"I hate the dust.!" Those were my first words at that moment. As I realized that I was a corpse in an advanced state of decomposition rising from a dusty grave.
"And I thought I could enjoy eternal sleep..." I continued complaining, as I looked around, I managed to observe a spacious room, the decorated rock walls gave it a certain air of nobility.
"How nice... a corpse with a sense of taste Or a nobleman." despite being dead, my sarcasm was still as vivid as ever.
Hiup...Plump!
I tried to stand up and climb down from the grave, only to end up with my every almost rotting on the ground.
"...It's the try that counts, Berto." I said to myself, even though it could have gone better than simply planting myself face down on the ground"
schelk...
guhhh...
As I picked myself up off the ground, I could see the rotting flesh fall off my face.
"What a disgusting scene. Mom would surely hit me with the broom, forcing me to clean it all up."
Despite the situation I was in, I felt strangely calm, as if I didn't care at all that my flesh was rotting to the point of falling off my own skeleton.
Carefully scanning the room was my first thought.
Thmp...
"ah, shit."
Well, was my first thought, the second was to be able to keep myself in one piece, my leg had slipped out of place, obvious is what would happen to someone who doesn't possess flesh connecting the bones.
"Hmm?" Looking around me was really no help, the room was completely empty and in the center of it was located the tomb from which I emerged.
My hands played with the dust on the floor, dirt rather.
A thick layer of dirt laid on the floor, and underneath it was another layer of rock.
"Mosaics?" As I removed the dirt and ran my hand over I could see the floor, a mosaic floor, with very fine and intricate decorations.
Somehow, I knew what it was, I had seen them before, but I was unable to remember why or how I knew.
"A horse and two lanc-
tup...
My rotten eye fell to the floor.
"Ahhh… God-damn it, what I was missing at this very moment." One of my putrefied eyes fell to the floor, leaving the socket of my skull, strangely, I could be able to see as if I still had it on.
I stayed on the floor for a while. Trying to remember something, although I couldn't remember anything, nothing at all, except one thing. My name.
"Berto… I guess that's my name, before, well. I kicked the bucket."
In all honesty, I didn't feel overwhelmed with the situation, maybe my previous life wasn't even that good, maybe that was the fact that made me feel little importance to my current one.
"Another one? That damn leech really took his time raising the dead out of here."
A male voice suddenly boomed inside the room.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a light, a torch, had been shone into the room, illuminating it. Up to a point.
" Appreciate it, the light was really needed, I apologize, but I won't be able to shake your hand. Hahaha!"
In my defense. I had forgotten the situation I was in for a few seconds.
"W-what the hell?!"
The young man holding the torch exclaimed, taking a couple of steps back, looking at the corpse in front of him, speaking so eloquently.
"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I understand, I was surprised at first to be rotting too, you don't need to remind me."
"...."
The young man remained silent, possibly… definitely in shock at the sight of a monster in the crypt, conversing with him.
"…. Nina! Can you come here?"
The young man raised his voice, calling out to possibly another companion, a girl, or so at least I thought.
"What's the matter, the great warrior is unable to put a restless dead man to sleep?"
The girl suddenly appeared through the entrance, long dark hair, several scars on her beautiful face, a body that looked like it belonged to that of a model, even though this one was covered with several elegant clothes, her attributes could be easily admired.
"Yes… Wait, put me to sleep? Fuck, I slept enough, don't fuck with me!"
That girl's beauty wasn't enough to distract me from her sarcastic attitude.
"…"
"…"
Now both the young man and the girl with great curves remained silent, in obvious shock.
{10 minutes of explanation later}
"So you don't know who you are? But you know your name? That's rare… even among monsters, one possessing a name, that alone indicates an ancient monster of great power."
"Yeah, I still remember when I last drank margaritas with the king of the north, great guy. Big fan of cowboy music, looked great in tight jeans."
The long-eared young woman remained silent. She caught my sarcasm and her next action was justified.
Wissshh!
She proceeded to point a long, thin sword at me. A rapier.
"Careful auntie. You're going to prick yourself with that toy!"
That was the straw that broke the Elf's back, the mere word, "toy."
"¿¡Toy!?" Did you just refer to the great royal sword of the wood elves as a mere toy!? Just for that mere offense alone, I should kill you right now!"
The "Elf" showed her clear displeasure at my lack of respect or tact or lack of knowledge before weapons forged by royalty.
"Excuse me, princess. Perhaps you have fallen from your throne to come to this dusty place. It sounds ironic that someone from the royal family, would come to a grave full of dirt to talk to an Undead!"
The young man stood to the side, avoiding saying anything to avoid intruding between the discussion between the Elf and the Undead.
"Jara, Say something, this Undead is already getting on my nerves!"
The Elf switched targets, mentioning the young man's name.
"Will you put him in, that you can't finish your own quarrels, you stuck-up bitch!"
The Elf took a step back in shock, perhaps she had never been insulted in her life, hearing an insult directed at her for the first time seems to have surprised her.
"There, that's enough you two, stop it. Nina, go outside the room and keep an eye out for any monsters coming at us."
The young Jara. Gave an order to the Elf, who proceeded to walk to the exit.
"Better stay here, there's a monster right here, well, almost."
"Humpf!"
I continued my sarcasm to the end. The Elf Nina continued on her way out of the room, leaving me alone with "Jara".
"Some friend you have. Don't you sleep badly knowing you have a poisonous snake by your side?"
I said to Jara, addressing her friend as a snake, although I was unable to tell that she was not a bad person.
"She's not evil. That sword is a gift which came from her father, who died in the great war, it's the last and only memory of him, she cherished it very much, elves were never attached to the mundane like family and stuff. Nina, she is different."
"..."
I decided to remain silent. At the mention of the loss of her father, I couldn't help but feel possibly the same feeling as her, that maybe my father, a man I never met, or maybe I did and don't remember him, was already dead.
" Thousand apologies, I think I overdid it."
"No, I should apologize, that girl has rarely seen the real world for what it is, a cruel place which will chew you up if you get distracted, I think this experience might help her mature, at least I hope so."