Chapter 2 Where Am I?

Date: 27 March 2350

Time: 11:00 AM

Location: Puna Forest

Rishi slowly opened his eyes. He then stretched his hands and yawned.

He looked at his surroundings, but only darkness greeted him all around.

"Where am I?" he murmured as he brought his hands before his eyes.

It was so dark that he could not even count his fingers.

"Ahh..." he screamed.

He felt pain all over his body, as he was not used to sleeping on the ground. His leg looked to be injured as he was having trouble walking.

He tried looking for his smartphone but realized it was not with him.

"First, I should get out of here," he said.

He looked around for an exit and finally found light coming from his back.

He approached the bright area and came out of the cave.

The sun was shining brightly as he came out; he was blinded for a few seconds. He took his time to adapt.

Then he slowly opened his eyes.

What greeted him was an area full of trees and bushes. He could also hear the sounds of animals all around him.

He then realized his leg was bleeding. It looked like he had stepped on a trap.

He tore his shirt and covered that part.

He then took a deep breath.

"Much better," he said as he looked at his leg.

He was suddenly feeling very weak because he was hungry and thirsty.

Then he started exploring the surrounding area.

"Now, the important part: how did I end up here?" He said while walking.

He then recalled that he was traveling from his town Puna to a city called Mazar for a business meeting in his carriage last night.

His memory was foggy because he was drunk.

He suddenly remembered that his camp had been the target of a bandit attack.

His many guards were killed in the ambush, which led to a disadvantageous situation for them.

He begged them to remove all his money and goods but let him and his men go.

The bandits laughed at him and looked at him with disdain as if they were looking at an ant. They were ignoring everything and only focusing on killing him.

This made him very confused. Why would these bandits try to kill him? But he was not in a position to think about it as for him saving his life was the priority for now.

He tried to run away as his guards faced bandits, but the bandits had come prepared and had set up traps all around their camp. Rishi was caught in a trap when he was in a hurry to escape and injured his leg.

At the moment, he had given up; his guards fed their contract beasts Berserk pills, which made them super strong for a short time in exchange for their lives.

The Captain of his guards then helped him to escape.

He remembered the last words of the Captain.

"Live a happy life, young master."

"This is as far as I can be with you."

"Be a good person, like your parents."

The Captain then smiled, looked up at the sky, and spoke.

"Forgive me, Master; I could not keep my promise."

"I am coming to meet you a little early."

Then the Captain of his guards called a guard and asked him to take me away.

He then mounted his contract beast Cloud Horse and charged at the bandit leader with his sword.

One guard approached me with his contract beast.

"Bidu, take away young master to a safe place, and then return to assist me."

The hound looked unwilling, but it followed the command of his master and took me away.

Rishi, who was an arrogant and selfish person, became sad as he remembered the sacrifice of his guards.

His eyes started to grow weary.

Rishi hadn't cried in two years; the last time he cried was when his grandfather died.

But at this point, tears were streaming from his eyes.

"Why me?" he screamed.

"Why is it always me."

"Why do all these bad things always happen to me?"

He fell to the ground with his hands over his eyes.

"Should I just die?" he said as he remembered his dark past.

His mother died just after giving birth to him.

He could never experience his mother's love as he grew up.

He was not happy in his childhood but was satisfied because he had a perfect father.

This world, however, could not see his happiness at all, as he lost his father in a dungeon accident when he was only five.

After his father's death, he became very lonely, but at that time, his grandfather saved him from becoming a demon filled with hatred and motivated him to live his life with kindness and principles.

He was starting to recover when the most unfortunate thing happened. He lost everything close to him on his tenth birthday.

This loss changed his life and transformed him into a cruel and ruthless Demon filled with hatred.

As a birthday present, the residents of his town bestowed the title "The cursed one" on him.

Rishi's misery made him embrace the darkness and become a notorious person, hated and feared by all the people of his town.