...

I awoke from my peaceful sleep as a sharp pain resounded along my entire body, I tried to yell but all that came out was a small wheeze. The unbearable pain flared along my spine making me unable to move without causing more pain. The pain began to subside after a few seconds and wispy tendrils of red began to seep out of my body and disperse in the air. After a little longer the pain and the tendrils were gone entirely.

What was that!?

I hadn't eaten anything to make that happen... Was I being punished for hating my true name in a dream? Whatever it was I didn't want to think about it too much, so, I got out of bed and headed down the hall to go eat some breakfast.

Today is the day every student awaits for, the selection ceremony! What it is basically breaks down to students who trained in a certain field reaching the age of 17 and choosing their first paying job based off of qualifications met while the student was, well, a student. And today is the day I can finally put all my blood sweat and tears into something important for this city.

I've spent the past 5 years of my life training my body and mind to become a city guard, I know it isn't the most flashy job to have but it's one I believe has the best emotional return rates. I really do just want to help the people in this city I grew up with, that's all I'd ever feel the need to do in my life.

Maybe I haven't trained as hard as most of my other peers but I still tried regardless, and I think that's proof enough to let me help the people I love.

"Hey, bro you okay?..." A quiet voice abruptly interrupted my thinking.

I looked up to see my sister Elissa staring concerned at me.

"Sorry, I just got a little caught up in my thoughts, sorry to worry you." I chuckled a little knowing full well that I wasn't just "a little," caught up in my thoughts.

Elissa is my younger sister who shares basically no resemblance to me at all, it would be hard to tell we were even blood related at all. I have black hair and red eyes and my sister has bright red hair and orange eyes. Sometimes I wonder why the world works that way.

Elissa walked back down the hall with me to the kitchen where she quietly served me breakfast while I excitedly thought about my future.

"Thanks for the food! I'll be heading off now, stay safe while I'm gone okay?"

She looked towards me and smiled briefly which was more than enough confirmation she was proud of her big brother. And so, it was time to start my new life as a city guard!

Or so I thought...

I'd been hearing reports of suspicious activity going on in alleyway's recently but I never really took it to mind sense there were always going to be strange people in the streets no matter how much the city tried to reduce them. As I say that it comes with a hint of doubt because even to someone who doesn't bother trying to pay attention, it's become noticeable how much is going on in the streets of the city.

I tried to ignore the shady figures and just continue walking forward until a voice stopped me dead in my tracks. Like literally.

H̶͙̝̟̠̰̖͕̭̱͊͌̂̍̒̎̉͘ͅa̴̝̳̺͗l̴̲̱̅̾ṫ̶͎̩̜̪́̌̀̂̊!̸̧̫̠̊̀̔͠

An aethereal voice ruptured the air around me and froze my body still. In a blur I was grabbed and hurled into the nearest alleyway which undid whatever froze my body but gave me a new problem, pain.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I let out a groan as the feeling of getting thrown 20 ft would elicit, I tried to stand up but all my body could manage to do was quiver in pain.

"I thought you'd be more resilient than that, you are a guard in training after all." scoffed a deep voice coming from the rooftops above me.

I never really trained as hard as the others... A sudden wave of disappointment washed over me. I tried to stand but failed for the second time.

I weakly looked up and replied "What do you want from me?"

The injury I took from getting thrown wasn't a natural one and I could get that much pretty clear at this point, the kind of weakness in my body wouldn't have lasted this long, he must have done something to me similar to whatever froze me.

"Nothing much, I'm just having fun testing out my new power, can you blame me? It's really fun!"

"What kind of monster would find this fun?" I asked trying to sound as accusatory as possible.

The man leaped down from the rooftop and landed with surprising grace, my vision focused to show a young man around my age wearing clothes suiting that of a higher noble. He placed his foot on my head and starting to apply pressure, which trust me, hurt a lot.

"Are you saying that I'm some kind of monster not befitting of any leadership position? Are you like mother and father who crushed their son's hopes and dreams in the sake of money?!"

The alley grew very quite and the man lifted his foot off my head, my strength began to come back in what felt like an instant. I stood up as quickly as possible, prepared to face off against this man but to my surprise...

When I looked up he was crying. His lips were quivering and he looked at me with a kind of sadness and distain that was a very unique and new feeling for me. He fell down on his knees and started muttering to himself about family and status. I tried to sneakily walk past him, I didn't really know what to do in that situation.

H̶͙̝̟̠̰̖͕̭̱͊͌̂̍̒̎̉͘ͅa̴̝̳̺͗l̴̲̱̅̾ṫ̶͎̩̜̪́̌̀̂̊!̸̧̫̠̊̀̔͠

The same unfamiliar enchanted voice echoed around me but this time with more intensity.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so so so sorry!... I... I never knew what crying felt like until-... until now, thank you, but... it was very unpleasant, and you witnessed that, so... I'm sorry." He trailed of in his speech and my body began to tighten and shake, still unmoving.

I tried talking but doing anything physical at this point would seem like a miracle, pain began shooting throughout my body as I felt like a tomato being squished under the might of a giant, and then...

...

I awoke from sleep as a pain erupted along my arms and chest, flaring into and ever so present feeling. I tried to scream but my voice could not be found amidst the pain.

Wait... where am I, wasn't I just... was that just a dream? No... It was too painful, not even my brain could cook something like that up for me... then, I decided not to think about it to much and got out of bed until I started thinking about it too much.

If I know it wasn't I dream then what was it, it couldn't have been anything I intentionally did which means it might have been a passive effect on me...

My thinking was ended as I realized the same red wispy tendrils were dispersing in the air around my room again. There's only one way to know for sure in this scenario.

I walked outside my room and into the hallway where I pretended to be deep in thought, staring into nothingness when an eerily similar phrase interrupted me.

"Hey, bro you okay?..." the quiet voice of my sister was like a strange switch being flicked in my brain. I was reset... Reset in time, it happened right as I died and put me back in my bed!

I decided to respond the same way this time to make sure I know that what's going on is what I think it is.

"Sorry, I just got a little caught up in my thoughts, sorry to worry you." I chuckled a little, trying to replicate what I did before in a casual nature.

The morning followed the same trajectory that I thought it would, my sister serves me breakfast and I sit thinking to myself, nothing changes. I leave and observe the people in the streets, nothing changes. I finally get to the spot where I died last with a sense of sick remembrance. I'm ready this time, and I finally realize what my true name might mean.

I always did have a high tolerance for pain.

H̶͙̝̟̠̰̖͕̭̱͊͌̂̍̒̎̉͘ͅa̴̝̳̺͗l̴̲̱̅̾ṫ̶͎̩̜̪́̌̀̂̊!̸̧̫̠̊̀̔͠

The words reverberated around me just like last time, I took a quick step back, and just like I thought, I wasn't frozen in place...