Chapter 9: (1/9)

Kain slowly remembered. His father quit working as a Law Enforcer and opened the Bersk Escorting Company where Hagar and his employees accepted quests to escort merchants from one city to another city for money. There are a lot of bandit camps hidden in the woods that is why merchants needed to hire escorting companies to keep them safe. Kain trained in warrior arts since the age of six. At the age of nineteen, he advanced into a seventh-tier warrior and started helping Hagar out in escorting merchants’ quests. His mother has been working as the cook for the Bersk Escorting Company.

"Son, are you okay?" Hagar asked when he saw Kain was unusually speaking with Natali.

"I'm sorry, father. I was having a headache but I am fine now."

Kain helped Natali cleaned up and packed up their belongings then they continued escorting the merchants toward Flumen city. Some small bandit groups attempted to raid them but nothing the Bersk Escorting Company can't handle. Hagar is a ninth-tier warrior, those chicken shit bandits won’t be able to defeat him. There was a big group of bandits ambushed them approximately thirty-two miles outside of Flumen city but Hagar, Kain, and other guards of the Bersk Escorting Company have no problem fighting them back.

Kain lived in happiness with Hagar and Natali. They carried on their normal daily routines for two years. Hagar then shut down the Bersk Escort Company after saving enough money to buy a ranch in a small village near Freygbu city belonging to Bifjorkian Theocracy. Hagar arranged a wedding for Kain with a beautiful girl in the village named Roxanne Woller. For ordinary people who can’t even live up to a hundred years old, getting married at the age of twenty-one is not early. Kain built a small house next to his parents’ house while continuing to work as a rancher at Hagar’s ranch. Six months later, Kain married the village girl when he turned twenty-two years old.

Their happy lives went on for four years. Kain and the village girl have a three years old son and two years old daughter. Kain’s parents loved their grandchildren. That is why they always have family dinner every evening after Kain and Hagar are done working at the ranch. One night, Kain was sleeping but suddenly woke up when he heard footsteps approaching. Kain attempted to wake up his wife by shaking her hard but no luck. Kain looked at the bed of his children and they were still deeply asleep. Kain grabbed the long sword that he hung nearby his bed and ran out of his bedroom. In the living room, a masked man wearing a black robe was waiting for Kain to come.

"Is he a magic caster?" Kain asked himself.

"Honorable magic caster, my name is Kain Bersk. How may I be of your service?" Kain humbly greets the masked man. Kain recently advanced into tier-eighth of warrior arts in his training but he won’t dare to disrespect a magic caster.

"Pathetic. Look at you now. Just pathetic!" The masked man yelled at Kain.

"Sir…?" Kain confusedly asked.

The masked man took down his mask to reveal his face. The man has a face that looks exactly like Kain.

"What kind of sorcery trick is this? You look exactly like me." Kain asked the man.

"Fool, I am you. To be exact, I am your Second Soul. How long are you going to let this illusion world drag you on?”

“Illusion world? Second Soul? What do you mean?”

“Our parents were killed in Flumen city when we were three years old because of our Twin Soul. Twin Soul Mages always have Second Souls in their subconscious but they can't awaken it. I have awakened and finally managed to break into this illusion world of yours. Hurry up and destroy this illusion world to get back to reality.”

“I still don’t understand. What illusion world? What Twin Soul? You said my parents were killed, but they are here living next to my house. We just had dinner earlier.”

“Fool, get your head straight. Your parents, your wife, your children, and everyone you see here are just illusions. You are Kain Bersk, a member of the Blood Mages Guild, currently going undercover as Kain Almos in the Mages’ Academy of Nosh in the Commonwealth of Krorg. Do you remember?”

“No, I can’t. My head… it hurts.”

“Your girlfriend is Sofia Verardi, remember?”

“I don’t. My head is hurt… please stop.”

“Your best friend is Arthur Castillon.”

“Agh….! Stop!”

“You have a secret admirer, her name is Jaane Almos.”

“My head hurts! Stop talking!”

“The person saved you in Flumen city after your parents were killed is Menas Danamark. Do you remember now?”

“Enough! I have remembered… everything.”

Kain carefully looked around and said, “So everything that has happened for the past six years is just my illusions? But it felt so real.”

“Yes, everything that happened in this world was just your illusions. Now hurry up and destroy this illusion world to get back to reality before it’s too late.”

“How can I destroy it?”

“Kill your parents, wife, and children.”

“Kill them?”

“Yes, you can’t escape the illusion world until you get rid of what’s holding you back in it.”

“I am so happy here. My parents are still alive. I’m married to a beautiful wife. I have a smart daughter and a brave son. Illusions or not, I don’t want to leave.”

“Fool! This will end sooner or later. If you continue enjoying your time here, you will die and fail the trial.”

“What trial?”

“The Tykan Eye’s trial to duplicate your Twin Soul.”

“Didn’t I refuse to participate in that kind of test?”

“The trial has begun the moment you looked into the Tykan Eye and it opened to look back at you. Time has nearly run out, hurry up!”

"Daddy?" Kain's daughter, Ariana Bersk, slowly approached him from the bedroom. "Daddy, why are you holding the sword?"

"Ariana, go back to sleep."

"Daddy, brother Kron snored too loud. Can you build me a bed tomorrow? I wanted to sleep alone."

"Ariana…"

Kain looked back toward his Second Soul then turned to look at his daughter. Kain asked, "Do you see the man behind me?"

Ariana looked around and said, "Daddy, what man? I don't see anyone else here."

"She can’t see him. Am I going insane or my family members are just illusions?" Kain thought to himself.

"Kain, hurry up. They are not real. Remember?" The Second Soul rushed Kain.

Kain raised his sword and walked toward Ariana.

"Daddy, you look scary tonight. Is everything okay?" Ariana asked while she was backing up from Kain.

Kain swung his sword down and chopped Ariana into two pieces. The last thing he heard she asked was, "Daddy, why?"

Kain heard a scream. He looked up and saw his son, Kron Bersk. Kron witnessed Kain kill Ariana and screamed out loud. Seconds later, Kain's wife, Roxanne Woller, ran out from the bedroom and stood in front of Kron to protected him while asking out loud, "What have you done!?"

No answer. Kain replied Roxanne by swinging his sword to cut her head down. Kron attempted to run away but his speed was too slow for Kain. Kain grabbed Kron by the neck and stabbed him from behind. Tears ran down Kain’s face as he said, "I'm sorry, my son."