2 Chapter 2 - Dawn

Elias five senses that had been frozen from the deep abyss started recovering. He wakes up and finds that he is inside a forest with many people also waking up around him — real humans — something that he's longing to see.

"Is this the afterlife. It feels so real but yet so familiar," he mumbles to himself.

He's observing people around him and notice that a chaotic situation starts flowing to his five senses.

"What is this place?"

"Goddamit, what the hell is this, is there any hidden camera?"

Twenty or so people are cursing and shouting around, they bewildered and doesn't understand what happens. Some of them still work, studies or even sleeps, but all of the sudden scenery they saw changing — without warning they transported to this place.

This scenery is uncannily familiar to Elias and reminds him of his unpleasant memories. An eerie thought crept into his mind about what possibly happen, but he tossed it aside and then observe his surrounding.

He looks to each of those people and spots a woman wearing harry-potter's round glasses, her black hair braided with an ordinary red string — she looks like usual nerds without make-up. There is no special thing that makes her stand out in the crowds, she's sitting in shades of a tree while hugging his knees — confused about everything that happens right now. Nobody pays attention to her because everybody also confused like her, but somehow, Elias' eyes become watery after seeing this woman.

He rushes towards this woman with all of his strength, he stumbles a few times because not used with this weak body, some people looking at him with weird eyes. However, he didn't care about that, he still runs towards this woman with tear flows on his cheeks. The woman finally realizes that someone is rushing towards her which makes her bewildered and tries to run but it's too late.

He's hugging this braided woman from her back with a nasal voice and tears gushing from his eyes, "Master, you're still alive."

Even though her appearance is different than what he remembers, but he will always recognize her even if she is put her best disguise. Her face, her smell, her everything — make his cold heart warm again. He never let out his emotions for a long time except in his death, but now he's full of joy and happiness.

His mentor and his master which people calls as one of the humanity hopes sit in front of him. Her heartbeat proves that she still alive. He remembers about how she sacrifices her life to give him a chance escape from a Grand Duke even though she can run alone and use him as a bait. Even today, he still blames himself to choose run at that moment.

She is someone that he respects and holds dear — a kind soul.

She looks at his genuine emotional expression, realizes that this isn't some kind of scam. After hearing his words, she feels like understand something that this man mistook her with someone else.

"You must be confused me with someone, I'm not whoever — you think I am."

His body jolted after hearing her words, he let loose his hug but still grabbing her shoulder firmly while looking at her blue eyes, "No, it's impossible. Do you not remember me? It's me, Elias."

"I'm sorry, I have a good memory. I'm certain that I never met you before."

There is no sign of lying on this familiar face, he knows well how she lies and confident that he can spot her lies miles away — she never good at lying.

He finally notices that she's wearing black nerdy clothes and glasses which he never saw. He remembers that she was a librarian before transferred into this world, she was a little nerdy and shy girl, but those changes as the time passes. When they met again, she became a confident woman and one of the chosen heroes — the bringer of hope for humanity.

The thought that he tosses aside earlier, crept up to his mind again while he remembers things he heard after his death — Phoenix rune. It is a rune that he got after killing a mythical beast — phoenix — with all of his teammates' life as the price.

He consumes that rune even though he just lost his teammates — one of rule for scavengers is to not wasting your friends' death, but there nothing happens, no skill, no increased status or anything else. He felt despair for weeks and think of suicide a few times, but he is just a coward — a weak coward.

He fights with many monsters above his level with a hope to get killed in the process, he's always injured but never die as though fate still think that his misery still not enough.

Eventually, he met a woman — Emily — on a dark rainy night. She gives a place for him to rest and heal his wounds. She later becomes his Master and gives him the advice to improve his survival skill. She always treats him kindly even though she already saw how fucked up this world are. Her kindness can make him forget about his mental wounds because of the loss of his friends and that damned useless Phoenix rune.

However, now he realizes that rune isn't useless. He just yet fulfill the requirement to activating that rune. He comes back to the past where everything begins, what he never expects is that he and his master appear in the same place.

He feels ecstatic by this joyous fact — the fact that he given a second chance in life. This time, he will make everything right and won't run again. This time, he will pay his debt to those great people.

He looks at her eyes with genuine happiness filled his eyes.

This time, he will make sure that his master won't need to sacrifice her life again.

This time, he won't hide behind her back.

This time, he will stand side to side — with Emily, his master.