n

n

n“HUFF HUFF HUFF…”

nI swallowed a large drop of saliva as I ran through the battlefield.

nMud coated my steel boots.

nBloodstains were washed off my chest plate by the downpour of rain.

nThe gauntlets I wore were so thick I could barely feel the spear in my right hand and the large wooden shield in my left.

nThe shield was rimmed with metal, but that was just to reinforce the build… and I don’t think the creators considered how powerful our foes would be.

nTing

nI blocked the first sword with my metal spear, but the impact was so hard that the vibration ran throughout my entire body.

n“ARGH!” I shout as I smash my shield into the man’s steel helmet, knocking him off of me.

nBut that was all it did… Just knock him off of me.

nTwo more men came from behind me, their swords raised above their heads.

nAs the other person I had knocked away was recovering and now charging towards me, I used this chance to step back and watch the three men accidentally clash against each other.

n“ARGH! What are you doing!?” One of the men shouts as his sword digs into the other mans’ shoulder.

nBlood drained from the wound, muddling with the muddy ground.

nThe three men began to argue like the idiots they were, and when they had finally decided to team up on me, I was already gone.

nSplash Splash

nMy boots kicked through the bloody mud.

nThe foul stench of corpses didn’t just linger in my nostrils; It filled my entire sinuses as if it was air.

nI couldn’t help but throw up at the smell.

nIt was a smell I had smelt quite a lot… but that didn’t make it any better.

nThere was no getting used to the smell.

nTing

nI blocked another sword that came swinging down with such force that it dented my spear, bending it slightly.

nThe vibration stunned my body for a split second, allowing another man to swing his sword down into my thigh.

nI was forced to kneel as the men above me smiled psychotically.

nAnd with another downward swing, they intended to take my life.

nI brought up my wooden shield, my eyes seemingly completely devoid of life even though I was still standing up, alive.

nThe soldiers noticed my dead eyes as my shield failed to block the sword in time.

nMy head was split in half.

nThe last sight that I saw was the chilled soldiers running away to attack another one of my comrades.

nIn the year 431, I had died on the battlefield.

nNo kills.

nNo assists.

nNothing.

nI mean, at least I died with nothing.

nI didn’t even really have regrets.

nI just died… like every other soldier on the battlefield.

nOur general was a jackass… I hope he died as well against those monsters.

nThose weren’t human beings.

nThey barely had armor, yet nobody could draw a single drop of blood from them.

nWhen I blocked one of their hits, it felt as if their sword had cut straight through my shield, cutting my body in half.

nWhen I went to stab one of them with my spear, the tip bounced off of their skin as if it were made of metal.

nWell, I had a good life… I think.

n…

n“Ξύπνα,”

nSuddenly, I appeared in a black plane.

nThe sky was black.

nThe surface beneath me was black.

nIt was like an endless abyss where you could easily lose yourself if you stared long enough.

nHuh, maybe this is where the dead reside… It’s peaceful, away from life-threatening diseases. Away from bloody war. Away from the battle-crazed idiots. Away from the crazy religious heretics.

n“My bad, force of habit,” A warm voice calls out to me.

nI felt a strange yearning towards it, and just as I was about to turn my head, I felt my body float up.

nFeeling weightless was nice… It was like the best bed in the world.

n“Come on, spirit, don’t sleep,” The voice says again.

nI went to turn my head but felt a strange blockage.

nIt felt as if somebody was keeping my head from turning with their hand.

n“Okay, almost there… But I do have to say, you don’t have much karma at all. Very little bad karma, very little good karma… What were you doing with your life?”

nIt sounded like a rude remark, but the voice was clearly being sentimental, as if it was worried for me.

nI don’t know… Not much, really.

nI was drafted into a war of which I had no business being a part of.

nI’m a tiny bit sad I died so emptily, but I guess that’s just how it goes.

n“Well, I wish you good luck in your next life, little spirit. I hope you manage to achieve great things,”

nA warm hand pats my head as I drift off into the land of dreams.

n…

nVWOOM

nClink Clink Clink

nI appeared in a gray stone room and could identify it immediately.

n‘A prison,’ I tried to mutter, but no words came out of my mouth but a quiet,

n“ga,”

nI was confused, but it was quickly redirected as soon as I saw a soft young woman pressing her cheek against my chest.

nHer dark purple hair was long and fluffy like a dog.

n“Ga,” Another sound came out of my mouth as soon as I saw her retreat and pull down her tattered brown dress.

n“Come on, you have to eat,” She says in a gentle voice, pulling my head up with her soft, gentle hand.

nBut I didn’t even notice her words as I was stunned by her beautiful purple eyes and clear pale skin.

n“Come on, eat, eat,” She says, ushering my eyes towards her chest.

n“Ga,” I say, reeling my head back.

nI squeezed my eyes shut and pulled back my head, displaying clear discomfort, but I quickly began to regret denying her request upon seeing her cry.

nBig drops of salty water dropped onto my face before I relaxed my body.

n“Please… Please, eat… Please, my son,” She begs, her tears dripping down her cheeks and then onto down mine.

nI give in and lift my head up.

n“Thank you… I promise I’ll give you a better life. Just please stay with me forever… Please,” She mutters, but I couldn’t give a response even if I could talk as she fell asleep right then and there.

nHer head hung, eyes closed, tears drying up on her cheeks.

nRed marks were left as soon as the tears were gone.

nI didn’t like how the marks stained her beautiful face, so I went up to try and rub them with my stubby fat arms.

nBut just as I was about to touch her soft cheeks, she woke up, grabbing my hand instinctively.

n“O-Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” She pleaded as if she had done something wrong.

nShe rubbed her red cheeks against the back of my hand, somehow soothing me.

nMy eyes felt heavy.

nMy stomach was full.

nI was warm.

nI felt loved by the woman above me… my mother.

nIt was such a different feeling compared to the misery in my past life.

nMaybe this one… wasn’t as bad.

n…

n“WAKE UP! IT’S DINNER TIME!” A loud voice shouted, interrupting my peaceful slumber.

nSomebody was banging a metal spoon against a plate all the way to our prison cell, and once they arrived, they shoved the plate through the little hatch in between the bars.

nThe food on the plate fell on the dirty, cold, stone floor, forcing my mom to grab the scraps of meat and bread off of it.

n“Heh, how the strong have fallen,” The man who brought the food says before spitting on my mother, who had her head lowered.

nHer eyes reminded me of mine… dead. Absolutely dead on the inside but living on the outside.

nThe only time she seemed alive was when she was taking care of me—feeding me, teaching me small, insignificant things that she knew I still couldn’t comprehend.

n“It’s okay, don’t cry, baby,” My mother says as she crawls over to me and picks me up, completely ignoring the food that she had just gathered.

nHuh? Am I crying?

n“It’s okay… I’ll make sure you don’t die. I want you to grow up strong like mommy here,” She mutters, revealing her chest once more.

nI was starving.

n“It’s okay… It’s okay… It’s okay,” She mutters over and over.

nFrom what I could observe, it looked as if she was not only consoling me, but herself as well.

n…

nAnother day had passed, and I awoke on the cold stone floor, my mother nowhere to be seen.

nCalmly, I rolled my body upwards so where I could sit on my bottom.

nIt took a few tries to stay upwards, but I scanned the room once I had it down.

nNothing… nothing… nothing… oh, there’s the chain my mother’s leg is connected to.

nI then followed the chain behind my back, where I twisted my chubby body.

nThere was a strange circle with a star in the middle, and right inside that star was my mother, on her knees chanting something strange.

n“Με τον παντοδύναμο μάγο, σου παραχωρώ τη μισή μου δύναμη και τη μεταβιβάζω στον γιο μου. Μακάρι να πετύχει η διαδικασία με την ψυχή και το αίμα των προγόνων μου,” Mother chanted and once she had finished, she fainted.

nWorried, I shifted over to her, but the magic circle erupted into a blood-red light.

nA system is being chos-

nInterference by higher being

nError

nAuthority is insuffici-

nError

nAuthority is sufficient

nYour god has been selected

nYour system has been granted

nAres System is being installed

nHost has been put to sleep for a smooth procedure

n