"F*ck" A middle-aged looking man muttered, sitting in a stairway with an obvious eyebags, he groaned while staring at his phone.
"Why can't I win?" Albert whispered quietly, a tear nearly flowed down from one of his eyes. "I even spent my tuition fee..." he murmured in sorrow.
In fact, he wasn't a middle-aged man at all, but a college student whose gambling addiction had made him look like a complete wreck
"It's been months since I started playing. If only I hadn't met that guy," Albert whispered, reminiscing about the day his friend coaxed him into gambling.
Albert was in his third year, the top of his class, a promising student with a bright future who was expected to graduate with a promising career. But all of this shattered because of gambling—a curiosity that should have been avoided and nearly killed his own future.
"I should go back to the countryside..." Albert was neither poor nor rich. His mother was an overseas worker and his father was an average farmer. The tuition fee he spent on gambling was provided by his mother, and the food he ate was provided by his father.
He lived a life of leisure and had no need for a job. However, his guilt prompted him to go home and reflect, fearing he would repeat the cycle.
Albert thought carefully, "I'll just need to find a reason if my father asks me. I don't want to implicate them."
He decided that after he returned, he would find a temporary job to earn back his lost money, but it would mean sacrificing a semester. He began planning to get a bus ticket for tomorrow afternoon.
"Yes, having failed a semester is normal in college," he told himself. "I just need to try again. The most important thing is to graduate." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his fears.
The next day, Albert entered the bus and found his seat next to a mother cradling her child. She was an elegant woman with silky black hair, green eyes, glossy lips, a pointed nose, and fair cheeks. She wore a white top with blue jeans and a low heeled sandals to partner with
"Ma'am, would you like to sit by the window?" he sincerely asked.
Apparently, the seating arrangement is determined by a number on the ticket. A window seat is generally considered the best option, as it offers a clear view outside. Passengers can also ask to exchange tickets with others if they want to be seated with a friend.
"It's fine, I don't want to trouble you," the woman responded. "And honestly, this makes it easier for me to get out when the bus arrives at a stop, and it also gives me more space," she quickly added before standing to give way for the young man to enter the seat beside her.
"I understand" Albert responded while making his way to the seat.
Sitting on a bus, he saw a familiar figure: it was his friend who had coaxed him into gambling.
"Amar... that c*nt... no, I shouldn't hate him. He only introduced me to gambling; I'm the one who was enticed."
Albert reprimanded himself while waving his hand behind the window as a gesture to say goodbye. Amar noticed and responded in confusion as the bus began to depart.
Albert reclined in his seat, opening the steamed bun he had bought earlier at the 7-Eleven store across the street. The bun was filled with meat and paired with a sweet, dark sauce. "How long has it been since I felt this relaxed?" Albert asked himself while munching.
Apparently, he had undergone a cleansing yesterday which revealed his proper appearance, he has deep black eyes with thick eyebrows, a high cheekbones with a defined chin, his lips has a natural-looking thickness with a slightly smaller upper lip, a harmonious and symmetrical nose that fits well with the rest of the face. In fact he was a rather good looking man!
"Ding!" Albert, who was enjoying his steamed bun, checked his phone and read silently. "Where are you going? Don't you know that we have a quiz today?" It was from his friend, Amar. Instead of replying immediately, Albert continued to munch down his steamed bun with delight. Afterward, he replied, "To rest."
It was a 10-hour trip to his hometown. With nothing to do, Albert opened his phone and began reading his favorite novel.
Halfway through the trip, the bus entered a thick, forested road. Albert, who wanted to take a breath, opened the window slightly, allowing a gentle breeze to pass through.
"Finally, I'm out of the city with their d*mn pollution," Albert muttered while enjoying the fresh air.
After a minute of enjoying the breeze, Albert finally closed the slightly-opened window while letting out a satisfied sigh. Suddenly, along the way, the bus stopped. The passengers looked outside curiously before returning to sleep. Apparently, a man wearing a top hat had entered the bus.
It was a normal occurrence on a countryside road, which is why the passengers didn't care. Since there were so few transportation options available at night, the bus driver would often offer a ride in exchange for a premium fee. The driver kept the fee, as the company wouldn't care about such a petty sum.
"Who wears a top hat in this age?" Albert thought after sizing him up. The man was standing beside their seat seemingly unperturbed by his surroundings as the bus resumed its journey.
After a while, Albert, seemingly vexed after rummaging through his backpack, muttered quietly, "F*ck, I forgot my power bank."
Apparently, this was a serious problem for him. After he started gambling, He had always stayed late at night, and this accumulated stress eventually led to insomnia.
Having nothing else to do, he stared at the window when a sudden tap reached him. It was the pregnant woman who was cradling her baby.
"What is it?" Albert asked
"Can you please hold my baby" the woman asked sincerely.
Albert, who didn't ask any questions, gently held the baby. This is a normal response, since the lady might be tired and need to stretch a bit, or she might have forgotten something in her bag that is hard for her to reach while holding a baby.
After handing him the baby, the two figures suddenly vanished. They were gone! As if they had never been there in the first place!
"W...what happened?!" Albert, who was shocked, exclaimed silently . The sleeping passengers didn't notice anything amiss since the sudden disappearance made no sound—nothing at all!
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, scanning his surroundings with growing dread. For a moment, he wondered if his exhausted mind was playing tricks on him.
Albert, who was the top of his class, slowly realized the situation he was in, "Sh*t, was I involved in a mysterious situation?" he muttered. "This is beyond common sense! Is this what being entangled in mysticism feels like?" Albert frowned, seemingly confused whether to feel fear or amazement.
"If she willingly handed her baby to a stranger, it means they were only after her. But wait, why did I even think of 'perpetrators'? What if he was her companion, and waiting on this thick forest road was part of a larger plan? Still, who would wait here, and for a mission in such a remote place? A ruin? All those possibilities... but why involve a baby? She could have left it in someone's care!" Albert thought, though his mind kept circling back to the first scenario.
"I need remain to calm and rational" he added.
"First, I need to check the baby's condition without making it cry; I must maintain the silence, fearing the other passengers would notice something amiss; thankfully, we're at the back end of the bus," Albert felt relieved.
As he unfolded the cloth covering the baby's face, he was horrified. "T...this... W...what is this?" The baby had a dried, corpse-like face, but the part that shocked Albert the most was that it was very much alive while sucking on a pacifier!
Albert nearly shouted in horror as he maintained his composure with great strength, suddenly, the lady with green eyes returned.
"Thank you, your kindness will be remembered," she solemnly said, as her hand reached out to receive the baby.
Regaining his composure, Albert handed the baby to her and nervously asked, "W...what happened to the man with a top hat?"
The lady said one word, "Gone," her tone terse. Albert replied with a forced smile.
He then noticed the window's sudden brightening, as if a premature sun were rising, and his forced smile faltered.
"But it's still midnight!" he murmured abruptly.
Outside, the sky was torn in half, and in the fissure, the full moon hung revealed. A gigantic gate split open within the glowing rift, spilling golden-white rays of light as a man stepped through. He was a muscled giant, almost two meters tall! An orb floated in his right hand; in his left, he clutched a brush. When he delicately touched the orb's surface with the brush, a spectacular ball of light began its slow descent from the heavens!
Inside the bus, Albert remained confused by the sudden burst of light. His heart tensed as the woman beside him audibly clicked her tongue and locked eyes with Albert.
"It looks like I'll have to trouble you with another favor," she said with a smile.
"C.. can i say no?" Albert asked with an awkward smile.
"As far as you're concerned" the lady said with a glint of smile.
"This... what is it?" Albert began to lose hope, imagining what would happen if he flatly rejected her.
"Simple, but first we need to get out of here. Don't worry about the other passengers; I'll be sending them into a safe place," she said, and then reached to grab Albert's shoulder.
Albert was speechless, unable to voice his shock as his surroundings blurred. One moment, they were inside the bus; the next, they were outside and floating. He let out a hollow shriek but quickly composed himself, determined to salvage his dignity.
The next moment he blinked, they were on solid ground. "I'll explain quickly," the lady exclaimed.
"You need to run with the baby, run as far as you can. Then, draw a circle big enough for both of you, and after that, recite this incantation." She touched Albert's head, seeming to transfer the instructions directly into his mind. Albert felt dazed as he tried to digest the unfamiliar words.
"After that, spill this blood within the circle. The surroundings will confuse you at first, but I believe in your ability to adapt quickly."
The lady handed her a bottle filled with blood.
Albert opened his mouth to speak, but the lady raised a hand to stop him.
"I know this is a lot for you to take in," she said gently, "but I promise you this—no matter the outcome, I'll grant you one wish."
Then the lady explained, "The moment you accepted the baby, my aura seeped into you, making you a target. I can erase your memories so you can return to your normal life. I'll reclaim the aura that entered you, but once I do, you'll never encounter this mysterious world again."
Her eyes locked with Albert's as she spoke with unwavering resolve.
After a moment of contemplation, Albert responded with just two words:
"I accept."
The lady was stunned, not by his decision, but by the simplicity of his reply.
"Lady, you could've taken the aura back earlier, but you chose not to. And now you're telling me I had a choice—as if that option existed all along? You clearly planned this from the start and tried to disguise it with a promise of granting a wish!" Albert thought to himself.
"Take this knot. It's an artifact that will keep you alive for 10 seconds, regardless of how fatal the attack might be. Of course, it's so you can finish the ritual." The lady said while she handed a red illusory knot.
Albert took the knot and tied it around his arm. After a moment, he noticed the surroundings growing bright again.
"This…" He quickly realized what was happening. His eyes met the woman's just as she spoke a single word—"Run."
Albert quickly ran into the forest while holding the baby, without showing a hint of fear of what he saw earlier. When he was about a hundred meters away, he heard a maniacal laugh.
"HAHAHA!!"
It was the woman who had given him the knot!
"You want my soul?! You should have brought someone at the divine level!" she shouted, her voice thundering with power.
"You, of all beings, should know that once you conceive with a mortal, your strength will be reduced by half," the giant replied.
"A half of me is still me! Who gave you the courage to challenge an ancient divine?!" she shouted majestically.
The giant hovered in silence, lowering his brush and pointing it toward the glowing sphere.
"I see… so you received help from him? HAHAHA! Don't you realize that once you accept aid from him, you'll be bound eternally to the void!"
The giant remained silent as a colossal sphere of light descended from the heavens.
"Tsk." With a click of her tongue, nine towering pillars of rot ascended behind her, exuding a dreadful grace.
Beyond the forest, a man panted heavily—it was Albert, who had been running nonstop.
"Is this far enough? No… she told me to run as far as I can, and this clearly isn't my limit," he muttered, catching his breath before pushing forward once more, carefully cradling the baby in his arms.
After what felt like an eternity, Albert finally stopped in a small clearing deep within the forest.
He knelt down, picked up a fallen branch, and began to draw a circle around himself. Once his thoughts were steady, he began to chant the unfamiliar language.
"Jùm Àr... Rā Vîa... Hës Frà..." As he chanted, he noticed the world around him begin to shift.
"Shá ẞw... Më Frá... Krí Vå" He was just about to finish the ritual when a sword plunged into his chest! Piercing the most critical part, his heart!
The illusory red knot activated instantly, its unseen tendrils coiling gently around his heart completely wrapping it.
Albert remained unperturbed, as if he had already accepted his fate. Blood streamed from his chest while he cradled the baby in his right arm, a bottle of blood clenched tightly in his left. Just as he was about to shatter the bottle, a familiar voice cut through the air.
"Tsk, still alive? I thought you wanted to rest?"
"Amar…" Albert groaned, tightening his grip on the bottle—but to his surprise, it wouldn't break. It was as if he were clutching a solid metal.
"Haha…" Albert let out a hollow, despairing laugh.
"I hope… my blood works," he whispered, finally closing his eyes.
The baby remained secure against his abdomen, safely bound there by Albert's earlier precaution.
"Finally dead? You really are an interesting fellow, being entangled in the mysteries of this world and adapting so quickly," Amar remarked. But just as he reached for his sword, a sudden burst of rotting light descended from above!
"This is…" Amar's eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
"HAHA! You truly are an interesting man! No wonder you became my friend!" he shouted, laughing in disbelief.
The blinding light swelled, pulsing with divine energy as thirty-two radiant pillars erupted around Albert. One by one, the pillars began to move—shifting, bending, and merging in a slow, deliberate dance. Their glow intertwined like threads of fate until they fused into three colossal, majestic pillars that towered toward the heavens.
Bathed in their brilliance, Albert's figure began to fade. The light wrapped around him like a silken cocoon, and with each passing heartbeat, his form grew fainter—until at last, he vanished completely, swallowed by the radiance.
Amar, who had been watching from a distance, smiled faintly before leaving the scene.