OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 4: Revelation

When Emir opened his eyes, he was greeted by a bright light.

It took him a moment to realize that his dream had ended and he was now awake.

He tried to remember what the dream was about but kept failing and soon the memory of the dream itself was gone from his mind.

As he attempted to adjust to his new surroundings, the door creaked open, and a woman wearing a white lab coat and a kind smile on her face walked in.

"Hello, Emir," she said.

"My name is Dr. Maria, and I will be your primary physician during your stay here. I hope you're feeling better now."

He didn't really know how to respond, so he just stared up at her with wide eyes.

Dr. Maria chuckled and gently touched his forehead.

"Don't worry, little one. You're in good hands."

Emir couldn't help but feel like she was hiding something as she began to examine him.

Her smile seemed forced, and her touch felt too cold.

He wanted to trust her, but his instincts told him otherwise.

After the examination, Dr. Maria left the room, and his mother came back in.

She picked him up and held him close, whispering sweet words in his ear.

But even her words of love couldn't ease the sense of foreboding that he felt.

…

The next day, his mother came back with a man in a suit.

He introduced himself as Mr. Johnson, a lawyer, and he began to talk to his mother in hushed tones.

Emir couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but he caught a few words here and there:

"Legal documents," "inheritance," and "guardianship."

He didn't know why, but something about Johnson didn't feel right.

Similar to Maria, his smile seemed fake, and his eyes held a hint of malice.

Johnson was soon done talking to his mother, and after subtly checking his pocket watch away from Emir's prying eyes he bid them farewell.

Though Emir's intense scrutiny remained with great attention, tracking every detail of Johnson's movements as he made his way to the door.

And suddenly, an odd occurrence began to unfold right before him.

Johnson's figure started to blur, and then he disappeared into nothingness.

Emir gasped, and his mother turned to him in surprise.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked, but he couldn't answer.

All he could do was stare at the spot where Johnson had been just moments before.

…

One day, when his mother had gone to get some food, Emir heard the voice more clearly than ever before.

[Emir,] it said.

[You need to wake up. You need to remember.]

'Remember what?' He thought, but the voice was gone as quickly as it had come.

He tried to shake off the strange feeling and focus on the present, but he couldn't help but feel like there was something important that he was missing.

A while later, he thought, 'I want to see my mother.'

'I guess I call her out by crying.'

And he did, so after a little while, big hands descended upon him and picked him up, those hands belonged to his mother, who slowly brought him closer to her bosom.

'Awkward as always, but I guess I'll have to get used to it.'

'And who would have thought that being reincarnated would mean having to endure diaper changes again? This is not what I signed up for.'

…..

…..

…..

Emir went back home, and as the days passed, he slowly started to adapt to his new life.

His mother, Laura, was a kind and caring woman who doted on him endlessly, she spent hours holding him, talking to him, and singing him lullabies.

His sister, Lily, was a ball of energy who always wanted to play and explore. He watched her with interest, marveling at her boundless enthusiasm.

Months went by, and Emir started to grow and develop quickly under his mother's care.

He learned how to grasp objects with his tiny hands and kick with his little feet.

He even managed to roll over on his own a few times, much to his mother's delight.

But despite the warmth and love that surrounded him, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Whenever he looked at his family, he felt a sense of unease deep inside of him.

He didn't know what it was or how to express it, but it was there, a nagging feeling that wouldn't go away.

And one day, something caught his attention as he lay in his crib watching the holoscreen.

A man appeared on the screen, dressed in a sharp suit and tie.

He had a commanding presence, and Emir couldn't help but stare at him.

"That's Isaac Klein," his mother said, noticing his interest.

"He's the founder of the Hunter Association, the faction that your father belonged to."

'My father?' Emir thought, his curiosity piqued.

As if sensing his thoughts, his mother continued, "Your father was a great hunter, just like Isaac Klein... He passed away when you were born, but he loved you and your sister very much."

Emir felt a pang of sadness at the mention of his father's death, but it was quickly replaced by a burning curiosity.

'Who is my father, really?'

'...'

'Wait, did she just say the Hunter Association?'

And at that moment, Emir realized what had been plaguing him.

He was in a damn novel.

The same novel that he read in his past life.

He couldn't believe it at first.

It seemed too surreal to be true.

But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

The pieces started to fall into place, and he realized that he was living in a world created by someone else's imagination.

And not just any world - the world of Born in Ruins, the novel filled with death and misery.

The strange feelings of déjà vu that had been creeping up on him, the inexplicable knowledge he had about certain things, the sense of foreboding that had been gnawing at him since he was born.

It was all because he was a character in a novel.

'I can barely remember anything though, so to whoever this godly being that reincarnated me here, I say, damn you...'

'Why reincarnate me into a novel that I know nothing about? Weren't people reincarnated so that they could use their knowledge of the future? This is just fucking ridiculous.'

'Am I nothing more than an extra in some academy novel now? Is this all my life will be?'

That realization brought with it a new set of problems.

If he was a character in a novel, that meant his fate was already decided.

'...If I remember correctly, my family and I were supposed to die when the protagonist of the novel whose name I can't seem to remember, attended the UEF academy.'

The sister and mother duo dying was one of the few things that remained etched in his mind from this novel, primarily due to how unjust and unfair it felt.

While he didn't know the exact reason why, he knew it wouldn't be simple and he had to plan for a way to change that.

'To hell with this! Screw the novel's plot!'

'I'll just do what I damn well please. The moment I see that protagonist I'll beat their ass up, and I'll steal whatever cheat I can get from them. This is a world where strength rules, and I'll do anything to become strong.'

But despite the challenges he knew he would face, he was determined to succeed.

He had found his calling, and he knew that he had to follow in his father's footsteps and become a hunter.

The road ahead would be long and difficult, filled with countless obstacles and dangers.

But he was willing to put in the work, train tirelessly, and push himself to his limits.

Because he knew that his life - and the lives of his loved ones - depended on it.

And although the path seemed to be filled with thorns, his heart was filled with excitement at the thought of the high stakes involved.

The feeling of life and death hanging on the balance of a thin thread where any mistake would cause death to smile upon you.

'Did I want this? Is this why I feel that my previous life was so boring? Why am I so excited?'

Calming himself back down, he looked back at his mother and noticed her crying.

'I'm such an insensitive fuck.'

Emir wanted to comfort her, but as he was just a baby, all he ever voiced was:

"Adda dde cra."

'Ahh, this is hopeless,' he inwardly sighed.

Laura looked at him and said in a happy tone, "Awww, Emir, did you want to comfort me? You're such a smart child, aren't you?"

'Oh well, at least she got the message.'

His mother wiped her tears.

"Your father you see, was a great man; he fought on the front lines defending the north; he was known for his strength and his unwavering dedication to protecting the innocent. Your father is a true hero, Emir. He gave his life to protect others, and that's something to be proud of."

'Protecting innocents? Huh, that's not something that interests me, to be honest. I'm no hero. And everything I'll do in the future is for me and my people.'

Emir looked up at his mother with determination in his eyes.

She smiled at him, a tear rolling down her beautiful face.

The moment was ruined when his cheeky sister came running in, screaming:

"Heyyy, brother!"

This girl was always full of energy and never failed to make everyone around her laugh.

She jumped onto the bed, landed next to Emir, and took him into a big hug in her little arms.

"Mom, I finished my homework!" Lily exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement.

Laura laughed, wiping away her tears.

"Really? That's amazing!"

Emir smiled at his sister, feeling grateful for her presence. She was always there to lighten the mood and make things better.

They chatted and laughed, and he couldn't help but think about his father and his supposed sacrifice.

While he didn't feel the same dedication to protecting others as Oliver did, Emir knew that his bravery had given him the freedom to pursue his own dreams.

He made a silent promise to himself that he would live his life to the fullest and make the most of every opportunity that came his way, in honor of his father's memory.

And he would, of course, find the truth about his father's death.

If it were discovered that a second party was responsible for his untimely demise, his unyielding determination to uncover the truth would know no bounds. To shred their reputations and crush their lives until they begged for mercy.

He could feel the insatiable thirst for vengeance and blood coursing through his veins, urging him to seek them out and make them suffer.

The mere thought of their fear and agony unknowingly brought a twisted grin to his face, and he relished in the pleasure that their downfall would bring.