The warm, yellowish-orange light painted the cobblestone streets of Deintris as I made my way back home.
The streets, not much different than its afternoon counterpart with some peasants claiming the roadside as theirs to sleep on. Some snored, whilst some sobbed.
The stalls echoed with an eerie silence, it was a star contrast to the usual loud and lively atmosphere.
I was walking with no one but myself, only my own thoughts kept me company, preventing the atmosphere from truly being silent.
"How can I explain this to the chatbox?"
A soft, chilly, night breeze touched my skin, simultaneously causing my hair to flutter.
The wind blowing also caused a bunch of rustling.
Instinctively, my head turned towards the direction of the noise. It was a bunch of loose papers, posted on a building's concrete walls. Though, it was too far to see what was written on it.
Upon seeing this, I brushed it off. After all, it wasn't rare to find papers posted up on the wall by businesses around Deintris.
With a sigh I continued to walk while the same thought repeated in my mind. Each step only sent me in a spiral of repeating thoughts—questions circled back at me just when I thought I found an answer.
Without realizing it, I had already arrived at the front doorstep of Jean's lonely dilapidated house in the forest.
There was no light coming from the inside. The only light source that dimly illuminated the dirt path in this forest being—as Jean would call it, The Beacon Tree, its unique ice blue glow barely touching the door before me.
With my hand at the rusted doorknob, I bit my lip, expecting a certain someone to be there.
Slowly, I pushed the door open, careful as to not make it creak. I put one singular foot forward, then the next one followed.
Once inside, I carefully extended my arms, touching and feeling the things that were around me. While caressing the wooden wall however, my hand was met with a splinter, causing me to reflexively pull my hand back and catching myself trying to utter a yelp.
The longer I stayed in the dark, the more my eyes adjusted. Then, something caught my eye, it was blinking a red color. I knew it was the watch I had left behind.
I crossed the room whilst crouching and reached the table leg where my watch was wrapped around.
[There you are.]
"Ah!"
The chatbox's sudden appearance caused me to jolt back, and falling on my rear end.
[You think I'm stupid?]
My lips shivered at the sight of the text.
"I was hungry!"
[You're lucky.]
"In what way?"
"What nonsense is this thing spitting this time?"
A manifestation of bright energy gathered around the chat box, transforming into the humanoid form I was familiar with.
"Light up the room first."
Almost immediately, my hand reached down my pocket, digging and searching for something. That something was a candle given by Aldo when I told him that I was out of them.
Unbeknownst to me, the chatbox had sauntered across the room, now leaning on the wall.
After recovering, I went ahead and stood the candle up on the table.
"I don't have a match."
*whoosh*
The candle now has a small blaze at its wick, lighting up the room.
"What did you mean by that? About me being lucky?"
When I looked back, the chatbox had her arms crossed, an unreadable expression was visible on her face.
"Last night. I told someone about the glitch in your storyline."
My head lowered in response.
"My lie came true?"
"Then, just today, we found out that all storylines in this world were also glitched."
"How did it go my way?"
I had many questions. The answer to them could be in front of me if I just asked.
"How so?"
"Words and sentences were either censored or just straight up missing."
"Is there no backup copy? Or a way to check the storyline before the glitch?"
"There was. The Library was completely destroyed. Us Narrators were distraught."
There never was a mention of The Library in Jean's life. I had no further details regarding the subject. The only thing I could grasp about The Library is that it's a place where the backup stories are stored.
"Then? What happens now?"
"I would punish you for disobeying my orders but..."
"But?"
"I choose not to. Luck is on your side, I'll probably fail in the process someway, somehow."
Her reason couldn't be as simple as that. Nonetheless, I chose not to pry further, choosing to settle with what I have right now.
"You'd have to be careful. Don't make the other narrators suspect you for straying from your storyline."
"Or else I'll get you in trouble?"
She gave a cold nod before several screen panels popped up right in front of me.
"What are these?"
"Copies of the glitched storylines."
*bling, bling, bling*
The amount of screen panels right in front of me progressively increased. The constant bling noise became overwhelming when eventually and fortunately, it stopped.
Before me there has to be hundreds if not thousands of panels. Each of these sentences are in technicality, a part of someone, offering me a glimpse of their past and future.
"How did you get all of this? What do you want?"
A gift cannot be free, it must have a price after all.
"I have my ways. Use the information however you want."
"You're avoiding the other question."
Her eyebrows furrowed before walking over to my side of the room, placing her cold hands on my shoulder.
"I have my own story behind this."
My eyes widened slightly.
Afterwards, she turned back into a chatbox.
[We'll keep in touch through the observer.]
I took a quick look over at the watch still wrapped around the table chair.
[Until then.]
Bzzz bzzz bzzz
Maybe it was because of the hunger. Only now did I remember her name, alongside several memories of her with Jean.
"I should call her by name more."
"Leola..."
I muttered while rubbing my chin.
***
"We're carrying all of these?"
"Yes, Kiran."
"The pay will be exactly twenty five bronze cruenseuz."
A man with a receding hairline interrupted.
"You heard him Kiran."
"We do a fifty-fifty split?"
"It's only fair."
Steadily, Kiran and I carried the crates within our arms. It hadn't really occured to me why he didn't work for a simple job like this.
My gaze was locked on Kiran walking alongside me by the roadside.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I didn't ask before but... Why didn't you get a simple job like this?"
"I did. I just quit."
"Ah..."
After a few back and forth trips, we finally finished the task and got paid in full.
"Like promised."
I handed over thirteen bronze Cruenseuz to Kiran. His eyes widened slightly.
"Why the extra?"
"I'm feeling generous today. Plus, I can't do an even split with twenty five Cruenseuz. "
At this point of time we were taking shade under the same tree I rested the day before. I found it ironic how a thief who stole from me is now working with me. I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of it.
Kiran brought a question up.
"How many bronze Cruenseuz do you have?"
"In total, around 30."
"What are you saving up for?"
"A nice, soft loaf of bread from the Laws"
"Hah??"
Kiran's shoulders jolted slightly at my words, his jaw dropped.
"Just for bread?? Nothing else??"
It was a performance of mine, to act as Jean the Peasant Orphan by doing his daily routine.
"Yes. They make some pretty good bread that keeps me full."
I wasn't lying.
"Can't work and act on an empty stomach can I?"
It was true for both my current and previous life.
"Have you ever thought about getting anything else other than food Jean? Or are you just a weird food fanatic like that?"
"..."
"Jean?"
"Camera..."
I blurted out a soft murmur, it was just something that escaped my mouth. Nothing of speciality.
"Lost your voice or something?"
"A sweet new set of clothes."
The least I could do as a parasite living in Jean's dead body is to at least try and fulfill his wishes.
"You could borrow ours."
My eyes averted their attention away from Kiran, towards something invisible above him. Watching.
According to the files Leola sent, Kiran's storyline states that today on the 24th, he meets up with someone. The name wasn't stated seeing how it was censored. Some of the following sentences were also censored, all the way to the end of the day.
My chains have been loosened but I can't get too confident. I averted my gaze to my left, aware of another person watching my every move.
"You don't want it?"
"No, no, I do want it."
A horse neighed in the distance. The sound of rapid galloping headed towards our direction.
Kiran and I turned our heads in unison. A black horse was pulling a metal wagon, the rider was cladded in armor. It wasn't an ordinary man with armor, this armor had the crest of the Kingdom, proudly carved close to the heart.
"What are they doing here?"