Black String of Fate

Chapter 22: Fateless (1)

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Trial: Fateless

Objective: Change the world.

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"...Ugh, my head hurts."

Xavier woke up with a splitting headache. It was much worse than when he got teleported around in the levels of death, as this made him feel as if he had teleported a long, long distance.

"Where am I... the slum alleys?"

Xavier looked around and found himself in a familiar setting. A dark alley where sunlight reached, infested with mice and the rotting smell of garbage and feces, there was no doubt as to where he was. It reminded him of home, after all.

"...My body feels unfamiliar, what is this strange weakness? My voice is also strange."

Xavier looked at his hands and found them bigger, but malnourished. He knew instantly that this was not his physical body. He was a warrior, knowing his body through and through was the basics of the basics.

He looked around and soon found a puddle of dirty water. Even though it was dirty, it was enough for Xavier to look into his reflection.

On it, he saw a young boy he had never seen before in his life.

'...Woah, what is this sorcery? Am I possessing bodies now? This feels kinda wrong...'

What Xavier saw in the reflection was a young teenage boy of around 14 years, filthy with dirt and malnourished to the extreme. It was even worse than when Xavier lived in the slums. The dry skin, dark circles, and frizzy hair also indicated a lack of rest and high stress.

'This guy's a total mess. Even I somehow managed not to be in these conditions when I was his age. Anyway, what's the deal here? I remember seeing a System message for this trial.'

As Xavier was thinking about it, the message popped once more.

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Trial: Fateless

Objective: Change the world.

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"...What? Change the world? That's it?"

Xavier was flabbergasted when he saw the objective message. It wasn't like he was making light of the message, but rather, the opposite. It was such a grand and vague message that he could not believe it.

'This is ridiculous. Change the world? How? What should I even do? Even if I did know how, what the fuck am I supposed to do in the body of a broke, skinny, and weak teenager?'

Xavier let out a huge sigh in frustration. He was thrown into god-knows-where, and was expected to change the world he knows nothing about. Furthermore, he was feeling extremely hungry and weak.

'Okay, one step at a time. I'm hungry as fuck, if I don't eat, I might literally die.'

Xavier started looking around to get a grasp of his surroundings. While looking, he noticed a few apple-like fruits lying around. Xavier could not believe his luck as he went near them to inspect it.

'Hmm... These look low-quality, but fresh. Maybe this kid stole a few corner pieces from the street vendors and made a run for it. At least this guy knows how to survive...'

Xavier took a bite of these fruits and surprisingly found them delicious. It didn't take long for him to devour all he had seen lying around.

'This guy was so hungry that I'm finding these bad fruits so delicious... Weird, if he can steal these fruits regularly, he shouldn't have a problem with keeping himself in better shape. Does he get extorted by the local thugs or something?'

As Xavier was thinking about this, he heard some footsteps coming from a distance. Step by step, they were getting louder. He snapped out of his thoughts and went on full alert. He was in no condition to fight, as he was weaponless and weakened.

'With this body, I can't fight, but I'll try to run away. That should be possible... But, I need to assess the enemy first, I cannot do anything rashly without confirming details about my opponent.'

Xavier had his sight trained on the entrance to the alley. He had his breathing forcefully calmed down, and his instincts were ever-ready. He was prepared, however much he could be.

The timing was around dusk, and through the orange sunlight peeking through the dark, dingy entrance, a shadow emerged. The light was making it hard to see the face, but the frame was small.

Xavier was confident to run away, until he heard the intruder speak.

"Big brother Xavier, what are you doing here?"

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Trial: Fateless

Objective: Save the world.

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"Your Highness, please wake up."

"What? Huh?"

Inside the royal chambers, a princess opened her eyes, looking all confused. She immediately checked her surroundings and tried to assess her situation. The maid standing at the bedside looked confused at the alert display of her master, but did not speak anything. It was not her place to judge the actions of the royalty.

Luckily, she had some experience in absurd situations like these due to a certain mind-numbing trial. She looked towards the maid and curtly spoke,

"I'm feeling a bit tired, brew me some tea and give me space."

"As you wish, Your Highness." The maid bowed and left, dutifully going to the kitchen to fetch some tea.

Once the room was clear, the princess heaved a huge sigh of relief as she analyzed her situation more thoroughly.

'This seems familiar to the first trial I had, but the objective this time is given to me, however vague that objective is. This body also doesn't feel like my own, it's older and a bit frail...'

She got up and went towards the dressing table where the mirror was fixed. Upon looking at her visage, she was quite surprised.

'Woah... She's pretty...'

She shook her head out of these insignificant thoughts as she analyzed further.

'This body looks to be around 14 years old but is still uninitiated. This does not help with the grand objective I've been given. It would be hard to do anything while being powerless.

Also, I'm not exactly sure how I am supposed to save this world. I've just become a princess of a world I know nothing about. This social standing is a crucial boon, but being royalty is a double-edged sword. If I make bad decisions, I will have my throat slit in my sleep...'