Chapter 196

The place was filled with familiar faces. Familiar art decorated the building as people chattered quietly amongst the crowd. Under Vorbuk's fingertips he could feel the cold touch of a familiar piano. His fingers moving beautifully across the keys as a song he knew by heart echoed out the art gallery. This was a place he knew like the back of his hand.

No, this was a memory from his past life. Having fallen into a deep sleep his conscious was experiencing an old memory he'd held from his past life.

Song coming to an end Vorbuk bowed to the people watching. The artwork in the gallery was his own. As a orphan he had grown to put a lot of effort into his artistic side. Becoming known as a famous artist his wealth was renowned. His artwork also having a reputation for being known as portraying a sense of beauty yet loneliness.

At the center of the art gallery was a large painting that was Vorbuk's most famous. Known as Heavens Companion this painting was one he had done himself. A wolf that looked as if it was crossed with a bird. The wings on the beast and its beauty was what earned it the name of being a companion to the heavens.

After crossing the crowd of people Vorbuk made his way to the bar. He always drank when he came out to deal with large crowds. There had never been anyone he was close to in his lifetime. With no family and no one he could call a close friend he became use to noticing other things. He could see the greed in people at a glance. Those who wished to use him became common for him.

Sitting down Vorbuk drank alone. It was not long before someone sat down beside him.The liquor taking control of Vorbuk as he began to talk to the man beside him. He could not see the face clearly and the man did not speak much. He was often quiet but seemed to listen honestly whenever Vorbuk spoke.

"Do you play games?" Those four words seemed to echo in his memory at that moment.

"Sometimes?" Vorbuk smiled and could not deny that he did sometimes enjoy such things. He was an artist but he still enjoyed taking time to relax like other people.Though he found the question strange.

Vorbuk at that time had been so lonely that while in a drunken state he had spilled everything. He could not control himself as he spoke about his dreams, concerns in life, and how no matter how wealthy in life he got it could not sate how lonely he felt.

"Would you give up everything about yourself if it meant a chance to change everything in return?" The man's question was calm and carried a serious weight to it at the same time. It felt as if he was seriously curious how far one would be willing to go for a chance to change themself.

"What do I have that I can't afford to give in exchange? Honestly, money can't buy happiness." Vorbuk knew that no matter how much he owned it would not change the fact that his entire life was spent alone. There was no one beside him that simply wanted to be. The only eyes he saw were ones full of greed and wanted to benefit off of him in their own ways.

"Change is never something that is meant to be easy." The man said.

"I know it ain't easy. Does that mean I shouldn't still wish for things to change for the better at some point?" Vorbuk asked as he thought about how much he wished for something more in his life. He had wanted things to change. To live a life where he did not always feel so alone in the world.

"Invalid." A single word that seemed strange. It was simple enough that even though it was strange Vorbuk had ignored it completely.

Vorbuk's head was dizzy as he collapsed on his own arm over the side of the bar. The drink in his hand spilled as he looked over at the man. His face was still a blur and hard to see clearly. He could not remember what the man's face looked like. Though there was one thing that he could remember. Those eyes that felt familiar and yet he could not remember who they belonged to. The man's eyes were colorless ones.

He could feel the hand of the man as he carefully touched his back. They were making sure that he was not going to fall out of the chair he sat on. It was a comforting feeling. At the same time it also felt a bit nerve wracking. There was something about the feeling the man gave when he came closer that had made Vorbuk's chest feel heavy. At the time he decided to write off that feeling as being due to his drunken state.

"Your fans would be sad to see you in this condition." The man stated calmly. There was a hint of mockery that Vorbuk had felt from that comment. Most famous people cared about what others publicly thought of them. Vorbuk was not like that though. His fame was not built on putting up acts for others. His fame was built purely on his talent in his work.

"I don't care." Vorbuk muttered into his arm as he began to doze off. He was not even aware of himself falling asleep as they spoke. It was like his body had given out without his own consent. After drinking too much he had blacked out.

The last thing Vorbuk had seen was those colorless eyes staring down at him. That person did not seem concerned with the condition that he was in. In fact Vorbuk did not know who they were at the time. They had never met prior to that day that Vorbuk could recall. In the end they were only strangers to each other that had drunkenly spoken to each other.

The next thing he could remember was waking up in his bedroom that night. He could not remember how he got home. Nobody was there when he checked the house after waking up. He ended up spending the whole night wondering if he had gone crazy. Although that would also end up being the last night he spent in his original world.

That night was the last night Vorbuk spent in his room. The next time he opened his eyes he had become a wolf in a different world. Everything about his old life was gone. Though something bothered him about that man in his memories. Was it possible he had been scouted by the god before coming to this world? How long was he being watched for by them?

Vorbuk's head hurt as he thought about it. He could feel his eyes twitching as he began to wake up from his deep sleep. The sounds of his old memories fading away like a simple night's dream. At the same time the questions he held in the back of his mind remained. They were things that he could never easily bring up in front of the others. How could he ever explain his existence completely to them.