Romance of the Four Kingdoms

Chapter 68

A/N: Hey just a quick one cuz I'll do another one of these at the end. But this is a little bit of a trigger warning again just in case you missed the last one. This chapter does have certain things like homophobia, bullying and the like. If that sort of stuff triggers you or you feel that its getting a little too much for you. Don't worry I put in some gaps in to help signify that kind of stuff, you don't need to force yourself to read it if it does trigger you. Is what I wrote worth the warning? I don't know but its better to look like an idiot and fail rather than not warn and potentially have consequences. Other than that, enjoy the chapter.

Mitsuko and LingQi made their outside of the forest and rest on a log overlooking the lake. If it wasn't for the carvings on the tree trunks you would never have thought a fight never broke out. It was serene and calm, just like how Mitsuko liked it. The earth was softened after the brief drizzle. The two sat in silence as the moon shone above them and with the lake casting its majestic reflection. Mitsuko fidgeted a bit, she wasn't sure how to explain her situation in a different timeline.

'So the truth is I'm not actually a part of this timeline. I actually came from the future...a time yet to be so to speak.'

'If that's so, how did you get here?' LingQi asked.

'Well...I kinda got dragged down by a giant water snake from a lake who offered me strength which I accepted.' Mitsuko states, she doesn't know how to make it sound believable so she just states it and hopes for the best.

'How come? Were you not strong before?' LingQI questioned curious as to why she would leave her home and everything behind her.

'Its...well...a little complicated. My time is a lot different to this one here. Different atmosphere. For one there's less death. At least where I was from. It was peaceful, paved roads everywhere, buildings that look as high as the sky, torches without the use of flames, carriages without horses. Technology has really advanced since this time.' Mitsuko chuckles, she's been here so long she could barely remember the sounds of traffic jams, the hustle and bustle of the city. The rushed nature of everyone rushing and complaining about traffic jams and the same old stuff.

'Heh, its funny. Everyone there was constantly stressed by one thing or another of all ages. Adults needed to go to work to provide for their family, children need to get good grades to get good jobs for the future. Whereas here, despite the fact everyone here is fighting for survival in the most literal sense its more relaxed to an extent. Sounds weird I know. But I genuinely feel more relaxed here than I ever did back at my own time.'

'Sounds...different. But you have peace back where you come from right?'

'For the most part, there are a few places where this stuff happens but where I lived it for the most part was peaceful. Though there is a caveat, the people in charge make the people down below feel really weak, its about how wealthy you are and who you know to get by in that world relatively unscathed. It could just be me but I think they all felt powerless by everything. So they turn to crime, harming people using their fears to justify their causes.'

'Like bandits?'

'...Yeah like bandits, that's a good way to describe them.' Mitsuko responded as she remembered various new reports of gang and violent crime in general on the rise. She clenched the jaws of her snake tightly as she began to remember just how bad the situation was.

'The people in charge that people elect, they don't do a good job. They may have done once upon a time but now...it's a mess. They abuse, bribe and manipulate the minds of the common people and when they win it turns out they were just spewing out bullshit and push their own agendas for their own personal gains. Plus when everyone finds out they lied its not like they can do anything about it. Even when they say they do they don't in the end, everyone just accepts it. Accepts their fate like they're scared or they don't care. Maybe there's things I just don't see, maybe they're just trying their best and the best they can do is fuck things up for other people. I don't know. But what I do know is that goddamn system made me feel so weak and powerless that I felt I couldn't do anything. Everyone gets the idea of a perfect person drilled into them when they're really young. Which is fine but that lets other people exploit them! Hurt them, makes them suffer and they feel like they can't do anything to fight back.' Mitsuko left eye becomes bright blood red as she remembers the times before she took the plunge back then. Though she then sighs as her left snake glances at LingQi who looked concerned though curious.