As much as everything important had been dealt with, this wasn’t the end. There were still so many things that needed to be done. The big bad villain was gone, but the effects of his actions lingered. The snake had been killed; now, it was time to treat the venom it’d left behind.

Olivia was released from the hospital, healthy and good as new, back home and living with Danjo once again. They were trying to go back to what life had been like before, but that simply wasn’t possible anymore. Not after everything that had happened. Try as they might, they would never return to the life they’d had before. That wasn’t to say that things were bad, though. They were just… different.

Destiny had successfully contacted his family and was expecting someone to come pick him up. How long that would take was unknown, but it was expected to be relatively soon. In the meantime, he was in town, his mask now gone, mingling among the people and exploring with no burden to weigh him down.

Albert and Bren had some trouble finding all the slaves and putting them to rest, but as the message spread that they were involuntarily being ordered around, most people were helpful. No one wanted a flesh puppet serving them while knowing there was still a person trapped inside. On the surface, the town seemed to be normal, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It was broken. The more you looked, the more you could tell.

Graves were dug en masse, the sound of wailing constant among the streets as people realized they would never see their loved ones again. Parents would never hold their children. Children would never feel the warmth of their parents. Lovers would never see each other again. Those who had hope, those who’d been holding out, waiting for their missing loved ones, only to find out that there had never been any hope in the first place…

The screams of anguish were harsh.

There were a few, though, that refused to give their slaves up. Some didn’t believe the messages being sent out, thinking it was some kind of joke. Some couldn’t afford to give up their slaves and required convincing. And there were some who simply didn’t care about the predicament their slaves were in. One of these was a certain noble.

“They think I’ll return these slaves? Our family paid good money for these!” Draco yelled as the messenger cowered in fear. “These are now our property. They are not yours to claim. Do you dare to question our family’s authority?”

“No, sir, but-”

“Then you understand. Leave immediately!”

The news of this spread and the people were displeased. But what could they do? To challenge the Wynton family was suicidal. Not only would you doom yourself, but your family and loved ones would suffer as well.

Among the people who’d caught wind of this situation were Destiny and John. Ever since that moment, Destiny had been expecting John to come to him, and truth be told, he’d been eagerly awaiting it. He was of a sound enough mind that he wasn’t going to just go and do something reckless on his own, but if he had an excuse, a reason, anything, he would take it. He just needed the temptation. The slightest push would send him into the deep end.

Unfortunately for Destiny, John had no such plans. He currently had no plans at all. Even Prota was more proactive than him, going out and finding slaves that people weren’t aware of. She dragged John along, of course, but he was nothing more than her mouthpiece. If Prota hadn’t been there, he’d probably be in his room all day, waiting for something to happen.

Eventually, Destiny couldn’t take it anymore and found John himself.

“You’re not gonna do anything about it?”

“What?”

“Draco. I thought you were gonna do something about him.”

“...not anymore,” John said sadly. Destiny looked at him oddly. Something about his tone felt off.

“You good?”

“Yeah. Just… eh, it’s whatever. Just unfortunately is all.”

“Come on. There’s no way you don’t want to do something about him. What happened to you?”

John grimaced. “I can’t afford to do it anymore. Trust me, I’d like to. But weren’t you the one who told me it was suicide to attack a noble household?”

Destiny was right. John really did want to go do something about it. However, his with Kit had made him realize something.

[Resets] were gone. He really couldn’t use them anymore. It was hard to understand since it was an ability that could only be used upon death, but he had to force himself to remember this fact. There were consequences to his actions now—things that couldn’t be changed, things that couldn’t be fixed. His choices and decisions needed to have thought behind them, and that meant that he could no longer do as he pleased.

With that in mind, he no longer had the capability to go against an entire noble family on his own. Prota wasn’t strong enough to do something like that, and he himself didn’t have the ability to fight against such a strong family. [Reset] truly was his only win condition. If he had saved his [Deux Ex Machina] energy, maybe, but was using such a power on something as trivial as this worth it?

John actually gave that a bit of thought, but then shook his head. Right. No, it wasn’t worth it. What was he thinking?

“Well. That’s that, I guess,” Destiny sighed, turning to leave.

John stopped him. “You sound disappointed.”

“W-what? Why would you think that?”

“Well, if I had to guess… it’s probably because you’re a good person.”

Destiny frowned.

“What?”

“You’re a good person, Destiny.”

“So are you-”

John shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. “I’ve told you before. I’m not a good person.”

“But-”

“I’m ok with that. I know what that entails, and I’m comfortable with it. The effort it takes to do good is just too hard.”

“Then the reason you kill-”

“I kill because I’m comfortable with being killed. I understand there are consequences. And if I die, then it was because I wasn’t good enough. That’s all there is too it. It’s not fair or unfair. It’s not good or bad. It just is.”

“But- hold on. You can’t just say something like that. Our opponent was simply evil. There’s no other way to put it. There was a man in my past life that was also pure evil. There is such a thing in the world as good and bad.”

“Maybe,” John shrugged. “If that’s the case, though, then am I good? Or am I bad?”

“I-” Destiny started, but stopped as he realized he didn’t know the answer.

John stopped and stared deep into Destiny’s eyes, making the latter feel uneasy. There was a moment of silence before John nodded, seemingly understanding something.

“Destiny. Good and bad. What do those things mean to you?”

“I…”

“Let’s say I kill someone by accident. I’m a soldier in a war. I believe I’m fighting to protect my country, but then again, so does my enemy. We engage in battle. I kill him. Then, the war ends, and his son comes after me in hopes of revenge. Is the son a good or bad person?”

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t be either.”

“That’s the “correct” answer. Now, let’s say you were the son. Would you accept that as an answer?”

“I…”

“Then, let’s say my son goes after that son as revenge for killing me. Who’s in the right? Who’s in the wrong? Tell me, Destiny.”

Destiny didn’t say anything.

“Look, I’m not trying to make an excuse or anything. All I’m saying is that there’s no convenient book of “good and bad things.” To convince someone that they’re doing wrong when they think they’re right is impossible. We just have our own moral compasses that we can follow. So whether or not you want to follow that compass is up to you.”

“I- I see.”

“Ah, you do? That’s good. Personally, it’s way too hard to try to understand all of that, so I just don’t think about it.”

“But you just-”

John shrugged. “Just do whatever you want. Isn’t that much easier? That’s all I need to care about.”

“So then Draco is-”

“Ah. That son of a bitch needs to kill himself.”

There wasn’t a single stutter in that sentence. John’s voice and tone hadn’t changed, but there was a new feeling Destiny got from that one line.

“But your whole talk about good and bad-”

“Yeah, and did you not hear the part about me not caring? Destiny. I’m gonna do what I want to do, and that involves me dealing with the people that annoy me. Draco pisses me off.”

John began to talk faster and faster as he began to get more and more heated. “Assassins? Bandits? I might not agree with them, but I can do something about them. I can fight back. If I lose, that’s just too bad. But I don’t get to do anything to Draco. We don’t get to do anything to him, not because he’s strong, but because he’s got a fat stinking noble sitting on a throne behind him. If I ever find them, I’m gonna tear their arms off and shove them up their-”

Destiny interrupted John mid rant, putting his hand on his shoulder. “I understand, John. I get it. And… maybe you’re not as much of a bad person as you might think.”

“Don’t start-”

“Your sister wouldn’t stick around you if you were a bad person,” Destiny said. “Maybe you’re not a good person. But you can’t be terrible either, right? And you realize what you do. You acknowledge it. And even if you’re not the greatest, I don’t think someone that isn’t good would do what you do.”

John watched the young boy leave. For the first time, he’d shown the wisdom of his past life. He’d said something unbefitting of the young body that held him. How curious.

“A good person… yeah, that would be nice,” John said fleetingly. “Hm. Yeah, not bad.”

~~~

“Alright, Danjo. Think about it, ok?”

The day of departure had finally arrived. There was a discreet carriage near the edge of the town, waiting to take Destiny back to his home. John and Prota would be coming along as well, their bags packed and goodbyes said. Only one thing remained.

“Um… sis, you really won’t go?” Danjo said hesitantly, staring at the letter in his hands.

A form of application to Scholaris. A caged pigeon sat at his feet, ready to fly.

“No, Danjo. You have to make this decision on your own.”

“...alright.”

Danjo folded up the paper neatly and tucked it in his pocket, then looked back up at his old comrades. His allies. His saviours.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

His friends.

“T-thank you, everyone,” Danjo said. “For… for everything. And…”

“Don’t worry about it, Danjo,” Destiny grinned, sticking out his hand. “It was worth it, wasn’t it?”

“Y-yeah,” Danjo smiled. “I guess it was.”

“Hah, look at you. All grown up.” Destiny grinned, wrapping his arm around Danjo and knuckling his head. “I’d better see you at Scholaris, ok?”

“Um…”

“You’re considering it, aren’t you?. I’d better see you there, ok?”

“I-”

“Alright, Danjo!” John yelled as Prota dragged him toward the carriage. “I’ll be seeing you! And sorry about throwing you to the wolves. I won’t do it again!”

“Do come visit,” Olivia said, waving as Destiny followed. “I’ll have a warm home cooked meal for you all. And thank you.”

“You got it!” Destiny yelled, the carriage growing further and further away.

Danjo started tearing up as they started to get out of sight. He thought back on what had happened this year. Maybe… maybe it wasn’t that bad after all. Obviously, it would’ve been better if he hadn’t been captured at all, but… well, was that true?

He’d suffered. So had Olivia. But in the process, he’d learned so much. How to protect himself. How to raid a dungeon. What it was like to be an adventurer. He’d invented new things, made new friends, done new things, and experienced a life that he would’ve otherwise never had. He would’ve still been alone in their little house, tinkering away, maybe getting nowhere.

“You’ve grown, Danjo,” Olivia said quietly, wrapping her younger brother in her arms. “I’m so proud of you.”

“...is it really alright for me to go?”

“That would be up to you. But know this. I’ll always be here, no matter what. Whatever decision you make, I’ll support you. So go and make your own choice, alright?”

Danjo hesitated as he felt the paper in his pocket. Maybe… maybe it would be alright to go.

“Wait!” John yelled. Danjo turned around to see John running full sprint, waving something in his hand.

“Danjo,” he panted, leaning on his knees as he got his breath back. “Here. These were some ideas I thought of. They’re not super complex. They’re not weapons. But if you can make these and sell these…”

John handed the piece of paper over, then was dragged as Prota came running up, hitting John over the head before dragging him back.

“Now we’re even, alright?” John yelled as Prota quite literally pulled him away. “So I’d better see you there!”

Danjo stared at the paper in his hands. In it were designs of normal things from Earth: a hairdryer, a flashlight, improved designs on the communication devices, an artificial heater, all designed for this world. Simple everyday things that would make life much more convenient. But in this world, they would be revolutionary.

John hadn’t said it, but Danjo could tell. This was his apology. He didn’t show it well, but it was clear. John cared. Maybe not as well as Destiny, but he was watching out for Danjo.

“...yeah,” Danjo said quietly, watching as the carriage drove out of sight.

~~~

“Whew!” John sighed, leaning back as the carriage started up. Surprisingly, there were no bumps or any rattling despite the road being uneven. Even Prota looked down in confusion.

“It’s equipped with a levitation rune, so the carriage isn’t physically attached to the wheels. It also makes things easier on the horses.”

“...huh.” John grimaced. There were still quite a lot of things he needed to familiarise himself with.

Magic circles. Runes. Mystics. Elements, cores, magic, combat, all of it. The explanations he’d received were rudimentary at best, open ended and unexplained at worst. He had an inkling that the [Author] had simply failed to plan the world’s magic system properly, but surely such things would be explained at Scholaris, right? He grimaced and shook his head. Things would be taking a turn from here.

Prota was staring out the window, completely fascinated, unaware of John’s plight. Now that John thought about it, she’d never ridden in a carriage like this, right? How interesting would it be to take her in a boat? What if they rode on a bike? A car? What would she say if she went on a plane? The thought completely dominated his mind as he wondered about theoretical situations that would likely never happen.

“The trip back will take at least a couple of days. Make yourselves comfortable.”

The outside of the carriage was bland, but the inside was quite large and luxurious. There was a table in the centre, with drinks and snacks provided in cupboards underneath the seats. The space was large enough to allow everyone to stretch their legs and shift around, so the trip would likely be a matter of boredom rather than discomfort.

John settled into his seat, spreading his arms behind him as he leaned back, getting himself comfortable. Prota herself was curled on the seat next to him. Destiny was sitting rather primely, Kit curled up on the seat next to him, napping away. Now that John knew Destiny’s origins, it made a bit more sense. Royalty. A mercenary. Destiny would’ve been just as comfortable had he been shoved into a wooden box for the whole ride, probably.

“Hey, Destiny. What are you going to Scholaris for? You’re pretty well trained, aren’t you?”

“...not well enough,” Destiny admitted. “My swordsmanship isn’t the greatest. Besides, combat isn’t the only thing they teach. Alchemy, magic circles, magical engineering, studies of mana beasts… it’s a school, John.”

John made a face at that. “Yeah, school. Great.”

“Destiny needs to learn magic because he was… mercenary?” Prota said suddenly.

The atmosphere in the carriage went from warm to cold very quickly. Destiny looked around to make sure that no one was nearby. That was impossible, of course. They were in a carriage, after all.

“You… who told you that?”

John sighed, speaking and sending a message simultaneously.

[Doctor never spoke about the camp, Prota. You remember it. Destiny doesn’t. How would you know about that?]

[sorry]

“I guessed,” John said, speaking up. “Are you that surprised?”

“I… ah, forget about it,” Destiny grumbled. There was no point in questioning it anymore. If John said he guessed, then he guessed.

“Well, I’ll give you this one. Your habits were a giveaway,” John explained. “Calling Albert “sir” instead of boss like he wanted. Your dedication to training. You mannerisms in dealing with others. I guess technically you could’ve learned that growing up, but it was part of your past, too, wasn’t it?”

Destiny just stared at John, answering the question. It wasn’t as if John needed confirmation, but he had to ask anyway. It would’ve been weird if he hadn’t.

“Do you miss it? Your old life.”

“I- not really. But I have regrets. Things I wish I could’ve done better.” Destiny laughed. It wasn’t quite joyful, though. It was more bittersweet than anything. “I’m sure you have regrets too, right?”

John shrugged. “Sure. I didn’t get to settle things with Draco the way I wanted to. I didn’t get answers to the questions I had. Where did Doctor learn about souls? Where do Prota’s powers come from? Stuff like that. But in the end, it just doesn’t matter.”

“I was talking about your old life, but… doesn’t matter?”

“Yeah.” John looked out the window, watching as the trees flew by. The horses were quite speedy. “I can’t do anything about it right now. So why worry about it? The answers will come eventually. And right now, well, it’s time to relax, right?”

“...that’s all you do, though.”

“Nah. I need to do it more. My life is incredibly stressful as it is.”

Destiny just shook his head, laughing. “You really are something special.”

The carriage grew silent. The mood was so strange. Less than a year ago, they’d been fighting for their lives. Planning, training, growing, discovering crimes against the world. They were a last line of defense, the only line of defense, and now…

“Hey,” John said, breaking the silence. “Your past.”

“My what?” Destiny said, checking that John was talking to him.

“Yeah. You were a mercenary, right? Come on, let’s hear more about it. I wanna know what your life on Earth was like.”

“Why would I do that?”

“We’ve got time to kill. Why not? In return, I’ll tell you a little more about us.”

“How about your life on Earth?”

“That was incredibly boring. I was just a normal guy. What is there to hear? It basically consisted of: I woke up. I went to school. I came back and did things for fun. I grew up. I got a job. Blah blah blah. What’s there to say?”

Destiny seemed hesitant, but after a while, he eventually gave in. “Fine. But in return, I get some answers to my questions.”

John nodded. “It’s a deal.”

Prota’s head turned ever so slightly. She was still intent on watching the scenery, but she, too, was interested in Destiny’s past.

“Hm… my earliest memory… I remember standing in front of a roaring flame, a large man hammering something on an anvil next to me…”

~~~

[In each life is a story. A jumble of events, actions and words, tossed together into an experience. And in each story, there are many lives. The lives of the [Characters] we adore. The lives of the [Characters] we watch travel, journey and grow. We watch them live. We watch them struggle. We watch them die.

And our [Characters] have travelled. Our [Characters] have journeyed. Our [Characters] have struggled. Our [Characters] have grown.

And they’ve lived.

A reincarnated hero. An orphaned dwarf. An elf running from her past. A god in hiding. A guildmaster and his attendant, picking up the pieces from their past.

And a broken girl.

The strings known as the [Plot] pulled them together. What started as a quiet life of recuperation and healing barreled into something more. Something extraordinary, a tale that would shake the very world itself.

A burning village. The royal palace. A humble home. All different starts, their paths converging.

Mercenaries, assassins, nobles, demons and kings, death and life, a jumble of words that individually are nothing, but put together, become something.

The broken girl of the burning village meets the hero of the royal palace. They journey. They grow. Quest after quest, monster after monster. A cave. A forest. A haunted house with a secret the world should’ve never known.

The dwarf of the humble home becomes a prisoner, only to become a fighter searching for his sister. A dungeon. Assassins. A noble, getting in the way. An instructor dies a traitor while an old warrior becomes a leader once more. An old friend gone bad, an old enemy reborn, an epic battle to save a town from a disaster nobody knew was coming. A sister is found. An enemy is defeated. A traitor is saved and forgiven.

A city is saved.

The young boy does not know what a stir he will cause. But it will come. For he is the hero. The one who will shake the world and flip it on its head. They will all watch him. And others he is not even aware of will be following him, watching him grow and succeed.

The fox and the dwarf will follow him. They are his companions, after all. And they, too, will sit in the limelight, for they will be next to him.

The broken girl. Living, dying, reborn, growing stronger. Reaching past her barriers. Expanding her boundaries. Exploring the world. Making friends. Enjoying life. Facing fears, overcoming obstacles, and learning what it means to be alive. Quite the special one, isn’t she?

The lives of these [Characters], shining bright. Each one of them a [Story] in their own right. A lifeless world is brought to life by our little cast. And that cast will continue to grow. We aren’t done yet.

All of this is a [Story].

There is a hope that these [Characters] have great beginnings, amazing lives, captivating journeys, heart wrenching relationships, explosive growth. But that hope may be waning. Or perhaps it was never there in the first place.

In the end, whether they are great or not will be up to them.

You who are reading. You who writes. Is this what you thought it would be? Is it to your liking? Are you dissatisfied? Are you not pleased? Tell me.

Is the [Story] great?

That will be up to you.]