Aeon Nether & Idol Effigy

Chapter 28- Gaze's Norm

It was those series of words that drew everyone's attention to focus on us blatantly. It was like the old man had told them a reason that allowed them to be so rude as to look at us like that. The kind of rudeness that carries a grudge wherein they were free to become judgemental and call out rumours they thought up as truth without any moral strain.

Or rather allow them to not harm their image whilst trying to drag me down. I guess this is what I looked like when I finally understood tea only at the very moment that I was struck by a runaway van whilst in a train. However, my contentment in a position that was 'safe', -at least from intense judgement-, was never so ugly... Even if that 'safe' period wherein I was dying was incredibly short and instant.

You can practically see the few -as not everyone from the participants attended to watch- were set to make this a 'Kettle calling the pot black', kind of situation. As in, ill-advised judgement was present for malicious purposes since they assume I'm like them now, painted in some kind of social sin that's recognized as some kind of social law.

Found at four and sponsored. Those were the words the old man stated. Was there something to take from it? This world doesn't really have norm's like those you'd find in noble families, where they'd adopt and raise a child to marry theirs to. Or by raising until their biological children choose that they want to get married and then getting another noble family to adopt them before their marriages, as was what happened in most cases.

No. This world is like the crappy version of a lazy world, in which portals and dungeons show up with no one willing to look into them. Well, there's one or two that think they're special with some ability or skill they could use in dungeons, but you get my point.

The so-called dungeons here are laughably weak to me now, but for normal or newly awakened people they still cause somewhat of a challenge just with the quantity of dungeon creatures contained within them.

It's almost laughable that the environment in these dungeons are almost safety proofed. Imagine someone told you they're going out in the wilderness with you, but you end up going glamping in the park. Only difference is that the dungeon experience has moving things that you need stamina to beat up. But then again, most go in with large groups of people with abilities and run out.

Yep. The only danger within these dungeons are the quantity of creatures. With humans being weak and things that can analyse the safe to collect plants... Yeah, the only problem is the quantity of creatures.

Yet, no one goes to investigate or research in this safe environment. Trust me, I was an avid reader of dungeon themed media. There wasn't one example of a world that didn't take materials out from within dungeons to use as a type of resource.

But here... Nope. You'd get lucky to train and upgrade from most dungeons. The bodies and other things are to be left within the dungeon. Collection of plants or animals of the mythical sort was also extremely rare to the extent that it was seen as unique. At this point plants have probably been killed off with the passing footfall or haphazard ability of people going through the dungeon.

So collecting plants was also never seen in almost all the dungeons people dived into. My situation was simply unique, but perhaps due to that I would be seen as something of a quack. I mean, would you trust someone who walked up to give you 'holy water' in your time of need in a world with things that barely passed as dungeons with almost nothing to collect? The answer is you wouldn't.

There wasn't anything like a dungeon occupation or profession in this world. Those people at the 'adventurer guild'? They were just people who had hobbies or were getting paid as the neighbourhood watch in case the rare plant dungeon popped up. For example, my case would have usually resulted in them paying some money and probably ending up wrecking the chance of future plant growth in the dungeon when they collect them.

Dungeons are just seen as being similar to hiking or going for an adventure in some strange terrain without any real professionals or some semi trusted people who've beaten the wildlife around the place you're touring a few times. Now, imagine an oops my foot slipped whilst camping and I found a marshy area or an area with an odd smell. You could die, but people also die from gas leaks in their homes. Dungeon deaths could happen too, but there's always a huge party meaning death was seen as an accidental occurrence like gas leaks.

People like me who soloed dungeons from a young age were seen favourably though and seemed like the exception. I don't really understand why yet, but those over eighteen seemed to see me as some kind of celebrity. I assumed it was due to dungeon service they'd go through at eighteen, but... It's strange. Recently, I've seen it as a kind of amazement at a child surviving by themselves in the wilderness that was a dungeon.

Back to what I was saying, this civilization was never really that different from my previous one. Rather than conspiracy theories being discussed in their eyes, you could tell that they were sniffing out rumours that reeked of malicious gossip.

There seemed to be some kind of story and that was clearly what was going on in everyone's minds. Call it a type of intuition, but it seems like everyone had that type of gaze that was full of gossip. The type of gaze you'd see or imagen from a nosey neighbour. That's the kind of look that it looked like. The drama chasers and those that cross the line of obsessed 'fans'. Kind of like the way you call someone a fan of someone only to delve into a hole finding black fans, sun spots, haters, illegitimate ones and so on. Those were the kinds of eyes that looked at me.

It was a kind of look that gave off the feeling that you'd get when you'd hear a conspiracy theory that sounded more like a prejudiced opinion that people were trying to turn into a mainstream and light hearted fact. I was uncomfortable.

Never before have these gazes met me. Even with Emma. I'd say Emma was bullied and targeted by the world, but for me it felt like it was something more off putting in my case.

Sure, I sensed that it was bullying to some extent. I could see the kinds of unfiltered rumours that people would make about me from here. But maybe it was due to them undoubtedly mixing some truth into those rumours from me being broadcasted as a victim child who murdered my family at a young age.

There was just too much information that was already widely accessible to people and what made it worse was that the contestants on the show would undoubtedly be aware of more information about me than they did about Emma.

It honestly made me annoyed and lonely when I thought about what more the people online who were watching would dig up about me.

Afterall, unlike Emma's case I was someone who didn't need Trina to guide people's attention to me. I suppose me being a news topic that was glossed over in the past seemed helpful in driving the narrative for my case. I didn't need an antagonist to bring me to the forefront of people's minds.

More than anything this situation made me feel helpless. I had been telling myself that only I knew about Emma and had the responsibility to get justice for her. To help settle her soul and right the wrongs. All kinds of crappy reasoning has constantly been used to understand and convince myself.

So I improved my health faster. I levelled my abilities up and took pride in having two main abilities that I got by myself. One by birth, for being me and the second whilst overcoming the struggles I faced when being born. I was proud that I hadn't developed the main character disease people get in my situation and seemed to be steadily developing in various areas.

I changed my fate and in a way Emma's fate. But I was guarded, that's what I believed. But having killed Emma's family to achieve some kind of well deserved karma, now seemed like an example of how I failed her and myself. Especially when I think about what this crowd of people would be saying to glorify them to drag me beneath them.

No one knows Emma except for me. I saw and lived through her journey. I'm living in her world, surviving. But no one else knew. If they knew they would have been aware of how much less I am than anything else.

Although, they wouldn't know much about her struggles and would have hated her like most of the world did. They'd understand how innocent she was when comparing the two timelines, one with Emma and one with me.

But right now no one, but me, remembered the existence that should have been in my place.