Chapter 2: Memories and The Twisted Truth.

'Huh?' Michael suddenly woke up, his eyes half open. He was in a confused state. He missed the warmth he had till now.

'W-What's happening? Who am I? Where's Ymir? No, again who's Ymir? The warmth was so pleasant…Why did I come out? Why do I feel the overwhelming urge to cry? Why am I crying?' Michael's thoughts were in a disarray. But then somewhat settled after realizing that it wasn't cold again.

What he didn't realize, that he was just born to Brennah Drakonfell. As a baby, his first instinct, was to cry after coming out of mother's womb.

The mid-wife took him from the healer, and wiped him with wet and dry towels. Then gently wrapped him with soft blankets. The mid-wife then gave him to his mother.

'This feels comfortable…I just have to cling to this…Then I won't be cold.' Michael thought as he clung to his mother's hand. He heard a giggle, several murmurs but he didn't pay attention to that. He just wanted remain here and sleep.

Suddenly, he heard a more rough sounding voice coming from side. After sometime, someone was pulling him again. But he didn't want that. After some resisting, they stopped.

'Ha! You ain't taking me from here!' Michael smugly thought as he paid attention to the side again. Initially, he couldn't understand what they were saying, but he understood gradually.

"Hehe, how about Bjorn? Bjorn Drakonfell?" the rougher voice said. And then he heard a tinkling laugh in a feminine and mellower voice.

"Quite an apt name, dear. Now, baby, do you want to go to daddy?" the mellower voice said.

Michael was a little surprised. He thought, 'Whoa, what? Bjorn? Name? Daddy? And BABY!? W-What baby? Am I the one they are talking about? So the soft voice must be mother and the other must be my father. S-Should I go? I think I-I should.'

When was pulled again he didn't resist. He was lifted and held in a rougher and harder hands. It was not the same as his mother-the mellower voice.

His father-the rougher voice, laughed heartily and said, "Ha! You liked your name, didn't you, Bjorn Drakonfell?"

'Indeed, father. The name does has some classic and coolness factor. Hmm, so my name is Bjorn Drakonfell huh? Yeah, it's cool.' Michael tried to smile and nod but as a baby his actions looked to his parents.

His father laughed and said, "See? He likes his name! I knew it would be suitable as soon as I thought of it!"

"Oh? So you think he's a bear? Like a big and chubby bear~?" his mother asked playfully.

Michael a frowned a little at that (or tried to).

'Chubby? Big? Me? That's not quite cool? Won't I be teased for that?'

Seeing the little baby wrinkling his head and still, his father felt that he had to clarify, although that was quite silly.

"Hey! That's not the only meaning of that! It also means, 'Hero', I thought that he was strong like a hero. That's why I said that name." his father said in a righteous tone.

His mother laughed at that and stroked his hair. After a while she said, "Do you think he understands us? Seeing that how he acts now?"

Michael thought, 'Of course, I do! Because I was-I was 18 years old? What?! Right! I-I died and-and met Ymir. But why can't I remember the rest? NO! I WANT REMEMBER! WHAT WAS--' he stopped thinking as a sudden pain assaulted him and started crying.

His father was quite flustered and gave him to his mother. His mother calmed and fed him. After that, he slept and stopped thinking about. And time passed.

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2 years old, at Drakonfell Estate.

"What ish dat, mommy?" Bjorn asked pointing at a particular blue colored flower.

"Ah, that. That is a flower named, 'blue tinkle', it only grows in mountain valleys. I particularly like that- Ah do you what a valley is?" his mother, Brennah, started explaining but asked him at last.

"Yes! I heard daddy shay it!" Bjorn nodded. And listened on to his mother.

'Of course I do, mother! What do you think I was? I was 18 year old once. You think I wouldn't know what a valley is?' Bjorn thought.

But as he thought about the memories escaping him time to time and the repercussions of forcing them in, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It probably started when he was a baby. First his parents wrote it off as a baby's crying. But the next time it happened, he fainted. His parents were pretty worried. Healers, Mages even Spirit users were stumped.

Some said it was due to his big size and his brain couldn't develop, some said it was too much mana in his body and at last one person even told them that it will be a lifelong condition but not fatal.

Only Bjorn knew it himself what it was. It was the strain that came after taking in the memories. Until now, he had forced them 5 times, he fainted at all of those times. Only at his first and second birthdays, the memories came naturally. Till now he had peeked in them 8 times.

He was slowly remembering all of it. His past dreams as Michael, what he did, where did he belong and most importantly the identity of person called 'Ymir'.

As he slowly adjusted to his new body, and started thinking more, his awareness also grew. So, it was frustrating for him to not remember who this person was. But yesterday, on his 2nd birthday, he had another remembering. He figured out it was this 'giant' Ymir, who had given him this chance.

At first, he felt grateful for that. But as he thought about it further, he couldn't help but frown. He thought there was definitely something more to it.

As he was thinking about such things, he was assaulted by very foul smell. He wrinkled and pinched his nose. He looked up to see his mother, holding her hand in front of her mouth and laughing.

"Ah~ Now, we have to clean and change you again. Didn't you realize that you pooped? Hm~?" his mother asked playfully as she picked him up.

Bjorn had a sullen expression as he rested his chin on his mother's shoulder.

'Ah! Knew the milk was a bad idea…' Bjorn had long since gave up controlling the excretory urges. He just hugged his mother's neck and held on.

But what he didn't realize, that he had stopped thinking about the missing memories.

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5 years old, still in the Drakonfell estate.

"Do you like your new room kiddo?" Ornin asked his son, Bjorn.

"Yes! It's so big!" Bjorn excitedly nodded. It really was a big room. A bed, a very mini version of a chandelier. Paintings of mountains and dragons on the surrounding walls.

"Sis, what do you think? Do you like it? It's cool isn't it?" Bjorn turned asked a teenage girl beside him.

The girl was 14 years old. She had shoulder length blonde hair, fair skin and still had that angelic, baby-ish face. She too had inherited the 'big bones' of her parents. Meaning, she was tall. Her name was, Chara Drakonfell. [1]

Chara looked at her father, and saw him nodding expectantly, she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. But when she saw her little brother, looking at her eagerly, she couldn't help but sigh and smile a little.

Ruffling his hair, she said, "It sure is, B. Now I gotta train. You're gonna be good and aren't you?"

Bjorn nodded. Chara smiled and patted him on the head and turned to left. She pouted, turned her head after saying her father and went out of the room.

Seeing that, Ornin helplessly sighed. He looked at his son and muttered, "You won't turn into a moody teenager when you grow up, will you?"

"I think that won't happen if you give her the permission to next adventurer check point." Brennah said as she came in and leaned on the door frame.

"Brennah, but it's already worrying that she goes to 2 points in! On your insistence I even allowed her to go alone, I can't allow her to go there alone at her stage. You know that right?" Ornin sighed and asked.

"I know. That's why she's training so hard to train herself. I suppose she will breakthrough her elemental and mana cultivation. She has consolidated her first mana circle for a long time." Brennah said as kneeled beside Bjorn and looked around the room.

Ornin slumped his shoulders and said, "I suppose."

Brennah then smiled a little and looked at Bjorn.

"Now then, dear, it's our time to study. Are you ready? Excited?" Brennah asked Bjorn.

Bjorn nodded and thought, 'Heh. How hard could it be? I was a straight-A student, ya know? Hehe, I'm gonna ace this thing.'

How very-very wrong he was.

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8 years old.

A boy was sitting at a desk. Studying the letters and words on the page. He was Bjorn. Bjorn had thought it would be very easy to learn, but contrary to his expectations, learning the language was very hard. The letters were very different from English alphabets.

Luckily for him the numbers were similar and the mathematics level wasn't very hard.

"Uh…Mom? Can we now start with a new subject today?" Bjorn asked his mother, holding the parchment towards his mother, who was writing something in her diary.

"Hm? Oh you have completed it? Let me see….Hmm, you've improved a lot. Next time we'll be learning how to write letters and complex sentences, okay? Good work….Now which subject do you want to study?" Brennah asked as looked at Bjorn.

Bjorn gave it a thought. He had learned history, geography and botany from his mother. His mother was a little surprised then, that how fast he was learning and understanding all of it. Botany too, was not that hard for him, as it was on still a basic level.

What he hadn't learned was mythology. Yes, it was a subject in this world. This world had knowledge about the old gods and the old world, to some extent.

He also wanted to know the beliefs of this world. He wanted to know what happened to Ymir.

"How about mythos?" Bjorn asked.

Brennah nodded a little at that. Indeed, aside from bedtime stories he hadn't learned anything about the old gods. It was time. Thinking that, she started,

"Right. Now…here, this is the book of 'Yggdrasil' Mythos, okay? This is the most commonly sold book in all of the Nine Lands. It is a common belief that we should remember the old gods for what they've done for us, and keep them in our memories.

So, I'll now start. Thousands and thousands of years ago, there was a tree called Yggdrasil, which housed the Nine majestic Worlds….."

As she went on, it matched the information and stories Bjorn had from his past life and Ymir. The story consisted the gods, worlds and how the worlds were. It then got near to the Ragnarok part.

But when he heard the further part he frowned.

"…When the people in all of the world were causing destruction, the tree was heartbroken. It tried to urge the people to stop but to no avail.

And the consequences were terrible. The tree withered and exploded! Gods, mortals, God beasts, Demigods…No one was spared. There was only despair.

But the benevolent Yggdrasil gave the mortals a chance. By using its last remaining will, and sacrificing its seed, it forged a new single world. Salvation to Gods was impossible.

Gods' too realized their mistake. And for repentance they willed their powers to salvage the remnants, sacrificing themselves. Ymir's remnant vitality in Midgard's fragments kept the world alive.

And Inguz was born." Brennah finished. And looked at Bjorn who looked like he was in pain.

'That's not RIGHT! But Ymir told me…told me that-' Bjorn's were thoughts cut off and started having memories flashing in his mind.

First it was, the souls…then Ymir and talking with him. His wish to realize his dreams…the blessing…everything.

And he fainted. His mother was very worried and frightened. She kept shaking him and seeing the tears in his eyes, more so. The mana concentration and waves from his body was going to an abnormal levels.

She kept checking him again and again, casted high tier spells but to no avail Finally she casted a Mana-freezing spell and ran off to call her husband.

But unknown to frantic Brennah and fainted Bjorn, a sound rang in Bjorn's ears.

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Integrating 'Last Will' sequence…

Enabling… Accurate Analysis…Quests….

Stabilizing Mana concentration…

DING!

Welcome to The Chosen One's Guide.

For seeing your stats, please give the command 'Status'.

Waiting for the command…

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Note:

1. Chara means 'Free' in Norse.

Author: Shantanu Bondre. (ID: Sam0207)