Aidan Alastair - Volume 1: Hero's Journey/Sun & Darkness

Catherine York was a plain woman. She had a small frame, dark hair, and dark eyes. She was plain and pretty. Some might have described her as charming. Catherine York – let’s presume for this story – often did not understand why her friends would be friends with other people she did not like. Catherine generally did not criticize her friends’ choices, but once in a while, Catherine just had to give a piece of her mind to help her friend out.

“You can’t be marrying this guy, Elaine! You don’t know anything about him. He sounds unpleasant.”

“Yeah,” Elaine said with reserve. “But I know for a certainty that I owe him. He makes me feel like I am respected and he seeks the best for me. He usually does not try to stop me, though he sometimes says my ideas are silly while being constructive about the whole process.”

“Well, he does stop you, it seems,” Catherine said, flaunting the proof.

“Precisely,” Elaine said. “I considered that. I think it is better that he at least stops me so that I know he is not faking it with me. I don’t think anyone else has done what he has done for me.”

“You make it sound simple.”

“It is simple. It just takes time,” Elaine said, patiently.

“I don’t make friends with people I don’t like, but thank you. And, seriously… congratulations, Elaine.”

As if waiting for them to finish their conversation, an outgoing person said, “Hey, Elaine, Catherine. Want to hear a story?”

“Not interested,” said Catherine, going to her part of the cafeteria. Catherine ordered for coffee to the passing company bot. Though she hated the guy for his censorious takes, Catherine heard what the guy was saying. At least he was funny and was not taking himself that seriously – were Catherine’s musings.

“So, first off, congratulations on your pending engagement!”

“Thank you, Erik!”

“So, you want to hear a horrible story?” Erik said, his eyes shining and intent on seeing whether Elaine was comfortable with a joke.

Catherine frowned with annoyance at that. Erik was going to be insensitive again. “Yeah, sure. I would be happy to.” Catherine despaired. ‘Why are you enabling him, Elaine?’, she thought.

“So, let’s say there’s this guy here who makes you laugh and does everything to make the right connections in your brain light up. So, you have this couple A and this couple B. In the couple A relationship, the first partner tells the second partner he wants him to be happy. In couple B, the first partner also tells the second partner that she wants him to be happy. Now, what’s wrong with their actual actions?”

Elaine thought about it. “There are excesses?”

“Not in this scenario. You will have to ponder it over without haste before you get married.” Elaine smiled contritely at that. “What actually happened was that the first partner in couple A wanted his partner to be more rebellious, and the first partner in couple B wanted her partner to be more authoritarian. Neither actually wanted to love the other person.”

Elaine smiled. “Thank you, Erik. However, that can’t be helped, can it? A famous person I know once said it so. Besides, it’s true that you develop attachment to someone based on what you owe that person, even if that comes in the form of knowledge of rebellion. That person is not you, after all. I am not saying that there are not different ways of doing it, or that people can’t abuse this. But at least, a person should not show resistance to love by having fun or just pretending he is doing work strictly.”

“You sound like a saint, Elaine,” Erik said.

“No, I am a human,” Elaine said. Erik appeared embarrassed and was about to talk again. Elaine beat him at that. “Maybe you can offer to treat Catherine next time?” Catherine scowled at Erik’s words, then tried to filter out Elaine’s words. Elaine was being too nice. Catherine was a fair bit unconvinced. Aside from Erik, there were other people she disliked. The other person smiled his way to annoying another person.

***

A woman with dark eyes, dark hair, and a staid frame – a seemingly plain woman looked in my direction as I walked. I averted my eyes since I occasionally tended to have a lasting impression. Looking at her face, I thought she was someone who dwelt upon the small wonders of life.

I could hear some hungover voices. “Why man, you could have arranged for a more practical joke than this. Totally ruined the good feels I got from last night’s movie.”

“Where are you from?” asked the man beside him, looking around. His eyes darted from profile to profile.

I came across many people as I made my way, slowly, but surely, towards the front of the hall. I feigned disinterest as I walked. I remembered the person who had faced me when I was dead. He was my ‘ideal’, and candles had been lit around him. ‘If you don’t die, you won’t find me’ – he had said.

I observed that a woman went up to another person – or rather, judging from her footwork, went back to her. She chatted with that other person. To my surprise, that other person was someone who, in temperament, was much like me. “You have to be more confrontational, Ami. Let him know that you wanna have your relationship with him,” said the first woman. The first woman was of moderate height. As I looked at her, I thought she was a person who felt in an introverted way. This reminded me of some friends. These friends were allies of the past.

“Hello, I’m Orion. I identify as a tree.” a person said to a blonde guy. The blonde guy raised an eyebrow and flashed a smile.

“Color me surprised. I will accept that you are a tree if I get to identify as an equal-opportunity wolf.”

“Deal!” Orion said cheerfully. Orion went away. I checked my pockets. I had my wallet on me. If I remembered correctly, I had 300 utils in there.

I heard a suicide anecdote from a man. “I wanted it to be flashy. So I sliced my wrist at a party. I threw myself off a balcony, into the sea. I have no regrets.” Another person said she had been a terminal patient following excessive exposure to radiation on her job as a nuclear facility maintenance person. She was thankful that her job helped her save at least a couple hundred lives, by reducing acid rains and improving the air quality in her state.

It got noisy. “Has anyone got a phone on him?” asked a person, stressing the last syllable. I could see someone scanning the walls, for telltale signs of cameras. A woman looked ready to sue the person who had brought her here.

There was a throne on higher ground at the front. I was a few meters away from joining the group investigating the foremost part of the hall. Something sprung into shine at the raised platform. What materialized there was the same woman who had visited me in my dreams. Her hair was white. Her eyes were an apparent auburn. “Jesus, did Lacan ever dream of such a woman?” said a man in the group in front of me.

“Dear heroes, I thank you for responding to my call” she intoned. Her voice resounded throughout the hall. “Following suit, you have all been summoned to this world. As heroes, I want you to help protect this country, which is called Thesis. Eventually, we will need to fight a bigger war. I will provide you with training and facilities, as required.”

I looked at Ambrosia. She had white hair and auburn eyes. Auburn would be the color of burnt orange. Her cloth had changed. In my dream she had a Chinese style white dress with red patterns of flowers and curvy lines. She then had a similarly patterned overcoat, which looked like it was made of silk. At that time, if you had asked me where to look at, I would not have been sure where to begin with. I raised my head to better face the platform. I looked at Ambrosia’s face first.

Right now, Ambrosia had a yellow, round cape which stretched close to midway of her upper arm. It covered part of her chest. The cape in question looked more like an accessory than a necessity. On both sides, front up, there was an insignia. This insignia was a stag’s head with antlers. The insignia was green in color, providing a sharp contrast to the cape’s golden color. Her torso had a loose-flowing tunic which came to her thighs. The tunic was white in color and had a sash around the hips. Below it, gray-blue spats appeared, ending with booted shoes of short height and the same gray-blue color. Her tunic was covered with a padded double-breast armor of a dark blue color, which came some inches below breast level. The white tunic had a v-cut collar. The dark blue of the padded armor’s rounded opening hugged the v-cut collar of the tunic.

Her cloth looked simple. The highlights were her white hair and her auburn eyes. I adjusted my eyes to neutral level. I saw a notification in front of me.

[This is the Thesis nation.

It is run by the god/goddess, whose name is: Ambrosia

Geographical location: West of the Thesis nation, lies the Collard Empire. North of it lies the area of the dark kings. Between the area of the dark kings and the Collard Empire lies the Ursa Sea. The rest of the world is actively being explored by the heroes.

Background Information: The Thesis nation prides itself for its panoramic village Treesbirtht, and is home to a few dungeons, starting from the dungeon of flowers.

Religion: The majority of the people here follow the open-source religion of the goddess.

Recruitment mechanism: As a hero, you will be contracted into at least five years of service under a proof-of-stake model. Once you agree, you may return to your world after five years is over, assuming you don’t die.]

In addition to this, there were a few words in fine print: This open-source religion is in no way a rebranding of any superior religion, which believes itself to be superior.

At least, the agreement notification used the word ‘proof-of-stake’. It meant it was less easy for me to scam the goddess, but also easier for the goddess or other authorities to scam me.

I reflected on the goddess’s statement. Presumably, I had been revived. Memories from my dream corroborated with that. If I wanted to repay the favor to Ambrosia, I could help her protect the Thesis nation. However, hero, huh? Even if she said we were heroes, the number here was extreme. Some people approached the goddess.

“Hallo! Ich bin Jung!” (Hello! I am Jung!)

I could decipher it, somehow. I had learned the first few German lessons on Duolingo, because I had recalling problems. The German language was not as complex as Eastern use cases of kanji. It had variants for pronunciations. An acronym like CERN had significance to it. It was a French acronym for the French word ‘Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire‘, which translated to the ‘European Council for Nuclear Research’. Significance sometimes made the word less NPC-like, and sometimes prevented word innovation. I remembered thinking that ‘Breaking Dawn’, by Stephenie Meyer, was a cool novel.

Another person spoke in Japanese, asking what this summoning was all about. Someone else spoke in Arabic and another person seemed to use an African language.

“Ma’am, am I going to get money for this?”

“Which channel will this be broadcast on?” asked someone else, patting his back gingerly. He tried hard to find a reason to wince. After a while, the languages made sense to me.

“I would definitely expect a proper sum of money if you wish to get off the hook pertaining to this situation,” said a woman. She approached the goddess. A man came along, to make a similar demand.

“Is this a parallel world?” asked the Japanese guy.

A woman pressed a phantom button in front of her. She giddily yelled, “I’ve done it! I’m in fandom-verse!”

The goddess’s feet touched the floor of the raised platform. “Dear heroes, I hope you will take this chance to live again to heart. I look forward to witnessing your courage and valor.”

A person with a hard-set face emerged from the crowd. He put a fist at his heart and looked down. He said, “I want to thank you, goddess Ambrosia. I had impaired legs while I was alive.” The person had green eyes and black hair. He seemed to have strong bones, perhaps a mark of testosterone. As he walked, he staggered, and then redressed himself.

“It was coincidental,” Ambrosia shook her left hand with her right hand. “You praise me too much. You are Elliot, right? Tell me your full name.”

“Elliot Brave,” said the man, “nice to meet you.” Elliot stood there, waiting for Ambrosia to take up again, before a person pushed him aside. Elliot threw him a glance.

“We are not your free actors, hottie. I don’t remember seeing you or these special effects. Where are you from?”

Some guys got to the person and apprehended him. He let out some complaints. To these, one guy said, “we did not agree on you terrorizing our friend. Get a clue, man.” He looked around, then became quiet.

“That was quick,” said a woman, looking at his boisterous appearance. The man looked sideways. The other guys let go, feeling like there was hardly any tension.

The man said, “I thought I liked…” They looked at him. “Never mind.”

“I want to work with the Thesis Nation. I hope to help,” Elliot said.

“That will be awesome, Elliot. Thank you,” said the goddess, her auburn eyes shining in Elliot’s direction. “Elliot, I would like you to show your stake in your job by making a statement of commitment to me. It will help finalize the deal,” the goddess said. Her body lifted itself up, while she made a form that indicated a jumping action. The goddess levitated towards Elliot.

A few people looked at Elliot with worry. “Don’t be hasty, bro,” said someone else.

“Breathtaking,” mouthed a woman, as Ambrosia moved past her.

To my side, a person asked someone else conspiratorially, “it looks safe to me. That said, do you think we were implanted with some kind of device? Everyone seems to be from a different nation to me.”

“I would not appreciate someone getting rich while selling me out either. We should see if this idea is tenable later. Regardless, don’t be quick to trust me, okay?” returned the man.

“That’s the spirit I like,” returned the person.

The goddess stopped levitating. “Alright,” said Elliot. He took a moment to think. “I vow that I, Elliot Brave, will be loyal to you. I will work as a hero for this kingdom for five years.” Elliot glowed with light. His hair turned white.

The sight was grand. An ethereal armor surrounded Elliot before disappearing at a roaring speed. It became quiet. Then, sound warmed up the atmosphere anew. “I heard you well. Elliot Brave.” Ambrosia smiled. “I acknowledge your resolve. It seems you have been given the special status ‘the pilgrim’. I have some hopes for you.” Elliot’s hair returned to black. “Elliot, your strength is recorded on your back. I hope you realize the weight you now carry.”

“I see. Thank you.” Elliot walked to the left of the raised platform. Someone else came after him.

When Ambrosia was done, the person asked. “Is the record on my back something like a status table in games?”

The goddess pondered over it for a while. “That would be correct.”

The person who asked nodded. He tapped on a translucent button. A blue interface appeared in front of him. One more person agreed to help and said his vows. “She does not sound bad,” said someone in the crowd. “You want to go first, or do I?” I decided to make my move.

“Dear human, do you want to defeat the demon gods?” Ambrosia asked.

“I want a free ticket. You seem to have enough heroes.”

Ambrosia was perplexed at my answer. “I am afraid I would like to ask you to reconsider my proposal.”

“With this much heroes, you are sure to initiate the tragedy of the commons. I do want to be stronger but, if possible, I would like to learn about how to return home early.” My body tensed.

“I think anyone who has something left to do in your previous world will share your sentiment. What do you mean by the tragedy of the commons?” asked the goddess.

“He probably thinks the goddess does not deserve his help,” whispered the woman with the pixie face. After she said that, she covered her mouth with her hand.

Someone else took over. “Since everyone is doing it, you won’t do it, huh? Talk about an irresponsible collectivist argument,” said a man. He wore a dark-gray sweatshirt on a white shirt. The sweatshirt’s sleeves were pulled back.

The goddess looked unfazed. That said, I did not feel in good shape. “So, you won’t help me?” Ambrosia asked.

“That is correct,” I said. I felt my body heat up. Blood fled from my body like wiggling vapor. I felt some unknown pressure upon me. I was angry. “Aidan, an unfortunate thing has occurred. You have been cursed,” Ambrosia said.

Dark fumes escaped my body. “Your system is more arbitrary than I thought, never mind the crypto contracts and the formality.”

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked behind to see a man. “Don’t raise flags, bro.” I swatted the hand away. I looked at him. “My name is Dalton,” He said. His hands hung freely by his side. Dalton stepped back.

“I’m not angry,” I said. Two men who looked like butlers appeared. They took hold of my hands. We walked out of the room.