Somewhere in a castle situated at the top of a massive hill that was seemingly being held up by a few golden chains and slightly pinkish clouds, which seemed to carry some sense of starlight, the starlight glistened in the pink fluffy clouds. There lay a king in his bed with three of his many spouses.
The door flung open, with a man flying through, looking back where two guards in white and gold armor were following suit, reaching out for the man as to apprehend him.
"STOP! I carry important news like I said!"
The man shouted at the guards as he faced the king in plea.
The king had a black robe on that covered his body while not restricting movement. He was now sitting up, with veins popping out from his arms. His voice was chilling and demanding.
"SILENCE. Let the fool speak, and make it quick."
"Y—Yes, my King. Me and the other diviners have sensed a change…"
The king's eyebrows rose slightly, his grin followed suit. It was as wicked as it could be, and yet… actually, it was simply purely wicked and evil.
His eyes shone with glee and joy as if he had just heard his life's mission, and in a way he did.
Two figures walked down a snowy path as they passed bakeries. Neither talked. They walked further into the village, their shoulders weighed down by snow, their boots were wet, their bodies were cold, and yet neither showed any reaction to it outwardly.
Eventually they reached a massive building in relative size to the others. The door flung open and a warm gentle breeze from the inside escaped. The light of lanterns hit them, and next came a gentle glow embodying the figures. There, Ren and Rose stood, shutting the door behind them. The fireplace nearby crackled, the sound of steps echoing throughout the entire building.
Right in front of the door, mere meters from it, stood a sign, and beneath that sign stood a young receptionist. She greeted Rose with a gentle nod and looked at Ren with confusion.
"Late hunt, Rose? And it seems like you brought a man with you tonight, how scandalous of you."
Before Ren could retort, Rose spoke up, neither denying nor confirming the receptionist's statement, almost as if she was indifferent to it.
"I'm here to sell some Licker claws."
The receptionist made a small pout at Rose's indifference before extending her hand for the bag of claws. She then pulled out two silver coins and handed them to her.
Rose seemed to not care about the coins, and as such she simply moved further into the building. As she did, Ren followed, observing the many bustling people maneuvering with coordination, working with such ease.
Eventually they reached a door, where beyond it the sounds of shouting could be heard. The door flung open, with a woman screaming and crying as she held a simple bag filled with items that barely clung together with every step.
'Metal? Why the hell is she crying?! Where is Rose taking me!?'
"Why the hell are you following her anyway?" Ken scoffed.
Ren glared at Ken as he tried to peek inside the room with curiosity.
"NEXT!"
Rose went in without batting an eye. Inside the room was a tall man… geezer. He had a white beard and a bald shiny head. It was without a hair follicle; it was clear enough to reflect the light.
Rose sat down on the fallen chair. Ren simply raised his eyebrow as he noticed the tension between the two.
His husky voice resounded throughout the room and into the hall.
"Rose…"
"Daniel…"
Rose tossed the two silver coins to Daniel. He caught them, but his gaze never left Rose's. The tension only grew; at that point it was almost suffocating to be in the same room.
'Do I step out and leave?'
"No, you just stand still like an idiot and watch them."
Not paying any attention to Ken's bantering, he slowly took a step back, not wanting to disturb the two, or rather not wanting to be in the middle of whatever was happening.
"STOP."
"Stop."
Both of them commanded Ren, yet they still refused to throw a glance at him. Before the tension could grow further, Rose was the one who broke the silence that followed.
"I found this stranger in the forest up north while hunting. I'd say around a kilometer from the border."
Finally looking away from Rose, Daniel noticed Ren's clothing.
Daniel whispered, "Fancy clothes, looks weak, and hands are clean. Crap, is he a noble brat?" Daniel coughed. "Hey, what noble family are you from?"
"I… uh, can't remember…"
Daniel's eyebrow shot up. "Do you not remember, or do you wish to remain secret?"
"Nope, I mean the last thing I could remember was being chased by a bear."
Daniel pinched his forehead. Rose raised an eyebrow, but her face showed a slight smirk at Daniel's reaction.
"Okay, let's cover the basics: your name, where you think you are, and if you know what you were doing in the forest."
"Ren Jacklen, I have no clue, and don't know."
Ken snickered in the back. "Don't forget to tell the kind man that you have a ghost following you around."
Daniel let out a small sigh as he stroked his beard.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. You, Ren Jacklen, were for some unknown reason wandering the snowy woods of Artis with no one else but you… don't take this the wrong way, but Ren… you don't necessarily look like the physical type, so the only way I could see you surviving is that you're a noble who's been taught a powerful technique but now can't remember anything. Do you have anything on you that could help jog your memories?"
"…That about sums it all up, and as you can see, the only real thing I have are these clothes of mine."
"Ren Jacklen, please sit down. We might be here for a while, maybe a little longer if she butts in."
After hours and hours of Daniel trying to deduce Ren's situation and stance while explaining the most basic necessities of the world Ren is now in:
"So to sum it up, this world is as cursed and hellish as it could be. Luckily, we the human race have been able to find and maintain fourteen decent spots in this hell-hole to call home. They are called the Fourteen Realms, and right now you're in the Realm of Terrestrial. Well, specifically in the nation of Nystoru, which is in the northern part of Terrestrial. I haven't heard of a Jacklen family in Nystoru, so you are on your own with that. But knowing that you are a part of a family means you probably have a Talent. Talents are mystical abilities. Each Talent has its own unique Techniques, so I won't be able to help with that either. The most I can do for you is give supplies to travel, but that won't be of much help, will it? So you really only have two options. First is that you prepare in a few days and we will send you on your way to the capital to get help there. Second is that you take refuge here until someone from your family comes looking for you. I will give you some time to think."
After Daniel's long tangent, it gave Ren a lot to think about. He felt even more lost than he had ever been, which wasn't much given that he had barely been conscious for a day. He at least now had names for his location. He was near the border, in the Artis forest, which was in Nystoru. Yet he had no recollection of any of these names. Maybe Ken had an idea, but getting any meaningful information from him was an impossible task.
He also had a Talent which possibly related to the Library and most likely Ken, who was also his best evidence that he had one. But any information on what his abilities or technique was was basically zero.
Then that came to the last problem of what he was to do. Of the options that Daniel gave him, he could wait months and there wasn't any way to confirm that someone would come for him, or he could try to make it to the capital, which was a perilous trip with a high chance of him dying.
'I was barely alive for a day!'
"I could give some advice. Don't go to the capital. I too want to live, and you aren't fit to survive the journey through the Artis forest with your pathetic self."
'Will someone from our family come to get us? Are we even from a noble family? Do we even have a family?'
That was the part that Ren was struggling most with. He was hoping that Ken would give an answer rather than insult him. After all, Ken was him—possibly the him before he lost all of his memories.
"Ha, family, what a joke. You are better off doing something by yourself."
Ken avoided the question, but the response that he gave did not give Ren any hope. The best he could do was just take refuge and wait and see what the future held for him.
"Daniel, I'll take refuge until someone from the Jacklen family comes."