Chapter 1 : Welcome first Pawn

?????? :

 "?????? still lying, contemplating the book in his hand."

 (I wasn't expecting this kind of turnaround, it was worth the 500-page read.

Sergeant Berckam's betrayal toward Private William, what an anthology moment.

"I don't betray for money but for justice, I can't stand any more bloodshed, die for the good of all."

It's just too stylish, this dark side of the battalion that becomes more and more loyal to its own country but at the same time becomes the opposite of what it was originally intended to be.

A battalion that came to bring justice to the victims of terrorist bombings against the imaginary country Gracia.

 If only I could have only books like this in my library, I'm sure boredom would disappear completely from my life.)

 "?????? stretch his arms as he yawns, then places the book on the other side of the bed on his bedside table."

 Haaahh!

 Well, now that I've finished, I'm off for a little stroll around the village, let's take advantage of the nice weather to buy myself a new book, I've saved enough for that.

 "?????? gets up from his bed then walks across the house floor in his dark black socks to his pair of shoes."

"From there he picked up his pair of shoes, shoes so worn they didn't even look like shoes anymore."

 "He walked back to his bed then meticulously put on his shoes as he lay on his bed, as soon as he had finished he was able to leave the house by opening the house door with his key then closing it as he left."

 "??????'s shoes are so deteriorated that holes have formed in some places and the soles no longer hold very well, his shoes simply fulfil the role of protection against the hard, rocky ground of the village."

 "For some time now, ?????? hasn't been able to get a new pair, perhaps age is playing a part."

 ?????? :

"After going outside, he said to himself with a smile by the front door, seeing the color of the sky and the warm hues of the landscape."

 The weather is fine today, perfect for a pleasant stroll.

 "?????? walks around, following the path to the village market."

 In his place, your eyes would surely marvel at the spectacle before him, and for good reason, Edward's normal life is something that many would find strange, impossible, unthinkable, yet here it is.

 What Edward sees is the sky, a full-frontal sky, as if he could pass through it like a street.

 What makes this possible?

 The village in question is a floating village, a torn-off piece of land that flies at least five thousand meters above the ground, connected to the ground by a single gigantic chain that holds the entire village together and prevents it from drifting.

 How is this possible?

 It's up to you to find out.

For the moment, the mysteries of this story are either hidden or revealed, but one thing's for sure, if you want to discover something, you'll have to look for yourself and find out what's real and what's not.

 Just know that the inhabitants of the village are a bit special, so I won't reveal why they defy common sense, enjoy your reading, free being.

Edward:

 "Edward wanders from street to street until he reaches the market."

 The market is packed with vendors, with stalls set up close to the walls of the houses and sellers on the ground, all trying to sell as much food as possible.

Far from seeking attention, they're all quietly looking around, doing nothing else.

 Most of them sleep near their product to pass the time and out of laziness, yet knowing the temperament of the locals, it would be wise of them not to let their guard down.

 Theft is so present and visible in the market that it has now become commonplace.

 You can always try telling them, but I doubt they have the intelligence to understand such basic logic.

Edward:

 "Wandering through the market, Edward instinctively heads for the stall where he usually buys his books, and when he gets there, he calls out to the shopkeeper."

 Hey Andy, any new books for sale?

 Andy:

 No kid, go and play somewhere else, you're ruining my day by coming to tire me out early in the morning.

 Edward:

 "Edward takes a closer look at the stall, made of very old pieces of wood, to see that there are still books left, but this time, unlike usual, they're at the bottom of the stall in an inaccessible part."

 "Edward pretends not to understand."

 Come on, you usually refuse me but I've got the money to pay, what more do you need tells me ?

 Andy:

 You don't understand, kid, if I'm giving you books for money, it's only because the chief's orders were to give them to you, now that the order's gone, you're on your own.

You can go die in a field, I don't care, from now on don't come and talk to me or bump into me.

I don't have the strength to see such a trash like you near my shop again.

Edward :

(That boss again, why is he so important that you won't tell me about him?

This is really starting to piss me off.)

But why?

I've got enough to pay you and you've got books in stock, so what's stopping you from giving me some, nothing at all!

How can you do this to me when I've always kept quiet and worked hard to hope to buy some.

Andy :

Your problem, not mine, I have nothing more to do with you.

And don't talk to me like that if you don't want me to destroy your arms and legs, stupid piece of trash !

Edward :

"Edward bites his lips in frustration."

Tss, I'm leaving, I've heard enough.

"Edward, still angry and frustrated, sets off on the road back to his house."

Andy :

"Under a mischievous smile, Andy had this thought."

(Good riddance.)

Edward:

"Edward continued walking for five minutes before he was finally able to go home."

" After opening and closing the door behind him, he lay down on the right side of his bed while keeping his feet on the floor, both hands placed under his head."

Haah!

(He really managed to ruin my day, that damn idiot, rahh how to understand how such a slap head thinks, seriously.

How can he suddenly stop giving me books when he's been giving them to me all the time since I was mmm, never mind, I don't even know how long, since I don't even know how old I am.

It's kind of funny that the most basic thing you're supposed to know about yourself I don't, but no joke, this situation is really annoying.

Haaah, what a life, really.

I wonder what life must be like down there, surely better than here. In the end, despite all this time spent for reading, I don't know.

After all, just because I read books created in the most recent era doesn't necessarily mean that I'm not living in the present, years or decades later.

A book is a book, no matter how figurative is it, a book doesn't allow me to see something I've never seen before.

Words aren't enough to visually show me a mother, a father, a merry-go-round, a mountain, a dog, a war, a friend.

No matter how I visualize this kind of thing, I can't get a clear and precise image, I only read novels or books without images shown, condemning me to not overcome that fact, unfortunately.)

"Edward is thinking about something else."

(Let's say the world below has remained in so-called peace until now, as marked in books about the modern era from the 1950s to the 2020s.

With countries fighting with new methods of warfare such as information warfare, or warfare with armies fighting in countries other than the major ones.

They would normally have the ability to contact us easily, given the technologies down there and all the efforts they put into fighting.

It's strange that this village is cut off from the outside world like this, with no means of communication or information.

The world down there is technologically advanced enough to allow this sort of thing, but I guess this sort of contradiction has been omnipresent since I've been living here.

Maybe I'm undergoing some kind of experiment with the other inhabitants that requires the whole world to be unaware of it.

What would be the point of doing this kind of experiment?

Knowing all the knowledge the world below already has, without going so far as to fly an entire piece of territory for some obscure reason.

It's weird what I'm going through on every level, but at least I'm less likely to get bored trying to uncover hidden secrets.

Still, it's terrible how much information I'm lacking, only to end up not knowing how it's possible to levitate an entire village.

With the added bonus of inhabitants ready to live out their entire lives in this lost hole in the middle of the clouds.

It's completely beyond me.

Maybe I'd have to jump off the village to hope for more information, who knows.

"Edward laughs a little inside."

In the end, reading more books about the world below remains the safest solution, but as far as I can see, Andy didn't look like he was going to lie to me when he said he didn't want to give me more books.

What a day, honestly, I don't even know how I'll ever have such a fun distraction again, boredom is already creeping in at the thought of not being able to read anything new, how annoying.)

"Edward is beginning to feel his fatigue."

(It wouldn't hurt me to get some sleep.)

"Edward yawns with his mouth wide open."

Haahh!

(I've earned this after the crazy work week I've just had.)

"Edward sits on the bed, takes off his shoes and socks, leaves his shoes next to him while putting the socks, rolled up by his care on the floor."

"He then gets up, closes the curtains and lies down in bed again, only a few minutes later Edward falls completely asleep."