After the day of bitterness, Garret was no longer the same person. His effervescent eyes and joyful attitude? Unfortunately, those were all in the past. As the little boy lay on the soft bed, the darkness swallowed the room, accompanied by the silence of night.
His gaze fixed on the ceiling, pupils clouded with hollow emptiness. Whenever he tried to close his eyes, he realized it was meaningless. His heart pounded relentlessly, the aftershock of losing refusing to let him rest. It was hard to admit—the pillar of his life had crumbled, never to return.
In the cloud of his grief, his gaze shifted, drawn on something miraculous. A soft, blue glow seeped from the flower on his desk, cutting through the shadows and casting light on the wall. He stared at it, unblinking, questions swirling in his mind. The glow flickered, beams of light converging into words that hovered above the petals:
[ 1ST OF 1M ]
Garret frowned at the cryptic text.
A fresh wave of exhaustion hit him. Whatever this was, it didn't matter.
"Whatever, all I'm supposed to do is sleep." His voice cracked as his hand curled into the pillow. No matter how amazing the flickering lights were, the exhaustion was completely unbeatable.
"Garret's eyelids shut, his breath faded. The only thing he could see was the black void."
---
The next day, afternoon:
Garret's fingers danced across the keyboard, each keystroke sharp and precise. The weight of his thoughts bore down on him; his brow furrowed, his jaw clenched tight as the rapid clatter of typing filled the room, accompanied by the neon glow of his keyboard, its colors shifting in erratic pulses—like a heartbeat straining under pressure, as he coded.
Following the final command, the super computer displays this.
[ 30 DAYS PASS BY IN THE. WONDERLAND
1ST OF 1M
Then, the text resembled :
[Lylia's cube 99% corrupted]
Garret's sight was fixed fiercely on the code he made, far beyond that of average 8-year-old. His emptiness, lifeless gaze, soulless smile, and the void in his thoughts overwhelmed him. Normally, he would be glad and proud after successful coding, but at the moment, all of hishappiness had shattered like glass.
"Sometimes, I wonder if I don't exist in this universe, nothing changes, right?" Garret whispered in his head, his eyes fixed on the diamond flower on his desk, his vision blurred, fading into darkness.
The flower pulsed. Once. Twice.
Then the world split.
Petal rained upward, the desk became soil, and the scent of redolence rose overwhelming the air.
(Syntax : ERROR)
---
"Hello, did someone steal your ice-cream, Garret?" the sweet female voice reverberated in his ears, causing his heart raced. "Who said it?" Garret slightly opened his eyes, scanning his surroundings.
Then, he noticed, he was standing in the shady garden. It was surrounded by the bright red, pink, and white flowers stretching endlessly. A fragrant scent filled the air as the vibrant blossoms swayed gently with the soft breeze. The buzzing sounds of the beetles filling the air with the sense of serenity, as if they enjoyed playing in the lush field. He took a deep breath. Then, he saw her. The young woman stood before him, her feet scuffing softly against the ground. Her gown, a white creation of fine silk, draped elegantly from her neck to her lower legs, and the sleeves flowed down her arms, stopping at her elbows. It was a sophisticated design that immediately drew Garret's attention.
Her beauty, a balm to his sight, brightened his ashen thought.
Her pupils, glowing crimson light, held his gaze captive, made his heart tremble.
Her face, a youthful sparkle, with pale, tight skin and an oval shape.
They were framed by the sharp angles of her butterfly haircut, stark contrast to the authoritative grin, taking his breath and overwhelmed by a wave of heat.
Her gaze sharp as fractured ice, pinned him. "You want to know who I am, Garret?" A silken whisper, vibrating in the air. Garret swallowed, his throat tight with a knot of panic. "How... How do you know my name?" "Charlotte" she muttered, her lips barely move "And you, Garret, are a thread I've been watching... for a long time" A flicker in her crimson eyes, a promise of something terrible. He laughed, a dry, broken sound. "Why? Why me? if I'm so important, just tell me?" He dragged in a breath, the cloying sweetness of the blossoms overwhelming his nose.
"You? Important?" A slow, deliberate exhale. "Oh Garret, you have no idea." She exhaled, before continuing.
"Then tell me, Charlotte" His temples throbbed. His breath came short. sharp gasp, his heart pounded—as if someone was always watching. "The cube speaks, doesn't it?" Her words hung in the still air.
"Oh, That cube... A gift From my sister?" A faint, sweet fragrance, like crushed lilies and summer rain, as Lylia's sweet voice echoing on his head
"What does that mean? What does it tell me?" He swallowed hard, his voice, small and shaky. "Oh? little boy." Charlotte's sharp and calculating gaze, fixed at him, her smile tightened predatory.
"Afraid... not." Her voice hoarse.
As a memory, a cold dread, a warning, settling in his small heart.
"You would not believe your own eyes, even if I told you." Garret's breath hitched, his finger tightened, a small tremor, as if he wanted to hold on to reality, while his vision distorted. "Then, Garret, the show is about to begin." Charlotte giggled softly, her eyes gleamed in the crimson glow of the skylight.
The sky divined, reality splintering, against the twilight. As fine, the ash, grayish and heavy drifed down like a bee swarm.
The humming sounds of beetles evaporated, replaced by Charlotte laughter, a chilling, melodic sound, laced with cruelty.
Instantly, a vision surged :
The scene of transformation, a dark promise whispered in the shadow, now haunting his mind, mingled with the chilling sense of dread. Garret's eye shutting for a moment, a desperate attempt to shield him from distorted reality.
"You see, Garret." Charlotte's voice filled the shattered garden, a silken caress, a whisper of doom.
Garret's throat tightened. A strangled, "Y-yes, Miss," escaped him. His hand swiped at the gritty ash, stinging his burning eyes. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the silence.
"And what, little boy, did it require of you?" Charlotte's smirk deepened, calculating. Her breath, cool and unsettling, carried the sickly sweet scent of dead flowers.
"Oh, you will pay the goddess with a difficult task, isn't that so?"
Garret's gaze darted around the garden. A hellish landscape, mirroring his despair. A silent scream trapped in his chest, lost in the heavy stillness.
Charlotte's gaze slithered after him. Amusement curled at her lips, dark and knowing.
She already had her answer.
Charlotte's smile widened, a crimson gleam igniting her eyes.
A chasmic dread stabbed through Garret's mind.
"Now, my little pawn," she purred, her voice a low, predatory hum.
The words, a velvet deception, chilled him to the marrow.
"Kneel!"
Garret struggled, like a phantom limb, but his body didn't obey.
Now was a puppet, the unseen strings coiled around his will.
His knees struck the ash-strewn ground; searing heat flooding his joints, the gritty ash biting into his skin—a marriage of flesh and earth.
"Certainly, Miss." A delicate, almost musical giggle escaped Charlotte, then she leaned towards the child, her hands, soft as a feather, brushed across his hair in a gesture that seemed both soothing and possessive., a faint chill trailing in their wake. "Good boy, Garret, you're mine now."
With a subtle flourish, she conjured a diamond cube, its surface reflecting with the light in fractured, neon blue, then she held it out to him.
He could barely breathe, a silent question trapped in his throat, yet not daring to speak it out. "This is important. You will hold onto it"
The diamond cube pulsed, its neon blue light casting fractured shadows across the ash-strewn ground, made a silent rhythm.
Gradually, the oppressive air shifted.
The choking ash disappeared, replaced by a gentle rain of petals.
The cloying scent of decay transformed into the intoxicating fragrance of blossoms.
Beneath Garret's knees, the hard ground softened, yielding like a fine pillow.
Then the garden dissolved into a swirling mist, a faint smile playing on Charlotte's lips. Her crimson gaze, softened with a sweet, mournful light, held his. "Farewell, Garret."
Her voice faded into the silence. "The Authority is everywhere, but few know how to wield it. Your path is intertwined with theirs. Remember, even if the universe collapses, or you're caught in a cataclysmic event, we'll meet again."
Her image dissolved, leaving only Cubic-Troy in his hand.
"But I'm only eight years old. I can't handle this..."
He didn't even finish his sentence; everything turned to a white mist, and his vision cracked.
----
Wow I'm so curious what's happening next, the authority? What is it and what will he do next
If you curious like me.
You can support me with your powerstone