Fifteen nodded sagaciously. “Indeed, changed quite drastically.”
He trembled, and in that instant, it seemed like a miniature sun, a size of a fist, had descended upon his already sun-like head. I turned my entire head away from the man, silently cursing in my heart.
“Fudge, I must have Fifteen do a workout routine sometime. His capacity hasn’t grown at all.” The figure of light paused, and the light weakened. “Ahem, Dawn Protector here. It’s great that you survived your tribulation.”
There was something off about his manner of speaking, but I couldn’t exactly place my finger on it. It seemed like he was far more informal than the first time I saw him. Or was he always speaking like this? I mentally shrugged and put that issue aside.
“Uh, thanks?”
“Don’t go around thanking me too quickly. There’s a whole host of problems now that you’ve awakened.” Fifteen’s body shook his head, but it felt like there was a wry slant to it. “But that’s your problem. You have no identity, citizenship and background whatsoever.”
“That’s…”
“Igor has naturally done something to rectify that. You’ll need to head down to the local Practitioner Circle branch to claim it, though.” The brilliant radiance weakened, and a metallic card popped into existence right in front of me. “Just hand this to whoever’s there. Don’t do anything stupid on your way though. You need to get your papers first, before you can get arrested.”
“What about the others?” I asked.
“The family of two has become a family of three. The old wizard continues to live freely and has his meals at a friend’s café. Your friend has been long accepted into the Practitioner Circle, and the little hooded mortal lives a normal life,” said the Dawn Protector. “Naturally, you don’t exist in nearly everyone’s memories, but that doesn’t matter to you now, does it?”
The blob of not-so-bright light turned away from me to look at a window, and I followed his gaze. The blue sky greeted me, and I recalled the sight of an ash-grey sky, driving away the chill that loneliness brought.
“Then,” I said. “What about him?”
“He lives a happy and ordinary life with his parents. There’s so much that I could say, but in short, he’s gone down a route entirely different from yours.” The Dawn Protector opened the window, and a slight fragrance wafted into the ward. “You’ve accomplished what you set out to do. It’s time for you to leave the past behind.”
“What do you mean?”
There was a sound of someone snapping his fingers, and my vision went white as a dazzling light engulfed me. A gentle warmth started spreading out from my chest. My body had been restored to its peak condition, and I could faintly feel vitality overflowing from my body.
“I need a champion on this little blue ball. And you fit the bill, so do your best. Anyway, with you around, my job will become a lot easier. I’ll go get a suntan or two for the next month or so.” The Dawn Protector stuck his head out of the window and looked around attentively.
“So, what am I supposed to do? Shouldn’t I get a break too? Also, isn’t there a ceremony or sorts before I become your champion or whatever it is?” I asked.
He waved his arm impatiently. “Don’t sweat the minor details. Left to your own devices, you’ll probably get involved in anything that I usually need to intervene in any way, now that you have power. You love this world far too much.”
“And my break?”
“You’ve slept for eight years, isn’t that enough?” He snapped his fingers, and a yellow circle, interlaced with complex lines and symbols, sprung into existence underneath his feet. “Anything else? I really need to prepare for my sunbath.”
There was something utterly wrong about these words coming from the Dawn Protector, but I wasn’t sure exactly what. At any rate, everyone around me seemed to be inconsiderate. I just woke up. How am I supposed to know what else I should be asking? The Dawn Protector, noting my silence, raised his eyebrow.
“I have a few words left for you then. Every tree has branches, every path: their destinations. Fallen leaves become nutrients for the branches to climb higher. You’ll never be truly alone.” He snapped his fingers again, and with a little whoosh, he disappeared, head, body and circle, leaving behind a few spatial ripples in his wake.
“Were they all taken verbatim from fortune cookies?” I scratched my head and got off the bed. “A hero, huh. Guess that’s where I got this dream from. What should I do first, then?”
First off, I had to get my new identity. And some money. Get into the Practitioner Circle, accept some random missions to climb up a few ranks, maybe settle down for a decade or so with a mansion. After that… the ‘save the world’ thing didn’t sound all that bad to me.
This planet was full of irreplaceable things. The sky, the land, the greenery. People from all walks of life. The myriad bonds between them. The love between a parent and a child. That my job was to protect all these things… it didn’t really sound that bad, did it?
Of course, being a hero would also be quite lucrative.
Indeed.
I turned away from the window and left the room, closing the door with a bang.
Afterword
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