I Don’t Want to Start a Story!

Cy’s ‘father’ ushered them further into the house, through drastically different and disconnected rooms, before they reached an intimate conservatory. Cy gestured for Max to seat himself at a round, wicker table while he was looking around the glass room. There was a thick and growing collection of plants around every edge of the room with a few of the vines and trunks reaching up to the roof. Above them, there was a thatched support under a glass roof with grapevines entwined and clusters of purple grapes hanging down. The ambiance created by a small waterfall just beyond the glass walls was the cherry on top.

“You boys wait right there. I’ll go grab some cake. Would you like two slices, Max?” Max froze from the implication. How did he know so much about his past so fast? Both this life and previous ones? “Wait, never mind, I don’t want a slice to go to waste from you picking it apart. How about biscuits?”

“I want gingerbread,” Cy declared as he took his own seat. His request was accepted with a wide grin before his ‘father’ disappeared.

Max waited until he was clearly out of earshot. “What the fuck? Why didn’t you warn me about your ‘father?’ How is he so good about seeing into the past? And is he even your real ‘father?’”

“Rude,” Cy chided. “Just because I was adopted doesn’t mean he’s any less than my birth father.” Max felt slightly guilty for his thoughts about their relations. “And he can see your past because of magic, obviously?”

“But you never said anything about him being so good about it,” Max hissed back. Taking the opportunity to push some guilty buttons, he continued, “You know I’m an amnesiac. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because he usually doesn’t talk about people’s past in much detail.” Cy reached up to pluck a cluster of grapes for them to share. “He might give hints here or there, but he usually respects people’s privacy. I guess he must like you.”

Or it was a warning. Little wonder the system was so flustered with the two prompts flashing in his view.

Story Name:

Don’t Get Caught

Genre:

War

Description:

Don’t let Darius learn more about the system and how it operates.

Goal:

Kill Darius and erase his presence from history.

Difficulty:

★★★★★

How to Start:

Acknowledge the existence of the system or your past lives in front of Darius!

Story Name:

???

Genre:

???

Description:

???

Goal:

Kill Darius and Cy and erase their presence from history.

Difficulty:

★★★★★

How to Start:

Cy learns about the system from you!

What the hell was wrong with this family?

Max ignored the grapes as he watched Cy eat. It didn’t take long for Cy’s father to come back with a pitcher of fresh juice for them, some glasses, and a large plate of gingerbread biscuits on a tray. “Tuck in, boys!” He said, gleefully. Max watched him pour out glasses of juice as Cy picked up a half-burnt biscuit. “So what’s your prediction, Cyrus?”

Cy rolled his eyes. “You need to go slower with the bake. I guess the not-burnt parts will taste okay.” He looked at the biscuit suspiciously for a moment. “But I think your other recipe is better,” he added before taking a small bite.

“I agree. But it’s still miles better than when I first started out.” Cy’s father continued to give a warm smile. Cy nodded to confirm before gesturing to Max to take a biscuit. He wasn’t sure if it was out of politeness, or it was a genuine recommendation. Either way, he complied. Just as he was about to take a bite, Cy suddenly smacked it out of his hand.

“Hey-!”

Cy spat out the small part of his biscuit into his own hand. “This batch isn’t any good,” he declared. “We’re going to get food poisoning if we eat it.” Max looked slightly mystified. Could he taste it was off? Or, was Cy suddenly better at seeing the future?

“I thought you couldn’t see Max’s fate?” Cy’s father leaned in, seemingly interested in his son’s reaction as well.

“I can’t see his, but I can see mine,” Cy reminded him.

Cy’s father’s smile changed into an eerie one. “You’re getting much better about reading the wiggle room within fixed fates. I may have been sceptical, but it seems like Elder Ji-min was right to send you away for more practical experience. You’ve grown.”

Max’s confused and questioning looks were picked up by Cy. “There’s more magic in the atmosphere and land here. It makes it easier to see things.” It made sense to a certain extent with what Max had experienced in different worlds. Internal magic can be strengthened by the air they breathe, the food they eat, and even the people they interact with. “But still getting no reading on your fate.”

“Me neither,” Cy’s father confirmed. “But his soul is an open book.”

For the first time in a while, Max was perplexed with foreign information. “There’s a difference between fates and souls?” Didn’t the system say Navy had a navy-blue soul? Was that different to the colour Cy was seeing?

“You explain, Cyrus.” Cy’s father picked up the plate of toxic biscuits. “I’m going to have another go.”

“Use the old recipe and a slower baking method!” Cy’s father gave a wink in agreement before leaving. Cy seemed frustrated and slightly embarrassed. “Sorry about that, he’s always trying to use magic to hurry along the baking process. Sometimes it works out, but most of the time it goes bad-”

“What’s the difference between fates and souls?” Max repeated the only question on his mind.

Cy thought for a moment. “Fates are people’s future. There are two types: fixed and flexible. Fixed fates overall can’t be changed, but sometimes there are smaller parts which can still be shifted. And as you know, you can weirdly change them to a significant degree. On the other hand, flexible fates can change on a whim. It can be one colour and shape in the morning and be completely different by the evening. Most people have flexible fates.”

“And souls?”

“That’s the amalgamation of one’s past.” Max’s face drained in colour. “It’s an internal record. Just pure facts about what had happened in that person’s life.” Or lives. “I’m good at the type of magic which focuses on interpreting fates. Dad is an expert on reading souls. Sometimes he can have glimpses of people’s fates, but he can’t control what he sees.”

Problem. The system was right. Cy’s father could be a big, potential problem.

“And can you see people’s souls?”

“Only a little,” Cy was clearly annoyed by his lack of skill with that type of magic. “It’s why I called you ‘Ren,’ remember? Seems like Dad sees that name too.” Max frowned, if it was a past name then why couldn’t he remember it? Perhaps it was one of the many lives he had gradually forgotten about. “Originally, Elder Ji-min wanted me to go out and either develop my skills with reading people’s souls or become extremely accurate in my ability to read people’s fates.”

“Would you call yourself extremely accurate?” Max pondered as he thought back to Cy’s premonitions with BB. Even when drunk, he was able to give readings with little effort.

“Not to the extent he wants me to be. But I’ve got another reason to come back, thanks to you.” Max raised an eyebrow. “You have no fate. My magic is naturally stronger here, but even then, I can’t see a trace of your fate. An anomaly like you might be the key for developing my magic further.”

“It’s a good job that I’m willing to cooperate.” Cy wanted Max to help him develop his magic. Max wanted Cy to help him understand the system better through his and his father’s story prompts. For now, it was mutually beneficial.

“Alrighty boys.” Max jumped out of his skin from the gentle voice. This time, Cy’s father came back with two plates of biscuits and a stack of paperwork. “Here you go,” he shoved one plate into Max’s hands and another to Cy with the paperwork. “You’re going to want to fill in the application for your friend to stay here. We need it completed before we can begin the process.”

Cy gave a slight groan. “Do I have to do it now?”

“You know the procedure. Why don’t you go to your room and fill it in? If you give me a moment to chat with Max here, then you can count on my vote to let him in.” Cy began grumbling as he took his plate of biscuits and thick stack of forms. “What do you say, Max? Down for a small chat between us?”

“Sure, Darius.”

“Oh, that reminds me, Cyrus,” Cy’s father stopped him just before he left the conservatory. “Did you figure out how Max knew your name without having any internal magic?” Cy frowned in confusion as Max realised his fuck up. The system had told him their names before they said it themselves, once on the edge of Bessie’s farm and now here in the cosy conservatory. Darius gave Max a mischievous smile. “Just food for thought.”