Cultivation Through Artifacts

Chapter 31: Neo

“I see. Then from now on, I will call you Neo. as for me, I don’t know how you should call me. I don’t really want to use your name, neither my past one. That name holds way too many negative memories.”

“I see, then I will just simply call you on my original name, Khal.”, replied Neo and started to relax.

Khal seeing that Neo has finally calmed down sighed with relief and sat down.

It would have been insanely troublesome to take care of both him and the way to solve the problems that happened not only with him but with Neo too.

Thinking for a while, Khal glanced at Neo and asked, “So, Neo… Once again, I am not your enemy. I am just as blind about everything as you, so please tell me everything that happened until this moment.”

Neo, listening to what Khal said stayed silent, and after a small, while later he sighed and nodded.

“Fine. I will tell you everything, but you need to promise that you help me get out of this place.”

“I will, I promise.”, said Khal with a serious nod as a reply.

“Okay then… Where should I start.”

After thinking for a bit, Neo looked at Khal and started to tell his story.

Originally, he was a boy from a noble family who had everything that was needed to live in a bright future.

However, because of an unexpected incident a few years ago, he lost his parents, his home, and his title as a noble.

Just like that, he lost everything, but it turned out he wasn’t the only one. No, instead he should have called him lucky that he lost just ‘that’ much.

Every noble family in Moon City and several other cities close to it got killed or died in unusual accidents too.

A lot of people, including Neo, suspected that the incident happened because of the Ourvi Family, trying to get onto the top by annihilating every other noble family in Moon City and its proximity.

Since then that happened, Neo promised himself to get his revenge and destroy the Ourvi Family no matter what.

However, he couldn’t even find proper proof that could have helped him in his plan, when the unpredictable occurred yet again.

Several months after the incident, Neo realized that his body started to get out of his control and with each passing day it got worse and worse.

First, he lost the stability to move his limbs normally, then his memory started to became worse and in the end, he lost all of his senses.

The last memory he had before getting into this unknown place was him losing all five of his senses below his favorite tree, including touch, voice, hearing, smell, and sight.

He thought he was found out that he wanted to take revenge and got poisoned by someone from the Ourvi Family, but surprisingly he was wrong.

The instant he believed that he has died, he found himself here, where everything was filled with only vast greyness and nothing more.

“I don’t know what happened with my body, but I know for sure that it is all because of you! If I am right, I have been in this place for almost a month so far! Alone, without anyone to talk to! Do you have any clue just how maddening it was?”

When Khal saw and heard just how angry Neo became again, looked surprised and didn’t know what to say.

Everything that Neo said was perfectly understandable, except the part where he lost his control over his body and ‘died’.

That part was not only confusing but bizarre too.

“Should it be in connection with the Lost Hidden Talent sign I saw in my Status?”, thought Khal as he looked troubled and deep in thought.

Seeing Khal confused and shocked, Neo frowned and asked, “You truly don’t know a single thing, do you?”

Instead he shook his head gently and replied, “Unfortunately, no. When I said, I have no clue about the things that happened with us, I was really telling the truth.”

As he said that, he explained how he got into this world, including the part where he killed his parents because they killed his girlfriend and where he committed suicide.

As Khal said this, it was visible that Neo was shocked. He would have never thought that the one invading his body, was someone with such a complicated past.

“And just like that, I decided to end my life, so I jumped off a building. However…”

Hearing that Khal stopped talking, Neo looked curious and asked, “However?”

Raising his head up to look at Neo, Khal thought for a while and raised his hand.

Pointing at the bracelet on his wrist, he said, “However, before I died, this thing lit up. Also, to make things even more complicated, this exact bracelet was on me, back in my previous life.”

“!”

When Neo heard this, he looked stunned and didn’t know how to react.

After a small while, he looked at Khal and said, “I got that bracelet after the incident. Not quite clear how or why, but I can clearly remember that I received it from an old man as a ‘gift’.”

“An old man? What?”

When Khal heard this he looked confused.

“Yes, from an old man. I once showed it to a blacksmith, trying to find out if it was expensive and the answer was shocking. I was told that it was priceless!! I was searched up several times by different people and families just to give them the bracelet for a great sum of money, but I refused. But now it seems I should have sold it when I had the chance.”

“What should that mean?”, asked Khal with a somewhat perplexed look.

Neo looking at Khal snorted and pointed at the bracelet.

“Just think about it. Before you have died, that thing lit up. Also, since the moment I got it, my body’s health started to worsen. If there is no connection between the two, then I am a virgin and a moron at the same time! This can’t be a coincidence at all that is for sure!”

As Khal thought about it for a while he nodded and said, “Yeah, you are right. So we need to find that old man.”

“Excuse me? We? Hello! Currently, I am tied to the ground by these chains, while I have been sealed inside here too. The only one who can find that old man is you and not we.”, said Neo as he shook the chains around gently.

When Khal heard this, he wanted to say something, when suddenly the familiar voice sounded in the background again.

[Notify! ‘Body Essence’ has dropped below 20%!]

[Avoiding ‘Exhaustion’, Owner now will be brought out from ‘Soul Prison’]

Instantly as that was heard, Khal’s body got enveloped by dim grey light and in a flash, he vanished into thin air.

Neo, who was still tied to the ground by the chains looked speechless, and after a small while his expression turned stupified.

“Eh?”

***

“…”

Back inside the cave, Khal slowly opened his eyes and sat up.

Putting his palm on his face, he frowned slightly and murmured, “What an extraordinary… Dream… Huh?”

As Khal talked to himself, trying to figure out if the previous events were his dream or not, he suddenly noticed a figure at the cave’s entrance.

“Haha! Sorry for my unexpected appearance. Did I wake you up?”, said Jas with a slight smile as he walked closer to Khal.

“Sir!”

Jumping up hurriedly, Khal bowed at Jas, knowing that now that he was inside Moon Academy, so he needed to show respect to him no matter what.

Jas seeing Khal’s behavior just smiled gently and waved his hand.

“Please, just call me Jas. Called by Sir feels awkward to me. I am not that old.”

“I’m sorry.”, said Khal with a wry smile as he looked at Jas.

Smiling, Jas waved his hand again and looked around.

“So? How do you like the place? I think you have already found out just how unique it is to be here, right?”