Chapter 3 Ch 1: Is This Reality

There is an itch in the back of my mind these days. My conscience is pricking me and I don’t know why.

That is a lie. I do know why I feel l am ignoring something. And it is weighing heavily on my heart for the same reason. It is the unfinished work I published a while ago which is pricking my consciousness.

I would have forgotten all about it if not for the once-in-a-while comment I got on it to continue it. But the truth of the matter is, it has been a long time since I wrote that cursed book.

I had been too into it when I started, but as I continued to write it, that initial bout of enthusiasm faded away. And so did my passion for the lack of interaction. In the end, it became another piece of unfinished work in the pile of the internet.

And as I got busy with work, my world shifted toward that other field. I needed to earn to survive and I never touched my unfinished work again.

Days just passed by until that cursed day. I wonder if things would have been different had I never picked up that call. Would I have lived my life as it was? Or was something even worse waiting for me at the end of the tunnel?

This was an answer I might never get. Because from that day onwards, the unremarkable youth I was cerise to exist and I became Horas Spencer, the Second main lead of the novel I wrote.

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“We cannot take both of them in. I mean, one should be enough right?”

“I know. How unfortunate. Who knew that the incident would take the life of both the Top #1 and Top #2 heroes? What will happen to the kids now?”

“I heard that the elder one does not have his powers yet but the younger one was born with massive reserves since the start. Should we try to take him in?”

Horas Spencer watched the adults bicker from the corner he was tucked in with his newly born brother. His emotionless eyes watched the world and tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

There was only one thought that went through his mind at that time.

‘This can’t be real. Is this some kind of dream? I want to wake up now.’

The gloomy hall Horas was currently standing in was a funeral hall. It housed more than 200 people but no one was grieving. The site looked more like a political warfare ground than an actual funeral.

Tension was at an all-time high with the adults talking about important stuff. No one expected the kids to understand what was being said.

“Anyway, no one here has time to take care of two kids, right? So, should we separate them at birth?”

“Sure, but I will take the younger. The elder has no talent, right?”

“No way. I will take the younger one. I mean, I already got the experience with kids, you know.”

Horas clutched his younger brother’s body tighter in his hand as he watched the adults bicker above his head. He could tell that he was not wanted by the adults and that his younger brother was the real prize.

How could he not be with the massive amounts of energy in his body? And it was all because his younger brother was the protagonist of this world.

As for Horas? He was the second main lead, the one who was about to be abandoned by everyone right now and who would forever be jealous of his younger, more fortunate brother. It would spark the light for a grand rivalry between the pair later on.

Horas would have been happy to stay where he was and let everyone else move around him. He was not particularly keen on

“Horas Spencer, right? I’m Jake Hollow, your secretary and I’ll also tell you about your future.”

Horas recognized the man in front of him. He had never seen this man before, but he had written this book. And Jake Hollow was a name that often appeared in the novel when it first started.

Even if this man had not introduced himself, Horas had a feeling he would have recognized the man because of his blue-green dual-shaded hair. But the only thing Horas was sure of was that it was not good news for him.

“Are we going to get sold off to someone?”

Jake Hollow’s eyes widened as he watched the kid in front of him suggest such a thing. But since this was a dream, Horas was sure that he would not get in any trouble.

But a dream or not, his arms were beginning to hurt after carrying his younger brother for that long. A five-year-old did not have infinite strength in his arms after all.

“Don’t worry, you will be alright as long as you follow what I ask of you. But you cannot stay together with your brother anymore. Now don’t cry because this is not the end. You will be able to see him again soon and often.”

Horas had been crying? He felt numb inside his heart so he was not able to feel any emotion. But his body must be sad to be separated from his young brother.

That was the only reason he could think of his tears.

Anyway, since the contents of Horas’s dream resembled the novel he wrote and abandoned, he knew a thing or two about this world. And from what he knew, Horas could tell that Jake Hollow was a trustworthy man.

At least when it came to the safety of his younger brother, Jake Hollow would do what was needed and save him.

As for Horas? Did it matter what happened to him for now? He was going to wake up from this dream soon enough anyway. As long as he endured a little more, he would be free.

“Alright, I will follow your lead. You are the only adult here who doesn’t feel disgusting.”

Since Horas had written this world, he knew how greedy the adults here were. They all might act like good people on the outside but they were all selfish to the core.

And they had to be to survive in this new world. After all, greed and power were the only way to survive in this new world filled with powers and dungeons which had started appearing out of nowhere one day.

This world had changed from a modern world into a fantasy world. And it was depressing how the only one worth trusting was this adult who was being caught off guard by a five-year-old.

“Ah, I see. In that case, you can trust me. Hand your brother to me so that I can carry him. A five-year-old should not be carrying such a heavy burden.”

Horas was not sure if he felt comfortable giving the protagonist over the Jake Hollow but he was tired and so were his arms.

He wanted to rest but Howard’s weight was too much for him to carry alone.

In the end, Horas handed his brother over and the child cried as soon as he did. The piercing cry was enough to cause Horas’s eardrums to vibrate in pain.

And for the first time, it felt like he was not in a dream and this was reality. His hands felt real and his emotions felt real.

Horas woke up but the reality he faced was different than he expected it to be. He had transmigrated into his abandoned novel.