***
London, UK.
Years 2017
John Alan is a hard-working man who has an 80-hour work week. In the afternoon, he works as a storekeeper for six hours, while the rest of the hours, he works as a waiter in a small bar until it closes at nine in the evening.
It s not for no reason that Alan did that. The 28-year-old man with a tall, skinny figure of about five feet nine inches and a tired face was forced to do it for economic reasons. He was so broke that he had to work hard to support his parents.
Alan's problems began with a fraud case that trapped his parents. They were so tempted by the promise of a quick investment that they dared to sacrifice everything. However, a disaster happened to the family. The person in charge of the investment disappeared without a word, carrying Alan's parents' money.
The amount reached one million pounds. Of course, this loss made Alan and his parents' lives so bad that even their food depended on Alan's work.
At nine o'clock in the evening, the number of bar customers was less than usual. Alan wasn't as tired as yesterday, who had to close at ten at night.
"Are you free tonight, Alan?" asked a woman, a regular customer at the bar where Alan worked.
"I have to go home soon. Someone is waiting for me," Alan replied.
The man began to take off his apron as he walked toward a room where the waiters kept their things. The woman continued to follow Alan. Some employees knew she was Sersi, a name as pretty as the woman looked.
The door to the locker room opened, revealing three male employees who had changed their clothes into casual suits. The eyes of the three men fell on Sersi; their red faces flushed with eyes widened in shock.
"I was going to invite you out for a drink," Sersi replied, Alan chuckling.
The man stood right in front of his personal locker. He opened it and started putting things like id cards, hats, and aprons.
"You know, I'm sick of the smell of bourbon," Alan said, looking annoyed that Sersi wouldn't give up on him.
"We can have something that—"
"Don't you understand?" asked Alan, interrupting Sersi rudely.
The atmosphere became so tense. The three men, none other than Alan's coworkers, had never seen the young man angry like that. As far as they knew, Alan was known for his friendly service and was full of smiles.
But what Alan was showing at the moment was far different from what they knew. Alan realized the conversation with Sersi was going to be long, so he asked his three partners to leave the locker room.
"What do you mean?" asked Sersi, her eyes turning sad from their initial enthusiasm.
"We've talked about a lot of things. You know how I am right now, don't you?" asked Alan, speaking in a high tone.
"I know. You don't have to worry. I'll pay for it this time," replied Sersi, turning sad into excited.
"I can't leave them unguarded. The increasing debt is making them depressed. I even saw my father about to commit suicide with a rope in his room," Alan explained.
He picked up his bag and looked at Sersi, cold and ignorant. Alan realized that Sersi had a crush on him, judging by her responses.
He was happy someone liked him, but Alan didn't have time for that. Debt, bank loans, and online loans had to be done in order to be free from the dangerous circle.
"So, you're not leaving because you must look after your parents?" asked Sersi. Alan nodded slowly.
He started walking towards the exit, opened it and stopped for a while beside Sersi. Their eyes did not glance at each other this time.
"I'm glad you always ask me out. However, this time. I apologize. I can't accept your invitation," Alan replied.
He quickly walked out of the locker room and said goodbye to all the bartenders who were still there. Sersi looked down sadly. She followed Alan's directions to return to her residence.
The distance between the bar and Alan's residence was not that far, only a few minute's walks. While walking, he kept thinking about what he had done to Sersi. In his opinion, Alan's words to that woman were quite rude to say.
Alan bought two of his parents' favorite hotdogs on the way home. They were always happy when they got food from Alan, especially his mother, who loved meat.
Alan kept walking until he saw the appearance of the apartment where he lived with his parents. He chose an apartment with full facilities because he wanted to save on daily expenses, such as cooking, bathing, etc.
Alan needed to do things like that in the meantime as he worked hard to pay off all the debts his parents had. It was only a few hundred pounds until Alan could be completely free.
He walked up the stairs, as he lived in a small apartment. It took about ten minutes to reach the sixth floor; Alan lived in a sixth-floor apartment.
"They sure like the food I brought," Alan whispered.
Alan stood right in front of his apartment door. However, he felt something unusual coming from behind the door. Alan didn't hear anything; it was as quiet as the midnight hour.
He immediately opened the door and saw that his apartment was so dark, like no one in this place.
Alan tried to find the light switch in the darkness until he finally found it and started to turn it on. What a shock! Alan found his parents lying limply on the floor with pale faces and foaming at the mouth.
"DAD? MOM?!" shouted Alan.
The man's loud shout attracted the attention of Alan's apartment neighbors. They came out and entered Alan's apartment, seeing the terrible condition of the young man's parents.
"I'll call an ambulance," replied one of the women, the wife of Alan's neighbor.
Alan smelled an unpleasant scent, like a chemical. He tried to find the source of the scent until he found a bottle of rat poison lying on the ground with the lid clearly open.
"They... died by suicide," Alan said softly.
"Don't touch that, Alan. The police will detect your fingerprints there," replied the man next door.
Alan nodded as he sat listlessly. His eyes looked sadly at his parents, even though Alan had bought their favorite food.
The man next door immediately covered his parents' bodies with a cloth he got from his apartment. Right after their faces were covered, Alan burst into tears.
"I'm sorry, Alan," said the neighbor, grieving.
He walked over to Alan and patted him on the shoulder, trying to encourage him. The deaths of Alan's parents were caused by one thing: depression due to economic pressure.
All the problems in Alan's life were caused by those fraudsters. In Alan's mind, he wanted to take revenge on the fraudsters who had ruined his life.
"I will kill those people!"
***A simple funeral was held the next day. Only a few family members and friends came to the funeral. Alan was the last person to leave the area with a heart full of hatred.He planned to find the fraudster's location by tracking him down using all the ways Alan could. Fortunately, Alan met the fraudster when he came to promote the fraudulent promise to his parents.Not only the face but also the name of the man. Now, he had to find the person using these two pieces of information; the fraudster's face and name.He began his search using social media, friends, and the help of the police. Alan was forced to quit his job as a storekeeper to work as a waiter in a bar at night, as waiter salaries were higher than those of a small store.For a month, he searched with simple tools and basic methods. He found a face similar to the fraudster on social media, except that the fraudster changed his name to Nicholas - previously named Alfred.That day, on a Sunday. The bar where Alan worked was
WIntermere, AthanorYears 566Alan opened his eyes, seeing a house different from what he had imagined. The roof was made of wood, the fireplace for cooking still used firewood, and all the furniture in this house looked old-fashioned."Good morning, Arryn," said one of the women. She was beautiful and looked pretty young.She came over to Arryn –Alan's name in this world– and began to hold him gently. The woman's smile spread wide, looking charming in Arryn's eyes.Arryn just found out the identity of the woman. She was Selena, Arryn's mother. This fairly large house was not as crowded as a typical family. Arryn didn't find out where his father was.Selena raised Arryn with love, hoping her child would grow healthy and strong. She had no trouble caring for Arryn alone, and Arryn realized that he shouldn't cause Selena any trouble.Alan's thoughts were still embedded in Arryn's head, so Arryn had no trouble doing his daily life. Selena was amazed. She didn't expect Arryn to be such a
***Twelve years laterWintermere, Athanor.Years 548Arryn looks closely at the events of his parents' deaths while on Earth, looking so creepy and playing repeatedly.He is in the middle of a room that continues to display the suffering he experienced on Earth, one of which clearly displays Alfred's face in front of him. Suddenly it made Arryn furious, and he wanted to take revenge for his suffering on Alfred.When all the shows showed the story of Arryn's suffering. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of Arryn and blurred all the shows. Arryn clearly saw three people standing in line with glowing eyes. Their body size was enormous."Arryn Vaughan. We are always watching you!" said one of the men, dressed in robes with a crown of flowers on his head.The sound was so loud that Arryn fell to his knees and covered his ears. The voice had woken Arryn from his sleep in the living room.Arryn’s eyes opened wide, with his head lifted quickly. He just realized that everything that ha
Pantheon soldiers take the shackled Arryn to a place where criminals are being interrogated. Arryn's eyes were covered with a thick black cloth, making it impossible for him to know where he had been taken."Tell me. Where are you going to take me?” Arryn asked.“Somewhere you will never know. So don't talk too much, Demon!” groaned the soldier who brought Arryn.“How many times have I told you that I'm not a demon? I'm just like you, a human."Pantheon's soldiers no longer answered Arryn's questions, although Arryn asked so many questions that it bore the soldiers. They walked for a long time until Arryn was seated in a wooden chair with his blindfold open.Arryn slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was already in an empty room, nothing but the chair he was sitting on.Arryn could see the soldiers carrying him. Two of them had black patterned white armor and hexagonal head helmets with holes visible, only showing their eyes."What is this place?" Arryn asked."I said don't talk too
"You want to kill them all? Use this third magic spell," said a mysterious voice in Arryn's ear.Arryn learned of the third spell of his magic. He guessed the magic spell he just got was an attack-type of magic, just like the Parallel Circle."HAHA! How can you kill us if your hands and feet are shackled?" asked the village chief, grinning as if he was underestimating Arryn's abilities.The corner of Arryn's eyes turned to the bald-headed village chief. He immediately stretched his shackled hands toward the older man while casting his first magic spell.[Summoning System: Parallel Circle]Suddenly a white circle appeared under the village chief's feet, causing him to fall screaming into the white portal. Everyone looked wide in shock except for Selena. They had no idea that Arryn's strength was like that, different from most people's."Where did you take him?!" shouted one of the youths, the village chief's son."I've caught and locked him in a place. If you want him to return, let go
***Two people fell on the floor with their mouths filled with foam; they were Alan's parents. A bottle of rat poison spilled onto the floor, which Alan thought his parents used to commit suicide.That afternoon, Alan had just returned from work carrying a plastic bag filled with food he had bought on his way home. The plastic fell simultaneously with Alan, who knelt down sadly. His tears spilled, seeing the death of his parents."I thought you would survive all this," Alan whispered."Those swindlers! I will find and avenge the death of my parents on them!" groaned Alan, pouring out all the suffering that had happened to the people who had deceived Alan's parents.That night, Alan's little house was so quiet and serene. His father no longer asked about Alan's work. No more her mother, who always smiled and cooked simple dishes in the kitchen.They left too quickly and too suddenly. Alan wants to regret and blame the world for being so cruel to his life, but his energy is depleted ent
***Three days later.Arryn was told a lot by Brian about Ravengarden City. Brian said that if Arryn had frequent encounters with crows flying in one direction, he was on the right way.What appears is the same as Brian's explanation. Seen a city gate with walls surrounding the entire city. Above the gates and walls, hundreds of crows were seen perching.At first glance, the city's appearance becomes terrifying because the crow is synonymous with death. However, that didn't stop people from coming to the city."Are we in the right place?" Arryn asked Ivy."It seems so. Raven means crow; maybe in it, we can see a thousand more crows," explained Ivy.Arryn nodded as he walked down the main paved block road connected to the city. Not only Arryn, but he could see the other visitors walking together towards the city centre.Two gatekeepers stood above the city gates, watching with focus one by one the people visiting the city. They have an essential role in preventing criminals from enteri
"My Father? Don't joke. My father died when I was born," explained Arryn.Quentin smiled. He remembered with certainty the thrilling events when Arryn was born. At that time, the Three Great Gods of Athanor arrived with a roar and storm; they planned to meet Quentin and tell the man about his son's power.He's just an ordinary farmer; daily, he struggles with fields and hoes. The arrival of the Three Great Gods of Athanor frightened Quentin, with his face turning white as death.Elyseus –Athanor's God of Beginnings– says that Quentin must leave Wintermere and study witchcraft. He had to become strong as a Sage to guide Arryn in using his powers.That was why Quentin had kept his whereabouts from Arryn for seventeen years. He only tells Selena the exact location using the crow's message.Quentin left a message that if Arryn reached seventeen, Selena had to tell Arryn about his location. Now, Arryn was really ahead of him at the age of adulthood."We should talk in my office," Quentin a