A campfire crackles in the background, providing illumination to the front half of the room. The only lamp on was busy providing light for the book held in the hands of a 32-year-old man. Sitting on his lap was a kid. He was 9 years old.

“What do you think this passage means, Arthur?”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, give it a try.”

“Hm, maybe that suffering isn’t so bad?”

“A good guess, but that's not the case. Suffering can not be downplayed, nor ignored. What this passage means is that, even under the most horrendous conditions of suffering and pain, man can find purpose. No matter the circumstances, one should never give up their pursuit of purpose.”

“Hm… I don't really get it.”

“Haha. Someday you will, I’m sure of it.”

The sun had set long ago. Both the boy and the man are tired. The boy is tired from a long day of school and play. The man was tired from the two shifts, one shift at a factory, and one editing local newspapers.

During a recession, one often has to seek employment in uncomfortable places. He had a master's degree in English, but a bad economy left him taking the only job that would hire him, at a wage that couldn’t keep up with his student loans.

Still, even during this awful situation, he would read me philosophy books. He would devote the few personal hours he had to me.

‘Why am I seeing this?’ I ask myself.

I was on the verge of death just a moment ago. Perhaps this is my mind chastising me? Perhaps, it wants me to remember the contents of those books my dad would read to me? There is no way I can do that, it was so many years ago.

“Let's get you to bed. You have school tomorrow.”

“I don’t wanna go to bed!”

The young Arthur was lying. He was completely exhausted already, the soothing deep voice of his father lulled him further to sleepiness. Still, as a rebellious kid, he had to put up at least a little resistance.

“Then, let's get you a warm drink before bed.”

The man walked to the fridge. When he opened the door, his stomach rumbled reactively. Rent was due the next day, and he only bought enough groceries to feed two people for the week. As such, he was skipping dinner until his next paycheck came.

Neither his wife nor son would know about this until much later. By then, he found a good job at a major publishing firm.

“Here, some hot cocoa.”

“Thank you, Dad!”

“No problem, now go to bed. You can drink your cocoa there.”

The boy wobbled off to his bed. He carried his cocoa with much care.

The man sat at the table and opened up his laptop. He opened up his favorite news publication and went to the business section.

‘Fed to maintain interest rates over the next quarter.’

Upon seeing this, the man started to tear up. He had an adjustable rate mortgage, and wouldn't be seeing a fall in his payments anytime soon.

The boy, not wanting to watch his father cry, stopped spying on the man.

*THUMP*

*THUMP THUMP*

My heart started racing the moment I lost sight of my father. Something is happening to my body.

As I am pulled from this world, a book on a shelf remains the only thing I can focus on.

‘Man's Search for Meaning’

…

*GASP*

*Cough* *Cough*

What’s going on?

I awake and see the aftermath of my previous battle. Ground torn apart, plant life turned to ash, stones crushed into sand. But, the body of the snake is nowhere to be found.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

My injuries have been healed to some extent, but I can sense that I am far from a stable condition.

There is an elf in front of me. He is clearly blind, wearing a robe not belonging to this century, with wrinkly skin and a staff. To call this man elderly would be an understatement.

“You are Cassius Scipio I presume.” He says to me.

“Yes, and you are?”

“I am but an old elf.”

“An old elf who can teleport and slay massive snakes?”

“Unfortunately, I was unable to kill the King Snake.”

“Then, where did it go?”

“We will get to that… for now, let me warn you. Your consciousness is only temporary. Once my spell wears off, you will end up comatose for a few weeks.”

“Spell?” I think out loud.

I put a finger on my wrist, and as I expect, my heart is racing. He must have cast some spell that affects my adrenal glands, which shocked my body awake temporarily.

“Don’t worry, with those few weeks of healing, you will undoubtedly make a full recovery. I will also bring your unconscious body along with your companions to proper lodgings within the magic city.”

He will teleport us to our final destination for my recovery?

“Why are you doing all of this?”

“You will understand…” he takes a short pause before continuing. “Cassius Scipio, you are not of this world, are you?”

“You know who my mother is, don't you? I was born in this world, that is certain.”

“Just because you were born here, that does not mean you are of this world. I’m sure you are familiar with reincarnation.”

“Reincarnation? I have no clue what that is.”

“Don’t lie, you already outed yourself.”

“How?”

“That word you used a moment ago, ‘teleport’, does not exist in common.”

Shit, did I accidentally use an English word?

Admitting that I have reincarnated here is a mistake. Did he find out from Octavia? No, unless she has changed a lot in these last few years, she wouldn’t give up that information willingly…

“Well, if you have no intention to admit it, then I will waste no more time on it.” with a short pause he continues once more, “Tell me, what do you think about monsters?”

“Monsters? They are dangerous.” I respond with an obvious statement. What reply is he expecting from me?

“Where do you think they come from? Why do they hunt humans, even if they don't need to eat?”

“I… never really thought about it. I found the behavior of monsters to be weird, but I never tried to understand it.”

“There is no way you can understand their existence without knowing their origins. Monsters come not from nature, but from man. It was a human that brought monsters into this world.”

Monsters are a human invention? Why? Who would create such things? How were they even able to do that?

The old elf waits for me to ask my question, anticipating I have quite a few to ask. Still, I know I am limited on time, so I will ask my two most important ones.

“Who made them, and why?”

“I have no way to answer that question in the limited time we have. But you must know, the one who made them is returning soon. The seal, thousands of years old, is beginning to wane in its power. That seal is not the only one, and she will not be the first to escape their magic bindings. This snake was an original monster she created, and there are many like it across the world.

I can not hold them off forever, I don’t have the strength left within me. Cassius, you must pick up your blades once more, you must take up the fight against the oncoming threats. You are the only one who can.”

“Why me? There are many strong people in this world, most of them capable of even putting up a fight. I can not help you. I don’t want to fight anymore. I can’t fight anymore.”

When faced with killing that snake or being killed, I readily accepted death. Lacking even the most basic survival instincts, I realize. I am but a shell of a man, I am no savior. What he is asking of me, is impossible.

“You underestimate your strength, but I have no intention to debate about that... for now, I must say, I find it dreadful, to look at you in your doggish servile state. You seem as if you’d roll over and accept punishment, even when you do not believe you deserve it. In doing so, you bring about great harm. Yet you are blind to this.” He responds.

What does he know about me?

“What harm? What good would I do if I fought back? I am tired of hurting people. Anytime I have ever lifted my blade, I have brought harm to the world.”

“Whether you lifted your blade or not, that harm would have occurred. All that changes is who would suffer it… Do you not see that fighting is necessary? I know, I have fought many necessary battles myself. When you roll over and refuse to fight those who seek harm unto others, you embolden them. You might think you are doing the world a favor, you might think you are doing what is good, but you are only harming his next victim.

When you allow the wicked to bring harm to you, you encourage them to bring harm to others. You teach them that their desires: slaves, money, pleasure, are all within their reach, that all they need to do is take it from those who are weaker than them.”

“Are you not speaking in abstracts? And who am I to decide that my enemy's life is less valuable than his potential victims?”

“You already decide when you choose not to kill him.”

Why is this man trying to turn me back into what I once was? I never want to fight again. If I can live my life running away, then I will.

“Even if you chose not to fight men, at least fight that servileness and sorrow.” he continues, “You take upon the demeanor of a disheartened slave, and it is an insult to those who truly bear chains.”

“...what if I deserve sorrow?”

“Fight it anyways kid. If nothing else, you are hurting those two girls.”

“What do you mean I am hurting them?”

“When one is loved by others, he no longer bears pain alone. This is both beautiful and awful.”

“What you’re saying is…”

“By accepting pain into your heart, even if you think you deserve it, you are bringing pain to those two girls. They are your friends, and because of this, they love you. How can you allow yourself to be a broken man, when your shards are stabbing into those two girls? How can you stab yourself as they bleed?”

My consciousness is fading once more.

“Troubling times will soon be upon us, Cassius. You do not have the luxury of remaining passive forever.”

With that, I lose consciousness once more.