>, Volume-1, Chapter 2

After a while of searching, on the floor, Arkhan found a message, “Brother, I went to look for you and found a grand master on the way back. I gave him the food you left behind and he recovered after eating. Seeing our pitiful lives, he decided to take us with him, but even after a day, you didn’t return.”

If you are reading this, I wish for us to meet again. Master said we will wait for you in the nearby city of us humans. Brother, let’s meet again!”

Arkhan finished reading the message, the Hope above his head shining brightly.

He stood up, his eyes pointing towards one of the mountains in the distance. In the end, Arkhan sighed, his gaze returning to linger on the message as he sat down on the floor amongst what remained of the hut. His hollow gaze, carrying a tinge of fleeting gentleness, as he caressed the words his brother left behind.

What should I do? Should I wait here or… but then, what would happen to this hut? And how can I even go out to someplace else?

The light in Arkhan’s eyes dimmed as he recalled the memories he made in his hut. The memories of his lows and highs washed over him. Inwardly, he felt conflicted. He needed to find his brother, but at the same time, he didn’t wish to abandon the hut he had lived in for so long.

While he was brooding over his inner struggle, the firefly-like Hope resting atop his head spoke, “Human. Oh, Human. What is it you truly wish for? What is it you truly want to accomplish?”

Arkhan furrowed his brows, answering with a question: “Why ask that?”

Hope answered, “A man without a goal is like a ship in the ocean with no destination. All it can do is float around until it starves out and sinks or gets swept away by the waves. Find what you want and cling to it. Make it a target to reach towards. And if you ever lose it, only you’d be one stopping yourself from making another one.”

Arkhan’s eyes widened in thought. However, his expression expressed scepticism.

He thought over, comparing the weight of the two decisions in his head. Even after a long time mulling over, he hadn’t reached a conclusion. While still deliberating, his stomach rumbled.

His thoughts came to a standstill as his gaze moved over to the corpse of the Hardship he had hunted. The light in his eyes dimmed even further. An unavoidable recollection of his brother flashed through his mind.

Shaking his head to dismiss it, he got up from the floor before tearing into the Hardship’s flesh. Putting it in his mouth, his body convulsed.

The flesh of hardship tasted a mixture of spicy and bitter, with a lack of tenderness like that of regular meat. He wished nothing more than to spit it back out. But to his chagrin, his stomach rumbled once more.

At that moment, his tired eyes opened wide as an epiphany struck him.

Why do I want food? Because I feel hungry. Why did I get the food? To quench this hunger. Why did I go to the forest? To get this food. Why did I kill the hardship? To use it as food. Why do I… A series of thoughts flowed through Arkhan’s head like a continuous stream of water as he stared at the bitter-tasting flesh in his hand. Some thoughts collided against one another, giving birth to new thoughts.

A dazzling light shone through his fatigued eyes.

Why do I feel sad? Why do I need to leave? Why do I want to meet with my brother again?

Answers to the questions troubling him seemed as close as a touch away while simultaneously feeling as distant as the Noble Mother at the centre of the world.

A crashing sound resounded in Arkhan’s head. His flustered shout echoed in the surroundings as he clutched his head tight, getting down on his knees as if in misery. He prepared to roll on the floor while screaming in agony at the slightest of touch.

However, to his astonishment, instead of the pain he had expected, a lively yet curious voice echoed through his surroundings: “Human, what are you doing?”

Arkhan was at a loss for words after realising his actions. Coughing wryly, he got up before asking, “Who is it?”

The owner of the curious voice blinked before replying with a question of its own, “Who are you?”

Arkhan hesitated for a moment before answering resolutely, “I am Arkhan, a human. Now your turn, answer me. Who are you?”

“I am… Who am I…” The curious voice seemed to be deep in thought.

Arkhan heaved a sigh before rubbing his forehead, thinking, Is the owner of the voice stupid?

“You human! Take back what you’re about to say.” The curious voice spoke, its voice seething in anger. The moment after, it began hurling curses: “You know what? You’re stupid. Your whole family’s stupid. Why would someone raise anyone like you?”

Arkhan smiled wryly as he acknowledged his mistake.

Cognition nodded before saying, “Let’s try that again, little Arkhan. I am Cognition. I came to be when you learnt to think and analyse things for yourself without relying on others.”

Arkhan nodded while paying his complete attention.

Working with Cognition, Arkhan noticed he could understand things more easily, able to analyse them thoroughly. With Cognition’s help, he pondered over the issue pestering his heart.

In the end, both came to a conclusion together — Leaving is better as there is nothing I can do here. If I leave, I would at least have a chance to meet my brother.

Arkhan clenched his fist tight.

He looked around before spotting a fairly tall tree nearby. Climbing the tree, he surveyed the area alongside Cognition.

Moments later, Cognition pointed him in a direction with relatively fewer trees nearby. Arkhan scrutinised it for a moment, discovering it to be a small road ahead, running towards a nearby village.

Arkhan’s eyes lit up as he got down the tree before running towards the road he had found.

Reaching the area nearby as he gasped for breath, he saw a long road ahead, going toward one of the nearby villages he was aware of.

However, he didn’t feel any elation looking at that. Instead, the hesitation in his heart grew by a few notches.

To his dismay, the road ahead was littered with rocks of various shapes and sizes. From between the rocks, bushes sprouted out, reaching twice his height. Bushes had thorns all over the branches and between the leaves.

However, what caught his eye the most was the material that made up the branches — stone. He immediately picked up on the fact that the stones littering the path ahead were thorns shed by the plants in his way.

His eyes widened as a recollection of a plant flashed through his mind. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Difficulties! And so many!”