The world was out of joint; I was hallucinating. Everything happened in an instant as if I had just been born yesterday.

Memories from the past surged through my brain, violent and chaotic. Regrets and guilt turned more bitter as each second passed by, leaving a bad taste.

I lay there, unable to move my body, much less my emotions and my thoughts that were awry.

I was incapacitated, helpless, and covered in my own blood. I couldn't even turn my head.

My gaze was fixed on the long road ahead, while an incomprehensible chatter echoed around me, slowly siphoning away my consciousness. I was dying.

With broken ribs and shattered legs, I felt every ounce of pain scream through my body--- nerves and veins popping out, trying to let out the impact it had strenuously taken. But the night's cold breeze wrapped around me, numbing my state, as if I was stone-cold. Ironic.

The moonlight cast a strange ambiance over this bloody scene, somehow imbuing it with a deeper and more mysterious story behind it--- at least it looked that way.

I was a nobody.

There was nothing worth knowing about me, yet I had so much to cry out to the world.

19 years of age, a sophomore. I was a young lad trying to find my path in university, no directions to follow through.

I was on my own. I felt utterly alone. I endured so many hardships with a bleeding heart and mind; calling it "not easy" would be an understatement. Anyone else would have given up and collapsed at this point, but I hadn't. My stubborn persistence had led me here, proudly standing with my attainments, while uncertain of what lay ahead in the future.

I had no clear goals. It felt like I was merely trying to survive. Until now, I still have visions of what and where I want to be and become. But all of those didn't come with the usual enthusiastic attitude. Not anymore.

It was around 2020, that a world pandemic occurred and contaminated the world. Many lives were lost. A lot of people were left out and had nearly no jobs to land. It was total catastrophe, and during this upheaval, I fell out of school. I lost the scholarship I had poured my heart, tears, and sweat into--- the only support I had to continue my academics. I fell into despair.

It was a nightmare. A nightmare I wished I could have woken up. The disappointment was so massive I couldn't get up. It felt like a sleep paralysis, the horrors dragging you deeper into an abyss of dread.

I was naive, foolish, laughable, stupid--- just as they said, and the list went on. My efforts were futile. I was a huge failure.

Everything began when you started chasing your dreams. You have all these images and scenarios dancing inside your head, your fantasies, filling you with joy. It puts a smile on your face; a genuine feeling.

The innocence I once had--- I missed it. A paradise now long gone. It was like that back then to me, and then all turned black and white.

I started chasing the wrong things. What was once dreams turned into twisted expectations and standards. I don't know what point in my life it started, but along the way, I sure had been walking on a narrow and thorny path. My opinions and desires did not matter as a result. I was always following a script; no other alternative choices. It was a slow suffocation.

Eventually, I had enough. I grew weary of the nonsense. Time and again, I showed aggressive resistance, though it was hardly a sight to behold--- at least for them.

They were mad. Disappointed. They began clicking their tongue at the mere sight of me, even just upon seeing my shadow in corners. As a result, conflict erupted; everyone's blood was boiling, and tension simmered beneath our shared roof. Disharmony circled us--- which in fact, there was no true harmony to begin with. It was all a facade hiding their selfish and rotten personality. I realized and understood their true nature, and it was toxic as an acid corroding everything it touched. It was unbearable.

Just 10 minutes ago, I had a huge argument. Emotions that were held back and piled up showed no signs of restraints. Adrenaline ran throughout my veins as I was bottled up with these years of long-time frustrations while also being nervous at the same time. It wasn't a pleasant feeling talking back, but rather I was at least standing up for myself. I could feel my heart and brain likely to explode anytime with how it loudly pulsed, anxiety and blood pressure level rose to its peak.

Releasing all of these pain towards them, I thought I still had a chance to make things right--- to maybe get something out of something. I hoped for understanding, for reconciliation--- but no. It didn't reach them.

Nothing could. Nothing would. I knew.

They kicked me out of the house afterward, leaving me with nothing. No money, no belongings. Not even a smile inside my pocket to wear. It was all tears staining my cheeks, my face painted in grief.

Following my exit, I took a walk along the road under the chilly night. It was peaceful and quiet, and my head and chest were as loud as ever, raging to its content. I couldn't apprehend the results. This wasn't how I wanted it to end. Everything fell apart.

I have nothing with me, much more a place to go. I was just wandering around aimlessly. Somewhere, somewhat, something--- anything I could still do with my life. I believed in my fate, yet suddenly, that fate came to me sooner with an unexpected change of course. Lights shone over me as if the heavens appeared, blinding and bright, and in an instant, my face was already kissing the pavement, knocked out cold and blood oozing out all over my head and body. Heavenly express arrived without notice.

I let out a gurgling sound, my voice cracked. The world in my image started crumbling, it was now dust and blurry edges, I was getting short of breath. Surprisingly, I didn't feel anything as I was at death's door.

"So this is what dying feels like" I whispered, mustering all the little strength I had in me.

After everything I had been through, maybe there was nothing left inside my heart anymore, despite that flicker of hope.

I had become detached from the world.

Then an unsettling anxiety gnawed at me— what awaited when I finally closed my eyes? But it didn't matter anymore. I didn't care. This would be my grave.

Thinking about it, dying now didn't seem so bad. At least I could finally rest myself from the suffering. Yet, if there are such things

that I have regretted not doing, looming large in my chest, then I could have

spoiled myself more: playing video games, going out with my friends a lot,

petting my cat one last time.

"I..wish..I..could..have...died..hap--py----"

I drew my last breath, the fire in my eyes fading into darkness.

I died.

*****

....

....

....

"-------------------"

" ########?"

" Child ############## me?"

" Child? Are ####################?

#######."

"##############.

#################, #####, child."

I could not feel anything on me. It was all a pit of void surrounding my very place, yet I could hear a voice I have never heard and was not familiar with. It gently echoed inside my mind, its ringing growing as if it was trying to reach out.

It gave me a warm feeling.

I was attracted to it.

"Child, #################. ############"

The mysterious voice continued to call out, laden with intention. Yet, I wasn't able to comprehend the essence of the words it uttered. It was lost in a cacophony of distortion.

I wasn't even sure if it was me that it was trying to get attention for or if I was just hearing things from a distance. Only fragments pierced through the fog, making some sense.

Its tone was too distorted making it difficult to tell whether the figure was a man or woman. In this case, perhaps it is something otherworldy--- a genderless entity, a robot or machine, or even an angel.

I don't know about chances, but I'm bad at the guessing game. Those were too fictitious, exaggerated prophesy, though I felt a sense of desperation coming from it. As if it was trying to tell me something important, but there was nothing I could do to make things clearer enough. I felt rather delusional.

Checking myself up, I shifted my attention, assessing my state. Darkness enveloped me completely. I could feel nothing with only my active mind seemingly intact. I could not feel my flesh--- no legs, no arms, no head, no eyes to behold the world. I was a wandering lost soul without form, just a consciousness adrift in an abyss.

Had I truly gained consciousness? Was I, in fact, dead?

These questions swirled within me, a fearful intuition that gnawed at my sanity.

My train of thoughts continued to circle when the voice rang out once more, delivering its somewhat final statement "#############. ############, child. Take care--------". It echoed gently, fading like the whisper of a passing breeze, each ringing softer than the last.

Silence descended, enveloping me once more. I was somehow feeling a bit down from being left behind--- or so I thought. It was too quiet for me to enjoy this lone situation. With no other sound I hear, the stillness that had once offered solace now felt unsettling.

As I contemplated this unnerving silence, a blinding ray of light sliced through the darkness, piercing through my very presence.

For the first time, an image began to materialize, though I felt a sense of de javu within me.

Was it possible to die a second time while already dead?

Another tantalizing "what if" danced on the fringes of my mind.

Suddenly, I felt an invisible force forcefully pulling me toward the source of that radiant light. I was getting sucked in against my will, and there was nothing I could do, again--- so I ceased struggling opposed to it.

I accepted my fate, and anxiety intensely filled my mind when the light began swallowing me whole, then my consciousness snapped, and everything, for the second time, went blank-----

*****

My mind felt a little shaky. Everything was like a dream moments ago. The world in my image was still pitch-dark and my consciousness flickered back to life, disorienting yet oddly exhilarating. It felt surreal.

What on earth was happening to me? This strange phenomenon is going to make me lose my mind.

But despite the reoccurring situation, something felt different. It made me uneasy. I could feel it.

A weight returned to my existence--- It was the first sensation that flickered since my death.

Yet that sensation felt wrong. As if an unseen force was stifling my every attempt to move.

It didn't sit right with me. I willed myself to shift, to speak, but my body remained an immovable shell. I couldn't exert strength within me the least. I was baffled by the outcome.

Puzzled by my predicament, I concentrated on the faint rhythm of breath emerging from within me. Slowly, the sensation of inhaling and exhaling filled the void— a nostalgic reminder of life despite my short-lived years, though my memories of it were hazy. Just what is happening now?

I felt like a newborn, awakening from a long slumber, though I had no firsthand recollection of such an experience.

In any case, I continued to study myself. I was determined, focused on my surroundings, desperate for answers.

Then, with surprising ease, I managed to open my eyes. It felt less like waking and more like emerging from a deep, restorative sleep. I put a lot of effort into it, though it unexpectedly happened naturally.

A wave of relief washed over me as I glimpsed familiar shapes around me. My vision was hazy, but for the first time, I beheld the sky. It was at night.

Ah. It was beautiful.

The night sky sprawled above, studded with countless stars, their brilliance igniting fragments of distant memories within me. The sheer radiance stirred a deep nostalgia, though the number of stars seemed to exceed what I remembered before my death.

It was a little strange, but curiously, I dismissed that thought; everything else around was just the same pitch dark, punctuated by the looming silhouettes of massive trees.

This was all I could grasp for now. I was simply grateful to witness such wonder once more.

Just as I began to survey my surroundings, a sudden jolt disturbed my stillness, my vision turned to moving frames. I was shaken, bounced up and down involuntarily.

The unsettling motion turned discomfort into alarm, drawing my gaze to the imposing figure before me.

Startled, I was perplexed by the answer discerned through my eyes. It was an unsettling breathless second.

"##########!"

A man loomed above, running frantically, muttering unintelligible words. His size cast a shadow over me, half his face obscured by a hood that revealed only a sharp nose and a look of sheer distress. Each labored breath he took echoed the chill in the air, his expression twisted in anxiety.

I watched, nerves taut, as the man darted past, my pulse quickening in response to his urgent movements. "###########. ###########." He looked at me, somehow showing a bit of relief despite this controversial situation of his while still uttering phrases I had no clue at all. It left me confused.

While I was pondering about all of this, the clues presented in front reached their conclusion.

A moment of clarity struck as I pieced together the reality of my situation: I was being carried, my helplessness underlined by the fact that I could not even speak.

Realizing it, your initial instinct has a way of sabotaging you every time, your fate sealed by your own jinx---- I was an infant. My limited view and movements were hindering me from reaching a response.

A singular thought surged forth----reincarnation. A utopia supposedly that resides only in stories. An idea born of myth, yet here I was, alive again. But where in this world had I found myself?

A new batch of questions started to pile up inside my head. Things just became intriguing.

On the other hand, the running man holding me abruptly halted, his gaze locking onto mine, as he spoke again, "##########. ##############. ######". Once more, his words slipped past me, unfathomable. This incomprehensible one-sided communication was the same thing that happened just before waking up—something fleeting, something... what was it again? That strange, elusive feeling, right on the tip of my tongue.

What had just happened? What had I been thinking moments ago?

I stared into the void, my mind scrambling, utterly stunned by the sudden lapse in memory.

Somehow, I couldn't quite remember what happened before wak--- huh? Before what exactly? The thought was just at the back of my head, but it slipped down through my brain. I couldn't seem to catch it.

Swiftly redirecting my focus, the man began moving. With gentle care, he lowered me closer to the ground, and the gap between us started to widen. The rush of water resonated nearby, hinting that I was being carried along the current of a river.

I yearned to see the end of this scene as it left me wondering, hanging in my thoughts, but just then, my memory loss was proceeded by a pulse coursing through my entire being.

My body froze, a sudden paralysis taking hold. My little movements ceased to exist.

Cracks began to form around the edges of my vision, the vibrant hues of the world dissolving into monochrome, the night sky dimming despite the evening's embrace.

I felt consciousness slipping away, yet this time it was accompanied by a sharp pain, like a drill boring into my skull. The agony consumed me, snuffing out my senses.

As my vision faded, the last image I held was of the man, his form receding into the woods, a fleeting silhouette against the darkening backdrop.

A CERTAIN STRANGER'S POV:

O' Goddess, I humbly beseech your blessing. Shield me from the vile creatures and bloodthirsty demons that roam the night. Let them feel the weight of their sins; punish them for the chaos they have wrought. Guide my hand as I undertake this mission, a solemn favor from a friend I hold in the highest esteem.

Though this journey may lead to my own demise, it is my only path to repay him for all the times he came to my aid, and for the countless moments I turned my back on him. This is my solitary chance for redemption, especially now that all of them—my comrades, my dear friend—have been brutally slaughtered by those foul demons in their insatiable quest for power.

"O' Goddess, forgive this wretched sinner and grant me the strength to endure this trial one final time, for death surely awaits."

The bloody scene that happened hours ago was permanently engraved in my mind. Recalling the scenario, I was carefully taking a peek while hiding as they tore everybody into pieces like paper.

The stench of blood and dismembered bodies covered the whole inn, and I was just shaking in fear at a certain corner while trying not to make a noise, and while keeping my composure intact to not lose my mind.

It was pure horror, an abyss of dread that clawed at my insides. I felt the urge to vomit, to escape from this nightmare, to flee as I had so many times before from the pivotal moments of my life. But then, a flicker of resolve ignited within me. I remember.

I had vowed to protect it, to ensure these demons would not seize what they sought. I could not—and would not—allow that to happen.

The evening deepened around me, shadows swallowing the path I struggled to navigate. Countless times I stumbled over the treacherous terrain, my footing uncertain, yet somehow I managed to put distance between myself and my relentless pursuers.

But I knew this was merely a temporary reprieve; the demons would not relent in their hunt. I had to push on, to flee as far and as fast as I could. Their tenacity was unyielding.

It was a miracle I had come this far, especially for a weary, retired soldier like me. Yet, what truly astonished me was the burden I carried—the very reason the demons had descended upon the village and wrought such devastation.

I paused, my heart racing as I glanced down at the fragile figure cradled in my arms. A supposedly lifeless infant had stirred to life, eyes wide open but silent. The stillness of the baby was a small comfort amidst the chaos.

"A miracle from the heavens," I whispered, awe mingling with disbelief.

This child had been dead when my friend entrusted it to me. I had pressed for answers about why those monstrous beings would desire a dead infant, but my friend had no clarity to offer. In their ruthless pursuit, these creatures spared no one, not even the corpse of a child, to fulfill their dark designs.

With the baby's revival, my resolve to protect this innocent life grew stronger. I had to act, and I had to act now.

Without hesitation, I plunged deeper into the mountains, the darkness swallowing me whole. Each step was fraught with danger; I knew I could be discovered at any moment. Yet, if I continued like this, I risked falling into their grasp, endangering not just myself but the entire world.

As I sought an alternative, a familiar sound reached my ears—a rushing current nearby. Instinctively, I raced toward it.

There it was: a river, its swift waters hinting at a waterfall not far ahead.

Knowing the absurdity of my plan, I retrieved a basket from my pack, my heart pounding. With care, I placed the baby inside, hoping this would mislead the demons while I would divert their attention elsewhere.

Yet, guilt gnawed at my conscience. I was on the brink of snuffing out the life of this precious soul, an innocent being who had been granted the gift of a second chance.

"O' Goddess, forgive me," I murmured, frustration spilling from my lips.

Truly an unforgivable act, going against morals, yet the world had left me no choice. I am sorry.

As long as they don't discover you, the world may yet avert its impending doom. You will become a hero, though your name may remain unspoken. May the light illuminate your path and lead you to safety. Please, survive.

Trembling, I stood at the water's edge, my gaze locked on the baby one last time as the current swept the basket away. I swallowed down my guilt.

With a deep breath, I disappeared into the shadows, steeling myself for what lay ahead—my final reckoning.

`````````````````````````````

"WHERE IS IT, HUMAN!?"

"Where is the corpse? Where did you hide it?"

I was trapped, the ground trembling beneath the weight of each demon as they landed around me. The largest, clearly their leader, advanced with an aura of menace, his piercing gaze locking onto mine.

Panic gripped me, rendering me immobile. This was a fear unlike any I had ever known, primal and suffocating. My instincts screamed that these were no ordinary foes; they were high-ranking demons, and they meant business.

"I'll give you one chance, lowlife. We will spare your pathetic existence if you reveal where it's hidden. The king has searched for this for ages, and at last, we have a lead—"

"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you negotiating with a snack—"

"SILENCE! Now tell me... where is it? We might even welcome you into our ranks. Imagine—a chance for a longer life—"

"SHUT UP, DEMON! I know every word you said was a lie! And no matter what you do to me, I will tell you nothing! You sickening bastards would meet your end by the Goddess' hand!" I pointed out, knowing their nature, and my fate.

"Heh heh heh. I wonder when that day will come. Perhaps in your next life—"

"Enough! So.... you have chosen death."

"Then so be it, you wretched fiend."

The fewer words I utter, the less opportunity they have to uncover the truth.

"Hmmmm."

"Hayst. Where is she when we needed her magic to read memories? There can't be no more perfect time than this."

"That b*tch is so arrogant. How dare she act on her own accord!"

Huh? They have someone with them to read mi--------

*SLASHED*

As my head fell from my shoulders, the world slowed to a crawl. Instead of grief consuming me, a strange peace enveloped my heart. I had kept my promise, despite my past and the choice I had made in this moment. Perhaps this was for the best.

What a cruel world this is, O' Goddess.