worried looks in their eyes.
His clothes were drenched in sweat, with his breath coming out in hurried gasps.
Mikhail was back.
Back to the real world.
And a notification appeared before him.
—————〔Chronicle I〕—————
• Condition: Uncover the assassination and save your academy from getting destroyed.
[Rewards:]
• Character Progression: +15% [Granted]
• Mana Increase: +300 [Granted]
[Status: Completed]
———————————————