Chapter 2

The light entering my eyes woke me up.

Where am I?

Am I in heaven?

Or perhaps in hell?

"Master Evander! Are you awake?"

Huh?

Master?

Did I hear that correctly?

A man in a tight jumpsuit stood upright in front of me. His eyes seemed to emit a blue light as if scanning me.

"You're okay, Master Evander! There's nothing dangerous, and your sleep was sufficient. Helios XIX is waiting for you in the hall."

Am I dreaming? It doesn't feel possible! I remember being hit by a car and dying. I mean, dead or not, I shouldn't be in this room.

"What do you mean--."

"Master Evander!"

A man in black armor appeared from the direction of the transparent door of this room. As he approached, I realized he was the man I saw before I was hit by the car.

"Warrior Aramor!" the man in the jumpsuit exclaimed. He bowed his head in respect to the newcomer.

"Go on, there's something I need to discuss with Master Evander," Aramor replied.

"Alright, Warrior Aramor. Excuse me, Master Evander."

The transparent door slowly emitted fog as the slender man left. Without wasting time, I immediately spoke to the man in armor.

"Who are you, and where am I? What's happening? Are you the one who appeared across the street from my house? Explain it to me!"

"You've experienced a rebirth, Evander. I'm your aide, the one who chose you to come at this time. My name is Aramor, a warrior assigned to accompany you," Aramor said.

Oh my. What is he saying?! Rebirth?!

"I know I'm stupid and weak. But that doesn't mean you can fool me like this! Come on, don't play games with me, Aramor, or whoever you are!"

The man in armor sighed deeply, then said, "Stand up and point your hand at that mirror."

I furrowed my brow, feeling extremely annoyed. But, whether I liked it or not, I had to comply.

True! When I stepped, I no longer felt the pain as usual. I ran in place, and my feet didn't feel heavy. Moreover, I just realized my outfit was very cool! I wore a jumpsuit like the man who came to me earlier. But, it fit perfectly, and there was a pentagon shape on the chest in blue!

Aramor gave a crooked smile, as if saying 'Still denying what I said?'

"Which hand do I move?"

"Your left hand, it's already at level 1," Aramor replied. "Your right hand still needs training."

"Huh? Level 1? What does that mean? Your words are getting weirder; can you explain everything in simple sentences I can understand?!"

"Isn't that clear enough, Evander? Just quickly move your hand forward while closing your index finger into your palm," Aramor replied.

"Meaning like this?!"

DAS!

A flame flashed in the mirror. Instantly, I lowered my hand.

"See? Are you sure now? Could you do this in your previous life?" Aramor asked.

This couldn't be happening!

"W-what's all this I'm getting into?!"

"As I said to you before. You were reborn as Evander, but in a different year. You experienced a rebirth in the year 2453, and you are one of the candidates to fight against the forces of Saturn, Garlen CXV," Aramor explained.

"HUH?! I--."

"I'm not finished, Master Evander. When we met in 2016 or when you died, I was indeed watching over you… and--."

"Wait a minute, so when you asked me to hand over this ring, does that mean you wanted to kill me?!"

I glanced at the blue ring still on my middle finger.

"It could be said yes, or it could be said no. That day was already destined to be your death day, an unavoidable fate, Evander. It's just that if you followed my orders to give that ring and come closer to me, maybe you would have died a little better. Forget it. Back to the reason for your rebirth, you have been our target for the past fifteen years. I am the same as you. The weak one from 2009 who experienced rebirth and got stranded in the present year. This year, Earth is in crisis, the advancements built by human beings have almost vanished in the last hundred years. Garlen CXV is a warrior in the red kingdom of Saturn, and the conflict has been going on for 150 years. The Hailord, the god of this world, has chosen people from the pure-hearted weaklings of the past to be reborn and save our Earth. You are one of the members of The Blue Of The World, the four knights who will fight against them. You have about 150 days to maximize your level. And you are a strong candidate believed to be able to lead the other three knights…."

Honestly, my head was about to explode from hearing this explanation. This is like a fiction created by a famous writer!

"So, me and the other three are people who experienced rebirth, and you too? Don't tell me everyone in this world is someone from the past who's been resurrected?! Then, what's the use of this ring?!"

"Every member of The Blue Of The World uses a similar ring. The only difference is the color. There are only five people in this world who have experienced rebirth. You, me, and three others are my subordinates. You could say you're the luckiest and riskiest because your task is heavier. The other three knights are people who are very strong and great. You were just found on the beach four days ago, Evander. Starting today, you will be trained and compete with them for selection as the knight leader," Aramor replied.

"On the beach? If I fail and lose in this selection, what then? Does it not matter? From what you said, I'm not destined to be a leader, right?"

"You're indeed not destined to be a leader, but you are the right person according to The Hailord, so it seems likely that you will be the leader of the knights in the future, Evander. Just say you don't remember anything; you were found on the beach because of an attack five days ago. Do you understand now? Oh, one more thing. No one knows about rebirth, so don't leak it to anyone else!" Aramor explained, staring at me sharply.

I swallowed saliva; I didn't think I could take it anymore if I had to listen to further explanations.

"Alright, I understand. By the way, is this still in New York? I mean, the part of the world hasn't changed, right?"

"Yes, the part of the world hasn't changed. Only its population. 573 people remain, and they're all in our city. So, if you four knights fail, it means the world will be completely destroyed, Evander…."

Instantly, my body shivered with horror. Why do I have to live a second life with such a heavy burden?!

"Why do they want to attack us?"

"I'll tell you more later, for now, come downstairs. Helios XIX is waiting for you," Aramor said. He turned around and began to walk towards the door.

Confused, I had no choice but to follow him. "Hey, wait!"