Chapter 2: This World Is Truly Fascinating.
The sun finally emerged from its hiding place after a deep sleep. A breeze swayed over the roses with lightness and softness, the valley waters flowed and spoke.
By all means, this was a magnificent morning atmosphere. Light gradually shone through the window of Liomas Ren Wu's room.
He truly had not slept all night. His pillows were drenched with salty seawater [metaphor for tears], his entire skin was pale yellowish, his long black hair was curly, and his body still trembled.
He spent the entire night roaming his room, thinking deeply, to the extent that he memorized its contents without even noticing.
A massive window divided by a plus-sign symbol with fine lines. These lines were brown in color. The window glass was thin and sturdy, and of commendable quality.
Next to the wardrobe, there was a wooden table painted in a majestic brown color, and likewise a wooden chair, its back and seat upholstered in black leather.
In the bottom part of the wardrobe, one of its small doors was designated for essential tools: an ordinary, fine comb, a hand mirror, a basic medical kit, perfume, and other necessities.
The room's floor consisted of smooth wood, its color between brown and reddish-yellow.
Similarly, the wall was entirely covered with wooden panels in a faint black hue, with color gaps of white and grey sliding through them.
Liomas also discovered that the toilet was inside the room, isolated by its own wall.
The time now was approximately six in the morning; this was precisely the time nature awoke.
Liomas recalled a quote: 'Every morning, you must run to survive. It doesn't matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. All you must do then is run to be the strongest.' However strong you are, you must not abandon the idea of being merely a survivor.
This quote had always piqued Liomas's interest whenever he woke up early, only to disappear afterwards.
Liomas flipped the pillow over, then adjusted his body position, placing both hands behind his head after pushing his hair up. He was now staring at the black ceiling sprayed with dots of various different colors.
His eyes were red. Darkness had dominated the area surrounding his eyelids. His eyes had truly wilted.
He hadn't yet accepted all that had happened. His head ached severely from thinking.
He thought about what he had said hours ago: 'I shall strive for Nothingness.'
He was now not within high walls, but in the sky, an endless extending road. The more he walked, the more it extended to rise above him and remind him of his status.
In short, Liomas realized that his final statement, he didn't truly mean it. He didn't mean that everything is meaningless now. It was just as if he had said: 'For my wife, my children, all my relatives, and all my memories in my old world, I will not allow this world to have any meaning in my eyes.'
He understood that his utterance was coated with emotional subconsciousness, but now he began to see the picture clearly.
"I don't understand this world yet, I haven't become acquainted with it. But when I do and drink it in like water, what comes after?"
Liomas had succeeded in reaching an important conclusion. He truly realized that anything he does in this world will have no absolute, real purpose. He knew perfectly well that what he will do will not be desired by him, and that what he will strive towards, he will not be a true striver for.
He lacks the motivation for anything now. It died for him in a world where he only read about things similar to it in novels and watched them in movies. A world he wished to go to in his childhood and sometimes in his older age.
He feels as if he has lost his sense of taste. Candy is in front of him but he cannot eat it, because in his condition, what is the difference between luxurious candy and dry bread?
And despite all this, he cannot deny that he felt, in distributed moments, thrills of happiness and curiosity.
Indeed, Liomas's feelings were conflicting, a mixture of sadness and longing, intermittent happiness, fear, guilt, trembling and terror, anxiety and tension.
Six hours alone in his room, crying and wiping his tears, analyzing something else and returning to crying, and he continued like this. When he slept for minutes, he wasn't truly sleeping; he was just sinking deeply.
Clearly, this difficult duration drained him greatly. His condition now is worse than that of street dogs.
"Wait, my parents!" Liomas finally thought of his parents in this world. He had completely forgotten the matter.
Liomas considered several possibilities and expectations. He thought they might have died, or abandoned him. He also considered the possibility that he was only adopted by them.
A great curiosity took him to see them, and see their residence. Does he have siblings? What is his relationship with them like? And here too he cried after feeling happiness and tension. His body was hot. The tension stemmed from fear of his truth, the truth that he is scum.
He immediately agreed with himself that he does not hold an atom of loyalty to his previous life. He now undoubtedly feels that happiness here is a sin.
He sighed and stood up slowly. He felt severe dizziness and heaviness on all levels of his body. His hair was stuck together.
Now his long hair was nearly exceeding his entire back. He was roaming his room yesterday, going to the toilet and noticing through the mirror that his current body is his original body at the age of fifteen. One thing was changed in it: his hair had become very long, contrary to how it was in his previous life.
He stood upright by the window, throwing his gaze here and there, while simultaneously rubbing his left shoulder.
The view was truly of great beauty. This world... the beauty of its nature is incomparable. The colors are clear and attractive. The trees there near the valley are pink in color. The sound of sparrows is like a professional musician. A whitish-yellow sun.
But Liomas now looks at the white clouds above. He thought a little about how the food here would look and taste after feeling intense hunger.
He pinched himself again, shed tears, but this time more abundantly. He wants to focus and cry purely without contamination, but his curiosity was stronger, not allowing him to do so.
A large cloud passed, and Liomas admired its formation. He kept staring at it until it disappeared from his field of vision. "It's gone. This is expected. Everything departs. I suppose I must accept this, for it is a law that cannot be tampered with."
Liomas had always hated inevitabilities, and strongly despised them as well.
He saw, for example, that life sacrifices one group to distinguish and showcase another group. Despite this, he saw that both groups are merely puppets and victims.
Knock Knock Knock
"Mr. Liomas... Sir Liomas." A faint voice behind the door.
Liomas turned quickly, surprised by the title he was addressed with by the calling knocker. He opened the door to find one of the guards. "Hello, the great Sir Liomas. Sorry to disturb you. I was sent to you by order of Teacher Xian Wu. He sent me to check on your condition."
"I am fine, no need to worry," answered Ren Wu, scratching his chin.
"Sorry, sir, I don't mean to intrude, but... are you sure? Your condition suggests otherwise!"
Ren Wu turned his head back then brought it forward and said to the guard with the strange looks in front of him. "I want to eat. Can you bring me something to eat?"
The guard was even more surprised and confused by Liomas's behavior, which was unusual for him. "Yes, sir, I can do that. So you don't want to go down to the residence restaurant today?!"
"You know what, fine, I'll go down to the restaurant. Thank the Teacher on my behalf."
"As you wish, sir." The guard bowed and left.
Liomas returned to his room, stunned. "Am I important to this degree? Could it be that I am from a noble family or what? And the problem is, the guard seems much stronger than me!"
Liomas reopened the door after being impressed by the method. He extended his palm towards the curved center of the door, and it opened easily.
"What's wrong, Liomas?" This was Chi's voice, asking with wondering contemplation after passing by and seeing Ren Wu's condition.
Liomas told him that he was fine and there were no problems, so Chi continued his way but turned back after a few steps. "So, you won't come to training today?"
"Yes... I honestly don't know. It depends on my mood and condition later."
"Alright, see you later. And don't forget, you must have mercy on yourself, for next week we have the Level Determination Test, and as you know, it's a fateful test, and psychology plays a big role here."
Liomas's body shuddered. His black pupils dilated. "Alright, see you later."
Liomas thought about Chi's words. He thought about the nature of this test and its purpose, and why it is so important that it's fateful. Chi's words were clear and understandable, but what stirred something inside Liomas was the feeling when he would stand in the arena of trial and step over its shadow.
He returned to his room, pacing between its walls. "This world... seems truly fascinating!"
As in his previous life, he understood that experience, no matter how full of absurdity and foolishness, is worth it as long as it will end and everything evaporates with it.
How beautiful it is for existence to be connected to us.