Deon V. Eirenios [#]


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    Those who were destined to succeed will succeed; those who weren''t, won''t.


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    Deon V. Eirenios [1]


    Walid''s eyes suddenly opened, as the sharp, persistent pain caused his head to jerk back. His whole body trembled, as he became fully awake, no trace of drowsiness in his mind.


    ''I... am alive!''


    But the pain in his head continued, preventing him from getting up from his bed.


    ''Where?..''


    The first thing Walid saw was a distant white marble ceiling with a chandelier that illuminated the surrounding area with a faint white light.


    ''A hospital?!''


    That was his first thought, but he quickly dismissed it as he took a good look at his surroundings.


    The room was astonishingly spacious, with two entire walls serving only as shelves for a vast collection of carefully arranged books.


    On the third wall, there were closed glass windows with red curtains adorned with intricate patterns.


    Each window was more than twice Walid''s height, something that left his mouth agape.


    On the fourth wall, opposite the large bed he was lying on, there was a fireplace large enough to heat an entire house, though it was currently unlit.


    On either side of the fireplace, two long swords were hung, reflecting the little light that penetrated the closed curtains.


    The swords looked astonishingly real.


    ''Where the hell am I?!''


    By now, it was clear to Walid that he wasn''t in a hospital.


    In fact, it seemed more like the bedroom of someone incredibly wealthy, just 100 years back.


    "I need to get out of here..."


    "Ugh..!"


    As Walid tried to get up from his bed, his already aching head only hurt more, forcing him to hold it between his hands.


    "Why... does it hurt so much?!"


    ''Of course, it would hurt; I got run over by a group of reckless kids... damn them!''


    Remembering the events, Walid couldn''t help but curse in anger.


    ''Avoid trouble I thought!''


    Walid released his head from his hands as soon as he felt better.


    "At least, I''m alive."


    The image of his mother and siblings appeared in his mind, and he couldn''t help but smile.


    "I''m alive!"


    ''Now, I just need to understand where I am?''


    Because the place was definitely not a hospital.


    .


    .


    .


    Walid tried to get up from the bed, knowing that the previous sharp pain in his head—though not completely gone—was now manageable.


    But the second his feet touched the carpeted floor, a light knocking sound came from the door of the room on the far side of the bed, to the right of the fireplace.


    Walid looked at the door with hope in his eyes.


    "Finally..."


    "Baby Brother, can I come in?"


    The melodic voice reached Walid''s ears, and he quickly got up to open the door, thinking it was his sister.


    He reached the door handle, twisted it, and opened the door wide, a broad smile spreading across his face.


    But the smile didn''t last long.


    It disappeared the moment Walid took a look at the ''strange'' girl standing in front of him.


    He took a few steps back in horror.


    With each passing second, his face lost all its expressions and paled at an alarming rate.


    The strange girl noticed his condition and approached him with a worried expression.


    "Baby Brother, are you... okay?"


    Somehow, her expression carried some hidden pity.


    Walid''s eyes began to move violently, refusing to settle as the girl spoke.


    He was in denial.


    And he had every right to be.


    He continued to retreat until his back, now drenched in sweat, faced the room''s wall.


    There was no more room for him to escape.


    "Baby Brother, you''re scaring me!"


    The strange girl shouted at him, who was pressed against the wall in what seemed like uncontrollable fear.


    "Why are you acting like this?"


    She asked with another desperate cry.


    But Walid didn''t answer.


    He was still in denial.


    The thought that crossed his mind was so ridiculous that he didn''t dare to ask.


    But he had to ask, he had to be wrong, he was just in some strange role-playing hospital.


    That could be something! A very expensive way to treat patients.


    It must be!


    Walid took a deep breath as he looked at the strange girl in front of him, who was cautiously approaching him.


    "Your name?"


    He asked, in a somewhat desperate voice.


    The girl stopped, her gray obsidian eyes filled with great concern as she looked at him.


    "Baby Brother, it''s me, what''s happening to you?.."


    "Say your name... please!"


    Walid asked again, the desperation deepening in his tone.


    "It''s... it''s... V! It''s me, Viera!"


    Walid pressed on his shirt where his heart was supposed to be as he waited for the strange girl to mutter her full name.


    "Vierenna V. Eirenios!"


    The second Walid heard the name, his head began to throb violently, bringing unbearable pain.


    This time, he didn''t try to endure it.


    He just let it take his consciousness away— perhaps for good!


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    Deon V. Eirenios [2]


    For the second time in one day,


    Walid''s eyes suddenly opened, as the sharp, persistent pain caused his head to jerk back.


    His whole body trembled, as he became fully awake, no trace of drowsiness in his mind.


    "A dream... just a dream!"


    But the pain in his head continued, preventing him from..?


    ''Where?..''


    Which, ironically enough, was the carpeted floor—not the bed.


    A feeling of déjà vu touched Walid’s senses, so he tried to move his head, which felt stuck between something.


    As he looked to the side...


    The first thing Walid saw was the figure of a young girl with her alien beauty.


    Her gray obsidian eyes and long strands of white hair caressed her sad facial expressions.


    Walid tried to lift his head from her lap, but her hands firmly held his head, refusing to let go.


    It left him in an awkward position.


    "You are awake, thank your soul!"


    Vierenna commented, looking at Walid, who stared at her with an expressionless face while repeating the word ''dream'' like a broken record.


    "A dream? What are you talking about?.."


    Finally, she let go of Walid''s head when he ceased his struggles.


    But Walid didn’t make any effort to get up, which prompted Vierenna to call him again, gently caressing his cheek with her pale, delicate hand.


    "Baby Brother?!.."


    As Walid snapped out of his zone-out state, he lifted his head from Vierenna''s lap, but he didn’t look her in the eyes.


    He just bowed his head down in despair and disbelief.


    There was no room for denial now.


    Nonetheless, his stomach churned in rejection.


    "I just had a strange dream."


    That was all Walid said to Vierenna in a barely audible voice.


    She seemed to understand something Walid himself struggled to grasp.


    "I know what father said, but I don’t think he meant it. Even if he did, you don’t have to worry because I’m here."


    She said in a reassuring tone. The texture of her voice somehow calmed his thoughts enough to regain some composure.


    "Thank you..."


    Walid said, his voice still faint, as he couldn’t muster the strength to speak loudly.


    "I’m sorry for snapping at you before... I’m really sorry."


    Walid apologized for something he didn’t understand, but it was a logical thing to do until he figured out his current situation.


    Vierenna shook her head with a heart-warming smile on her face.


    "It''s okay... I understand, and you don’t have to worry about anything. You’ll be just fine."Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    She stood up from the carpeted floor and held Walid’s hands to pull him up.


    "I’ve taken waking you up every morning as a routine since mother’s passing. You can imagine my shock when you started asking for my name out of thin air."


    "But with yesterday''s events, and father snapping at you... well..."


    She bowed her head slightly while still holding Walid’s hands.


    "But I stood up to him, it’s not his right to yell at you for something you were born with."


    She said with a proud expression, her gray obsidian eyes locked with his.


    Walid remained silent the whole time.


    He didn’t want to say anything that might reveal he wasn’t the person she thought he was.


    So, he just absent-mindedly nodded to all of Vierenna’s words.


    Vierenna seemed to notice his behavior, so she released his hands and took a step back.


    "You’re still in your night clothes, and... breakfast is ready. I’ll wait for you downstairs."


    She made her way to the door, as sad expression evident on her face.


    Walid didn’t say anything, he just watched her bowed back as she walked steadily toward the rooms exit, which was left wide open.


    Remembering his situation, Walid called out to the girl before she exited the door, his dead tone refusing to change.


    "Can you wait for me by the door?.."


    Vierenna turned to look at Walid and then nodded with a smile.


    He couldn’t call her ''sister'' either, his heart didn’t allow him to do so.


    "Until I change and we go together."


    The reason for Walid''s strange request was because he still didn’t know where he was.


    Although he had solved a bit of the mystery he found himself in, there were still many unknowns left for him.


    The simplest, ironically enough, was the ''downstairs'' Vierenna mentioned.


    Vierenna nodded again and left, closing the door behind her.


    She didn’t forget to flash a smile in his direction before closing the door completely.


    Walid stood still in his previous spot, his eyes still fixed on the closed door.


    He looked around the room, searching for a place to change clothes, if there even was one.


    Thanks to the room''s organization, it was easy for him to spot the gap in the shape of a door with a red curtain covering it.


    With trembling steps, Walid moved towards the gap.


    His goal was clear.


    If what was behind the curtain was a changing room, there should be a mirror inside.


    Walid tried to hold on to the thin thread of hope he had, but he knew already that the end of the thread had been cut a long time ago, or led to nothing at best.


    But either way, he still wanted to see for himself.


    With that in mind, He pulled the red curtain aside and entered the changing room.


    Walid didn''t pay much attention to the room itself as his eyes were drawn to the full-body mirror on the far side of the changing room.


    To his relief, the mirror wasn’t facing him.


    But soon, that relief was destined to be shattered.


    With trembling steps and a heavy heart, Walid took his first steps towards the mirror.


    Each step closer to the mirror pushed his hope and mind further away from the reality he didn’t want to face.


    Upon reaching it, the indifference he had built to protect himself shattered like thin glass on the side of the street.


    Walid didn’t have the strength to collapse to the ground or to remain standing, but somehow, his legs kept his balance despite his minimal control over his body.


    ''This can’t be!..''


    ''This can’t be true!..''


    ''It shouldn’t be!..''


    Walid’s thoughts were chaotic, but it didn’t prevent him from recognizing the reflection in the mirror before him.


    Dark, messy black hair reaching the shoulders like moving shadows threatening defiance and chaos.


    Wide violet eyes with intricate patterns on their spherical surface like fragments of twilight enveloped in sickly light.


    Pale, sickly white skin, like an untouched canvas reflecting light with cold elegance.


    And other details of a character supposed to exist only as words on paper.


    Walid just stared at the reflection, unwilling to mentally acknowledge the reflection that wasn’t his.


    But his ears heard the words he didn’t want to speak.


    "Deon V. Eirenios."


    And it was him speaking, even though he didn’t know it and didn’t acknowledge it.


    Despite that, what choice did he have?


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    Deon V. Eirenios [3]


    For what felt like an eternity, Walid was still staring at the reflection.


    Although he tried to push his mind to reject what his eyes were seeing, his mind had more sense than he did.


    ''How can this be possible?.. This makes no sense?..:


    But the truth was once again in front of him.


    ''This character design?.. It''s Deon from my "Forever Unfinished"!''


    Although the character Deon wouldn''t appear until the second volume—which Walid hadn’t written yet—his character outline was there as the first main antagonist that the protagonist Emlyn would face in his first year at the academy.


    So, Walid only had an idea of Deon and a preliminary sketch of him.


    But what made him certain that the reflection in the mirror was Deon was the presence of the sister character Vierenna.


    Vierenna is a character of firm importance in the story, so Walid was familiar with her the moment he saw her.


    Everything about her was the way Walid had written, or would have written at least.


    From her appearance, way of speaking, expressions, care for her Brother, and every little detail...


    Finally, Walid''s feet lost balance, causing him to step back a few steps. The shock still evident on his pale face.


    "What happened in the world?.."


    ''Did I really die from that group of...''


    ''Car accident???''


    ''But no... Noo!.''


    ''Reincarnation?.. That can''t be.. right?''


    ''Why?!''


    Walid lost control of his thoughts as they came out in disjointed fragments of questions and memories trying to make sense of what his eyes were witnessing.


    ''Is this how everything I worked for will end?''


    He remembered himself, his small family, his dream, his diligence, his failures, and his perseverance in trying to build something that mattered to him.


    Walid remembered again his mother and her support for him throughout the five years since he first voiced his dream and his intention to pursue it.


    Beyond that, Walid didn’t have many memories, and he didn’t need more than that.


    Just his dream and his mutual love with his family were enough.


    He wasn’t perfect, but he sought it like any other human.


    And now, all of that was gone.


    "Did I really die?"


    Walid asked the reflection in front of him, but the reflection of Deon’s character.. was just a reflection of what Walid himself was doing.


    But somehow, Walid saw an answer in the reflection.


    ''So this is how it ends.''


    ''This is the end. No dream, no family, no nothing.''


    Walid closed his eyes and sat on the red-carpeted floor.


    Although he still had more questions, he didn’t bother trying to answer them.


    He was tired.


    For a long time now, he had been tired.


    But at that time, he couldn’t give up, why?.. the most important person in his life relied on him and trusted him and his dream.


    But now,


    he had nothing left.


    There was no need for him anymore to feel that deep despair accompanying high expectations.


    He was truly alone now.


    He could give up now.


    Those who were destined to succeed will succeed; those who weren''t, won''t.


    Walid belonged to the latter. No matter how desperately he tried, he couldn’t succeed. The only thing he got was despair.


    And now, he could easily rid himself of his despair...


    He just had to give in to it and stop once and for all.


    But...


    Could Walid, who thrived in moments of despair and fed on them to grow, give up now, at this point?


    Walid, who had everything he needed, would have said no, a hard no.


    But... again!


    What is the answer of Walid who lost everything?


    "Baby Brother?.."


    A faint nostalgic voice entered Walid''s ears. He knew to whom it belonged, but he did nothing to answer.


    He remained in his place, looking as desperate as he came.


    "Oh, Deon!.."


    Vierenna entered Deon''s changing room, knelt beside him, and hugged him tightly.


    Walid didn’t resist her hug or even move. He looked like a lifeless corpse as the same question kept echoing in the back of his head.


    ''What is the answer of Walid who lost everything?''


    Vierenna began to pat Walid''s head as she spoke.


    "Just because you''re a Cursed Magician, it doesn''t make you talentless or not my Brother. Father''s reaction was... bad, but you know how he''s become since mother’s passing."


    "You didn’t get what you dreamed of, but you got something. Something of your own, and you should appreciate who you are, Baby Brother."


    "You may feel hopeless and abandoned now, but you should look at the opportunities you can create with your own hands. Trust that I will always support you... If the family really abandons you, I will be the first to step out the door, by your side..."


    Vierenna brushed her silky white hair back nervously. She paused for a moment, searching for the right words to say, but nothing came to mind.


    "I''m bad at this..."


    "You''re good enough."


    Walid said, then pushed himself out of Vierenna’s embrace to sit upright.


    He looked at the innocent girl before him.


    "Thank you, I... I knew the answer, it was always with me. I''m just.. too tired... to think, or to do anything, really."


    Vierenna extended her hand to pat Walid''s head. She smiled, but her smile was clearly fake.


    "I know you''re not that weak. You will do great things. I can see it."


    "You just think that. The truth is, I am so weak that I can’t give up."


    The girl tilted her head to the side, confused.


    "That, makes no sense. But it suits you, you don’t make no sense yourself."


    Walid didn’t say anything in response to the girl''s accusation, but he pondered the truth in it.


    He really didn’t make any sense. Neither himself nor his situation.


    But that’s a mystery that would be left unanswered... for now.


    Noah stood up from his seated position and this time extended his hand to Vierenna to help her up.


    The girl took his hand with a smile and relied on him to bear her weight.


    Walid was up to the task; and as the girl stood beside him, Walid tasked her with the duty of choosing his clothes.


    "Since you’re here, you can choose my clothes as a token of thanks."


    Vierenna opened her mouth like a fish out of water.


    Seeing the scene before him, Walid felt he made a mistake.


    But quickly and steadily, a terrifying smile formed on her face, glowing with a strange light.


    Walid began to regret his decision upon witnessing the smile, but it was too late for him to back out now.


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    Deon V. Eirenios [4]


    Walid took the pieces of black clothing that Vierenna had chosen for him to wear and began putting them on, piece by piece.


    His movements were precise for someone whose focus was entirely elsewhere.


    ''I know very little about Deon.''


    Although Deon''s character was supposed to be the first main antagonist the main character - Emlyn - would face, this did not mean that Walid''s writing of him was in the finest details.


    In fact, in his novel "Forever Unfinished," Walid had not yet written a story or attributes for the character Deon, just a name and a face. One of the reasons he recognized him in the mirror, albeit faintly.


    This means that Walid was and still is unfamiliar with the person who was in his body. Whether his personality, way of thinking, upbringing environment, nothing really.


    And this ignorance spread even to the place Walid thought he was in now.


    The capital of the Macezar Empire - Zeleshyre.


    Walid reached this conclusion easily.


    True, he wasn’t very familiar with Deon, but the opposite was true for Vierenna as she was an important character in his novel''s events.


    Walid knew a lot about her, but not everything.


    And those small details are what show the difference.


    One of Walid''s current self - asigned tasks was uncovering those small details.


    He simply did not know the things he didn’t know.


    Although he knew little, he couldn’t allow himself to be reckless. Being reckless is just a well deserved tragedy.


    One thing Walid was sure of was that the timeframe accompanying his entry into Deon''s body was after the events of the first volume of his novel.


    Why do you say?..


    Because Deon and the main character are the same age. Also Vierenna mentioned something about Deon becoming a curse magician now.


    This can only mean that the body’s owner had already undergone the awakening ceremony.


    ''I had only written the first volume, which takes place in the western borders of the Macezar Empire, I was planning to have a one-year time skip and move directly to the second volume set in the imperial capital, Zeleshyre.''


    ''I am likely somewhere in that year between the events of the first and second volumes.''


    SIGH


    Walid sighed as he looked at his fully dressed reflection.


    ''I''ll ask Vierenna at the breakfast table and verify for myself.''


    With that in mind, Walid gathered his final thoughts and proceeded to leave the changing room to the expanse of his new room, where he was met by Vierenna’s eager gaze.


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    .


    .


    "You didn''t comb your hair!"


    Vierenna stood up hurriedly, her previous smile disappearing into something of expected disappointment.


    Under her stern gaze, Walid combed his hair to the sides with his hands and tried to lighten the mood with a smile, but what came out was just a fake imitation without any characteristics of any kind of smile.


    Vierenna’s body shuddered slightly at the terrifying smile, but she controlled herself and sighed in helplessness.


    SIGH


    "Come here."


    She gestured to Walid with her hand, her gaze, and body language appearing commanding, not to be refused.


    Walid, nervously and anxiously, walked towards her standing place beside the bed.


    He didn’t break eye contact when he stood in front of her.


    In a swift, smooth motion, Vierenna placed both hands on Walid’s shoulders and forcibly sat him down on the bed.


    "If you resist, you’ll bear the consequences."


    Her voice, despite its softness, carried an undeniable coldness. It made the base of his spine shiver.


    ''Did I do something wrong?!''


    But contrary to his dark thoughts, Vierenna climbed onto the bed to sit behind his back. She began combing his hair with her delicate fingers.


    Her movements were like a gentle breeze passing through the strands of his messy black hair. Her touch eased the tension in the veins of his head with gentle care.


    Walid found himself completely relaxed under her tender mercy. He closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles.


    "Thank you, I needed this."


    He said in a faint, warm voice.


    "Anytime, for my Baby Brother."


    In the midst of the silence and relative comfort of the moment, Walid found his thoughts drifting again to dark places.


    Not needing this now, he decided to ask about one of his safe curiosities.


    "Why Baby Brother?"


    From the first word exchanged between Walid and Vierenna, she had only called him by his name once - well, the body’s name. She continued to use ''Baby Brother.''


    "Oh, this is a first. I guess the days of pretending to ignore it didn’t yield the desired result heheh..."


    She laughed cheerfully.


    "For me, I found it very cute. Every time I call you Baby Brother, you make that face, and every time you try to hide it from me with all your might..."


    She pinched his cheek.


    "To answer your question, I call you Baby Brother because it''s cute, and you made it so. So suffer the consequences, Baby Brother."


    Walid didn’t understand much of Vierenna’s words, but he knew her words were directed at her Brother Deon, not him. But he continued to ask anyway.


    "Can’t you call me by my name like a normal person... or like a normal sister?"


    "This is the breaking point, huh... Let me think.. hmm..."


    Vierenna hummed to herself, her finger movements slowed.


    Before Walid could point that out, she gripped his scalp tightly and pushed her face over his shoulder from behind to meet his gaze, her eyes burning with a strange light.


    "No... and never to the end of time. You are my Baby Brother, and no one will change that, not even you."


    She said intensely as if her words were unchangeable.


    But Walid knew better.


    ''The truth will.''


    She let go of her grip on his scalp, and made a startled motion.


    "Oh no... I messed up your hair."


    Suddenly, she pulled his hair back to meet her gaze from below, her angry expression towering over him.


    "If you hadn’t distracted me with your questions, I wouldn’t have messed it up. It''s your fault."


    ''What a strange girl.''


    As she began to let go of his hair, she grabbed it again tightly and pulled it back until he fell into her lap.


    "And what did you mean by ''like a normal sister?'' "


    She said the last word in imitation of his voice, with some exaggerated body language.


    From her gaze down on him, Walid knew she wouldn’t let him go without an answer, so he made one up, already regretting speaking in the first place.


    "I meant, that you are special. No disagreement there."


    The smile Walid expected didn’t come. Instead, her grip tightened, and his head sank deeper into her lap.


    ''What kind of situation is this?''


    "Elaborate."


    She said, unconvinced.


    Walid, against his better judgment, suppressed his pride and began to fill the strange girl, who he was sitting on her lap in an awkward position.


    "You are considerate, kind, and..and.. the other obvious things."


    That was all he could think of. He wasn’t about to say the things he knew about her crazy personality from his prints of her in his novel.


    Vierenna shook her head, her gaze growing angrier and colder.


    Walid felt the chill creeping along his spine, and from the sheer terror he felt, he began to speak nonstop, his eyes closed and his body trembling.


    "Emotional, patient, brave, stylish, elegant, strong, agile, friendly, cultured, wise, intelligent, kind, playful, tender, beautiful, radiant, delicate..."


    Walid''s words were halted by the hand that closed his mouth.


    He opened his eyes and found Vierenna smiling at him with an embarrassed and gentle smile...


    "It wasn’t hard, was it. It''s liberating to be honest and say what''s in your heart from time to time, Baby Brother."


    But all Walid felt was terror.


    ''Crazy!''


    Walid helped himself sit back up to his previous position when he was free from her grasp.


    "We should head for breakfast."


    He said and tried to get up to escape her.


    But his efforts were in vain, despite her loosening her grip on his head, he was still under her mercy.


    She pulled him back as she hugged his head, a playful smile decorating her expression as if all his intentions were known to her.


    "Where to, Baby Brother. We still haven’t fixed what needs to be fixed, or.. perhaps,.. you didn’t mean what you said about me just now?"


    She tightened her grip around his head and pulled him closer to her. Her smile deepened as if challenging him to say otherwise.


    "....."


    Walid remained silent.


    She nodded at that as if her expectation could never be anything more than just… expectation.


    Walid felt helpless under her gaze, he felt like a doll to the girl,..


    A doll with very little freedom.