Wyliame took a seat on Mya’s bed as she closed the door behind her. The room that they were in was similar in appearance to the room that Wyliame had awoken from, yet, was unique in a way that the smell of firewood was no longer apparent. Instead, it was an indescribably pleasant aroma, one that relaxed Wyliame’s body as soon as he entered.

“U-um… I-I’m really sorry about earlier…” Mya apologized, unable to make eye contact with Wyliame out of guilt that she had hurt his hand earlier. 

“It’s fine, Mya. Look, my hand’s totally okay!”

Wyliame stretched out his fingers, attempting to assure Mya that he wasn’t too injured. However, he instantly curled his fingers back when a sharp, burning sensation filled his hands the moment that he made a single movement.

Argh… damn it, why didn’t Lorelia finish healing me this time…?

Although Mya still felt guilty, she tried her best to ignore it. She walked toward the bookshelf that stood next to the door and pulled out a singular book, one that Wyliame recognized immediately. It was the book of Cervos.

“H-have you heard of this story before, Wyliame? My mom used to read it to me when I was younger…”

But of course, Wyliame had heard about Cervos! After all, that was the sole reason why he was summoned forth to this world.

…

<”Cervos: The Tale of a Legend…”> the goddess murmured from Wyliame’s mind. <”I’d never thought that I’d see that again…”>

Suddenly, Wyliame stood up from the bed, his face lighting up in artificial excitement. “Oh! I’ve always wanted to read that book ever since I was a kid!” 

…

A blatant lie, although it was one that had fooled Mya.

Alright, this is good. I need to get my hands on that book as early as possible, he thought.

Hearing Wyliame’s excitement, Mya too became riled up. “Really? It’s my favorite book! Here, you can read it when you have time!” she insisted with a smile as her shyness seemed to have vanished. She handed the book to Wyliame with glittering eyes as he grabbed it with his uninjured hand.

<”Use [True appraisal]...”> Yris instructed. 

True appraisal…?

Wyliame mumbled the incantation inside his head, and right after, a chunk of text appeared in front of his eyes. It seems that he had upgraded his [Appraisal] spell the moment that he made his contract with the goddess. 

<[True appraisal activated]>

 

<><><><><><>

Cervos: The Tale of a Legend

Written by: Yenar

Created: 3,000 years ago

<><><><><><>

 

3,000 years?! Wyliame shouted in internal shock.

<”Yenar, the God of Creation. Hah, to think that his stories have withstood even the test of time…”>

The God of Creation…? A god made this book? For what reason?

<”It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later.”>

…

“Everybody! Food is ready!” Lorelia suddenly shouted from the opposite end of the house, her voice echoing all the way to the room that the two children were in.

“Coming!” Mya replied with a raised voice. “Let’s go, Wyliame!” 

She let out a smile and began walking out the door, ushering for Wyliame to follow. However, Wyliame stood completely still, simply hovering next to the bed. 

“You go out first. Would you mind telling Lorelia that I’ll be out in a bit?” he requested, staring down at the floor below him.

Mya didn’t question it and simply nodded, gently shutting the door behind her as she exited the room.

<”What’s wrong?”> Yris asked Wyliame, her physical appearance beginning to manifest beside him. The lavender illumination appeared from thin air, quickly mutating into a human-like appearance in a matter of seconds. Yris’s white, purple hair drooped over her shoulders as the dark, gothic garments that she wore emitted a faint violet aura around her entire body.

Wyliame kept his gaze on the floor, ignoring the fact that the goddess had just appeared in the real world next to him, and simply proceeded to ask a question. “Tell me, Yris. What should I do?” 

Yris, who was taller than the little boy, brought her head down to his level and smiled at him, moving her hand toward his head to give a pat.

<”You’re scared, aren’t you? I can feel it.”>

Then, the room became nearly silent, the only noise coming from each time the goddess patted Wyliame’s head. Eventually, Wyliame let out a nervous chuckle, finally bringing his eyes toward Yris.

“Of course, I’m nervous. How am I even supposed to act, knowing that the next day would be my last? There’s gonna be an entire war, damn it!”

…

Yris let go of her hand from the top of the boy’s head and began pressing it against his warm, rosy cheeks, staring at him with her kind, mesmerizing eyes of death and agony.

<”This time, you have me, Wyliame. You no longer have to fear death.”>

Hearing that, Wyliame felt slightly reassured, although he still let out a sigh.

“It’s… it’s not just death that I’m afraid of. I’m also confused… I constantly find myself asking so many questions just for them to be unanswered.”

Yris then took her hand off Wyliame’s cheek, transitioning into a warm embrace around his body.

<”You're having an existential crisis. I can hear your thoughts, boy. You’re worried about what the future holds for you. You’re afraid that you were reborn into this world for the wrong reasons. You’re anxious that you will fail.”>

“...it seems you know me well.”

<”Remember, Wyliame. Everything happens for a reason, whether you like it or not. That’s what fate is.”>

Wyliame shook his head. “Again, you’re talking about fate… but what if fate leads me in the wrong direction? I’ve cheated death twice already, Yris. One was with my rebirth from Emma, and the other was by destroying an entire timeline with you… I barely even know who I am.”

Yris stayed silent, loosening her hug around Wyliame.

…

A few seconds later, the boy began walking away from the goddess, heading toward the door. As he glanced back at Yris, he noticed that her body was beginning to dissipate like mist.

<”Fate is on our side,”> she told him. Then, in mere seconds, her body had completely vanished from the world.

…

But it was ironic, wasn’t it? Yris, the goddess of darkness, gloom, shadows, and destruction, was a firm believer in fate, and yet, she was the goddess who defied fate itself through her destructive power... 

…

Fascinating, isn’t it? And it seems as though Wyliame was starting to become aware that his rebirth here in the Land of Ember was no mistake!

…

As Wyliame entered the dining room, he was met with warm smiles along with the mouthwatering smell of melted butter and juicy meats entering his nostrils.

“Wyliame! So you’ve finally decided to show up!”

Onas was waving his fork into the air while his other hand was encouraging Wyliame to sit down beside him. As he began walking over to the table, Lorelia stood up and insisted,

“Oh, here, let me get the chair for you!” She smiled sweetly as she walked around the table and gently pulled out the chair beside Onas. “Have a seat, Wyliame.”

“Thank you,” Wyliame replied with a smile as he sat himself down.

At the center of the table rested a chunk of tender, juicy meat, along with batches of roasted vegetables on its sides. Next to that meat were plates of mashed potatoes, which, based on looks alone, all seemed exceptionally creamy.  Lorelia quickly began passing out those plates of mashed potatoes to Wyliame and Onas, then proceeded to do the same with Mya on the other side.

This familiarity… It’s the same meal as last time, isn’t it? Wyliame thought.

After distributing the food, Lorelia then walked over to take a seat herself, pressing her hands together in delight. “Alright, everybody! Enjoy the meal!” 

Immediately, Onas began digging into the mashed potatoes in front of him. After a few seconds, he then picked up his knife and sliced a piece of the meat from the center of the table, bringing that piece to his plate afterward.

“Ah, my favorite! I’m so glad that the wolf I hunted yesterday was healthy!”

Seeing that, Wyliame’s mouth began drooling. Damn… that sure looks tasty…

Onas noticed that Wyliame was eyeing the meat on his fork. He then sent off a bright smile toward Wyliame, insisting, “Here, why don’t you try it first, boy?”

He proceeded to bring over his slice of meat to Wyliame’s plate.

“Oh, thank you!” Wyliame smiled. He quickly picked up his fork and jabbed it into the tender, succulent meat presented in front of him. Subconsciously, his newly upgraded spell had activated at the same time as well.

 

<[True Appraisal activated]>

<Object: [Wolf belly flesh]>

<Object Type: [Consumable]>

<><><><><><>

A slice of delicious, fresh, wolf meat hunted from the [Amber Forests]. The creature lived a healthy life prior to death.

<><><><><><>

 

As Wyliame bit into the meat, the umami flavor immediately engulfed the entire surface of his tongue, the juice traversing through each corner of his mouth with each chew.

“How is it, Wyliame?” Mya asked as she placed a spoonful of roasted vegetables into her mouth.

Wyliame glanced at her and replied, “It’s really good. This is my first time ever eating wolf meat.”

Although I did eat it in the previous timeline…

“Really?” Mya replied. “I’m surprised that you could even tell that it’s from a wolf! The first time I had it, I thought that it was just a big rabbit.”

Ah, right, I need to hide the fact that I could use Appraisal…

“Oh! I forgot to say this,” Onas began, putting down his fork and knife on his plate. “Welcome to the family, Wyliame! I hope you enjoy your stay with us!”

Lorelia, who was on the opposite end of the table from Wyliame, stood up and began walking over to him. Suddenly, she reached out her arms and embraced Wyliame while he was still seated in his chair.

“You can stay with us for as long as you’d like, okay? I hope you’re not too uncomfortable around us…”

Wyliame hugged Lorelia back, although, at that very moment, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of uncanniness.

…

Surprisingly, out of nowhere, Lorelia gasped as she made a crucial realization. “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry that I didn’t finish healing your hand!” she apologized, staring at Wyliame’s ghostly fingers. She quickly kneeled down beside him, mumbled a few words, and began hovering her hand over Wyliame’s. At that same moment, an emerald green luminescent appeared from the tip of her fingers, seemingly transferring its energy to Wyliame’s hand.

“Jeez, boy. You would’ve gotten frostbite if we found you any later than we did in the snow. You’re sure lucky!” Onas chuckled as he chowed down his mashed potatoes.

After a few seconds, Wyliame began feeling the effects of Lorelia’s healing- the joy of the painless sensations returning to his hand, the warmth that came along with it, and the motherly love that Lorelia expressed. Naturally, Wyliame began to relax his body, allowing Lorelia’s spell to not only heal his hand, but also his soul.

…

But something felt wrong. Although his body remained relaxed… his mind was… racing…

…

“Oh, please, go ahead and eat! Just ignore me while I heal you up.” Lorelia insisted while keeping her kneeling beside Wyliame. “I’ll try to get this done as quickly as I can.”

Wyliame nodded at her and, with his right hand, picked up the fork laying in front of him. The mashed potatoes on his plate remained untouched, so naturally, he began to reach his utensil out for the potatoes.

<”Wait, Wyliame.”> Yris began, her voice sounding troubled. <”You sense it too, don’t you? This anxiety? This eeriness?”>

Wyliame paused, loosening his grip on the fork.

…yeah. I’ve been feeling it ever since we arrived in this timeline. 

…

<”Not once, out of all the times that I’ve destroyed any timelines, have I ever felt this way before. Something is wrong…”>

Wyliame glanced around the room, trying to find out the source of the uneasiness that he had felt. What do you think I should do…? He asked Yris.

…

Onas looked at Wyliame intently, wondering why he was staring off into the distance while keeping his fork still. “Is everything okay, boy? You look pale…”

Lorelia looked up at Wyliame. “Are you sick? Should I heal your entire body?” 

He turned to Onas and Lorelia and forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m okay. I was just thinking about some things.”

…

<”Wyliame. Use appraisal on those potatoes.”>

…what?

<”Do it. Now.”>

Wyliame stared at the mashed potatoes on his plate. [True appraisal], he thought.

 

<[True Appraisal activated]>

<Object: [Mashed potatoes]>

<Object Type: [Consumable]>

<><><><><><>

These are chunks of potatoes that were purchased from a vendor within the [Amber Kingdom]. It has been mashed, sprinkled with salt, mixed with butter, and [poisoned].

<><><><><><>

 

Wyliame’s eyes immediately widened. The potatoes… it’s been poisoned…?!