A Time Without You (Original Story)

A New Start

Chapter 1

Despite his pleas, he plunged the key into the beating heart of his friend. No blood poured out and only a blindingly bright light suddenly enveloped the world, rearranging time and space to its original state again.

"..."

"Following your graduation, you had been into several fights already and it's now starting to scare the other students in school. What do you have to say for yourself, Liam?" Cassandra, the school's dean, angrily asked the young boy that's sitting alone on the couch. Even if she was scolding him, the young boy didn't pay any attention to her and only continued staring at the black box that he was holding. Cassandra punched the table in front of him, and because of that, he finally looked at her.

Cassandra's eyes widened when she saw his red and swollen eyes, and seeing that made her anger lessen a bit. She sighed, "You were the symbol of a Hero, the epitome of courage and selflessness. Even Bathala recognized your efforts and bestowed you a title that even made the other well-known heroes jealous. So why must you throw it all away and act like this?"

"..."

"He was my friend--"

"But he betrayed us and Kaluwal. End of the story. How many times have I been telling this to you?" Cassandra felt frustrated, after all, this was a student that has been the symbol of the realm's Hero. His friend, on the other hand, was a traitor to Kaluwal.

Cassandra expected Liam to talk back at her, but he didn't. She sighed again and dismissed Liam since it seemed that he wouldn't budge. At night, the council concluded along with Bathala's support, that Liam would have to go back home to 'recuperate'. Naturally, the whole school found out about it. Many were against it and some supported it, saying that it should have been done before. But Liam wasn't even bothered by it, not one single bit. The next day, Liam was escorted out of the school and out of the realm of Kaluwal.

Inside this dark alley, a group of cats can be found fighting over some food and a guy who occasionally walks out of a restaurant's back door to throw trash away. The world outside of that alley, however, is bustling with people and cars, rushing to their destinations. A faint sound of a door opening suddenly came from the middle of that alley, but there was nothing there or a door to be seen. It was as if the world had suddenly become magical, and a small circle that was only enough for a rat to go inside suddenly appeared. The circle became bigger and wider until it now resembled a portal, the stray cats that were fighting for food earlier all now ran in different directions out of fear. A young boy who seems like he's in his twenties walks out of the portal, wearing all-black clothing with a small box in his hand.

There was no one to compare him in this dark alleyway, but people could easily agree that he was indeed handsome. With black hair, brown skin, and hazel eyes, this would make it seem like he would just blend in with the crowd, but his height and facial features can easily make him stand out. However, he had a solemn look on his face as he gazed at the busy street from outside the alley. Another much older guy stepped out of the portal and saw how the young man just stood there, with no interest whatsoever in the new world he was in. But this world wasn't unfamiliar to the young man. Because in the human world, he grew up as an orphan and was later kicked out of the orphanage for being 'too old'. But he wasn't alone before, because he had someone to rely on.

"Liam." The older guy called, making the young man turn to look at him. The older guy was called Halmista, he was a god and was the father figure of Liam. "I know it's been hard for you for the past months, but please understand that I'm only doing this for your sake. It pains me to see you sit by his tomb every day, not eating or drinking, and even attending classes. It's a good thing Cassandra understood what you were going through, or else you'll be in a much worse position than now." Halmista sighed as he gave the backpack that he was carrying to him.