[Bonus chapter] Acting
"It was because I see it in my own eyes!" Frank finally faced them. "Do you really think I have the leisure to waste my time lying to you all?"
He acted like he was wronged and acted like he only wanted to tell them the truth and nothing but the truth. Why would they not listen to him?
"How could we believe you for what you have declared could potentially turn our understanding in the Dimensional portal upside down?!" Alter chimed in.
"Old man, calm down." Kiran interrupted. "Let's talk about this topic without letting our emotions take over our minds. How can we understand each other if we keep shouting?"
Alter and Frank finally calmed down, but the latter acted like he was still having a hard time cooling down his raging emotion.
"Narrate all the things that happen once you enter the Dimensional Zone, Old Man!" Kestrel commanded. He was enraged knowing his speculations from the information he received from the General.
'That Old Man killed all the minions but was helpless against the boss. The Boss then let this Old Man discuss something with him for over twenty minutes. The boss was a girl at that, but the General did not specify it. It was then the Old Man had a hopeful expression witnessed by the General outside, and it was even confirmed by his assistant himself. In spite of that, the person himself – the Old Man, claimed he held so much hostility toward the boss. The sequence of the event did not make sense at all!' screamed Kestrel in his mind.
***
Draven let his butt fall on a rusty, dreadfully untidy sofa with one missing leg. A sigh of exhaustion came out of his mouth as he closed his eyes and tried to understand what transpired in a single night. Or precisely in the span of two hours.
There was too much that happened in the span of two hours. First, he died after he was hit by the fucking truck, then he was awakened and found himself in a trial of the Path. It was then a special trial was opened for him, and he managed to complete it. It was then he woke up with a beautiful Goddess by his side.
He suddenly felt a surge of torment, which made his flesh burn from the power he received. He was so shocked when he realized his body was reduced to a pile of moving bones.
"Phew! I almost thought that I became an undead!"
Thankfully, the Goddess was so benevolent to him as she helped Draven's body revert to normal. However, the story did not end there. The Goddess's body suddenly regressed to a twelve-year-old child with no knowledge of him being a Goddess whatsoever. Furthermore, he was given a mission to look out for her body.
"Selena," called out Draven.
Selena had been standing before the door. The wooden door similar to the sofa appeared to be old, as it was covered with cracks as if Draven's temporary home was akin to a ramshackle house in the middle of the forest that miraculously survived amidst the storms.
Selena slowly walked to Draven without changing her emotions. She seemed like a robot program listening to every owner's command.
'Strange, does her brain reverted to a child? It seemed the Goddess completely erased her memory.'
Draven thought as he tried to test the waters.
"Selena, did you remember anything?"
Selena looked deep into his eyes as if gauging Draven. Draven felt strange when Selena gave him a deep stare, as though Selena's eyes reflected his whole body, which was naked and fully exposed. It did not long before Selena opened her mouth and asked with a chilling tone.
"Where am I? Why am I here, human? One thing I knew is I'm sleeping at my Palace. Why did I suddenly appear here? Furthermore, why does something inside me keep telling me to follow whatever you say? Did you curse me, or did you place a slave seal on me?
In addition, why has my memory disappeared other than the time I spend in my palace? Why was my memory even obscure whenever I tried to remember someplace in the Palace? Answer me, human!" Draven received a barraged of questions from Selena.
Draven could not help but close his eyes and cover his ears as he tried to ignore her. Thankfully, once Selena stopped asking questions with the last demand to Draven, she did not get violent and waited for Draven's explanation.
'She is clearly different than the Old Selena,' wondered Draven. 'So that's why she had been silent the whole time. She was trying to remember something, but because of her older Selena's work, she could not. Hence, she asked me, since what she had said about inside her to listen at every of my command led her to believe I'm the only one who can answer her questions.'
Draven was spot on for the moment Selena reverted or rather regressed to a twelve your old child. The latter's memory was only the time before she became this age. Furthermore, all the memory regarding the understanding of a mortal, which was possibly breaking the law of the universe, were erased or sealed by Selena.
Hence, the twelve-year-old Selena had been confused the whole time and decided to drop the bomb once they could finally have a private chat alone with Draven.
"It was because of your future's works," replied Draven.
"My future works? You mean my future me did this? Why?" Selena widened her silvery eyes.
"It's because she said she needed to do it. She said she was exiled by the moon due to the Dimensional portal, and if she could not get rid of it. A possibility that she will be hunted by the humans and might get killed."
Draven was serious and had never lied about what he reported. However, he received a laugh from Selena as the latter wiped the tears of ecstatic coming out of her eyelids and chuckled.
"What do you mean humans will hunt me, and I might get killed? Do you know what I am? A personification of the moon, or rather the Goddess of the moon. How could a mere mortal kill me? Do you all think creating artillery or what you call nuke is enough to kill me?" Selena guffawed.
Draven was dumbfounded and speechless. He could not retort, for Selena was right. However, she could only be right if the timeline matched her age, which might be the time when humanity was progressing in its technology.
Draven decided to tell her the truth about what happened 10 years ago. The vast changes brought mankind into despair, but also made their mortal shackles broken.
"Ten years ago. Dimensional Portal suddenly appeared," said Draven sternly, as he wanted to tell a story, and thus Selena kept quiet, sat, and listened.
"It brought catastrophe to humankind. Unknown existences are suddenly appearing from the Dimensional Portal and wreaking havoc in the world. Not only that, animals gained intelligence, but according to the history I found in the book. They became wild and gained power with wisdom as they consumed the blood of the Dimensional Monsters.
Hence, not only the human has to face their existence in the Dimensional portal, they had to become wary as some Domestic animals became untamable and shredded blood everywhere. Those years became the Dark age of Humans. Our ancestors had to hide from the Sun to prevent getting humankind erased from existence.
However, a year later. A man awakened supernatural powers and led mankind to fight for land. From a hectare of land to the city, to the point he made a country…" Draven's eyes sparkled as he was engrossed in his thoughts.
"It was even reached to the point he claimed a supercontinent and made himself known to the world. Beast was forced to stay on their own supercontinent, while some Dimensional portals closed once the person himself or his followers got rid of the Boss. It was then on, many people had been chosen as a participant by the paths and awakened supernatural powers.
It only took five years for humankind to settle their footing at the peak of the food chain once more before humans claimed two of the supercontinents. Meanwhile, Beast claimed the last supercontinents…"
It was a sleepless night, as Draven could not stop splashing his saliva while he engrossed in telling the story from the history he read to Selena, which the latter was too enthralled by the tale.
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A/N: Having received 20 power stones by the weekend was quite an achievement for me. Although without my power stones, it was impossible to achieve, but hey! let's be optimistic here. Here's your bonus chapter, and enjoy!