365 Who
"Someone who got lost on his way home."
Standing in front of the crown, Kairen muttered with a faint smile plastered on his lips. After those words were spoken, there was a brief silence as if everyone was trying to understand what the young man meant. The chief of the city, Daniel, narrowed his eyes slightly while scanning the newcomer from head to toe. His gaze stopped on Kairen's face as a mixed expression of puzzlement and realization dawned on his face. Kairen didn't know what the man was thinking about but Daniel's expression alone made him even more nervous. At that moment, the bulky middle-aged man opened his mouth once again.
"What's your name?"
Kairen clearly didn't expect such a question to be asked instead of things like "How did you kill that monster?", or, "What kind of power is that?". He was a little bit taken aback as he blurted out a name.
"Jack."
"Your true name!"
'True name...'
Kairen was taken aback upon hearing those words and his body flinched slightly, which didn't escape the eyes of the chief.
'Was my lie so obvious? Indeed, Jack is such an obviously fake name... I should've at least given them a last name as well to make it seem a little bit more real... But why is he asking it now? He must've known that my name is fake from the beginning but didn't seem to care about it. And now, he must be asking something like "Who are you?" instead of "What's your name?"... Why do you need my name bro...'
While Kairen was silent for a few seconds, thinking, Daniel stated something else in a lower voice but with much certainty.
"I seem to have seen you before."
"..."
"Not in person... But in another way."
"..."
The more Daniel talked, the more scared Kairen felt. How and where and when had this dude seen him? And not in person but in another way? What does that even mean?
After considering the situation for a few more seconds, Kairen could finally decide on something.
'What am I afraid of? It's just a name! There might be a lot of people who also have my name! Also, even if they find out that I'm some dude who has gone missing 17 years ago and now is back as young as before, what's gonna happen? I've fucking killed a dragon! Is this not as scary and strange as me not aging for 17 years?'
Thus, he decided to answer Daniel honestly.
"It's Kai-"
'Reyn! Reyn! Reynold!'
However, just when he opened his mouth to give his answer, a voice echoed in his head, causing his actions to stop and his face to grimace. The voice was still the same, familiar, annoying voice. It belonged to a certain redhead undying bastard that Kairen was beginning to hate. The voice was louder and clearer this time as if he was closer to the speaker.
'Reyn! Get away from that place, okay? Run! Run right now! Alright, I'll do whatever you want, just don't stand there. It's dangerous, do you hear me? Reyn!'
'STOP YELLING IN MY HEAD!'
Kairen gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, grabbing his head with one hand at the same time. Seeing this, Daniel frowned slightly, but he didn't do anything and just watched the stranger pant and mutter.
The voice didn't cease but it continued to talk, saying random things in a hurried tone. It was not just one voice but multiple, talking about different things at the same time, making Kairen's head buzz and his ears ring. He was rooted to his spot, unable to say or do anything.
Kairen was still struggling when he felt that something has changed. It was as if at some point, the weather has gotten warmer. It was not that kind of hot that made one displeased but a warmth that eased your mind and body. Kairen instinctively raised his head to look up at the sky. It was because he had felt something like this before and could guess what was going on.
Just as he expected, he noticed the rays of sunlight gathering around, focusing on one spot right in front of him, like a scene designed solely for the main actor of a theater. A round area was getting brighter and warmer, so fast and noticeable that even Daniel took a few steps back out of surprise.
In the next second, a spark of fire appeared out of nowhere, more like a crimson bolt of lightning shot from the depth of the sun towards the brightest part of the land. The crimson expanded. In a second, countless long strands of red hair took shape in the air, fluttering like leaves and soft, like features, looking like two wings attached to the back of the man that was landing on the ground from within the light.
The person Kairen had been waiting for was finally there!
The residents of the city were shocked and on guard, all preparing to fight the red-haired man that appeared out of nowhere as well as the boy who took down a 'dragon' single-handedly.
Ignoring them all, Reynold turned around and looked at Kairen who was staggering, trembling, and cursing under his lips. For Kairen, the light just now was too much to look directly at, and his eyes were burning due to staring at the crimson lightning. It added up to the buzzing in his head, making him feel like boiling inside.
"Calm down!"
Reynold mumbled as he reached out his hand and touched Kairen's burning forehead. The touch was enough to remove all thoughts from Kairen's head, leaving only the echo of Reynold's last words: 'Calm down.'!
"Huff!"
It was only then that Kairen managed to take a proper breath and raise his head to examine his surroundings. He could see Daniel and the others slowly retreating from the two of them and could also notice another thing, and that was the slight changes in the gate above.
"What is going on here?" Kairen asked as he looked up at the gate.
"..."
Reynold was silent for a few seconds before he too raised his head to look up at the gate. The two of them retreated their gazes at the same time and looked at each other.
"And here!", Kairen pointed at his head.
"I'll explain..."
Kairen turned his head to Daniel.
"We'll talk after this dude is done explaining things to me!"
"...."
Daniel silently nodded his head.
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