A black-haired boy, brown grouchy eyes, just a bit on the taller side, and has a grey cloak around him for comfort walked down the sidewalk going home from school.
The boy however, did not have school. As his mom died to a rogue truck.
Alioth remembered all of it. The scene, the blood, police sirens, everything. All that was left was the money, the last year he could afford school was when he was left with money by his other family members.
But after a year or two, they gave up on him.
Alioth, just turned seventeen, walking back from a long day's work at the supermarket, he noticed an ice cream truck in the distance.
After a quick thought. He decided to pamper himself with ice cream, his favorite was mango.
"Jesus, it's so cold!"
This was a rare day, it had been quite a long time since Alioth had the money to buy ice cream. Usually, he had spent it on rent in a three hundred square foot apartment.
Strangely however, Alioth had been receiving weird dreams. Like the type where you fall into a big hole, then wake up. But, he had not woken up yesterday. Instead, he kept falling in the endless black space. Just him and the dream. It took him about six hours to fall.
"I wonder if I should just die faster? It wouldn't be so bad. Right?"
Alioth said coldly. He had wondered that, but deep inside. He knew he didn't want to die, even if it cost him the whole world.
Sooner or later though, his life would be coming to a close.
After all, he just spent the last of his money.
[You have devoured "Mango Ice Cream"]
"It's done? Already?"
Alioth looked at the cup, stared at it, sighed, then smelt it once more to save the smell. He wouldn't be having another for a while after all.
"I should have just saved"
He said bitterly, regretting his decisions, he went back home with a sad look on his face.
"Bed time, it's gotten so dark"
Alioth yawned. Took a walk to his apartment. Then dozed off.
Upon awakening, his first thought was-
"Im still sleepy, back to bed"
However, he couldn't fall asleep, more like, his head was aching and hurting.
Alioth stood up from his bed, then walked to the mirror.
In a quick motion, he turned the faucet on, and-
"AHK, TOO HOT, TOO HOT"
Calming down from the mistake, he cursed at the faucet. Even though it was initially his fault. But, then he realized, he did not turn the faucet off. A major blunder, that probably just cost him a few cents.
Annoyed, he looked at the floor, then slowly turned to the mirror.
Alioth noticed a strange mark, a really visible one at that. One that could not be created just by coincidence by sleeping. It looked like an ancient symbol, one you would find while playing a video game.
"Cool"
Alioth said.
Then, he opened the door, and looked at the shining sun. His eyes are directly hit by the sun rays. He quickly turned away.
Though Alioth did not have work today, he still felt like going outside. So he went to the park. Rather not a park, he came for somewhere to sit.
Noticing a couple on his favorite bench, he went up to them and kindly asked if they could spare the spot for him
But at one quick glance at the young man, they quickly fled as if they'd seen a ghost.
Questioned by the couple's actions, he wondered.
'Do I smell bad?'
That did not bother him at all though, as he got to sit at the bench which he initially aimed for. Alioth looked around, there had been people eyeing him, even though he hadn't done anything. Confused, he walked up to a stranger, and asked if anything was wrong with him.
But to the exact same response, the man quickly fled. But he said something.
"Get away from me!"
Alioth asked multiple others, but to prevail. No one had provided useful information about why everyone had been running from him.
Soon after he gave up, and just sat down back at the small cozy bench. Realizing he was falling asleep, he slapped himself in the middle of the public. Which only earned him more attention.
'Oops, did not mean to do that'
Alioth was really sleepy, to the point where sleeping on the bench could be a possibility. So he headed back to a much needed power nap.
In the dream he was currently in. He remembered back then, when he had school. Alioth loved studying primitive weapons, like guns from the twenty and twenty-first century. Recalling that, he knew he made a gun blueprint. He knew he kept it in a drawer, but that was at his old home.
He wondered, why had he recalled this now? After all, he hadn't been to school since he was twelve. Additionally, Alioth loved studying old heroes, folk tales, and other old stuff. It was as if he had just relived a day when nothing had mattered.
After a bit of reminiscing he remembered something from the dream.
'There exists a variety of people who carry special powers, but you rarely ever see them here. Most don't even survive'
Remembering his teacher said that, he wondered.
'Maybe the mark from awakening today had something to do with this.'
Alioth hadn't thought about the mark too much, but after today's events it was clear something strange was going on, perhaps maybe not special powers, but maybe it was a sign, maybe a good sign.
His dream was like a cinematic experience, like a movie he couldn't rewind. These types of dreams were common for Alioth. Some he experienced in first person, and some he experienced in third person. This one was in third-person.
Nonetheless, information was still information, so Alioth listened to the dream very thoroughly.
He sighed, wondering why he ended up like this, before giving a sad, bitter-look at the cinema floor.
Then he heard it.
'These people are extremely dangerous, don't approach them, I will repeat again, the ones with clear, visible marks are dangerous.'
In clear understanding, Alioth understood what had happened today, but hadn't understood why he had a mark. He wasn't dangerous, in fact, something so trivial like coloring outside the lines, could hurt him.
Then, quickly he woke up from the power nap. However, that was not a power nap. In Alioth's mind, only around twenty minutes passed by. But when he checked the alarm clock, it said
'12:00 AM'
'I SLEPT FOR TWELVE HOURS?'
Sleepy alioth, with bags under his eyes, clearly visible from the mirror. Panicked in thought. He wildly shook his head before tripping onto the ground.
"OWWW"
But, no matter how much adrenaline filled the boy, he simply could not match the drowsiness he felt.
Alioth made up his mind. He was going to buy coffee, something he knew he shouldn't do considering his money problem.
But the feeling felt like a lifetime of drowsiness. Slowly pain started coming in, something he had felt many times before, after all a life fighting in the slums wouldn't just not get you anywhere.
Alioth put on a bandage, covering up his mark, then waltzed to the nearby convenience store.
'Now, how do I buy one.'
Troubled by thought, Alioth just went for it and asked for a coffee. When the shopkeeper asked him if he wanted decaf, he shook his head no.
His condition was only getting worse, at this point Alioth felt like his heart was burning. Nothing he had felt before, worse than all of the pain coming from the fights, worse than the pain learning about his mothers death. Before ultimately dropping down and falling asleep.
[Trial of Endurance has begun!]