Chapter 4   - 4: Rude Awakening

"This is blood!"

The female student quickly opened her eyes as she rushed towards the direction of the scent. The cries get louder and louder as she gets closer to the source.

"!!!", her eyes widened as soon as she arrived in one of the isolated arenas of the academy. Right there, in the middle of the platform, a boy in rags was curled into a ball, covered in the pool of his own blood, forming ripples from his trembling body.

It was Evans.

The female student quickly ran up the stage to check up on the boy, and as soon as she touched him, the boy crawled away, the cracks of his broken bones whispering in the female student’s ears.

"G...go away!", the boy shouted as he once again curled into a ball, his blood trailing on the ground.

"This... who did this!?", the female student could not help but howl as she looked at the state of the boy.

"Who did this to you!?", the female student once again approached the boy, but due to her vexation, she almost slipped on the boy’s blood. But she quickly regained her balance, but the boots hanging on her neck fell to the ground. She, however, did not even care as she once again walked towards the bloodied boy, this time carefully.

"N...no. You’ve lost too much blood", seeing the boy’s pale skin, the female student could not help but cover her mouth. "I will take you to a heale--"

The female student was about to lift the boy up, but then she remembered the cracking sounds she heard when the boy moved.

If she carried him, there was a chance that his broken bones might puncture an organ. The female student could not help but click her tongue.

"Can you hear me, kid?", she spoke softly as she kneeled beside the boy, "My name is Gemma... hang in there, okay? I will call for a healer. I will be quick, I promise"

As soon as she said that, her muscles started to bulge and fur started growing on parts of her skin. Her feet also grew, half a size bigger than it was before, the nails on her toes as sharp as knives.

"Hang in there, kid", Gemma once again whispered before running off the platform, her claws leaving marks in the ground.

With the female student called Gemma gone, Evans was once again left alone in the arena. His cries still echo in the air. But after a few seconds, he lifted his head and wiped the tears that were on his face.

Even doing something as simple as that made his whole body ache. But still, he stood up. If the girl from earlier brings a healer here, he was afraid that he was going to get in trouble.

Evans thought that he would have to pay the healer. All of his treasures were destroyed by Gerald and his group, so they might lock him up if he couldn’t pay up, Evan thought.

Evans... was unfamiliar to help. All his life, he lived in a place where his cries were ignored. And when he tells anyone what his father does to him, his father would end up beating him even more.

And so, even though it felt like worms were eating his entire body from the inside out, he started to walk.

It hurts... It hurts... It hurts...

His mind was howling in pain, and yet, he continued to walk. Dragging his burnt feet, leaving footprints and trails of blood as he walked.

It hurts... It hurts...

My fucking feet hurt!

"Gah!"

His eyes trembled as he fell to the ground, unable to bear the pain any longer. The broken bones on his body wriggled, causing him to cough up blood once more.

Different thoughts raced in his mind.

Why did this happen to him?

What did he do to deserve this?

He thought that things would be different now that he discovered that he was a System Holder.

System Holders were heroes that defeated monsters... So, why did Gerald and his group do this to him?

His father also hurt and abused him relentlessly.

Was it actually him? Was he the problem?

’Am I... a monster?’, Evans thought.

He only wanted to get away, so why...

Why was he in so much pain?

Evans’ broken jaw once again trembled. His face winced because of all the pain that he was feeling, his tears once again trailed uncontrollably on his face.

His whimpers, once again filling the arena. His breaths, pushing away the blood that was drowning his face as he lay flat on the platform.

Something... anything...

His eyes blinked numerous times as he reached for anything that could help him. He waved his hand, slowly tapping the floor.

Anything... anything will do, he thought.

And then, finally, his hand felt something. He weakly turned his head to see what it was.

It was Gemma’s boots, which fell when she almost slipped on the platform.

Evans slightly chuckled as he saw the boots, coughing up blood in between. This would help alleviate the searing pain on his feet while walking, wouldn’t it?

And so, with all of his strength, he sat up. Gritting his teeth to try and ignore the pain. He untied the lace of the boots that were tangled together, his vision slowly fading to black as he did so.

The only thing he could hear now was the sound of his heart beating.

The pain that he was feeling drowned out any noise that the world could sing to him. It was only him, his breath, and his struggle in wearing the boots.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he successfully wore the boots. It was a bit big, but it was better than nothing.

And so, with a slight smile and hope on his face, he stood up... only to find himself falling back to the ground, like a puppet whose strings were cut.

*THUD*

"Hm?", Evans was confused. He fell to the ground, and yet he couldn’t feel any pain... No... he wasn’t feeling anything at all.

He tried to move his feet, but it no longer followed him. He tried to blink his eyes, but it also did not follow his orders.

"Oh...", Evans exclaimed as he stared at the words that were floating in front of him.

[Requirements successfully met...]

[Hermes System Unlocked!]

But soon, his vision completely turned dark and his stuttered breaths escaped him for the last time.

And the beating of his heart-- the only thing that he could hear, no longer echoed through his ears.

...

Evans... at a young age, filled with hopes and dreams... died alone and filled with only regrets, never to wake up again.

...

...

...

...

And then, there was a heartbeat.

"!!!", Evans’ eyes instantly opened wide, moving uncontrollably.

And then, another heartbeat. And another... and another, with each second, Evans’ heart beats faster than the last.

And soon, his heart was beating so fast to the point that it made his lifeless body tremble.

His broken jaw slowly returned in place. The burns on his arms wriggled like worms as it turned into a scab. The shards embedded on his skin started dropping one by one.

And then... the boots that he wore started to lit up.

The lights then floated in the air like threads being flown by the wind... and slowly, the threads formed into the shape of wings.

As soon as it did, Evans’ body stopped trembling, replaced by the fluttering of the wings that formed around his boots.

With a groan, Evans then stood up awkwardly, like a puppet being carried by strings.

Suddenly, his whole body blurred like static, and in an instant, he was now kneeling on the floor, the palm of his fingers touching it lightly.

The fluttering of his wings grew faster and faster until it could no longer be seen by the naked eye.

Evans shouted-- perhaps a scream loud enough to echo throughout the world.

And then, he was gone, leaving behind a trail of smoke.

"Did you hear that scream!? He is in pain, quick!"

Heavy footsteps could be heard coming from the corridor.

It was Gemma, and behind her, was a woman wearing a robe.

"He is right the--"

Gemma shouted and pointed at the center of the arena, but she stopped before she could finish her words as she squinted her eyes.

No one was there.

Did she actually... see a ghost? Gemma’s eyes widened as sweat started to appear on her face. She then shook her head. That couldn’t be.

The broken relics and the enormous amount of blood that were sprawled on the platform proved the boy was indeed here.

It’s just that, with his broken bones and loss of blood...

"Just where...

... where could he even be?"