EONE

[Do you think he is worthy of it, master?]

An unknown robotic voice asked, coming from a small, translucent orange screen floating in the air. The voice was curious and childish, still learning about the world.

"One isn't born a hero or a villain; it's the path they take that leads them in two different directions." Both of them are opposite sides of the same coin." The man responded with a low, calm voice. He casually walked towards the bench near him and sat on it.

"I will let him choose the path he takes." He said, gazing at the morning sky and the white fluffy cloud moving to the west. He watched everything still as if thinking something.

The bright day turned into noon, and noon turned into evening. Clouds long gone were now replaced by stars in the clear night sky. Still, the man in his early twenties didn't move from his place.

As the day fell into the evening,

Suddenly, a sound of clapping and cheers erupted from the same house. The figure looked at the house again to see if celebrations were going on in it. He looked at the twelve-year-old child dining with her mother.

It was the first time in all of his life that one could see a very small tinge of emotion in his eyes. Soon his gaze shifted back to the one falling snow crystal slowly falling from the air. He casually extended his palm to catch the crystal flower in his hand as he looked up at the sky again.

A slight smile was visible on his face as he looked around. All the houses around him were twinkling with lights, and people were standing in their gardens, setting up crackers for the celebration of a new year. But somehow, no one seems to notice him, as if he were invisible to everyone's eyes.

"Boom!!BOM!!Swishhhh…"

Just in a minute, the silent atmosphere was filled with cheers and celebration. Some are celebrating with their loved ones, and some are wishing for their well-being. But the entity adorned in black seemed to be sitting alone, just watching Ben.

A few hours passed, and the celebration completely went off; all lights were off, and all people were asleep. The world was once again enveloped by a blanket of darkness, waiting for the sunrise to break it off.

But suddenly, he noticed lights turn on in a house. Surprised, he looked at the house and saw a twelve-year-old boy walking out of the house with something in his hand. From the looks of it, the boy was coming towards the same bench.

The man in his early twenties looked at him with a sharp gaze and a bit of confusion on his face. Ben, the twelve-year-old boy, stopped before him as he barely managed to utter a few words nervously as he excited the plate in his hand towards the mysterious person. "It's the first time we are meeting face-to-face."

"Honestly, I didn't expect you would figure it out this fast." The mysterious figure chuckled as he took the plate from his hand to find out there was pie cake in it.

"Happy New Year!" Ben said as he hopped on the bench and sat down next to the mysterious figure. Looking that the person before him didn't reply anything, he initiated the conversation once again: When I was twelve, I loved the cake so much that I never had to fill it."

"Still, you gave me this one?" The man looked at him with a complicated expression on his face; he was just about to take the first bite of the cake.

"Relax; I am not twelve anymore, not mentally at least," Ben responded with a smile on his face.

"I see…" The man said this before he too started eating the cake.

"Happy New Year." He said it hesitatingly. Before the conversation between them turned to awkward silence again,

"So… I suppose you are god or something," Ben asked, looking at him. The man didn't seem particularly handsome, but he would still make it into the good-looking category.

"God, far from it." The man responded in a monotonous tone again.

"I suppose... you don't give that divine vibe anyway," Ben said casually, rubbing his palms. He was already done eating his part of the cake, and now his eyes were locked on the plate in a mysterious person's hand.

"Aaaa… you want some?" Suddenly, the person asked, sensing the gaze from Ben. He extended his plate towards Ben, which he gladly accepted.

"I will just take a bite," Ben said, taking the plate from the person's hand, that he wasn't getting anything back. Following a few seconds, the person just watched Ben devour his part of the cake and take a burp as he put down the plate.

"So what's your name? I mean, there must be something I should call you by, right? Or do you want me to say, His Majesty, Lord, Master, or something?" Ben shamelessly changed the topic and asked as if nothing happened with the cake thing.

"You can call me Eone, the figure replied, shifting his gaze back towards the sky and distracting himself from the cake trauma.

"Aeone... is it the pronunciation of One or the pronunciation of On?"

"The second one," Eone replied with a sigh.

"Dayum That's a cool name, and I bet you added the extra e in Aeon to make it look cooler. Hehehehee" Ben grinned as he said, expecting some overwhelming response, but what he got was the complete opposite.

"Do you want me to drop you in the null void again?" Eone asked in the same cold voice, and in response, Ben sat back on the bench like a well-behaved child in a teacher scold.

"So, is it like my final farewell to this universe?" Ben asked seriously, and he recalled clearly that his death last time was far from real. And as per the agreement, if he were to die in the quest, his soul would be erased from the universe.

"I know this world is an illusion or something, but still, thanks; I kind of needed it," Ben said as he stood up from the bench, biting his lips, that he watched his old home as he stopped himself from crying.

"This is no illusion; this is a reality. You know it as a multiverse. In this universe, the robbers never invaded your house, and your mother didn't die protecting you." Eone said in a serious tone that he too stood up from the bench and started walking in a certain direction.

"Multiverse…does it mean… all of this is real?" Ben stumbles, as he asks. All this time, he was thinking this was some sort of illusion to give him a farewell or something.

"In this universe, Ben's mom never died, and his house was never burned down. He will go to school like any normal teenager. In this universe, Ben wouldn't have to beg for food on the streets." Eone said as he continued to walk across the road.

"If you want, you can be that, Ben. I will replace your soul with Ben in this universe, and you can experience his life. Isn't it a better option? Rather than suffering in the null void once again?" Eone stopped walking as he stood on a cliff of the seashore, about 5 meters above the sea.

"You deserve this life more than anyone; tell me, Ben, don't you want to live this way?" He turned back as he asked, but this time something was different. Eone's eyes, unlike those of humans, were pitch black like a void, while his pupils radiated in a cosmic white light.

Ben could feel pressure, as if the whole universe were looking directly at him, waiting for his answer.

"Stop putting me in a diploma every time; I have already made up my mind. I already lived my life however it was; replacing me with someone else is not going to turn it back." Ben sighed as he too walked towards the small cliff.

He looked back at his house once again, but this time he couldn't control the tears falling from his face. But instantly, he wiped his eyes with his sleeves. "Thank you for this day; it will be the best New Year gift of my life."

"So you are prepared to die?" Eone asked again, directly looking into Ben's eyes. In response, Ben just bit his lips as he gave a small nod.

Ben let out a deep breath as he closed his eyes, embracing himself for what was about to happen. There may be ups and downs in his life, but it was a precious experience for him and only for him. He can't take someone else's life just because of his selfish desires.

Ben stood there, eyes closed, waiting for something to happen, but nothing happened. A second passed, followed by a minute, but nothing happened at all. Confused, he opened his eyes, seeing that Eone was still standing before him, but his eyes were no more cosmic.

"We will part ways here; you have a very important role to serve in this universe. So, try not to disappoint me until we meet next time." Eone said those words as he walked near Ben and placed his hand on Ben's shoulder.

Before Ben could understand what was happening, he felt a strong force pushing him down the cliff.

"Arrrrggghhhhhh!!!!" He screamed as he fell to the ground, but just when he was about to hit the rock, he felt like his eyes snapped open. His pupils took time to adjust as he looked at the blurry world around him, the first thing he saw and heard was a robotic voice. 

[Quest Completed: Prove your will to live ]

[Reward: Evolution Unlocked, Vampiric Mosquito ]

[Alert…HP is critical, cant evolve.]

[Emergency mode initiated, requesting to unlock reward from third quest…Permission granted]

[Reward: Absolute Recovery x1, has been used.]

…

[Initiating evolution....]

[Congratulations host! You have successfully evolved into a 'Vampiric Mosquito'. ]

...

[Ahem...ahem.., Yo guys, its author here! I know I am asking this too soon, but I need two more reviews of my book to get a rating on Webnovel. If you are reading this story till now, I believe you are already familiar with where this story is going and all.

So, just spare a few minutes of your life and help this newbie author. Thank you for your time. Keep reading and keep supporting [<3]< p>