2024-11-20 17:39:09“Leon!”
His footsteps stopped again when someone called his name as he was about to turn from the direction of the 3rd-grade high school building towards building 2. Leon turned and found a girl running towards him.
Of course, Leon remembered that face. The face of a girl who was sobbing while being beaten by Jono. A moment before Leon lost consciousness, the girl's face appeared.
“Viona?” Leon greeted while calling the name of the girl who stopped two steps in front of them.
Viona's breath was short, her face confused but happy at the same time when she saw Leon.
“Are you okay?” Leon asked realizing the girl's presence even though the one who should have been asked was Leon himself because his face was still bruised.
“Yes, I'm fine. But this…” Viona didn't continue her sentence because she was sure Leon and the others understood what she meant.
“I know. Is it just you?” Leon asked.
“Yes. Just me. My friends and the others didn't move at all. What's wrong?” Viona asked.
“I don't know either. Come on, follow me,” said Leon.
Viona just nodded.
Leon rushed towards a place where there was an orange light spot in the middle of the school grass field. Leon saw the light spot and was sure it was something that was intended for him. While walking towards the field, Leon occasionally checked whether there was still something moving among the human statues.
“You are indeed smart.” The voice was heard by Leon again. “Follow the light, but your time is limited, Leon. Only five minutes before it dims,” continued the mysterious voice.
Leon quickened his pace to reach the middle of the field.
“Come on, hurry up, follow me,” he said.
No one spoke, just following Leon from behind because the surrounding conditions were quite scary. How could humans suddenly become statues after the strange storm that came earlier? Ah, the storm has now subsided, there are no more strong winds and thunder, only the black sky still covering, becoming an umbrella for the Earth.
However, after five steps towards the light spot, the corner of Leon’s eye suddenly caught a movement that made him stop his steps which caused Gio to bump into him.
“What the heck, Le? You said to follow, but you braked without warning,” Gio protested.
Because Leon’s defence was strong enough that they didn’t fall onto the grass of the field even though Leon had to endure the pain in his arm.
“Hey, you!” Leon shouted to someone who seemed to be running aimlessly, confused.
Hearing Leon’s voice from the field, the figure turned around. The distance was far enough that they didn’t recognize who was running.
“Come here, quickly!” Leon shouted again, his voice quite clearly audible in the silence.
The figure was like a girl running as fast as she could towards him.
“You have three minutes, Leon. If you don’t follow that light, you won’t be able to turn back this frozen time, humans will become statues.” The voices echoed again, making Leon hiss in annoyance.
“What’s wrong, Leon?” asked Sean who was quite sensitive to Leon’s behavior. However, the boy didn’t care.
Leon suddenly looked at them one by one to make sure he recognized their faces.
“Count the time in two minutes, Se,” Leon said a little commandingly.
Sean was a little confused, but he obeyed glanced at the watch on his hand and started counting.
“You hold hands,” Leon said again.
Without asking much, they held hands, even Sean, although one of his hands was raised to see the movement of the clock hands, tightly held Viona’s right hand, and the other hand held Gio’s left hand which was holding Leon’s left hand.
“Hurry!” Leon snapped, but unfortunately, the girl fell in the middle of the road making Leon hiss again. “There’s no time,” he grumbled. “You stay here, hold hands, don’t let go,” Leon suggested.
“But, what about you?” Viona spoke up, worried and scared at the same time.
Leon said nothing more and let go of Gio’s hand and ran towards the girl again. Once he had succeeded in helping the girl with her sprained leg, Leon returned to where the others were waiting. His attention was focused on the light that was starting to dim.
“One more minute.” The voice reminded him.
Leon was confused, the distance was quite far. But then without warning the boy immediately grabbed the girl and carried her by force and ran as fast as he could with a mysterious voice that kept counting the time.
“Five, four, three –”
On the count of three, Leon managed to grab Gio's outstretched hand. The next second they felt a strong jolt. The ground where they were standing seemed to disappear, pulling them into a dark hallway. Only the sound of screaming could be heard from them. The hallway was like a water slide that continued to pull their bodies into the darkness, even making their heads dizzy.
Until.
The sound of a bang stopped the scream, turning into a loud groan.
Before they realized the strange place, something whizzed around them. A transparent round light surrounded their bodies, making them even more panicked.
"What is this?" Gio asked in fear.
"Welcome to the Thousand Appearances dimension." The voice was heard again but this time it was clear.
Something appeared in front of them in a transparent form. The others immediately stood behind Leon, especially Gio.
The figure was like a computer program with a beautiful face and a costume that resembled a party dress. Laughter was heard, from the transparent figure.
"Hello, my name is Maya. I am the system that will guide you while you are in the Thousand Appearances," the figure introduced herself.
Silence.
No one spoke as they were confused.
"System?" Sean was the first to speak, stepping forward, parallel to Leon.
"Yes, system. A secret program from the computer. Only certain people are chosen by the system. Congratulations, you are the chosen ones to adventure in the Thousand-Appearances Dimension," Maya said again, a system that looked a little eccentric but transparent, floating in front of them.
No one spoke as if they were digesting.
"So that's you?" Leon spoke while looking at Maya.
Maya laughed.
"You are indeed smart, Leon. You can recognize my voice easily and follow my advice," Maya said with a chuckle.
Leon's eyebrows furrowed in displeasure with Maya's response.
"Whatever." Maya snorted softly. "Alright. You are safe now. That circle is to detect and give you a system. How it works is easy, press your respective watches and the notification system will appear," Maya explained.
The five students looked at each other, they were still wearing their uniforms, and finally, they realized the last girl Leon had helped. All eyes were on the girl.
"Zenata?" Gio said in disbelief while shouting a little.
Zenata Aurora, Jono's girlfriend, was silent. How could she be there? Leon just realized that he was the one who helped Zenata because he was the one who was almost running out of time.
"What are you doing here?" Gio asked again.
"How should I know?" Zenata answered in a loud voice that surprised the others.
"Hey," Viona scolded. "You don't need to be angry," the girl continued.
"What do you mean? You're the one who accused me," Zenata answered in disbelief.
"Hey. Because of you, we can't go. A crazy girl like you shouldn't be here," Gio said, clearly not liking Zenata's presence.
"What?" Zenata shouted again.
"Can you explain something to us so we can understand?" Sean spoke up, asking Maya who was silent, watching the small argument.
"Ah. Wait a minute." Maya snapped her fingers. Suddenly a large screen appeared in front of them.
Leon and Sean's attention was focused on the screen, while the other three people still couldn't accept each other's presence. Viona and Gio were clearly disturbed by Zenata's presence, including Leon, but the man was silent.
“We are at the entry point of the Thousand-Appearances Dimensions.” Maya pointed at the red dot on the screen, the dot blinking.
“Then why are we here?” Leon asked.
“Good question.” Maya snapped her fingers again. The large screen disappeared, replaced by a red screen containing an AI face. “He is my spokesperson, Moe. So listen up,” Maya commanded.
“Hello, I am Moe. You have been chosen by the Thousand-Appearances system to carry out a mission. If your mission is successful, you will return and your home world will be as it was before,” Moe explained.
Not a single person spoke among the five teenagers. However, they wondered what Thousand-Appearances was. A city? A country or a village? What would they encounter on their journey?
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
The Prince of Prophecy and the Bladeless Sword 4. Weapon Testing
“Try pressing the watch on each of your hands,” said Moe.Moe resembled a cat’s face with a cute male voice. Funnily enough, Moe’s body soon appeared in the form of a cat with thick grey fur.Viona looked surprised to see Moe’s moving form and the girl approached.“So cute,” said Viona happily, even reaching out her hand. Amazingly, Moe could be touched even though it was just a system.Leon pressed the watch on his hand, and a screen spread out in front of him. The boy turned to the others, but saw nothing, only finding Sean who looked silent with his gaze focused forward. Gio was the same, nodding his head and even occasionally exclaiming. Then he turned to Zenata but the girl seemed to be staring at him. Leon turned his attention back to the front, ignoring Zenata. After all, Zenata was one of Jono’s henchmen, someone Leon hated.“What’s going on, Maya?” asked Leon.“That’s the system you have. Information that only you know. No one can see it except you,” replied Maya.Was that wh
The Prince of Prophecy and the Bladeless Sword 5.Mission
“Are you done?” Maya returned but her appearance was different from before. This time Maya was wearing a combat outfit like in a game movie. “What happened?” Maya was confused as the children stared at her.“Maya, there’s something strange with this kid’s system,” Moe reported while pointing at Leon.“What do you mean?” Maya asked in confusion.“Look. His sword blade is gone,” Moe said again.This time Maya’s attention was drawn to Leon who was still holding his sword. But Maya’s eyes widened and she approached Leon.“A Sword Without a Blade?” Maya said in surprise. The girl then looked at Leon’s face, circling the boy’s body.Everyone fell silent and looked at each other. They didn’t know what Leon’s sword meant.Maya’s expression looked worried now. The girl stopped right in front of Leon and stared at the boy sharply.“Put your sword away. Never draw it unless you feel something strange,” Maya said in a serious voice.No one understood what Maya was saying except Moe.“The Chosen O
The Prince of Prophecy and the Bladeless Sword 6. Summer Village
The summer village had characteristics like the seasons they recognized in the real world. Where in the summer people would dress a little open, go on vacation, or sunbathe on the beach. In that place it was not much different, only every building they saw was different. There were no tall buildings or luxurious houses, there were only traditional houses or buildings with natural materials from wood, bamboo, or even leaves. Very unique."First, let's find a place to stay," Leon said with a busy look looking for a place.They walked among people wearing summer clothes but strangely each of them was wearing a black robe, like the one they were wearing."Excuse me," Leon stopped a woman wearing an open dress, showing her long white shoulders under her black robe."Yes?" The woman answered but was not friendly at all."Is there an inn here?" Leon asked.There was no answer from the woman. But the woman's hand was raised."Just go straight, then turn from that big tree. There is an inn the
The Prince of Prophecy and the Bladeless Sword 7. Traveling Through Time
The five children were silent in the dim candlelight in the large room. Their minds were still affected by the story they had just heard from Azlan, a stranger who owned the Poisonous Rose Inn in Summer Village.Sean was the first to react, the boy turned away from the middle of the room and chose one of the beds."This room is strange," Sean said, making everyone's attention turn to him. "It's as if this room is specifically for us. As if the innkeeper knew we were coming," the boy continued as he turned around.However, Sean's forehead wrinkled as his vision suddenly blurred. The boy rubbed his eyes while the others looked around. When Sean took off the glasses he always wore, his vision suddenly became clear. To make sure that it might be wrong, Sean put his glasses back on but his vision was blurry."Wow. I'm fine without glasses," Sean said in disbelief and decided to take off his glasses with a big smile.Sean's eyes were indeed minus which made the boy always wear glasses."I d
The Prince of Prophecy and the Bladeless Sword 8. Strange Dreams
The place was spacious with dim lighting from large candles and torches. The sound of sword slashes, screams of pain, and thunderous laughter filled the spacious classic room. A foreign place that felt so far from sight. One given by the situation, felt tense."He will come as predicted." The sentence sounded soft but so clear with laughter that broke the night sky.The pair of eyes stared sadly, a thin smile on his lips before his head fell to the floor that was no longer shapeless."No!"Leon woke up with sweat pouring down his face. His breath was gasping and panting. The boy swallowed his saliva greedily. His throat was dry. Calming himself slowly, Leon was surprised by the figure who was still in his place, staring at him who was starting to calm down."You surprised me," Leon complained to the person sitting on his bed."Are you okay?" Zenata asked soft
The Prince of Prophecy and the Bladeless Sword 9. Faceless Creature
They watched the fight between Azlan and the faceless black creature. The light that shot quickly belonged to Azlan. Leon watched from his position with both hands holding Zenata's body. Actually, what is that black creature?"This is an established safety zone. You don't need to break into it even if there's a commotion. Get out there!" Azlan shouted angrily at the creature floating in the air.There weren't just one or two creatures there, but there were several. The bright light that was still shining chased away the black creatures. After the creatures left, the light there began to dim."Everyone, come in. It's safe now," said Azlan to the other guests staying there. They came out of their respective rooms when they heard the commotion. When the creatures came, they were afraid.There are guards in each room who reassure the residents that the situation has improved even though it is still tense
The Prince of Prophecy and the Bladeless Sword 10. As a Leader
“So, what should we do?” Viona asked in a scared tone.Leon was already sitting on the chair facing Sean. The man’s gaze was fixed on the table with both hands intertwined.“Shall we go back?” Viona spoke again.“Let’s go back. It’s too scary here. To hell with the key or whatever. I don’t want to be here,” Gio said while looking in all directions in the room.However, there was no response from Leon or even Sean who preferred to remain silent, ignoring both of them.“Honestly,” Sean said suddenly making everyone’s gaze focused on him including Leon. “What power did you get?” Sean asked who this time looked at them one by one. “It will make it easier for us to understand each other, at least.”They looked at each other for a while.“My talent is a guide map, I got a compass which means I am a guide. My total points are 7000, and my weapon is a sword with a white aura and close-range attack ability, and my element is wind,” Sean said explaining his own. “What about you?” Sean looked at
The Prince of Prophecy and the Bladeless Sword 11. New Spirit
He took a deep breath. “Alright. Let’s do it together,” he said, which immediately made the others smile.“That’s right,” Gio said happily.Leon just smiled a little, starting to realize that they had come as a team, not as individuals. He didn’t know why they were there, but Leon’s instincts told him that it had something to do with him.“Alright. Then, let’s discuss it so we can start moving tomorrow,” Sean suggested. The bookworm seemed to be a good talker and seemed to really enjoy talking. Leon didn’t mind since Sean was the opposite, with the man near him Leon felt better.They came closer to discuss, dividing the tasks between each of them.“First, tomorrow at noon we have to gather as much information as possible. After that we find out what caused the people of Summer Village to not be able to
Latest Chapter
13. Starting a Plan
When morning finally greeted them. Leon who was ready to go down and maybe even ready to look for anything at that time just sat at the table, waiting for the others. The window of the room was already opened, showing the bright view outside. The blue sky without clouds was seen stretching out of the wooden framed window."Do you think this village holds something?" Sean as usual always asked a lot of questions and always had lots of ideas. The guy was neat and fragrant. Sitting opposite Leon who was only separated by a long table."We'll find out first. So, let's make a plan," said Leon.Sean nodded. "Okay."Not long after Gio and Viona joined, only Zenata took quite a long time. The girl was very noisy in the bathroom, complaining, cursing, and even getting angry for no reason. Of course, a rich girl like Zenata must live in luxury where her bathroom must have a toilet or other place than the shabby bathroom that was there now."That girl is so annoying," complained Gio.Leon did no
12. Voice From The Sword
While the others fell back asleep, Leon couldn't close his eyes at all even though his body felt so tired. The boy couldn't close his eyes, the dream that had just happened was still clearly in his mind about the screams and thunderous laughter. Leon didn't understand, and the system didn't provide any information about it when he searched for it earlier.He lay on his bed for quite a while, staring at the ceiling of the room which was dimly lit by the light of a small candle in the corner of the room. Leon was silent, his thoughts were in chaos. Leon was still wondering why they were there now."Who am I?" Leon grumbled in his heart without being able to get an answer. The system couldn't answer when asked the same thing.The place was quiet and felt so cold and tense. The darkness that enveloped him seemed to devour all life there. Leon was still silent, thinking about what the darkness was like."The Summer Village seems lifeless," Leon thought.The boy then woke up from his sleep
11. New Spirit
He took a deep breath. “Alright. Let’s do it together,” he said, which immediately made the others smile.“That’s right,” Gio said happily.Leon just smiled a little, starting to realize that they had come as a team, not as individuals. He didn’t know why they were there, but Leon’s instincts told him that it had something to do with him.“Alright. Then, let’s discuss it so we can start moving tomorrow,” Sean suggested. The bookworm seemed to be a good talker and seemed to really enjoy talking. Leon didn’t mind since Sean was the opposite, with the man near him Leon felt better.They came closer to discuss, dividing the tasks between each of them.“First, tomorrow at noon we have to gather as much information as possible. After that we find out what caused the people of Summer Village to not be able to
10. As a Leader
“So, what should we do?” Viona asked in a scared tone.Leon was already sitting on the chair facing Sean. The man’s gaze was fixed on the table with both hands intertwined.“Shall we go back?” Viona spoke again.“Let’s go back. It’s too scary here. To hell with the key or whatever. I don’t want to be here,” Gio said while looking in all directions in the room.However, there was no response from Leon or even Sean who preferred to remain silent, ignoring both of them.“Honestly,” Sean said suddenly making everyone’s gaze focused on him including Leon. “What power did you get?” Sean asked who this time looked at them one by one. “It will make it easier for us to understand each other, at least.”They looked at each other for a while.“My talent is a guide map, I got a compass which means I am a guide. My total points are 7000, and my weapon is a sword with a white aura and close-range attack ability, and my element is wind,” Sean said explaining his own. “What about you?” Sean looked at
9. Faceless Creature
They watched the fight between Azlan and the faceless black creature. The light that shot quickly belonged to Azlan. Leon watched from his position with both hands holding Zenata's body. Actually, what is that black creature?"This is an established safety zone. You don't need to break into it even if there's a commotion. Get out there!" Azlan shouted angrily at the creature floating in the air.There weren't just one or two creatures there, but there were several. The bright light that was still shining chased away the black creatures. After the creatures left, the light there began to dim."Everyone, come in. It's safe now," said Azlan to the other guests staying there. They came out of their respective rooms when they heard the commotion. When the creatures came, they were afraid.There are guards in each room who reassure the residents that the situation has improved even though it is still tense
8. Strange Dreams
The place was spacious with dim lighting from large candles and torches. The sound of sword slashes, screams of pain, and thunderous laughter filled the spacious classic room. A foreign place that felt so far from sight. One given by the situation, felt tense."He will come as predicted." The sentence sounded soft but so clear with laughter that broke the night sky.The pair of eyes stared sadly, a thin smile on his lips before his head fell to the floor that was no longer shapeless."No!"Leon woke up with sweat pouring down his face. His breath was gasping and panting. The boy swallowed his saliva greedily. His throat was dry. Calming himself slowly, Leon was surprised by the figure who was still in his place, staring at him who was starting to calm down."You surprised me," Leon complained to the person sitting on his bed."Are you okay?" Zenata asked soft
7. Traveling Through Time
The five children were silent in the dim candlelight in the large room. Their minds were still affected by the story they had just heard from Azlan, a stranger who owned the Poisonous Rose Inn in Summer Village.Sean was the first to react, the boy turned away from the middle of the room and chose one of the beds."This room is strange," Sean said, making everyone's attention turn to him. "It's as if this room is specifically for us. As if the innkeeper knew we were coming," the boy continued as he turned around.However, Sean's forehead wrinkled as his vision suddenly blurred. The boy rubbed his eyes while the others looked around. When Sean took off the glasses he always wore, his vision suddenly became clear. To make sure that it might be wrong, Sean put his glasses back on but his vision was blurry."Wow. I'm fine without glasses," Sean said in disbelief and decided to take off his glasses with a big smile.Sean's eyes were indeed minus which made the boy always wear glasses."I d
6. Summer Village
The summer village had characteristics like the seasons they recognized in the real world. Where in the summer people would dress a little open, go on vacation, or sunbathe on the beach. In that place it was not much different, only every building they saw was different. There were no tall buildings or luxurious houses, there were only traditional houses or buildings with natural materials from wood, bamboo, or even leaves. Very unique."First, let's find a place to stay," Leon said with a busy look looking for a place.They walked among people wearing summer clothes but strangely each of them was wearing a black robe, like the one they were wearing."Excuse me," Leon stopped a woman wearing an open dress, showing her long white shoulders under her black robe."Yes?" The woman answered but was not friendly at all."Is there an inn here?" Leon asked.There was no answer from the woman. But the woman's hand was raised."Just go straight, then turn from that big tree. There is an inn the
5.Mission
“Are you done?” Maya returned but her appearance was different from before. This time Maya was wearing a combat outfit like in a game movie. “What happened?” Maya was confused as the children stared at her.“Maya, there’s something strange with this kid’s system,” Moe reported while pointing at Leon.“What do you mean?” Maya asked in confusion.“Look. His sword blade is gone,” Moe said again.This time Maya’s attention was drawn to Leon who was still holding his sword. But Maya’s eyes widened and she approached Leon.“A Sword Without a Blade?” Maya said in surprise. The girl then looked at Leon’s face, circling the boy’s body.Everyone fell silent and looked at each other. They didn’t know what Leon’s sword meant.Maya’s expression looked worried now. The girl stopped right in front of Leon and stared at the boy sharply.“Put your sword away. Never draw it unless you feel something strange,” Maya said in a serious voice.No one understood what Maya was saying except Moe.“The Chosen O
