Chapter 2: The Sunshine Before The Sunset

Alone, in the dark void, Jared stood. His eyes were closed as if he were sleeping.

Without a moments notice, Jared's eyes shot open and his hands immediately rushed to his neck, grabbing and feeling it. He gasped for air, hyperventilating as he fell to his knees.

Jared pondered to himself "Where... Am I?"

He turned his head around, trying to make out where he was

"Am I... Is this... Am I dead?"

Close by, an orb of light could be seen, it's faint glow shining brightly through the darkness.

*Jared approached the orb and peered into it. He saw his lifeless body, hanging from the ceiling fan. The orb then showed another scene to Jared. His parents were standing outside in what appeared to be a cemetary. They seemed to be in a rush as Jared's father kept checking his wrist watch as the pastor spoke, his mother looking away from his coffin. After a minute or so, his parents turned away and left, it seemed as though the pastor hadn't even finished.

Jared turned away from the orb, with tears in his eyes, once again, he felt as though his efforts had been in vain. Even with his death, it seems he couldn't get his own parents to care about him, much less shed a tear for him.

Far off into the void, the woman from the throne was watching Jared, biting her lips as she saw the tears in his eyes. Her face was burning red and her breath became very hot. She was trying desperately to make her presence unknown to Jared.

Jared slowly layed down on his back, staring into the emptiness above him. He had no care anymore about what he had just seen. After all, wasn't he used to it? He shouldn't have expected anything more from his parents. He was wrong to have gotten his hopes up. It only hurts more when you give yourself false hope.

He assured himself that it'd be better to face and accept things the way they are, rather than sticking to fruitless wishing and praying. After all, you may wish all you want, but it won't happen if you don't do something about it*.

Jared whispered to himself

"If I had another chance at life, I swear... I'd be more... More resolved... More confident. That I can do things right"

With that, Jared's vision slowly began to fade *as if he were going back into a deep sleep. The cold and stale air of the void blanketed him as he closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself to shield him from the unwelcoming void.

The woman whispered to herself* "Oh my sweet, I'll let you have a treat for now, lets see how you enjoy your new life. You are now to be known as... Kireru"

*With that, the woman snapped her fingers causing Jared to vanish instantly from the void.

It was soft, warm and cozy. It felt like nothing he had ever experienced before. Before his eyes he saw warm lights glowing around him. It was embracing him as if comforting him from the icy feel of the void he was just in. He heard knocking in the distance, it seemed to be calling him. Calling him to open his eyes and wake up to reality once more. As the knocking continued, Jared opened his eyes, slowly with such hesitation as to feel the warmth even just a second longer.

As Jared opened his eyes, he squinted as the sun blessed his face with its presence. He looked around the room he was in. It looked much more different from his own room. There were posters on the wall filled with fictional things such as Mechas and spacecraft as well as people from fantasy worlds like wizards and warlocks. Jared rubbed his eyes in confusion, was this a dream? Was this the afterlife? Was his entire life just a bad nightmare that lasted just a bit too long?

He looked to his nightstand and saw a photoframe sitting on top of it. Jared reached out to grab it and as he examined the photo, he saw himself, jumping for joy along with two other adults who looked similar to his parents. They were all smiling, happily, as if they were the happiest people on earth.

The door to the room slowly opened. Jared turned his attention to the door and there he saw, hugging the wall as she peeked into the room, was the woman from the picture*.

She spoke softly "Oh, Kireru, you're awake. I kept coming up here knocking to check up on you. We're waiting for you to join us for breakfast honey"

"Honey?" he thought to himself. The word itself was unknown to him. Of course he knew of the food known as honey, but as for the name? It was a name he had never heard. He looked around as if to check if there were another in the room she was referring to

"M-me? But, I'm not Ki-"

"Of course you silly! Your father and I are waiting for you. We made your favorite, bacon and eggs. Come on, lets go eat" *she interrupted as she walked away from the door.

At this point, Jared was certain he was dreaming. He stood up and began to jump around and pinch himself. He couldn't believe it. He was actually alive, and being treated with care.

Jared pondered to himself "But how am I still alive... I hanged myself and even saw my own funeral. Yet here I am... In a warm bed, with a woman who calls me... Kireru? And they think I'm their son?"

Jared looked at the photograph once more, it really was him in that photo. All of this led Jared to a certain conclusion. He was in another universe. Either he took over an alternate version of himself, or, someone or something placed him in a world where in a short amount of time, led him to this point in this life. Slowly, he began to accept his situation, I mean, he had nothing to lose, and from the looks of it, he was getting a lot of things that he's always wanted in life, but never had.

With this in mind, Jared went outside of his room and down the stairs to the dinnertable. The entire house looked different. It was more vibrant and colorful and had more character to it.

He thought to himself "I could get used to this kind of life... Of course, as Kireru..."

He would have to become more accustomed to the new name he had. In his heart he knew he was Jared, but if in this world he was Kireru, it would be the name he would have to acknowledge himself as if he were to be accustomed to living here.

As he approached the dinnertable, he was met with a smile from the man from the photograph*.

"Goodmorning Kireru!" he spoke with a booming voice

The man pulled a chair and patted the seat, beckoning Jared to sit there. Jared slowly approached the chair and sat down. He looked at the man and then the woman who brought plates to the table.

Jared looked down at his plate and saw that the eggs and bacon formed a smiley face. He looked up again at the man and woman and tried to smile back. It wasn't something he could do naturally so of course, it looked very awkward.

The man chuckled as he began to eat "Better eat quickly son, Mina said she'd drop by in the afternoon. You'd best eat up and get dressed"

*Jared nodded and began eating his food. The woman and the man exchanged small talk about the weather and the news as they ate. This was surely something he never experienced before, his family was quiet when they ate, if ever they ate together at all. His mom didn't bother talking to his father, vice versa.

But now, his new mom and his new father were talkative. They were very compassionate as well by the looks of it. He didn't no how or what brought him here but, secretly, in the back of his head. He continued to thank whatever mystical force blessed him*.

After Jared had finished eating, he stood up and brought his plate to the kitchen sink where his mother smiled at him. He remembered his father saying that a person named Mina was going to visit and that he should get prepared. He went back up to his room and looked through his closet. He picked out a black hoodie and threw it on over his head. He grabbed the darkest pair of jeans he could find and put them on as well. *After dressing up, he went downstairs to the shoe rack he spotted next to the front door and put on a pair of dark sneakers. As he put on the shoes, someone began to knock on the front door.

From the door came the voice of a girl. The voice was very sweet and pleasant to the ears*.

"Kireru! Are you there? Sorry I came early, I'm just so excited for today that I just really couldn't wait to see you"

Jared approached the door and opened it slowly, peeking out at the girl. She had long wavy dark blue hair that barely reached the lower half of her back. She was almost as tall as Jared, *wearing an oversized blue jacket and a black skirt that went down to her knees. Her eyes were a golden shade of yellow that seemed to glimmer the longer he stared into them.

Mina tilted her head to the side, looking through the small space between the door and into Jared's eyes. She smiled as she pushed the door open and pulled Jared into a hug*.

With soft spoken words she whispered "I missed you Kireru, so much"

*Jared's face blushed bright red as she buried her face into his jacket. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her, patting her back.

From behind him, his mother watched as the two shared their hug* "These two love birds are so adorable, you two will start a fine family"

Jared's face got even redder, he opened his mouth to speak but before he could even form words, Mina giggled "See, even your mom agrees Kireru, we do make a great couple"

*So many alarms were popping off in Jared's head. Girlfriend? Him? He has a girlfriend? Especially one as cute and adorable as her? He must've really been blessed by a god to have been given this much in life. Curiosity began to spark within him aswell. What is she like? What are the things she really likes? All these questions bombarded his head simultaneously until he centered out what it really is. Is this what it means to want to know somebody? To really socialize? This could be his chance to finally break his shell and learn to talk with others rather than staying secluded.

Mina tugged at Jared's arm as she pointed to the door* "Shall we get going my love?"

Jared nodded shyly as she pulled him along with her out the door. She waved at Jared's mom who smiled as she closed the door behind them.

*For the entirety of the day, Mina brought Jared all around town. They had lunch together at a ramen bar, ice cream as they walked through a park, checking out games and other stuff at a hobby shop and looking at cute pets at a pet store. Hours had passed and it was getting late. The sun began to set and for the first time, the warm orange color of the sky wasn't un-inviting to Jared.

As both Jared and Mina neared Jared's house, she looked him in the eyes* "Kireru... I had a wonderful time today. I know you were planning to spend summer grinding on that mech game you love, but I really appreciate the time you gave me"

"I... I'm glad that I... That I-I spent today with you Mina..."

"I love you, Kireru" she gushed as she pulled Jared into a kiss. A moment which felt like eternity for Jared passed and both parties pulled away from the kiss.

Mina giggled "I'll stop by tomorrow, good night Kireru, I love you" she waved and turned around, walking in the other direction

"I love you too... Mina" Jared waved as he approached the front door of his house. As he reached for the knob, Jared was hit with flashbacks to his suicide. Visions flew by his mind of his dad hitting him and glaring at him from the stairs as he entered the house. Jared grabbed the door knob, his hands shaking in fear as he twisted it open and pushed the door. As he peeked in, there was no angry father by the stairs, just his imagination tricking him. He sighed in relief as he entered the house, closing the door behind him.

"Mom, dad, I'm home!" *he shouted as he took off his shoes. He headed upstairs to his room where he got his clothes and headed to where the bathroom was. He entered the bathroom, making sure to lock the door before beginning to undress. He turned the shower on making sure the water was hot, but not too hot.

As he showered, his mom knocked on the door* "Kireru, if you're hungry, there's food downstairs. I hope your date went well honey" with that his mom walked away from the bathroom door. Jared smiled to himself as he finished washing his hair. He wasn't hungry but he did appreciate that she cared enough to let him *know. Jared dried himself off with a towel, putting on his clothes for sleeping before exiting the bathroom and heading to his room.

As Jared prepared for bed, doing some nightly reflections, the woman from the void watched him from her orb. With such a cold stare full of lust and perverse desires, she licked her lips before getting off her throne*.

Mistress Avela, the goddess of deceit, betrayal, selfishness, suffering and lust. She was known to interfere with mortal affairs for her own leisure and entertainment. Causing havoc and suffering in her wake, unlike gods who use their power to cause direct chaos, Avela causes conflict indirectly by playing with the heartstrings of mortals breaking them down into nothing but hollow husks of their former selves. Laying out betrayals and suffering for those she chooses, she molds them into tools of chaos from the start of their unlucky lives.

Unlike other powerful gods like her, she does not have a dedicated religion dedicated to her. Those who worship and pray to her usually reside in small cults within the underground of society, or are people who wish to instill suffering and bad luck unto others. In other words, her influence is wide spread rather than concentrated to one place. Her short golden blonde hair glimmered through the darkness along with her eyes which were also a glimmering shade of golden yellow. Her bangs covered up her left eye, leaving the right eye to be exposed. She wore an exposing outfit that was skin tight. It showed off her stomach, thighs and a majority of her breasts, but leaving the nipples hidden.

From the start, Jared's fate had already been sealed. He was destined to be a tool for Avela, without him even knowing.

Avela smiled as she walked away from her orb "Oh Kireru... I can't wait to see what destruction you lay unto this world. Show me the true power of your rage and pain"

Despite giving Jared a gift of everything that he could ever want. His hearts desire, she really was just fattening the cow, to make it even more desirable and delicious. After all, it's better to grow something patiently than to let it blow up and die short now.

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