Chapter 2

He leans over me. Although his eyes are shut close, he seems to be observing me thoroughly. I notice a red and white lion emblem embedded on the center of his chestplate.

“The sword’s numen is incredible, whereas your numen is… nonexistent.”

“N-numen?” I stutter nervously. I can’t say what it is, but there’s something terrifying about this man.

“Hmm.” The man lets out, folding his arms before grabbing me by my shirt, lifting me to my feet with one hand.

He flicks his finger on my forehead, and for a split moment I feel a gust of wind. The very next, however, I feel juices flow through my hair.

“Yuck!” I hurriedly crawl out of the pile of trash at the end of the alleyway, but it’s too late. I’m covered in trash, reeked in its stench.

“There,” the man begins approaching me. “I just attacked you with my numen- my spiritual energy.” He kneels before me.

“You asshole…” I spit on the ground, fearing I got trash in my mouth. I don’t know if this man is an enemy or not, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I reach for my sword beside me, but it’s not there.

“Your sword is back there.” The man points behind him, still facing me. Indeed, my sword sat where I once was before I got flung. “I’ll be taking it.” He says, patting my head before turning to my sword.

“No!” I reach for my sword despite it being impossibly far out of my reach. My chest is tight, and my stomach is turning.

Seeing him trying to take my sword is equivalent to watching a roach crawl in my untouched fried rice. I refuse to lose the only thing that feels familiar in this new world.

My mind races before it acts on its own, as I bellow the name “CAPTIVUM!”

Suddenly, it feels as if a cold whip wrapped around my arm reaching for the blade.

The man turns to me. His curious face wears off almost instantly as the sword darts through his chest and into my hand. He reaches for the hole in his chest before leaning against a wall. I see his mouth moving to form words, but it was instead replaced with blood and gurgling noises. He falls onto his knees, then onto his back as he squirms around.

I heave as I try finding balance before vomiting.

I’ve killed two people and the day hasn’t even ended. Am I incapable of belonging anywhere I go?

The warmth of my tears trickle down my cheeks as I sob. “Why is this happening to me?!” I choke on my words. “My first kill was self-defense,” I punch the ground, my knuckles beginning to bleed. “But this man was only trying to take my sword!”

My whole life I was expecting change to come for me. Of anyone else I knew, I’m positive I deserved it most.

“The only thing I ask for is stability! Riches, status, none of these mean anything to me. I just want control over my life.” I can feel the tiredness of my eyes sink in as I feel the man’s pool of blood reach my hands.

Everyday it feels like some unknowing force is in the driving seat of my life. If I had to describe my life in a word, it’d be ‘helpless.’

The challenges that came to me when taking on jobs, colleges, and relationships, they all just spiraled out of control in the end.

“My father was right to not trust me, because I realize that I can’t even trust myself to make the right decisions.” I loosen my fists’ grip, planting my face onto the rough cobblestone path pooled in blood.

“You’re one sack of shit, aren’t ya’?” I turned my attention to the voice, and the man whom I thought was dead stood above me, his innards reorganizing itself before the flesh fully closes the hole in his chest.

He grabs me by my hair and raises my head to meet his gaze. His eyes are red with sharp reptile pupils.

“Ah, I see now.” He mumbles to himself, as veins begin protruding starting from his eyes. “You’re so stupid that even the God of the Spiritual Realm pities you.” His former grin returns.

How is he alive? No, rather- what is he? He should’ve died from a wound like that! Wait… he just called me stupid!

“I’m stupid?”

“Very!” He whops my head and I fall hard on my tailbone, ouch! “You’re the worst kind of human. Boring to fight, boring to consume.”

When I looked up to his face, his eyes were rolled back into his skull and he shut his eyes.

“Humans fatten themselves up. Then when demons come and they can’t run, they ask God why it had to be them to get eaten!” He scoffs, crouching above me. “Is that something an idiot like you can understand?

I somewhat understand, but I’m certainly not an idiot!

“What’s it matter if I do or don’t? You’re just going to kill me anyway!” I look at my sword then back to him. “I’m sick of all this blood and violence. Just kill me already.”

His face is frozen on mine for a moment. The silence is broken with a sigh.

“How did you do that?” He points to my sword. “The sword moved after you said…” He scratches his head for a moment. “Cavity.”

“It’s Captivum, not cavity!” The name is familiar to me despite never hearing it before, I wonder why?

“That couldn’t be a spiritual attack. You have no numen.”

Numen? My face is clearly puzzled.

“You really are stupid.” He picks up on my cluelessness.

“Stop calling me stupid, asshole!”

He points to my chest before explaining “All life can’t be alive without it. If a body has no numen, then they are dead and exist somewhere in the spiritual realm.”

It sounds similar to how we would describe souls in my home world. In that case, it would explain why I have no numen here.

“So, how are you still alive?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hmph.” He rubs his chin, facing the sky for a while before turning back to me. “Become my slave and I’ll allow you to live!”

“I’d rather die.”

“Tsk.” He pulls me up by grabbing my collar and roughly wipes the blood off my face with a handkerchief he kept in his belt. “Then become my squire.”

“You think rewording it will change anything?” I say, pushing his hand away, though most of his blood on my face is gone at this point.

He furrowed his brows, rubbing his eyes violently. The man explains to me, “Listen, a squire is appointed to any knight above Class 3.” He then points to himself, “I am a Class 4 Knight, a rank below the highest rank of Knight here in Tyrus kingdom.”

I really don’t want to, but…

“Fine.” I say hesitantly. I suppose it’s too early to give up.

He claps his hands before cheering, “Perfect!”

Almost instantaneously, he disappeared, and the last thing I’d see was darkness as I felt a sharp sting at the back of my neck.