MY LIFE IN THE FORGOTTEN WORLD!

(Kaden's POV)

I felt like I was drowning in a calm ocean, just like last time.

'This feeling again, it's comforting. I don't want to wake up. I want to stay here and not care about what's happening outside.'

"Get up and fight."

I heard a voice calling directly into my ear, just like last time.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"Get up and fight."

"Why? Why should I leave this comfortable place and go to that harsh world?"

I was talking to this unknown voice, puzzled as to why it wanted me to get up and who it was.

I felt something warm holding my back, and before I could turn my head, I woke up immediately.

When I opened my eyes, Jaron was calling me to wake me up.

I hadn't yet grasped what was happening, but when I looked at Jaron, my pupils dilated, and my breathing quickened.

"Jaron! What's happening here?"

"Huh, what's wrong, boy? It's just a..."

Before Jaron could finish his sentence, he vomited blood from his mouth.

Jaron was currently kneeling, blood flowing from his mouth and the middle of his stomach, where a giant tentacle had pierced through his entire abdomen!

"How? How did this happen?"

I spoke while trembling and moved forward to hold Jaron.

The tentacle that was in Jaron's stomach gradually withdrew, leaving a large hole in the middle of his body.

Jaron was falling to the ground, so I quickly moved to support him with my body.

Behind his injured body, I looked at the demon that had put Jaron in this state, but it was different from before.

Its body had become smaller, perhaps the size of an adult human, and it now had only two eyes instead of the many it had before.

When its tentacle returned to its place, our eyes met, and it seemed to notice my presence and began to try to attack me.

Its tentacles advanced at an incredible speed, and before they could hit me, the demon stopped moving, and its entire body began to tremble. Not just it, even my body began to tremble and feel fear.

There was a presence nearby, far more terrifying than this frozen demon.

The demon retracted its tentacles and started running away from the city through the hole it had made in the wall.

My focus returned to Jaron. I looked at my hands, covered in blood.

The whole situation didn't feel real to me. It felt like I was in a nightmare and would wake up soon.

"Let me lean against the wall of the house."

Jaron spoke weakly, but I understood his intention and helped him lean against the wall of the house.

"Focus on me, don't lose consciousness, okay? Stay focused on me."

I spoke to Jaron despite my trembling voice because I knew that if he fainted, he would die immediately.

'What should I do? What should I do? How do I stop the bleeding?'

I was thinking of illogical things like stopping the bleeding, even though I knew it was impossible given his injury.

"Calm down, boy. I know my injury is incurable, so let it go."

"What are you saying now! Don't give up! We must find a solution. Didn't you teach me that there's always a solution to every problem?"

"Boy."

"Hold on a little longer; I'll try to stop the bleeding."

"Boy."

I tore my shirt and started wrapping it around the wound, but it was useless. The wound was too large for the piece of cloth to cover even half of it.

"Boy!"

"Yes! What is it?"

"Stop doing these foolish things."

Jaron extended his arm towards me with difficulty and opened his right hand.

Inside it was the blue storage ring he always carried with him, now turned red with Jaron's blood.

"Take this ring. It contains many useful things that might help you."

I stopped what I was doing and remained silent for a while before taking the ring from Jaron's hand.

"Why didn't you run to save yourself?"

I quietly asked Jaron this question that had always puzzled me.

Jaron always said that your life is the most precious thing you have, that you should always put your life first, and not care about the lives of others.

But Jaron often broke this rule. He saved me in the forest at first, then helped me a lot throughout this entire year and taught me many things.

And now, here he is, dying because he protected me.

"Although this rule ensures you stay alive, it will make you live a long life filled with regret."

"And to answer your question about why I didn't run and helped you, simply because I didn't want to continue my life regretting leaving you to die."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Yes, that's it."

"Huh, I lived my entire life relying on my mind to stay alive, but that led to a lot of regret. I left people I loved because I used only my mind and considered only my own life."

Jaron's voice began to weaken gradually until it became difficult to hear him.

But I remained calm and listened to his words.

"But Kaden, as I sit here in front of you, dying, I realized something."

Jaron raised his trembling arm with difficulty and pointed his finger at my heart.

"A person should live their life using both their heart and mind."

Jaron couldn't keep his hand raised, and it fell to the ground.

During this time, I remained silent and didn't speak. Despite the pain in my heart, the pain in my body, and the pain in my soul, I didn't utter a single word.

"So, Kaden, I hope with all my heart that you live a life free of regret."

Jaron closed his eyes and began to lose consciousness slowly.

"You know? I lived my entire life fearing death, and now, as I die, I don't think it's that bad."

These were the last words I heard from Jaron before his heart stopped beating completely.

I remained in my place and didn't move a single step for a while, just staring at Jaron's body and looking at the small smile on his face.

'Why don't I feel anything?'

That was the question I asked myself at that time.

I didn't feel anything at that moment, not sadness, not anger, not pain. I just didn't feel anything.

Suddenly, I felt the terrifying presence I had forgotten about standing next to me.

The person next to me placed his hand on my shoulder and stood beside me, so I finally turned to him.

Standing next to me was a tall man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with a neatly trimmed light beard the same color as his white hair. He wore a robe with seven stars on it.

"Let me help you carry him. Where do you want to go?"

The man spoke calmly in his majestic voice.

"Follow me."

I started moving forward, and the man with the seven stars followed me, carrying Jaron's body. Despite his robe being soaked in blood, he didn't seem to care.

I walked through the destroyed streets, with scattered bodies everywhere and the smell of blood dominating the air.

There were people in blue clothes spread out everywhere, moving quickly from place to place.

But whenever they passed by me, they looked at the man with the seven stars and were surprised.

But at that time, I didn't care about all these details and continued walking until I reached the place I intended.

Jaron's house, the place where I lived for a whole year, now seemed desolate with its owner dead.

I opened the gate and headed towards the house, entering inside.

The house was as it always was, simple and quiet, containing only a table, a bed, and a storage room in the back.

I took a shovel from the storage room, and on my way out, I looked at my watch, which I had placed on the table.

I continued my way out of the house and went to the yard and started digging.

"Do you want me to help you?"

"No."

I kept digging for two hours until I finished the grave.

The man with the seven stars placed Jaron in the grave, and I began filling the hole with soil until Jaron's body was completely covered.

I placed a wooden sign on his grave with his name written on it, the only thing I knew about him.

I then sat in front of the grave and started thinking.

'Why am I alive?'

I asked myself this question many times since I came to this world.

Why do I want to continue living despite having no reason to stay alive?

'I have already died. Why should I live again? Who said I want to live in this hell?'

I kept thinking and thinking until my mind hurt a lot.

The man with the seven stars gradually moved away when he saw me lost in my thoughts.

"How did the monsters breach the city? Aren't they supposed to only be in the middle part of the forest? Why was the city devoid of guards? Why didn't you allow people to enter the inner city?"

Before the man left the gate, I asked him these questions that had been stuck in my mind.

"And finally, why were you late?"

When I asked him this question, tears started falling rapidly from my eyes like a waterfall. But despite that, I wiped my tears and looked at the man's back to hear his answer.

He remained silent for a while before answering my question.

"If you want to know these answers, join the army."

When I heard his answer, I felt a bit confused.

"The army recruitment will open in ten years. I'll be waiting for you."

After that, the man left, leaving me alone to return to my thoughts.

'Ten years, huh! It seems I found the reason that will drive me to stay alive.'

I put on new clothes and took a bath. I carried my bow on my back, wore a storage ring on my little finger, and placed my watch on my waist belt. I set off into the darkness of the night in search of my goal.