Chapter 13- Prophecy

200 Years prior, a great sage appeared in the Asarith Sultinate.

He spoke a prophecy that spread to the four countries of the human realm, and invoked fear into the hearts of people for eons.

Alas, since 200 years had passed and nothing had happened, people had either forgotten this prophecy, or simply didn't believe it would come to pass within their time. It became known as a mere tale of fantasy, and nothing more.

It went as such.

There would come a day- which would be noted when a certain event happened- where beings would appear on the planet to wreak havoc.

If left unchecked, they would take over the monster realm, and overthrow the 3 monster kings in order to become the new demon lords.

The human realm of the west and the monster realm of the east formed a continent that looked like a sideways hourglass. In the middle, at the thinnest part of the hourglass, a wall had been formed to separate the human realm from the monster realm.

The humans from all four humanoid countries had sent thousands of soldiers to defend the wall against the monsters during periods of war, however after years of war the monster kings each retreated to their own realms in the far east, and the humans then kept soldiers stationed at the wall to prevent the monsters from considering another offensive.

This unit became known as the border patrol, and the Vythguard Empire was the country which governed the lands containing this wall.

The prophecy stated that a being would appear in the human realm who held the power to 'unlock' legendary abilities in chosen people.

This being would search out these chosen people, one from each country, and as a result, a team of four legendary heroes would be formed.

The prophet stated that if the four heroes worked together to defeat these beings with haste, that they would defeat the newfound demon lords, and the humans would be able to take back the monster realm lead by the heroes.

However, should the heroes try to take on these beings without each others assistance, they would be defeated, and chaos would rein.

Furthermore, if the heroes or the person who was supposed to unite them were to waste precious time, and humanity was unable to unite swiftly, the beings of chaos would continue growing in power, until eventually they spiraled out of control, reaching levels which even the heroes could never hope to touch.

The event which signaled the start of this would be broadcasted to each of the four countries- The Vythguard Empire of the East, The landlocked Asarith Sultinate in the center, the Ruthobold Kingdom of the West, and the Dwarven and Elven Alliance of the south.

On the fated day when the prophecy was to be set into motion, for just one night, the moon itself would turn red- showing all who noticed it that the very balance of the world was shifting.

Some noticed this change, and associated it with the prophecy. Many however, did not.

Even so, the crimson moon raised itself above the world on that night.

The Indeterminant had arrived.

----

What qualities of a person make up a good villain?

Relatability.

A deep rooted motive, that goes beyond simple selfishness and arrogance towards others.

A person who the reader can understand- perhaps even better than the protagonist. Someone who isn't doing evil things out of rage or greed, but out of righteous anger and realistic views.

Someone who- with a little change in perspective- could have just as easily been the main character of a story.

Oscar was anything but this.

Oscar was a typical scumbag.

Oscar was the type of guy who would skip classes when he was in high school to do drugs because he thought it was cool.

Oscar was the type of guy to start a fight with the teacher on the few days he did show up just so that he could get out of doing his work.

Oscar was the type of guy who scraped by high school with D's because the teachers all wanted to get rid of him and not have to deal with him anymore- despite the fact that he failed all his tests.

Oscar was the type of guy who moved out of his parents house and found a girlfriend to pay the rent for him. He spent his days lazing around, drinking and going out to party at night while deceiving the naive woman who was paying his bills.

Oscar was the type of guy to be with 5 women at once on a whim, and the only effort he ever took was to keep them from finding out about each other.

Oscar was the type of guy who had 2 points on his driving record because he went out in his Tesla that his parents bought for him and went 130 mph on the highway in the middle of the night, revving his engine so loudly that one might think a calamity was occurring.

Oscar was the type of guy who had gone to Juvi when he was a middle schooler, and ever since then all the jackasses in his grade followed him like some sort of rebel idol.

He was a prettyboy who had everything handed to him in life, and if someone ever tried to deny him of anything, he would ruin them in and out.

Because he was good at manipulating people.

To put things simply- Oscar was a real villain.

He wasn't a character who could be related to by the average person. He also wasn't some sort of inconceivable bad guy who was bad just to be bad.

No. He was someone who could be found on the street everywhere you went. His type flourished all over the world, no matter where they were.

But, Oscar's happy go lucky life had come to an end.

His 6th... no, was it the 7th?

I suppose it doesn't matter.

One of the women he was dating finally caught onto the act.

When walking on a thin tightrope, one misstep is all it takes to fall.

One shot two shot.

Oscar and the woman he was in bed with were killed in a double murder.

In the world of darkness, where nothing existed but the void...

[You have been selected]

[Welcome to the world of Yolenos]

"What the hell is goin on mayun? This shit is tots crae crae bruh."

[You have been assigned a special role]

[The indeterminant]

[Class- Indeterminant]

[Level- Indeterminant]

[Skills- Indeterminant]

[Stats- Indeterminant]

[Special ability: Undefine. You control the power to falsify truth, and change reality itself]

"Wacky bro!" , he exclaimed in a surfer accent.

[Entering world]

[Loading completed]

----

Oscar fell forward.

He was in a room, on a platform surrounded by guards all facing him. They seemed to be at attention, but they were not hostile.

The room was rectangular, and the men around him seemed to be staring at him, shocked as if they had seen a ghost appear out of thin air.

The guards began whispering among themselves.

"Its true! He really has appeared!"

"The one destined to lead the heroes has appeared, and in our country! We must inform the king of this immediately!" , an important looking guard shouted.

Some messengers ran off in a flurry. They seemed to be taking this very seriously.

The guard who seemed to be at the head who had just called out the order bent his knee to Oscar, who had fallen forward in the middle of the platform.

The other soldiers copied him, until a unit of around 25 men were genuflecting towards Oscar.

Oscar stumbled up. He wasn't drunk or high for once in his life, but if you watched him stand you wouldn't be able to tell.

"Whoa. This is like, totally radical. Psychedelic man!", he exclaimed in his typical surfer accent.

"Er... your honor, I am unsure what you mean by your words. It appears that your servant is lacking in intelligence, compared to you."

"Word, brotha. Whats crackling in this greenpea?"

"Could you use some simpler terms? Forgive my ignorance, but I don't understand what you're asking of me."

"Bummer man."

Suddenly, Oscar's demeanor changed. He went from an ignorant playboy to an esteemed figure in an instant. The sudden change was breathtaking, and anyone who saw it would be utterly confused as to how a person could act so well at being an idiot.

"Alright. Where am I?"

"Ah! You are in the Ruthobold Kingdom. Esteemed hero, we beseech that you speak with our king, and save our country! It is said that at the time one appears when the moon turns red that the world will be engulfed into chaos, and that only the heroes you awaken will have the power to defeat the rising demon lords!"

"Is that so? Hmm.... looks like I'm a pretty powerful piece in this chess game, eh? That would make a lot of sense as to why you lot are treating me so nicely."

Oscar felt around his new body.

It was exactly the same as his former body, and it only felt weird at first because he had been formless for a little while, when he was in that abyss.

Oscar didn't know what his abilities were just by looking at the screens that had passed, but he instead felt something.

He felt like he held the very power to control fate.

What could describe this intangible feeling that he felt? It was an inconceivable sense of security, as if he could bend the world to his very wish.

Oscar had spent his life manipulating others, and there was never a moment in his life where he didn't feel in control of everything... except for his last moment.

He had lived a lifestyle full of risk, and dodged bullet after bullet his entire life. It was not due to pure luck, but rather because he had carefully and skillfully planned each and every action. Why then, had he failed in his last moments?

A single miscalculation.

In a system of equations, increasing the system by even 1 variable will increase the steps and work needed to solve it exponentially.

Assuming the equations aren't trivial, the following is true.

With 2 variables, only a few steps are needed.

With 3, somewhere between a half and a full page are needed.

With 4, A page front and back.

With 5, multiple pages are needed to solve it.

The workload only increases with each variable.

And with an increased workload, there is an increased chance that a single mistake will be made somewhere along the line.

What did he do wrong? Which one of the hundreds of variables in his calculations was incorrect?

As a perfectionist, it pinged the back of Oscars mind that he didn't know what went wrong, and was now unable to find out.

But Oscar knew one thing for sure.

It was time to figure out what to do in this new world.

But, of course the first thing that came to mind was as such.

'I need power and influence. In order to make enemies, one must first make allies.'

And who would be a better ally than some pawns who seemed to view him as some sort of savior?

Of course, something was bugging at Oscar. Something annoying that made him worry.

He could feel that he was not physically strong in this world- his sense of confidence came from elsewhere.

Oscar waved his hand, feeling that was the action he needed to perform inherently.

A screen showed up.

It was not a status screen.

It was a computer log.

Log:

[Oscar has entered Yolenos]

[Oscar has been assigned administrator privileges]

[You may type commands below. Type Help for more information.]

Oscar typed [Help]

A help screen popped up.

[You are allowed to edit properties of any entities in the world of Yolenos that haven't been constrained. You have limited privilege access. Try a command!]

"You, over there!"

One of the young guards smiled and continued kneeling towards Oscar.

"What is your name?"

"I am Mark, your honor. It is a pleasure that you would give me such attention as to even ask for my name!"

The young soldiers eyes shined as he looked towards Oscar. It was as if his idol had shown up in front of him. What soldier here could stop their trembling at seeing the hero destined to lead those who would save the world? This was a once in a lifetime sight, and even though it implied that beings of chaos would soon appear, the soldier had confidence that the hero who appeared in front of them would prevent such a fate at all costs.

Oscar smirked.

He pointed a finger at Mark.

"Would you like to see a taste of the power I hold, Mark?"

Mark looked stunned with excitement.

"Would you be so kind as to allow us to see it!?"

Oscar had baseless confidence that what he was about to do would work. It was as if he felt what he was able to do, and what he couldn't

"Then, look carefully, everyone here. Fear the name of Oscar, who wields the power to decide whether others live or die!"

Oscar typed in a command.

[\kill Mark]

[Are you sure you want to use this command? Do you wish to Kill Mark?]

[Confirm]

Mark's face went pale, and he dropped to the ground with a clang.

The soldiers around Oscar went silent.

Fear filled them.

The legendary hero had just slaughtered one of their ranks to show off his power.

What were they to do? Some pulled their swords on Oscar, and others stayed put in fear.

Oscar inputted another command.

[\plant evidence on Mark]

When this command was typed, reality itself changed.

That is, facts that were previously false became true, and facts that were previously true became false, in order to conform to this command. By making the truth value of a certain state indeterminant, he was able to change reality itself.

He was the only one who could see this command input, and he seemed to know this inherently. Why did he know his abilities so perfectly?

"That man was a traitor to your king. If you don't believe me, check his pockets. He planned to assassinate him later tonight, when the shift was over."

"Do you take us for idiots!? Who would believe that? Mark was one of my loyal comrades!!", one of the guards shouted.

The lead guard grabbed the helmet of the guard who said that, and smashed his head to the ground.

WHAM!!!

"You insolent fool!!! The leader of the heroes would never lie to us like this. Check that man immediately!!! "

The two guards on either side of Mark began searching him thoroughly, to find something in his pockets.

Inside they found a note, with a vile of poison.

The note read:

"As you know, tonight is your shift in the castle. If you succeed in poisoning the king and his sons during their meal, your pay will be left under the bridge near the moat. A boat will take you away into the sewers, where you can be led to the Vythguard Empire underground. When you arrive, you will be treated like a noble, as the one who created turmoil in the Ruthobold Kingdom. When the Empire declares war on them in the confusion, they will have no leader to rule, and the war will be easily won. At that time, you will be given conquered lands, and may live as a noble for the rest of your days."

As to why there was so much information on this letter- the soldiers did not know. Would it not be suspicious to carry this around if one really did plan on assassinating the king? However...

"It is as you have said, your honor! There is no further need to doubt this man. He is clearly an ally of the Ruthobold Kingdom!", the guard captain exclaimed.

Nobody could fight the evidence provided, especially given that Mark would have certainly noticed if someone planted fake evidence on him. Who wouldn't feel a large glass bottle jiggling around in one's pocket?

And it was indeed Mark's turn to guard the king tonight. This was a fact that had been altered due to the command Oscar made, in order to make his command believable.

'I've won! With the power to control reality and fate, there can be nobody to defy me! My power is absolute!', Oscar thought.

"I will now meet with your king. Please lead me to him. I hold no ill intentions, but if anyone threatens my life I hope you will all understand that I cannot sit back and allow myself to be killed."

"Of course, your honor! There would not be a soldier stupid enough among our ranks to attack the one who is needed to save this world from the vile monsters you will have to save us from!"

"Please forgive our suspicions, your honor. If you wish, you may take my life for it", one of the soldiers said.

"I will not needlessly kill anyone. The man I killed was plotting something evil against your king, and I stopped him from carrying out his evil actions."

Oscar held back a laugh. This was not the first time he had killed someone. He once hit a young girl when he was driving drunk, killing her on the spot. This was enough to sober him up so that he was able to hide the body, and one of his women- a higher up government official- was able to easily cover up the death.

He remembered the thrill he felt though, when he hit this girl.

Killing an innocent person filled Oscar with a sense of excitement that he had never felt.

Unfortunately, Oscar lived in a world where even one with connections such as his was not able to freely kill people at will. He had wanted to give up his bum life and become a serial killer, but he decided not to, as it would invoke too many uncontrollable variables.

But now, things were different.

He had the persona of a hero, and the power to shift reality itself.

At the very least, he would be able to kill a few people here and there for the pleasure.

But he had a goal far beyond simply killing people.

'If I truly have unlimited power in this world... then I have to make THAT a reality, don't I?'

It felt good to be strong. And it felt even better to kill the innocent. To do so without having a drop of blood on his hands?

Some serial killers took joy in the action of stabbing, but Oscar was not like them. He took joy in simply being the one who decided between life and death of the innocent victim. He did not need to hear their screams or see their desperation- though he entertained those thoughts a bit.

But he took the most pleasure in seeing an innocent face- one unsuspecting of such a fate- to suddenly be taken upon by death.

The guard almost began crying.

"You are truly a figure of mercy and grace, to forgive us of our impudence. I pledge my sword to assist you in all your efforts to purge evil from this land!"

The other guards who had pulled their swords or harbored suspicions as well were moved by the words of Oscar.

"Us as well! We pledge our swords to assist you, your honor!"

Oscar put on a deceptive smile.

"Thank you all. I appreciate your support greatly."

The guards all felt like they had seen an angel smile upon them. In their hearts, they were truly convinced that Oscar was the man who would bring the kingdom to glory, and rid the world of demons and monsters.