Free Web NovelChapter 2: Chapter 2 : A Life Already Decided
Planet Endra.
Southern Continent
Eldorath Empire.
Hessington State
Fulco City.
Hervora District.
In the part of the city where the well to do had mansions, a training hall in one of the mansions, the Vhorn estate was not quiet.
Two wooden blades clashed intensely and the air shook with each exchange.
"Again."
The instructor’s voice echoed.
Aiden Vhorn tightened his grip and moved forward.
Aiden exchanged one attack after another with the man. However, it was obvious from the exchange that Aiden’s movements were slow, predictable, uneven, hurried. What was to be expected? The man he was in a duel with was a warrior, hired to tutor him, a normal person. How could he keep up with a warrior?
Eventually, the blade in Aiden’s hand was knocked out of his hand. It fell to the floor.
A brief moment of silence passed, Aiden’s breathing heavy, even ragged . His eyes seemed dull, robotic, tired, as if everything was a routine that had been forced on him.
"Too slow," the instructor said.
Aiden did not react to what he said. He picked up the blade. He adjusted his movement.
Then after some time, they would switch from a wooden sword to other wooden weapons.
Aiden’s arms kept burning with fatigue and dull movement. However, he persisted. Did he have a choice?
At the edge of the hall, his parents stood watching.
They did not interfere.
They rarely did. In fact, were they not the ones who orchestrated this whole thing?
When the session finally ended, the instructor nodded slightly to his parents and left.
Aiden lowered the wooden spear he was currently holding, hung it on a weapon stand, turned and walked out. He did not even spare his parents a glance.
Behind him, faint voices of his parents echoed.
" Why do we even make him train anymore?" Falan, Aiden’s mother said.
" Sigh. Perhaps he will awaken one day?" Williams, his father said.
" That’s not possible. He’s already nineteen years old. He has crossed the awakening window. It’s been scientifically proven that awakening is fixed for a specific biological window, age 17 and 18. Once that window is crossed, the body loses the natural potential for awakening. We need to accept that our son is not going to awaken. These duels and trainings are a waste of his time. Just like we told him earlier, we should stick to our word and send him to the International Business Institute to study" Falan added with a sigh.
"It’s such a pity he did not awaken"
William sighed and continued.
" Our son hates us. He does not know that we wanted the best for him with all the training he has endured from childhood. The kind of pressure we have had to endure by doing business as normal people have been really huge. This is a world where strength determines everything. We are only here because of our sharp business minds. But compared to those warriors, we are ants. I did not want him to end up like us.
Had he awakened, not only would our family have the backing of a warrior, our son’s life would have been less miserable too. It’s such a pity"
His mother added.
"The International Business Institute will secure his future."
" At this point, that’s the only option. He can only become a businessman like us" William sighed "I will talk to some of my friends who are instructors there, so that they nurture him well when he enrolls. He needs to be at least ready to take over the family business if he cannot become an awakener
"Mmm. Let’s go ahead and make the call to the institute.
He may dislike us now, but I’m certain one day, he will realize we simply want the best for him."
Aiden did not stop walking. He chuckled dryly.
He didn’t hate his parents. He just knew they decided everything in life for him. And he hated that. Whatever their motives were, did not matter to him. He did not care about that. What good was a life where he did not have the freedom to decide what he wanted? His life had been a perfectly orchestrated prison from childhood. Even now that he did not awaken, they had already determined a fixed alternative for him.
Aiden arrived at the gates of the mansion.
Nodding towards the guard at the gates, he simply walked out.
As he left the mansion grounds, he was lost in thought. He was curious. How would it feel like to have a life where he could decide for himself. Where he could be free from the influence of others, to make his own decisions for himself, without control of others. To decide what he wanted to be, by himself and for himself?
His footsteps carried him onto the city streets.
Life outside the mansion was louder.
Trees lined the walkways. Benches lined the streets. Couples walked past. A dog barked, accompanied by its owner.
Occasionally , cars would pass , their horns blaring into the distance.
As he walked out of the estate locality, the streets got busier and busier. Eventually, he reached the wider city. Billboards. Neon lights. Chatter.
Vehicles. The busy night life.
A group of teenage awakeners walked past him, lost in conversations.
"...Warrior universities are opening admissions tomorrow"
"...You need to be at least a beginner Rank 1 warrior just to qualify."
"...I’m definitely getting into a warrior university"
They had confidence, expectation, and direction.
Their voices were full of life, freedom. They had the freedom to decide for themselves.
Aiden listened without expression.
Then walked past them.
He left the main streets and moved toward the quieter edge of the city.
Buildings started to disappear eventually and noise faded into the distance. Quiet approached.
Eventually, he reached the base of a mountain within the safe zone boundary.
No beasts.
No danger.
Just a place where people came to think when the world felt too loud.
Aiden climbed the mountain slowly.
Each step took him further away from everything decided for him.
At the ridge, he stopped. Sat on a flat stone surface.
The city stretched below.
Aiden exhaled slowly.
Not relief.
Not frustration.
Just emptiness.
"...So this is it."
A life already drawn before he ever agreed to it.
He leaned back slightly, letting the wind brush past him.
For a moment, there was no instruction.
No expectation.
No voice guiding what came next. Only silence.
Then the sky changed.
Heavy dark clouds gathered without warning and the wind changed.
Raindrops followed.
Aiden opened his eyes. The raindrops were heavy and sudden.
The mountain remained empty.
No one was here, except Aiden.
Aiden did not move immediately.
He simply sat as the rain fell on him.
" The rain is getting heavier. I should find some place to rest till it subsides. I’m no warrior to endure this harsh weather" He thought.
Not far from where he sat, there was a cave opening.
" That will do," he thought.
Aiden stood and took light steps towards the cave, his clothes completely drenched in raindrops.
Aiden entered the cave and looked around him. The place was dark and still.
Luckily he had his smart phone. He turned on the torch.
Eventually, he moved a bit deeper, so that the howling winds outside could not get to him.
He eventually arrived in a small open chamber.
He decided to sit down.
But before he could sit, he saw something, buried between two rocks. It was a necklace, oddly crimson.
" What is this? An antique?"
He crouched. Paused.
Then reached out.
