[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 116 - 24: Our Childhood Friends [6]

Chapter 116: Chapter 24: Our Childhood Friends [6]

There was a stunned silence on the other end. "...You’re serious?" Zach blurted out in disbelief.

"I wouldn’t joke about something like this," Luke said in a grave tone.

"But—But it’s only been three years! How is that possi—" Zach’s voice suddenly cut off in realization. "Don’t tell me..."

"I’m guessing that you’ve probably pieced it together now."

"No, but that’s impossible... They’re just a myth now. They no longer exist."

"I guess they still do, Zach." Luke’s free hand unconsciously went up to his forehead, rubbing the mark that was invisible at the moment. "Our marks still exist, after all."

"No way," Zach insisted. "They haven’t been around for 200 years. Why would they come now? Why us?"

Luke understood the implication behind Zach’s words. The other ones who bore the Otherworlder Mark before them lived cursed lives, but at least in their time, an Otherworlder never appeared. Zach had always hated the bullying, but he couldn’t do anything about it except to endure.

Not only that, but the devastating attack eleven years ago had increased the prejudice against them. The villagers had blamed the monster’s unexpected appearance on them.

Once they found out that an Otherworlder had arrived and broke the seal prematurely, the hate was only going to get worse. Luke had no doubt that Zach dreaded for that to happen.

"We can’t do anything about it now," Luke said, though he detested having to utter such words from his own mouth. "This is our fate."

"I hate

this fate," Zach muttered bitterly. "It’s never done us any good so far. It’s fine if only I get hurt, but my family..."

"I know, Zach. I know."

"No, I still can’t believe it. Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, it’s true."

Zach paused for a moment, seeming to collect his thoughts. He let out a small sigh.

Luke understood that there must be a lot of conflicting thoughts swirling around in Zach’s head right now. After all, this revelation would turn their worlds upside down.

Even he was not sure which path to take from now on. Should they really continue to live in that village, especially considering that the Otherworlder was with them? The same Otherworlder who was connected to the Calamity’s energy and thus would become the monster’s target after the regeneration period?

Luke didn’t worry too much about his sister since she was already safe, much safer than he was, living in the Sapphire Kingdom. The capital of the Sapphire Kingdom was fortified with better defenses compared to the Silver Kingdom because they were more progressive.

He made a mental note to send her a letter as soon as he returned to the village. Though it was possible that she might have heard about the news by then. Being in the Sapphire Kingdom, she would have access to more information than they did.

"Well, is he nice?" Zach suddenly asked.

Luke was puzzled. "Who?"

"The new guy. The Otherworlder."

"Ah." Luke leaned back against his seat, sending another glance at the sleeping Ardyn. "He’s... an interesting character."

"How so?" There was now a note of curiosity in Zach’s tone. "Tell me about him."

A thoughtful expression crossed Luke’s face as he continued to stare at Ardyn. He couldn’t deny that he was curious about the man. In fact, he was looking forward to having more conversations with him when he woke up.

"To be honest, I still don’t know what to make of him," he admitted. "But one thing’s for sure, he saved my life, and I’m grateful to him for that."

"He saved your life?" Zach said, shocked. "What the hell happened?"

"Rubble fell down on me. I was careless," Luke admitted. "But thankfully, he was there. He rushed towards me and saved me."

"Well, that’s to be expected. He is your Guardian, after all." Zach sighed, but this time it sounded more relieved than helpless. "I’m glad to know that he saved you. That makes me feel a lot better."

Luke smiled. "Zach..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For everything."

There was a brief, stunned silence before Zach laughed a little.

"You can be a little cheesy sometimes, you know? But yeah, you’re welcome. Come home soon, and we’ll figure this all out. Together."

‏‏‎ ‎

* * *

‏‏‎ ‎

Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the cozy living room on his couch. The television was on, playing a scene from a video game. The console was also powered on, and the sound of buttons being pressed on the controller filled the otherwise quiet room.

It was a dream, but also a memory. To be honest, Ardyn could not tell the difference at this point.

Frankly, it was astonishing and somehow disconcerting how often he dreamed. There were dreams like the ones that made his heart race but would soon be erased from his memory, and there were also dreams like this one that were peaceful and came from good times in his life. Meaningful moments that he unconsciously cherished in his heart.

Ardyn looked down, noticing that he could no longer hear the sound of the controller being used. His hands were still gripping the object, but there was no movement at all.

So he was in control?

It felt strange. It was like he was lucid dreaming.

He lifted his head and looked at the TV screen in front of him. He was playing the arcade mode of a fighting game, and his character was currently being beaten up by the opponent. He quickly pressed the start button, and then the pause menu appeared.

With a sigh of relief, he leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes. How he had longed to be back at home like this. Even though it was only a dream, the feeling was so comforting that he wished he could stay like this forever.

He opened his eyes and looked at the TV screen again. There, on the left side, was the health bar and his player name.

[Ardyn].

Ardyn couldn’t help but smile a little. He had been using that name for as long as he could remember. In fact, he liked it so much as a kid that he continued to use it over the years. Gradually, his friends and family began to call him that instead of his real name. It felt nice, like he had an alter ego that everyone knew and accepted.

He often associated ’Ardyn’ with things he liked, like his hobbies and such. With fantasy RPGs, he would use this ’nickname’. Not only that, but with other game genres as well.

Now that he thought about it, he also always associated ’Ardyn’ with everything action or fantasy-related. Even in his original life, he felt a bit disconnected from reality.

So it was uncanny how his current situation was.

Ardyn let out a heavy sigh and lay down on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. Fine dust floated in the sunlight, enchanting him. He felt relaxed, as if he never wanted to get up again.

If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.

At least, not anytime soon.

"Hey, sleepyhead. What are you doing lying down instead of playing your game?"

Ardyn’s half-lidded eyes opened instantly, and he turned his head sideways in surprise.

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