jdhmnovel Chapter 0
Chapter 0
Chapter 0“Are you sure?”
A figure stands alone, staring into an empty void. Against all logic, he is alive. He is all that remains. There is not an atom of matter, a whisper of sound, a breath of wind.
There is simply… nothing.
“Do I have another choice?”
“You remember almost everything, ■■■■■■■. Almost.”
“...nobody remembers everything. That’s not how the human mind works.”
All that was left were two voices, each identical to the other. Not a single flaw to cause one set of words to differ from the other. Had there been light, they would have been perfect replicas of each other in appearance, but with nothing left, all that remained were their words. Their voices rang out, even though there was no concept of space to carry the sound waves.
“You’re not a normal human.”
“...thanks.”
“Your memories. You have almost all of them back. So you know why you’re here, right? You know where you came from. Isn’t that enough, ■■■■■■■? Wasn’t this what you wanted?”
Silence. The figure could feel the emptiness pressing in around him, as if the weight of the non-existent universe were weighing upon his shoulders. The lack of noise was so quiet it was deafening.
“Well…”
“You can bring them back. You can bring everyone back. Just… you know.”
There was a pause. The silence was deafening.
“You won’t be there.”
Yet another pause.
“I thought I was a god. An omnipotent, omniscient god.”
“Well, you . Not anymore. You’re about a millionth of a percentage away from that status right now.”
“And that’s enough to-”
“Yeah. Yeah, it is.”
A sigh from the figure. This void wasn’t a place he wanted to be in. But he was stuck between two impossible options, and until he could make his decision, this was his prison to stay in. For the longest time, staying here had been preferable to making a choice.
But it was about time he left.
“I… yeah. I get it.”
“You’ve made a decision?”
A deep sigh was enough of an answer.
“Do it.”
“Do what?”
“My memories. Take them.”
“...that’s what you’re choosing to do?”
“What? Was it the wrong decision to make?”
“That’s not for me to say. There was no wrong decision. There was no “better” decision. It’s just… what you wanted to do.”
One voice waited for the other to respond, but there was nothing.
“■■■■■■■. I’ll give you one more chance.”
“...!”
“You can see them again. Well, if you follow the script, that is.”
“What, in a way that’s interesting? In a way that makes the [Story] better?”
“Well, yeah. What did you expect?”
“...is that all?”
That seemed too easy. There had to be something else.
“Well… things might be a little harder for you later on. Is that ok?”
“What the hell. Things have always been hard for me. What’s a little more?”
“A little more is quite a few years of doing nothing.”
“I’ve spent thousands of years here. What’s a few more? Even if it’s not really me… it’d be worth it. To know it wasn’t all just- well, I think you get it. I’ll get to say goodbye, at the very least.”
From the void came a speck of light. It was just a dot, like a beam of sunlight coming through a pinhole, but in the darkness of the void, it was blinding.
“Oh. We’ll be going [Home], too. You have a lot to learn.”
The figure shrugged. He didn’t really care. “Hey, by the way. What memories do I get to keep?”
“...”
They could see each other now. One was staring at the light with a blank, empty expression, and the other had an incredibly sad smile on his face.
“The worst ones. The best ones. It’ll be a curse and a blessing. A double-edged sword.” Fresh chapters posted on novel_fіre.net
“You mean I’ll know that-”
“You’re a smart guy. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. What you do once you figure it out… well, I won’t spoil anything. They’re reading, after all.”
~~~
The world burns. It is about to burn. The hero, the demon, and the continents are about to erupt in flames. For a mortal, it might feel like it will take an eternity. But make no mistake. The hero will come.
The hero is a beacon of hope. A beacon of power. But a hero is only ever needed in times of need.
War will rage. Pain and suffering will sweep over the continent, for no matter the reason, war has no victors. Only those who suffer less. Only those who salvage as much as possible. For war always leaves widows, orphans, the crippled, the—
Well, hold on. You’re not here for all that, right? You don’t care. You’re not here for those who will be affected. You’re not here for the drama between these individuals, people you’ll never meet again.
After all, they’re numbers. Tools meant to sway your emotions. Pawns to walk down the line, one of which might get promoted to a queen. But in the end, there’s only one thing that matters, right?
You’re here to see the result of all that suffering. All that pain. You’re here to watch the hero’s journey. To watch them grow. To see them travel on an adventure, meet companions, find love, live life, and sit in the spotlight of the stage known as the world. To watch as they challenge the demon king and defeat them once and for all.
Hm? What did you say?
Those voices? Oh. Snippets of the [Story] you’re about to enter. You’ll recognize these lines soon enough. Maybe. Or, well, maybe you won’t. What’s that? No, I can’t tell you when they’re going to happen. No spoilers, you know?
What, them? Don’t worry about them. Yes, yes, whatever. Cry about it. You’ll have other things to worry about soon enough.
Now. Remember. This isn’t your story. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play around. After all, isn’t that what you’re here for?
What’s that? How much?
That’s up to you. You can sit back and watch if you want. Nothing is stopping you from doing that. But, I mean… is that really the fun thing to do?
It won’t be that easy, you know. You know what’s coming. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Well, some of it is. But, well… seeing as you’ll be going in soon, here’s one last bit of advice. You might not get it now. But someday, you’ll understand.
It is said that each life is a story. However, within each story is life. The lives of the characters, those who live within these amazing worlds, created by a writer who takes a jumble of letters and concepts and throws them together to bring a new world to light.
That world full of light is lifeless until it is brought to life by a reader, one who observes but does not interact. Eyes, scanning the pages like spotlights to shine upon those who will take center stage in the play known as the world. In doing so, they bring them to life through their own soul, breath blown into a lifeless world by the lives of others.
Every great story has a beginning. I sincerely hope this story is great. Every great character has a start. I similarly hope these characters will be great.
But that will ultimately be up to them.
And most importantly of all. It will be up to you.
Let the journey begin.