"The heart never forgets."
I. (3 Days left Before the Culling)
I've always hated myself for my own incompetence. Wherever I went, failure seems to accompany me. Like some kind of loyal dog that wags its tail as it follows me around. I've learned to deal with it on my first life, using liquor as an exit to my miserable situation. I've learned to cope with it. I've learned how to endure the pain of not being enough. But right now, my incompetence is biting me really hard. I never knew I could even hate myself even further than I already have.
I am in the front yard of Sina's Inn. I waited for night to come, cleaning Mystica's corpse and my own in the process. I dressed her in a beautiful white dress that I found in her cabinet and put as much effort on my own corpse.
"I'm sorry." Tears started falling from my eyes again. The burden of her death will always weigh down on me. I trusted too easily and this is what I got in return.
I buried our bodies next to each other, putting a wooden frame around the ground and placing a cushion at the bottom. When I put her this way, it really looks as if she's sleeping. One long dream where she will never wake up from.
"Good Night Mystica." I said, finally closing the piece of earth where I placed our bodies.
I sat on the ground and stared at the evening sky, holding back my tears which are about to fall again. What would Mystica say if she's here right now? Maybe she'd tell me how much of a crybaby I am.
"Master we need to start moving." Sei said.
"I know." I told her. I would have continued mourning for months but I've got no time for that. King is still alive, that degenerative excuse for a human being is still roaming the streets.
"I can't say a proper farewell to Mystica until he's dead." I told myself. All the goons who fought me outside the room are still alive. If I knew any sooner that they were also part of that horrid act, I would have gladly gouged their eyes out one by one. Right now, they are all tied up on the same place where I was held captive, together with the mutilated bodies of their comrades. I'll return to that place tomorrow to interrogate them. Then I can burn that Inn.
"Let me clean myself up first. Then we can get going." I told Sei.
"Should I provide all the current information about you while in the process master?"
"Yes please."
"This is a rundown of all the information that were withheld at the moment. Your new body is owned by a deceased man named Horan. It was only a minute after he passed away that you took over his body."
"So this body came from another dead person huh?"
"Yes master. You were able to take over it because your mind attached itself to your soul, hindering it from passing to the gates of the underworld."
"What about the light I saw which led me to this body?"
"That is probably the soul of mister Horan, passing away."
"Damn. I should have hurried so I could tell his soul: finders keepers."
"Master, that joke is a s dry as the Sahara Dessert." Sei replied. I laughed as I started washing my body in the bath.
"I need to stay sane after what happened. Joking might help no matter how humorless it may be." I started covering myself in lukewarm water. Se said nothing more about my choice in humor and continued her explanations.
"You were not able to move at first because the body was in a state of shock at first. For a minute all his bodily functions ceased and, as soon as you took over, they restarted."
"How was I able to do that?"
"You weren't master. I was the one who took care of the process. I transported to that room as soon as you entered Horan's body. You also gained that body's attributes which added to your own. I'll open up the status window so you can check."
Name: (Jean Martin) Horan
Level: 10
Bonus Status Points Available: 0
Strength: (20) 90
Speed: (15) 80
Intelligence: (200) 30
Stamina: (100) 50
Luck: (0) 20
"Sei, are the ones on the open and close parentheses my previous stats?"
"That is correct master. The ones outside it are the attributes this body left you with. Fifty points are added to both speed and strength as you ordered earlier on during the day. As to why this occurred, it is probably due to the fact that the system of this world could not comprehend what happened but nevertheless, those points all add up." Sei explained.
Wait. So that basically means that, my current stats right now go like this:
Strength: 110
Speed: 95
Intelligence: 230
Stamina: 150
Luck: 20
"I feel like a cheater in the game now." I said.
"Not at all. You were just lucky master. If you had maxed other attributes instead of intelligence, you wouldn't have had the chance to obtain either me or subconscious. Both of which became crucial to your soul transferring. Plus, it also has the only downside of lowering your level back to 10."
"Man, did you also level up in consoling because what you said felt really reassuring. Oh yeah! How about that? Didn't you also level up?"
"Yes master. My skill name is now Athena's Blessing. You will see another sigil appearing on your forehead in the form of a golden owl eye."
"Let me guess, the eye symbolizes how Athena can see the truth while the owl symbolizes wisdom."
"Both assumptions are correct master. Furthermore, in my current level I can control your body, and access all information even in your sleep or when you are unconscious."
"That's a lot of convenient upgrades."
"Thank you master. You flatter me."
"You also have two new skills connected to this body." Sei continued.
"Really? Let's see it then." I said, curious.
Skills:
Athena's Blessing - Level 1
Subconscious - Level 1
The Fool - Level 1
Cooking - Level 1
Love - Making - Level 1
Skill in Progress:
The Immortal (1/20)
"Sei..."
"Yes Master."
"Why do I see something perverted on my screen right now?"
"Oh my do you see your face master?"
"SeiiiI!"
"I make better puns. Hehe." She said triumphantly.
"Anything that has developed beyond the average human capacity becomes a skill in this world master. Though the people are unaware of this fact since they are not offered the same system as the Entertainers."
"So basically, this guy is a great cook and…"
*sigh*
"Yes master he was also great in bed."
"Why do I keep getting these weird stuff!"
"Weirdness is attracted to weirdness."
"Sei!"
"Better puns. Hehe."
I realized what she's doing after that second joke. She must think how burdened I am with Mystica's death. Sei is just helping me recover.
"Thank you Sei." I smiled.
"You are most welcome master." She responded, as if understanding what I am thanking her for.
II.
No sooner have I left the bathroom when a familiar voice greeted me.
"Hey who the hell are you and what have you done with my Jean?" She said.
"You better start explaining before I bring the whole underworld to that side."
"Heidi - samaaaaa! It's me! It's Jean!"
"You can't fool a goddess! I know Jean's voice. It's warm and it turns me on faster than a dog in heat." What the hell?!
"That's clearly not how you sound like!" She continued.
*Sigh*
She must have been so worried ever since my name disappeared from the Entertainers ranking. Plus, I couldn't even imagine her confusion when another person's name entered in my place. How can I make her believe me though?
"Okay I'll give you a chance. I'll provide a series of questions that only the real Jean can answer. Are you ready?"
"Yes Heidi - sama."
"Where did we marry?"
"…"
Is she being serious right now?
"Heidi - sama we never married."
"Correct! Next question."
"How many times have you snuck a peek at my body?"
*Sigh*
The list of ridiculous questions went on and I answered them all correctly. Heidi - sama cried for a while and called me rude before finally accepting my existence. I then explained to her every detail which occurred thus far and how I was tricked by another Entertainer.
"That's a lot to take in. Oh, by the way, it's better if you feel a lot of despair because that's part of my blessing. Despair actually gets turned into your own experience points after reaching a certain amount."
"How can I see if I have enough despair already?"
"You won't, if you do, you'd force yourself into despair and the blessing won't work."
"Anyway, I'll go talk to the goddess Ptah about this matter. Take care okay?" She sounded really concerned. That's so unlike her. For a goddess of the underworld, she can be a really warm person.
There are still a lot of things to figure out but right now, my body feels unbearable. I need to get some sleep. I want to find King as soon as possible, but overburdening this body will just lower my chances even more. I dropped to the bed and as soon as I did, my body completely shut down.
III. (2 Days left Before the Culling)
"Sei what time is it?"
"It's already 10:00 in the morning master. You're quite calm for someone who's still at last place in the ranking."
"Well I do need to *yawn* get enough sleep for this *yawn* body. Yesterday was so tiresome after all."
"Yes, indeed." Sei agreed.
I stood up and opened my room's window. From here I can clearly see the front yard. A bed of flowers already covered the area where I buried our bodies on.
"Wait a little longer Mystica." I told myself.
*System Notice: The Underworld's Blessing is now in effect.*
*Alert: You've earned 5,000 exp points.*
*Alert: You have reached Level 11. 10 bonus status points are given to you as reward.*
*Alert: You have reached Level 12. 10 bonus status points are given to you as reward.*
*Alert: You have reached Level 13. 10 bonus status points are given to you as reward.*
*Alert: You have reached Level 14. 10 bonus status points are given to you as reward.*
*Alert: You have reached Level 15. 10 bonus status points are given to you as reward.*
The continuous notifications got me surprised. Heidi - sama's blessing is really convenient for my current state.
"Status."
I checked my ranking. My name is still in the bottom ten but at least I'm now at ninth place. Just a bit more and I'll be safe.
"Right, let's get going then." I said as I reached for my clothes that are in the closet. As soon as I did, a letter fell down. I took it in my hands and quickly I recognized the penmanship. The tears in my eyes began flowing automatically.
It's from Mystica.
IV. Mystica's Letter
06/01/1450
Dear Jean,
I know that we haven't been together for long. Nevertheless, I have continued falling for you each and every day. Even without most of my memories intact, I know that my heart would skip a beat every time you smile at me. It would always flutter when you laughed and, I would always feel secured when you say "Everything will be okay."
I'm not the best woman in the world. I know that my features are not as abundant as the other women in town whom you keep ogling (yes I saw that when we went to the market hmp). But I do know one thing, I can love you more than they ever could. No matter how many times my memories reset, or even if I forget you again tomorrow. My heart would still be sure that, I love you.
I know that you'd need to get out of this town soon. I could feel it from the pace that we went in improving the Inn. We could have made steady progress through the months but we gambled and gambled instead. I gambled with you of course because, I always believed your words. "Everything will be okay."
I want you to stay. I want you to stay and to choose me over whatever it is that you have to do. But I can't be selfish. That's why I made you this letter. As soon as you leave, my memories of you will slowly fade from my mind. Try as I might, fight as I might, even if I sketch your face or write down all the things I love about you, everything will still vanish. So I made you this letter. The letter of a stranger to another stranger. Telling you that…
Even if her mind forgets. Even if all memories fade. Her heart will remain true. And if you ever come back and smile at me again, it'll start beating the way it used to, and without hesitation I will say:
"Welcome home my love."