"*gasp*... *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*... HUFF… HUFF… HUFF,"
A familiar sight… rain pouring down on my face as I lay on my back, but it was a hard pavement instead of the rocking waves.
As I got up, I noticed my body was feeble and weak… and somehow shorter than before.
"I really did get reborn," I muttered as I glanced down at my child-like body, which was approximately the age of ten.
And just as I began to look around, my vision suddenly blurred, and intense pain rushed through my head, giving me the worst headache I had ever experienced.
Memories that weren't mine began to entangle themselves within my mind, like two threads being bunched into a ball of yarn.
I tried to separate them, but the more that came flowing in, the harder it was to tell which memory came from which life.
All of them felt natural to me… until the pain ended.
The tangled ball of yarn suddenly unraveled itself into something comprehensible.
Two lines of yarn spread out… but there was something that crossed over from the memories of this current body.
Anger. Rage. Sadness.
All of it filled my very being, but then there were the emotions of my past life which sort of acted as a type of nullification for all of these other negative emotions.
Confusion. Calmness. Peace.
"Ugh… My head," I muttered as the slow rain continued to fall down onto my face.
Slowly, I shifted my eyes around and noticed I was in the deepest part of a dark alleyway in probably the largest city I've ever seen.
The two buildings beside me towered to the sky, but it was a bit depressing.
The more I looked at my surroundings, the more I felt lost, and my head began to spin as if I was coming down with a fever.
Tump
…
I woke up a few hours later, the dark cloudy sky now a pitch-black and rainy sky that shone with hints of bright pink and turquoise lights.
After rubbing my eyes a bit, I realized I had passed out, but now, I felt much better and was filled with lots of energy.
The only bad thing was probably this raging thirst that seemingly clawed at my throat.
I wasn't even the slightest bit hungry for some reason, but this thirst hurt so much that I felt like I was going to die.
Scanning the alleyway once more, I noticed there was a well right next to me, so I immediately drew up the bucket and drank all of its contents.
I didn't care if it was poisoned, had some type of bacteria, or was laced with soul-destroying magic. I needed to drink it no matter what.
"HUFF HUFF HUFF… *sigh*,"
Quickly, I drew up another large bucket of water, but this time it contained a singular blue scaled fish.
It swam around without a care in the world, but I wasn't hungry, so I quickly threw it away and dumped my head into the bucket, draining it of every last drop.
CHOMP
All of a sudden, a raging pain came from my neck and when I reached towards it, I caught a slimy blue fish in my hand.
CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP
It tore away at large chunks of my neck, causing me to eventually drop to the ground, lifelessly.
.
[Requirments Met]
[Your god has been selected]
[Your system has been granted]
[Poseidon System is being installed]
.
In the darkness of my vision, a few panels that read some unfamiliar notifications appeared.
When I snapped my eyes back open, I realized I was back in the alleyway and had the bucket of water still in my hand.
And there it was, my reflection.
About ten years old, long, unkempt dark blue hair, pale blue eyes, and a dirt-caked face from all the times I tripped running to this place.
My current name is Cyrus. I am ten years old and part of the prestigious Claydol family, but I was kicked from the family due to my lack of talent.
They tried to put up with me and see if there was any talent, but in the end, I displayed no hints of talent in magic, a weapon, or even studies.
Despite being ten years old, he had a terribly horrific childhood… which is also why he ended up dead in this alleyway.
It was strange, the few moments before my death, well, the previous Cyrus' death, a weird figure cloaked in black, bony limbs, and a large scythe had appeared in front of him.
Cyrus didn't have any heart problems or any problematic diseases, so it makes no sense that he just died upon seeing the figure appear in front of him.
"Though, I'm not that dumb," I muttered.
That was most likely a reaper coming to take his soul from his body and possibly place my own soul within the husk.
I didn't feel very bad because he was going to die anyway, so I didn't beat myself up over it and just continued on with life.
"So... If panels appeared, that must mean..."
『Status』
[Name: Cyrus]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 1/10] (0/100) XP Needed
[HP: 15/15 MP: 15/15 SP: 15/15] - Normal Human
[Strength: 1] - Normal Human
[Defense: 1] - Normal Human
[Magic: 1] - Normal Human
[Speed: 1] - Normal Human
[Aether: 5] - Non Human
[Skills: [None]
…
"Everything looks pretty basic… besides this… Aether? Do you mean the type of magic that the angels used? But… Oh, is this the present?"
So many questions already, but I knew letting them linger in my mind would only distract me, so I pushed them to the back of my head and looked at the next thing.
There were a few panels that had been trying to gather my attention since earlier, but due to the intense thirst, I just ignored them.
[Tutorial has begun]
.
[Tutorial Quest: Form your Magic Core]
[Description: What was a Grand Water Mage like you running away from such a big tsunami? Tons of lives were lost because of you, but you have a chance to redeem yourself in this life. So, start with baby steps.]
[Reward: ???]
[Penalty Upon Failure: Death]
[Time Left: Two Hours]
.
I stared blankly at the tutorial quest, something that I had never seen in my past life, but what caught my eyes instantly were the first two sentences.
"I may have been the greatest water mage, but that wave was infused with magic. Either there was somebody much stronger than me… or a god created that wave, so don't blame their deaths on me. Surviving was much more important," I muttered.
The description left a bad taste in my mouth, but the penalty which I saw gave me enough motivation to sit down and close my eyes.
The slow pattering of rain and the faint beeping of cars filled my ears.
"Fill your lungs… Sssssss…. Foooooooo… and out. Repeat… ten more times," I muttered.