It was finally the night before Ryder’s birthday party. Despite Rachel’s insistence that she didn’t require any assistance, Mike, Izzy, and I decided to help with the decorations.
Since cooking was Jacob’s expertise, he offered to lend a hand in the kitchen. Emma was initially a bit skeptical about letting him into her kitchen but relented once she tasted his skills.
While the rest of us began setting up for the party, Ryder was pushed over to my house to play with Ryu and Yuna.
Since Ryder didn't want anything fancy, Rachel decided to plan the birthday as a late-night drinking party/sleepover with lots of snacks and games.
As midnight approached, we began to set the table. I set down the dishes and Deus arranged the cutlery. Jacob and Emma were putting up the final touches on the cake.
‘Ding! Dong!’ Suddenly the bell rang.
“Are you expecting anyone, Rachel?”
“Oh, it's probably just my grandpa!”
Goosebumps erupted all over my arms as soon as Rufus was mentioned. “Y-your grandfather is coming?”
'Of course, he is coming. It didn’t make sense that Rufus would miss his grandson’s birthday.' I cursed myself for my lack of planning. 'Well, he didn't do anything to me at the hospital, so he would at least stay civil.'
The problem was that he might not let me give the Potion to Ryder. I should have handed it to Ryder before he left.
Sensing my nervousness, Rachel tried to reassure me. “If you are worried about Grandpa threatening you, don’t be. Your family might be under suspicion, but he knows you aren't associated with them. He won’t do anything to you.”
I was about to breathe a sigh of reply, but then Rachel lightly coughed. “Ahem...probably.”
“Hello! Who might you be?” Emma greeted the stranger as she opened the door.
Rachel leaned out to see who was standing at the door and rushed to the front when she realized who it was. "Miss Misa! What are you doing here?"
“It's nice to see you, Rachel! How are you doing?” Misa greeted her back. When she looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed momentarily. “I didn’t know you were here too, Ray!”
‘Hmm. Is it me, or did she frown on seeing me?’
“I was just helping with the decorations.” I replied, dismissing the momentary change in her expression. “Anyway, why are you here? Did something happen?”
“Oh, I just had a message from the President.” She turned back to Rachel. “Your grandfather is sorry but he will be running a bit late today. Some important documents were suddenly sent to the office that needed urgent verification.”
Misa looked apologetic, but Rachel brushed it off. “He could have just sent a text message.”
“He didn’t feel it was appropriate to send the message through text.”
“Well, anyway. Do you want to come in? It would be wrong of us to send you away when you came all this way..”
“Um, sure, why not! Do you guys need any help?” Misa offered.
“Don’t worry about that. We are almost done with all our preparations anyway.”
Since the couches were filled with decoration leftovers, Misa pulled out a seat at the dining table and sat beside me. She gave me an awkward smile as I finished setting up the plates.
“I wanted to thank you again. I heard you took over my classes back at the Academy.” I decided to make small talk.
“Oh- what? Uh, that’s fine. You didn’t have many classes anyway, so it doesn’t matter anyway.” Misa stuttered, clearly avoiding my eyes.
“The cake’s finished!” Suddenly Jacob’s voice called out from the kitchen.
“I will help him move the cake!” Misa took this as a chance to make a run for it.
"Is it me or is Misa acting kind of dodgy?" Deus asked me, telepathically.
"I have no idea."
If it was someone else I would have thought that they were being like that because of the rumors surrounding me. But Misa was the one who investigated me, so there was no way she didn’t know that I was innocent.
‘Wait! Rufus received some important documents. Could it be that he has gathered enough evidence to go after the Laxon Family now?’
According to the novel's timeline, it shouldn't be until the end of the year until the end of the year when the Laxon family gets arrested, and it was only September now. But, I do admit that my actions during the party might have caused a butterfly effect that fast-forwarded the Laxon Family's fate.
“Hey, Rachel. I am finished with everything. Should I go and bring back Ryder?” I asked.
“Yeah. We will start cleaning up now, so wait like ten minutes before you come back.”
“Ten minutes? Got it.” Anyway, I needed to hand the Potion to Ryder anyway, so that will be good.
'Are you finally going to give Ryder the Potion?!'
'Yeah, I am. And make sure to stay quiet. This matter will be delicate for Ryder. I will handle it.' I warned Deus.
As I stepped into my home, lonely silence welcomed me.
‘Huh? Where’s Ryder?’
Panic rose in my mind as I realized that the house was lifeless. I checked the kitchen and the rooms, but there were no signs of him. As I entered the garden, I noticed Yuna and Ryu squealing.
Sprawled in front of them, was an unmoving Ryder on the grass.
I was about to rush to his side, thinking something was wrong, when Ryder suddenly spoke up. “...you guys are so full of energy. I'm jealous.”
His voice sounded weak and devoid of any hope. I was about to make my presence known but stopped as Ryder continued his melancholic monologue.
“You know I cannot remember a time when my body was not in pain. And as the curse took root, the pain just got worse and worse. But you know…the pain wasn't even the worst part. It was Rachel and Grandpa. The way they looked at me with pity all the time, I hated it so much. So I decided to not talk about the pain. And just like, we all pretended that everything was normal. ”
Tears rolled down his eyes as Ryder recalled all the lies he suffered. Ryu and Yuna, not knowing what to do, tried to lick his tears thinking Ryder's pain would go away.
The silver light of the full moon reflected off Ryder’s pale skin, giving it a very sickly glow. Unlike the first time I had seen him, he had lost a lot of weight because of all the time he spent in the hospital over the past few weeks. His shirt was loosely fitted around his now-slender frame, as Ryder lay sprawled on the grass like a crestfallen angel.
‘Appraisal!
| Name: Ryder Briar Rank: Unawakened (Awakening Restricted) Status: Cursed Curse: Ryder’s body has been cursed to be able to absorb mana from outside but never be able to Awaken. Soon his internal mana will overflow and cause a mana explosion leading to death. Time Until Death: 24 Hours, 13 Minutes |
'He doesn't have much time left!' Deus urged me to give him the Potion. I silently took a seat on the grass.
Sensing the disturbance beside him, quickly wiped his tears and sat up. “Sorry, I didn’t see you enter the garden.”
“I didn’t find you in the house so I had to come out.” I replied softly.
An awkward silence fell around us as Ryder gave me nervous glances, wondering if I had heard what he vented to the Spirits.
”Um…I-” Ryder began, trying to make excuses, but I quickly cut him off.
“You know, I once had a friend. I might even say we were best of friends…or, at least I thought we were. But, during our time in uni-, I mean at the Academy, there were people who bullied him. I tried to help him…but it ended badly. Very badly. One day, he just took his life. It was a normal day, like any other…and he was…just gone.”
Ryder just listened in silence. He had never thought someone like Ray, who was so sociable with those around him, would ever have a past like that.
“You know, many people will curse me for saying this…But I really hated my friend for what he did. I always believed that if he ever had any problems, he would come and ask for my help. But, he never did...and that broke my trust in him.” I sadly smiled at Ryder. “Selfish of me, isn’t it? I just want to shift my guilt of not helping my friend onto someone else.”
“I d-don’t think it was selfish. It sounds to me like you cared a lot about your friend.”
“I did. I cared for him a lot.” I gave a small nod, as I looked him straight in the eyes “Many people who are suffering believe that it would be better for them to just leave rather than burden those around them. But you know...once you do that, the relationship you have with them will never be the same.”
“But it’s not like if I tell them anything will happen. I am still going to die anyway.” Ryder looked down as his eyes became blurry, large tears welling inside.
In the novel, Ryder was only a plot element for the development of his sister, the female protagonist. His own thoughts had never been revealed and all the pain he had to go through was something no reader knew.
But as I spent time in this world, I realized that, unlike my friend’s novel, this world was far more complicated.
A villain in the novel was just someone who missed the priest who took care of him.
A girl, who had been executed falsely, wanted to run away with her brother, away from her toxic family.
And the boy in front of me was someone whose only wish was to live past his seventeenth birthday but was too afraid to say it out loud.
“If you ask for help, it doesn’t hurt anyone.” I advised him with earnest eyes. “Who knows…maybe there is someone who can help you. All you need to do is ask!”
There was something I had always wished to tell my friend.
‘You just needed to ask and I would have done anything to help you.’
But alas, time cannot be turned back, and Aries would never come back to life. The only thing I can do is prevent a tragedy like that from happening again.
“I-I want to live!” Ryder finally voiced his wish as the tears streamed from his eyes. Ryu and Yuna rubbed their faces on his legs, as Ryder's tears continued to fall.
A tiny smile appeared on my face on seeing the little boy finally muster his courage.
“Well since you have asked me for help, should I give you your birthday gift now?”
“G-gift?” Ryder was confused about why Ray was suddenly bringing up presents.
I pulled out a blood-red vial from my dimensional ring and handed it over to him. “This Potion will take care of all your problems.”
Ryder looked at the tiny vial suspiciously. “I don’t know how this thing can help me?”
“Why don’t you try it first?” I urged him. “I promise you it's not poisoned.”
“What use will it be to poison a dead man?” He uncorked the vial and downed the contents in one go.
‘...’
‘...’
We stared at each other in awkward silence. Even the Spirits were quiet, wondering what was going on.
I scratched my neck in nervousness. 'Hey, Deus! Why isn't anything happening?'
'Don't ask me, it's your Potion.'
I wasn’t expecting something flashy but shouldn’t there be some indication that the Potion was working?
Suddenly…‘Blargh!’
Ryder quickly covered his mouth but black blood spilled from his mouth as he grabbed his stomach in pain.
It was finally the night before Ryder’s birthday party. Despite Rachel’s insistence that she didn’t require any assistance, Mike, Izzy, and I decided to help with the decorations.
Since cooking was Jacob’s expertise, he offered to lend a hand in the kitchen. Emma was initially a bit skeptical about letting him into her kitchen but relented once she tasted his skills.
While the rest of us began setting up for the party, Ryder was pushed over to my house to play with Ryu and Yuna.
Since Ryder didn't want anything fancy, Rachel decided to plan the birthday as a late-night drinking party/sleepover with lots of snacks and games.
As midnight approached, we began to set the table. I set down the dishes and Deus arranged the cutlery. Jacob and Emma were putting up the final touches on the cake.
‘Ding! Dong!’ Suddenly the bell rang.
“Are you expecting anyone, Rachel?”
“Oh, it's probably just my grandpa!”
Goosebumps erupted all over my arms as soon as Rufus was mentioned. “Y-your grandfather is coming?”
'Of course, he is coming. It didn’t make sense that Rufus would miss his grandson’s birthday.' I cursed myself for my lack of planning. 'Well, he didn't do anything to me at the hospital, so he would at least stay civil.'
The problem was that he might not let me give the Potion to Ryder. I should have handed it to Ryder before he left.
Sensing my nervousness, Rachel tried to reassure me. “If you are worried about Grandpa threatening you, don’t be. Your family might be under suspicion, but he knows you aren't associated with them. He won’t do anything to you.”
I was about to breathe a sigh of reply, but then Rachel lightly coughed. “Ahem...probably.”
“Hello! Who might you be?” Emma greeted the stranger as she opened the door.
Rachel leaned out to see who was standing at the door and rushed to the front when she realized who it was. "Miss Misa! What are you doing here?"
“It's nice to see you, Rachel! How are you doing?” Misa greeted her back. When she looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed momentarily. “I didn’t know you were here too, Ray!”
‘Hmm. Is it me, or did she frown on seeing me?’
“I was just helping with the decorations.” I replied, dismissing the momentary change in her expression. “Anyway, why are you here? Did something happen?”
“Oh, I just had a message from the President.” She turned back to Rachel. “Your grandfather is sorry but he will be running a bit late today. Some important documents were suddenly sent to the office that needed urgent verification.”
Misa looked apologetic, but Rachel brushed it off. “He could have just sent a text message.”
“He didn’t feel it was appropriate to send the message through text.”
“Well, anyway. Do you want to come in? It would be wrong of us to send you away when you came all this way..”
“Um, sure, why not! Do you guys need any help?” Misa offered.
“Don’t worry about that. We are almost done with all our preparations anyway.”
Since the couches were filled with decoration leftovers, Misa pulled out a seat at the dining table and sat beside me. She gave me an awkward smile as I finished setting up the plates.
“I wanted to thank you again. I heard you took over my classes back at the Academy.” I decided to make small talk.
“Oh- what? Uh, that’s fine. You didn’t have many classes anyway, so it doesn’t matter anyway.” Misa stuttered, clearly avoiding my eyes.
“The cake’s finished!” Suddenly Jacob’s voice called out from the kitchen.
“I will help him move the cake!” Misa took this as a chance to make a run for it.
"Is it me or is Misa acting kind of dodgy?" Deus asked me, telepathically.
"I have no idea."
If it was someone else I would have thought that they were being like that because of the rumors surrounding me. But Misa was the one who investigated me, so there was no way she didn’t know that I was innocent.
‘Wait! Rufus received some important documents. Could it be that he has gathered enough evidence to go after the Laxon Family now?’
According to the novel's timeline, it shouldn't be until the end of the year until the end of the year when the Laxon family gets arrested, and it was only September now. But, I do admit that my actions during the party might have caused a butterfly effect that fast-forwarded the Laxon Family's fate.
“Hey, Rachel. I am finished with everything. Should I go and bring back Ryder?” I asked.
“Yeah. We will start cleaning up now, so wait like ten minutes before you come back.”
“Ten minutes? Got it.” Anyway, I needed to hand the Potion to Ryder anyway, so that will be good.
'Are you finally going to give Ryder the Potion?!'
'Yeah, I am. And make sure to stay quiet. This matter will be delicate for Ryder. I will handle it.' I warned Deus.
As I stepped into my home, lonely silence welcomed me.
‘Huh? Where’s Ryder?’
Panic rose in my mind as I realized that the house was lifeless. I checked the kitchen and the rooms, but there were no signs of him. As I entered the garden, I noticed Yuna and Ryu squealing.
Sprawled in front of them, was an unmoving Ryder on the grass.
I was about to rush to his side, thinking something was wrong, when Ryder suddenly spoke up. “...you guys are so full of energy. I'm jealous.”
His voice sounded weak and devoid of any hope. I was about to make my presence known but stopped as Ryder continued his melancholic monologue.
“You know I cannot remember a time when my body was not in pain. And as the curse took root, the pain just got worse and worse. But you know…the pain wasn't even the worst part. It was Rachel and Grandpa. The way they looked at me with pity all the time, I hated it so much. So I decided to not talk about the pain. And just like, we all pretended that everything was normal. ”
Tears rolled down his eyes as Ryder recalled all the lies he suffered. Ryu and Yuna, not knowing what to do, tried to lick his tears thinking Ryder's pain would go away.
The silver light of the full moon reflected off Ryder’s pale skin, giving it a very sickly glow. Unlike the first time I had seen him, he had lost a lot of weight because of all the time he spent in the hospital over the past few weeks. His shirt was loosely fitted around his now-slender frame, as Ryder lay sprawled on the grass like a crestfallen angel.
‘Appraisal!
| Name: Ryder Briar Rank: Unawakened (Awakening Restricted) Status: Cursed Curse: Ryder’s body has been cursed to be able to absorb mana from outside but never be able to Awaken. Soon his internal mana will overflow and cause a mana explosion leading to death. Time Until Death: 24 Hours, 13 Minutes |
'He doesn't have much time left!' Deus urged me to give him the Potion. I silently took a seat on the grass.
Sensing the disturbance beside him, quickly wiped his tears and sat up. “Sorry, I didn’t see you enter the garden.”
“I didn’t find you in the house so I had to come out.” I replied softly.
An awkward silence fell around us as Ryder gave me nervous glances, wondering if I had heard what he vented to the Spirits.
”Um…I-” Ryder began, trying to make excuses, but I quickly cut him off.
“You know, I once had a friend. I might even say we were best of friends…or, at least I thought we were. But, during our time in uni-, I mean at the Academy, there were people who bullied him. I tried to help him…but it ended badly. Very badly. One day, he just took his life. It was a normal day, like any other…and he was…just gone.”
Ryder just listened in silence. He had never thought someone like Ray, who was so sociable with those around him, would ever have a past like that.
“You know, many people will curse me for saying this…But I really hated my friend for what he did. I always believed that if he ever had any problems, he would come and ask for my help. But, he never did...and that broke my trust in him.” I sadly smiled at Ryder. “Selfish of me, isn’t it? I just want to shift my guilt of not helping my friend onto someone else.”
“I d-don’t think it was selfish. It sounds to me like you cared a lot about your friend.”
“I did. I cared for him a lot.” I gave a small nod, as I looked him straight in the eyes “Many people who are suffering believe that it would be better for them to just leave rather than burden those around them. But you know...once you do that, the relationship you have with them will never be the same.”
“But it’s not like if I tell them anything will happen. I am still going to die anyway.” Ryder looked down as his eyes became blurry, large tears welling inside.
In the novel, Ryder was only a plot element for the development of his sister, the female protagonist. His own thoughts had never been revealed and all the pain he had to go through was something no reader knew.
But as I spent time in this world, I realized that, unlike my friend’s novel, this world was far more complicated.
A villain in the novel was just someone who missed the priest who took care of him.
A girl, who had been executed falsely, wanted to run away with her brother, away from her toxic family.
And the boy in front of me was someone whose only wish was to live past his seventeenth birthday but was too afraid to say it out loud.
“If you ask for help, it doesn’t hurt anyone.” I advised him with earnest eyes. “Who knows…maybe there is someone who can help you. All you need to do is ask!”
There was something I had always wished to tell my friend.
‘You just needed to ask and I would have done anything to help you.’
But alas, time cannot be turned back, and Aries would never come back to life. The only thing I can do is prevent a tragedy like that from happening again.
“I-I want to live!” Ryder finally voiced his wish as the tears streamed from his eyes. Ryu and Yuna rubbed their faces on his legs, as Ryder's tears continued to fall.
A tiny smile appeared on my face on seeing the little boy finally muster his courage.
“Well since you have asked me for help, should I give you your birthday gift now?”
“G-gift?” Ryder was confused about why Ray was suddenly bringing up presents.
I pulled out a blood-red vial from my dimensional ring and handed it over to him. “This Potion will take care of all your problems.”
Ryder looked at the tiny vial suspiciously. “I don’t know how this thing can help me?”
“Why don’t you try it first?” I urged him. “I promise you it's not poisoned.”
“What use will it be to poison a dead man?” He uncorked the vial and downed the contents in one go.
‘...’
‘...’
We stared at each other in awkward silence. Even the Spirits were quiet, wondering what was going on.
I scratched my neck in nervousness. 'Hey, Deus! Why isn't anything happening?'
'Don't ask me, it's your Potion.'
I wasn’t expecting something flashy but shouldn’t there be some indication that the Potion was working?
Suddenly…‘Blargh!’
Ryder quickly covered his mouth but black blood spilled from his mouth as he grabbed his stomach in pain.
