C2 Mother

Eric felt nauseated as if he had been thrown from the sky. He opened his eyes, he was delighted that he wasn't in that white circular room, he sighed as he thought that the system thing let him free. But it didn't take long for him to realize he was not in his room. It was strange, anything in this room didn't resemble the things he remembered.

This room was exceptionally huge; his whole house would fit into it and the wall was painted blue but the finish wasn't that smooth. His clothes had also changed, a royal blue loose-fitted tunic and black tights.

He leaped off the bed, there were no light bulbs, two holes near the ceiling for ventilation, and no switches. How could anyone survive without a PC or smartphone?

He didn't know where he was, he rushed to the small window-like outlet, he looked out. What he saw was enough to blow his mind. There were no cars, horses were pulling carts, everyone wore tunics and woolen tights. Pointed shoes and hats they wore looked funny. 

The gravel road and buildings built with lime mortar and bricks stood along the road as far as he could see. The place where he was, had a stone wall surrounding it, guards with pikes in their hand were patrolling on it.

 "Oh god! Why me? What is my fault? I just teased that fucking kiddo, a little, and you have thrown me in this mess. Please recall me back" He muttered looking up at the sky. It was a meaningless thing to do, but he did maybe to console himself that he tried but the god didn't reply as usual.

He recalled that system thingy told that he would be sent to some planet to complete missions. He didn't think much at that time as he was panicked. Later, he assumed he would be sent to some high tech planet which lacks the labor force or he would be used as a specimen or a subject for some experiment. But did anything happen as you expect it to, NAH!.

The system transferred him to this barren place, without the internet. He didn't know what to do, he was in a completely confused state. He was staring blankly at the things in the room. The brownish wardrobe, the chandelier on the ceiling, which was sparkling due to light coming in from the ventilators and four lampposts at the corners of the room. 

When he tried recalling how he was here, a swarm of memories flooded his mind which caused headaches. He held his head tight, some memory fragments started playing in his mind.

 He was in the center and a whole lot of images started to move before his eyes like some holographic technology. He took the place of an impulsive prince of a small kingdom called Alvaton, whose name was also Eric. 

His grandfather was the ruler of Dazar. After his death under mysterious circumstances. The ministers decided to crown the eldest son of the deceased king, Aland, Eric's father. On the day of his Coronation, his brother, Allard, came with a large army and surrounded the capital.

His father, Aland, was caught off guard, He even in his dream never thought of his brother rebelling against him. And then, There was a brief skirmish after which both princes aided by ministers agreed to split the kingdom into two.

Allard, who had a massive army behind him, took the more prosperous and tax giving area and gave the deserted city of Alvaton to his brother.

But Allard didn't stop at this he constantly sent spies and hired assassins to kill his brother. He feared if his brother accumulated more power he may come for revenge as the news that he had killed his own father, grandfather of Eric, and colluded with the Belur Empire, the enemy of Dazar, was leaked.

As Eric was scanning through his newfound memories, a message popped in his head. This popping messaging system was not new for him now. But the blue interface in front of was completely new.

[ Binding completed, System is activated]

[ Analysing situation… 

Analysis complete]

[ Welcome host]

'what welcome! Send me back to my home. I don't want to live here, this place has nothing interesting.'

[ You want to go back to your inactive life on Earth.]

'yes! At least I could play videogames there and I was about to join a Tech firm'

[ Sorry, it is not possible. You can only leave this planet when you have completed all the missions provided by the system. Till then you have to stay here.]

'but what of my job, my friends and relatives. What would they think.' he stammered as he said. His eyes were a little wet.

[ No one would notice anything. You actually have only one friend, whom you bullied so much that he might be thanking system for your disappearance and at most would spread the rumor of you being kidnapped by UFOs, and your relatives didn't care about you, they left you alone. And the government had many problems to care about, and you surely are not their priority, and finally, the local police would declare you ran away from home.]

He was surprised, this thing knew so much. He wiped his tears. 'but still I want to go there. It's my home. My parents lived there. I was born there. How could you do this, this is forced labor, it is against the laws. Release me! Or I will call…' he thought who would he call here, Police, but how. He quietened.

[System requests host to think logically and please cooperate with the system. Sending you back is not possible currently. You will be rewarded as you complete the missions.

You could use the rewarded points to buy anything from system store, a spacecraft, or superhuman ability. The perks provided by the system are unmatched.]

Eric went into deep thought, what system said was true. This thing really could do anything. He couldn't go home unless he completes tasks given by the system. But his confusion still hadn't faded. Now instead of blindly rejecting. He started measuring the pros and cons of this employment offer by the system. 'let me think about it'

[ System gives you a week's time to clear your mind and prepare yourself. ]

'Hey how would I contact you'

[ When you are ready the system will know it.]

Oh! yes. This thing could read his mind. He couldn't even lie to it.

After the blue screen closed, memories of previous Eric started to play again.

(previous) Eric's father had died, he believed that it was his uncle's doing. He gathered some 3000 troops and clashed with his uncle's 10000 men strong force. He was confident of taking down his uncle's force and he hadn't informed anyone of his crusade.

People of the kingdom got to know about it when his remaining soldiers carried him back to the capital. He was heavily wounded. He died at some point of time, unknown to everyone, which paved the way for Eric of Earth to be sent to this soulless body.

Eric pressed on the memories to find out more about the previous Eric and the person who covered most of his memories, his mother appeared in Eric's mind. New Eric's feelings stirred at the sight of the beautiful lady in her forties trying her best to smile for him (previous Eric whose place he had taken) even after his father's death. When he tried to recall his mother's image, she looked the same as the lady in this memory fragment, even his father looked the same. He didn't know whether his mind was playing tricks on him or it was systems doing. There was only one way to verify this.

Eric picked up the silk belt from the table beside the bed. He fastened it, added a pouch of gold and a short sword.

The door guard was pleasantly surprised when he saw Eric walking fine. He was about to leave to inform others.

Eric stopped him "Don't inform others. Let my recovery be secret for now." He tossed a coin to him. "Manage everything when I am away."

The door guard simply nodded his head enthusiastically. He had heard that the prince was a hotheaded person and would do things as he wished. But now the person he saw was benevolent and generous who took well care of his subordinates.

Similarly, he tipped his mother's door guard to keep his mouth shut. He entered his mother's room. She was sitting on a chair and gazing blankly out of the window, he felt sad internally maybe it was because of the emotions of previous Eric. She noticed Eric's footsteps, and she turned towards him. Her cheeks were still wet, eyes weary. She was exactly the same and even her voice and expressions completely matched. He was stunned for a few minutes, he didn't know how to react.

"Oh, you woke. Are you well? I told you a thousand times not to go for revenge. But you don't understand. I don't want you to take revenge or anything. Just you be safe. That's enough for me." Said mother Sarah, her eyes teared up again."Have you thought about what would happen if I lost you? You are my only reason to live if something ever happens to you. I will also..."

Eric awoke from his stillness by her words, his eyes welled up facing the lady in tears  " Don't worry mom, I won't put myself in danger anymore. But still, I won't spare the conspirators behind my father's death ". The woman in front of him could not stop her tears and sobbed continuously. He was frustrated and distressed, didn't know how to handle this.

He kneeled in front of her chair and wiped her tears. "Mom please don't cry, seeing you cry makes me feel worse. I promise to never do such risky things". He continued to give her assurances.

He didn't know when he put his head in her lap, but what it was relaxing and warm, he lost the track of time and forgot about his argument with the system.

She fell asleep while caressing his face. He raised his head and saw that she was asleep. He lifted her and laid her on the bed. He quietly left the room.

It had been three years since he lost his parents. This was the first time in three years he felt familial love. Or, was the system playing with his emotions, or was it real?

He returned to his room, the guard bowed and opened the door for him. Night arrived. the guard knocked and entered the room. He changed the lantern and candles and he lit them.

Eric stared at the yellowish light emitted by the lantern. Then on the ceiling where a black spot had formed due to smoke from the lantern. He fell asleep.