Kidnapped?

Darkness.

The kind that imprisons your senses and steals your breath. It was pressing up against his ears, seeping into his lungs, and wrapping around his body.

Yet...

He felt at ease.

It was quiet, peaceful, and oddly comforting in some ways, which made the desire to resist it slowly fade away.

Despite the fact that he was vaguely aware that something wasn't quite right, he had no interest in finding out what it was.

With a faint, happy sigh, he sank deeper into the abyss, letting himself slip further into the comforting peace.

However, this feeling didn't last for long.

Before he could fully enjoy this peaceful moment, he was stirred awake, startled by the foreign touch of a hand stroking his head.

His eyes snapped open, taking a moment to adjust to the new darkness around him—one that was colder and more unforgiving.

His surroundings were only illuminated by the flickering flames of a candle held in a metal bracket next to the wooden door, casting dark shadows against the walls. A carriage. one he certainly hadn't seen before. Upon turning his head, he was greeted by the warm eyes of a man he had never met before.

Alert and without any means of defence, he quickly composed himself, shifting his small legs underneath him so they hung off the edge of the seat, ready to run if anything were to happen. Still keeping an eye on the stranger, he carefully formulated a plan to escape this unforeseen situation.

However, before he could, the stranger spoke first.

"Easy there, kid. There's no need to be so wary of me." The voice was gentle, smooth, and had a subtle hint of a southern accent to it. The stranger's dark brown eyes looked at the boy, and a broad smile spread across his scarred face as he introduced himself.

"The name's Cian, and before you label me as a bad person in that tiny head of yours, let little old me explain what led to this odd situation."

The child's gaze remained fixated on the man for some time before finally nodding, acknowledging him.

Cian took a sigh of relief before continuing, "You were found on a deserted beach, and as I am its caretaker and to be held accountable for everything that happens there, and with you lying on the cold, filthy ground, it was against my own nature and principle to leave a young child such as yourself in the wild without any form of shelter or supervision. So I decided to bring you along with me."

As Cian began to explain himself, he kept a close eye on the child. his gaze wandering over the areas of exposed skin that could be seen through the tattered clothes that he wore.

The dirt-stained fabric hung onto the child's thin shoulders like a discarded old towel. Both of the sides were torn and worn out, leaving much of the child's skin exposed. The child's pants were a mess as well, the knees torn with plenty of other small tears all over. It would be a lie to refer to them as clothes at that point; they were more like rags.

Noticing the stranger's gaze while still thinking of a way out, the boy narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly. Lies he thought to himself, and consequently, the stranger in front of him had been demoted to nothing more than a lawless creature in his eyes.

After his appraisal, Cian took a moment to admire those striking silver eyes, which were beautifully complimented by his light blue hair.

'This kid should fetch well, especially with all of his unique features', Cian thought, smiling as if he had struck gold.

"Right now, we are headed to the town of Vita, where I'll be taking you to the nearest orphanage owned by a dear friend of mine." Cian reached into his cloak and drew out a small black book, which he handed to the boy.

The boy hesitated to reach out to grab it, so Cian decided to open the book and show him the picture on the first page: it was a map of the continent and it was so detailed that you could see individual tree stumps and Castles.

A child friendly map, one that was normally found in the local libraries and stores.

"Let this be your little journal—a gift of friendship, so use it well." The child gave the book a cursory glance and saw that it was slightly worn, but he didn't let it bother him. He knew what Cian was trying to accomplish by doing all of this; he might as well join this theatre. Or, more fittingly, a circus.

'So in other words, I got kidnapped.'

It was not a startling thought or revelation, simply a confirmation of what he felt to be true as soon as he opened his eyes.

Was life supposed to be that difficult? It had only been a year since he reincarnated into this world, and not only was he forced to endure suffering as an infant, which was certainly a unique experience, but he was also placed in the worst possible surrounding!

Who leaves their child at a garbage disposal site?!

If not for the help of Allyn, his system, he would have died long ago.

'Right- Allyn. I have her.'

Calling out his precious system, he spoke telepathically.

─'Allyn, show me the stats of this... two-legged creature in front of me.'

Just then, a translucent screen only seen by him hovered in the air before his eyes, displaying the information he was all too familiar with now.

Name: Cian.

Race: Human.  Age: 36.

SB: Locked.  Rank: Unranked.

> Upgrade the system to show the rest of the stats.

✿ 'HE IS NOT SHINY! I don't approve of him(一_一)'

'Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. But to receive such hints multiple times indicates that something is definitely amiss. I need to gather more clues.'

"And by Vita, do you mean the town near the capital city?" disregarding the 'gift', He questioned the man in front of him, cursing the way his tongue betrayed him, making him sound more child-like than he had intended.

"Yes, of course! As one of the towns that protects the borders of Petra, one of our Empire's four primary capital cities, each of which is directly administered by each of the four archdukes. Vita is famed for its peaceful and loving community, not to mention that the town itself serves as a stronghold that guards the capital city's northern flank; its defence is claimed to be regarded as a high-level B-class shield, one that the archduke himself had laid up in all of the country's fortifications. Oh, I got side-tracked; you must have been confused by all the information I gave out. You see.. I once worked as a tour guide in my early years and was the best in my field I... "

...

'Should I kill him-

I should ask Allyn to hand me a poisionous needle to shut this thing up once and for all.'

Cian had practically finished his long narration of his life journey when he noticed the unusual murderous aura the young child had on him, which didn't fit his lovely appearance, but he didn't give it much thought and carried on. "Anyway, once we reach Vita, you might be lucky enough to see the capital one day..." Cian trailed off, brows furrowing. "But how do you know that?"

The boy ignored the question laced with caution; his mind went on to process the new information.

Meanwhile, Cian brushed it off, again, What could a mere boy who could not even speak do after all? He probably heard it in passing and repeated the words without understanding the meaning.

Thinking that the youngster had already gotten over the 'kidnapping' incident and was more open with him, Cian tried to get closer by handing him a bar of chocolate which he kept for emergencies.

"So what's your name, Kiddo?" Cian asked with a smile on his face that was intended to come across as warm, but all the boy felt at the sight of it was disgust.

"Kallous." he replied after taking a bite from the chocolate bar; he wasn't one to dismiss any kind of food.

✿ 'WHY DID YOU EAT THAT?! WHAT IF IT WAS POISONED?!' Allyn burst out while quickly scanning her master's tiny body for any possible poison or curses that might harm him.

─'There's no need to worry, Allyn; otherwise, why would that... thing  keep me alive if he wanted to kill me anyway? No, he has other goals in mind.'

Kal calmly stated. Besides, it was not important at that moment. After all, this world wasn't as simple as he had anticipated. With all the clear signs he discovered through the system and the simple conversation he had with that thing, Kal was certain that he didn't just reincarnate into any world.

This was the world of a novel.

His novel.