Arc 3: Choosing Reality by Embracing Life

  Road to a hero:

  Three chances in another world

  Chapter 12: A So called "third chance in another world"

  There they stood, looking almost exactly alike. However, Gray was without the glasses Conner wore, and had a much brighter smile on his face. The rain was still frozen, the truck paused in time, everything depending on Conners choice.

  Conner: “I’m…I’m having a nightmare…yeah that’s it, that has to be it.”

  Gray: “Nope sorry, this is a nightmare though, not the kind you’re thinking of.”

  Conner: “What are you? And what do you mean by Isekai stuff?”

  Gray: “To put it simply, We are split into two parts. You only have memories of Earth while I have memories of the other world and earth.”

  Conner: “What the hell! NO! NO WAY!”

  He screamed out, his voice shaking the realm they stood on. However Gray didn't budge, placing his hands in his pockets and staring forward confidently.

  Gray: “Yeah it’s kinda weird, it’s like we are our subconscious, we chose to give up you represent that choice.”

  Conner: “Further detail please, I don’t even know what’s real, at this point, I'm probably just dead.”

  Gray: “You killed yourself by walking in front of that truck. You felt horrible and made a rash, split second choice. You got teleported to another world and you lived there for a month. Then you gave your body up to the thing that transported you, though it didn’t go through since your subconscious didn’t want to give up.”

  Conner: “Sounds like me, but how can I trust you?”

  Gray: “Have you not noticed anything weird about this place, like gaps not being filled in or things being out of place?”

  Conner: “Well now that you say that, things have seemed weird, like teachers not teaching me anything, people giving me basic responses, and not being able to answer questions I ask them… damn it is fake. So does that mean my existence is a lie…or?”

  Gray: “We are split, so either you fully give in, losing all possible memories and will never be able to figure out this is a dream, or you walk in front of that truck and embrace this new chance you have.”

  Conner: “But If I gave up once already, what’s stopping me from doing it again if I get overwhelmed? I assume that’s what happened is it not?”

  Gray: “We made friends, good friends, even kinda got a girlfriend though it’s not very sound if we were together, though cultists were attacking us, and after getting our ego blown up in our faces, we faced reality and left.”

  With that. Grays face fell, his hands coming out of his pockets and his bravado falling.

  Conner: “Seems like we made the better decision. ”

  Gray: “But they just attacked again, as we speak your friends are fighting for their lives.”

  Conner: “And what can I do? I already abandoned them, coming back would make that effort seem useless. Hell I don't even know them."

  Gray: “If you wanna think that way then yeah, the way I see it is that our life here sucked. I missed it, but now that I see it again…a second chance in another world was divine intervention. So let them die and stay in an endless dream, or try your best to save them and leave this world behind, choose now. But if you really want to be a Hero, and we both know you do, then you will do anything to save people who need it. Even if you don't know them.”

  The words cut deep into Conners core, attacking the one thing that he held close to himself. His sense of self entirely.

  Conner: “I…I don’t…leave my parents, my friends…”

  Gray: “This is a dream, it’s not even really them. We already left them behind.”

  Conner: “But I broke down, what if I go back and I just run away again?”

  Gray: “Then that’s just what happens. But you won't know.”

  In a fit of rage Conner rushed at Gray, grabbing him by the front of his jacket and tossing him down.

  Conner: “YOU CAN'T SAY THAT! THE HOLE REASON WE'RE HEAR IS BECAUSE YOU'D RATHER DIE THAN TRY! IT ONLY TOOK A MONTH TO BREAK THAT!? NO! NO! NO! THAT'S NOT HOW THAT WORKS!

  Gray: “Yeah I know, because. I hate myself just as much as you do. But you love those people more than anything. So be Gray Kyojin!”

  Conner: “And yet after all our history with that title you still chose to be called Gray Kyojin?”

  Gray: “Gray Kyojin is confident, happy, a hero, and somebody who never gives up. It's the best version of ourselves. But we're not there yet, that's why it's a leap of faith. To see if we can get there, no matter how bumpy the road is.”

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  Conner: “I just...I don't want to do anything anymore…”

  Gray: “Then go back to where we are that person, and save our friends, get the girl, and talk to them. Use your life for them. Because if you wanna die it doesn't matter if you do it here or out there. Let your friends, your real friends help you…help us through this roadblock.”

  Conner: “This is our starting line then…”

  Gray: “So what do you say?”

  Conner looks at Gray, then he slowly walks in front of the truck. Pushing through the frozen rain while his heart pounded, his stomach curled with a sick fear, his brain trembled. But he still steped forward, this time with a sense of purpose. With the willing desire to just try, one last time.

  Conner: “SO THIS IS IT! Conner Kyojin, dies right here."

  Gray: “And Gray Kyojin steps forward."

  Conner: “See ya.”

  With these last words spoken, time unfreezes causing Conner to be hit by the truck. Gray Kyojin vanishing like a passing train. Then suddenly everything hits him at once. The fight in the ally, his first meeting with Rosemary, his fight with Jeremiah, his time at the mansion, and the knight exams. All playing in his mind like a TV show on fast forward, a compilation of life. Then he rematerializes back in his house right in front of his bedroom door.

  Gray: “I’m ready.”

  Gray opens the door to see Azalea sitting on his bed, her face red with anger.

  Gray: “Hey mind witch lady.”

  Azalea: “WE MADE A DEAL!”

  Gray: “Conner Kyojin made a deal so I’m all good.”

  Azalea: “You idiot, you’re the same person.”

  Gray: “Yeah but before I was just trying to act like a cool guy, now I am one.”

  Azalea: “Yeah cool guy, you’re taking everything less seriously than before. Better than being an egotistical douchebag, now you’re just a joke.”

  Gray: “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Azalea: “How do you go from being understanding with your new life in another world to being overwhelmed and ranting to some girl you just met, and now you wanna go back?”

  Gray: “I was pretending to a certain level the entire time, just trying to bury my internal thoughts. Then I got my ego blown in my face and all those emotions that drove me to…well to kill myself, but I wanted to leave, I didn’t expect Rose to like me. My relationship with her is…strange and yet I just met her and yet I feel like I would do anything to help her…sounds like I’m white-knighting but it’s just what I believe.”

  Azalea: “So do you want anything before you leave?”

  Gray: “Can…can I say bye to my parents?”

  Azalea: “Of course, but you know they aren't your real parents right? They are just the versions of them you have in your head.”

  Gray: “Yeah I know, it’s just the spirit of it ya know.”

  Gray leaves his room and walks to the living room seeing his parents sitting together watching TV on the couch.

  Dad: “Are you leaving?”

  Gray: “Yeah actually…”

  Mom: “Were too?”

  Gray: “It’s hard to explain…could say I’m running off with a girl.”

  Dad: “Like you’re going to see your girl or whatever?”

  Gray: “Kinda…but I'm gonna be gone for a while...I don’t…”

  Gray starts to sob, his mother gets up to console him. She hugs him, filling him with something that can only be described as motherly love.

  Mom: “It’s okay honey…you have to do things on your own…I'm just glad that you found something you wanna do…and I’ll never stop you from following your dreams…”

  Dad: “Hell if you’re happy then I’m happy, just don’t get yourself killed okay?”

  Mom: “Remember to brush your teeth…oh and wash yourself every day! And eat all the good food you can!”

  Dad: “And treat this girl with as much care as you can okay? Also don’t wimp out on working out anymore, get a job, and get ripped! No more sobbing about bullshit, gotta be a man ok? But the kinda man that cares about the people around him, the kinda man that shows emotion when it’s right."

  Gray: “Yeah I got it…and I do work out you know?”

  Dad: “Yeah sure.”

  Mom: “Just know we will always love you…”

  Gray: “I…I don’t think I’ll be able to talk to you guys again…It’s pretty far away…and I won’t be able to text or write…but I will always be thinking of you guys!”

  Dad: “Promise?”

  Gray: “I promise.”

  Gray walks over to his dad, hugging him before he heads back to his room.

  Mom: “Don’t fall over yourself, if you feel stuck like you can’t talk to anybody, remember you can. Your friends and your family exist for that reason.”

  Dad: “The same goes for you as well. Don’t let them suffer in silence or anything.”

  Mom: “Just do what makes you happy, do as much as you can to keep the things that make you happy around as well! Your well-being is the most important thing in the world to us…remember that.”

  Gray: “So do whatever makes me the best me that I can be. Well, I gotta go get packed…I love you and I won’t ever stop loving you."

  Dad: “You better not!”

  Mom: “Have fun!”

  Gray re-enters his room, closing the door behind him.

  Gray: “So this is where we part then, will I ever see you again?”

  Azalea: “Maybe, but you're starting to interest me. Before you leave I want to make sure I understand…so you just want to apologize for your sins and make your life worth it. I can understand that, but why do you want to go back? It still confuses me…”

  Gray: “I did waste my life…I’m not asking for sympathy or exaggerating it. I did nothing with my life, didn’t try to get a girlfriend, didn’t try to make a lot of friends, and didn’t even try to find a job or hobby. And I got so in my head about it…I just felt like I was drowning. Then I see this ten thousand pound opportunity beside me, and I take it. So I get this second chance at life, I try to be me. I wanted to be me so bad, and I was doing fine for a while. I wasn’t lying to myself…I was just actually doing it, I had friends I like, and I have an almost girlfriend that I love with all my heart. I was…I still am building this family and life that I just love. But I let it get to my head, let that nice guy that I was trying to be overflow with ego and I got this terrible attitude. I know using these different names or referring to myself as different people probably does make me sound crazy…but these names are people, it helps me escape from my issues but that just doesn't work. I am Conner Gray Kyojin, I’m a blunt, goofy, loud, smart ass, and that’s not a bad thing. I just can’t let it get out of hand as I did before. Even if Arthur was being a dick to me and my friends I shouldn’t have lost my composer as I did, and Rosemary didn’t even get mad at me for it. I’m such a dick for dropping all those issues on her like that and I feel so bad about it, and I want to apologize to her…to all of them for leaving like that. And they are fighting for their lives right now, my perfect chance to make that dashing entrance to help them. I want to be a good person, and this is my starting line, this is where I start walking down the biggest road in my life… which I can do with this second chance…no this is the third chance… I'll continue on this path, I'll be a hero, with three chances in another world.”

  Azalea: “That sounds pretentious.”

  Gray: “Eh kinda, it's like when the MC says the title of the show inside of the show, so it's dumb but intended to be funny. But that's besides the point. So thank you, thank you for giving me these chances to live my life.”

  The bedroom door opens, showing an infinite space, with a shining white light at the bottom, a beautiful sight.

  Azalea: “You're welcome.”

  Gray smiles, giving Azalea a thumbs up, winks at her, and looks down at the shining light. He takes one last deep breath, putting one foot over the door way, about to fall into space.

  Gray: “This better be worth it."

  With that Gray falls backward into the void, falling with tears of joy flowing from his eyes.

  Gray {I will save my new family…I will give everything I have to make sure they don’t get hurt…If I play my cards right I’ll get two younger sisters, a beautiful girlfriend, and a loser older brother. Here is my vow… No matter what happens to me, no matter how much pain I feel, how deep the pit of despair gets, I will do everything in my power to make sure I make sure they’re safe. And if they die I’ll do nothing but try and avenge them. I will be the man I have always wanted to be my entire life. I will be a good person, I swear.}

  Gray reaches the bottom of the void, the white light blinding Gray. He feels himself back on the ground, opening his eyes he sees the mana-damping crystal turned to dust, with his hands freed from the chains that he was once bound by.

  Gray: “Thanks Mom, and Dad…Azalea…for everything. But now, it's time to started'!”

  END OF CHAPTER

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