"Who am I? Where am I? My head hurts…."
This was our protagonist's first thought upon waking up. It felt as if there was a cut on his head, hurting so badly that it seemed as if his skull was about to crack apart.
As his consciousness cleared, he realized he was in a dark cave surrounded by a group of primitive people with animal skin clothing
Opening his eyes, he surveyed his surroundings.
What filled his vision were a few dead bodies and a group of around 10 shivering people, 6 men, and 4 women.
He seemed to be lying down on the floor resting his back on the walls of the cave. Feeling the biting cold floor he realised that his body would not be able to bear lying down much longer.
To avoid catching a cold, he struggled hard to get up in a hurry.
At that moment, he felt a sharp pain lancing through his head.
The pain was sudden and brought with it a flood of strange memories. His eyes rolled back as he fainted.
"Elric... Elric! Wake up…" Elric heard in his daze, and couldn't help but open his eyes.
"Is this… reincarnation?" He still clearly remembered the dazzling flames from the energy reactor's explosion, one that was impossible to survive with his lack of protection.
On top of that, he didn't believe that anyone would play such an outrageous prank on him
After organising the new memories in his mind, Elric gained some insight into his body and this world.
This realm was in an era that was similar to dinosaurs on the blue star. But there was something more to this world than that, the presence of a mysterious force.
The presence…Gods!
Unlike the blue star, this planet, or rather plane wasn't created by the big bang, but rather by a powerful creator God Kaos.
Though it's said that he fell during the act of opening the sky. But Even though he fell. his body still created many powerful ancient Gods who rule the world.
Such as Gia the mother of the earth, it's said that if she wants to she can hear the voice of all living beings that stand on the earth.
The original owner of his current body was called Elric the son of the former now-dead village head. Although he's not sure who his mother is.
This is was also due to the times, as because during this period there was no such thing as marriage, most house holds were scattered.
After all, the world was just formed a few thousand years ago.
Suddenly, just when he was about to continuegoing through his memories, Elric felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
The one who had woken him up was a large, male youth.
His large eyes were surrounded by his thick bushy eyebrows which complemented his long, straight nose and sparkling gold hair.
Although his face was somewhat tender, showing his youth, he had a sturdy, muscular body. He looked extremely manly.
Seeing that Elric had awoken, the boy laughed happily,
"young master you're finally awake! If you had been even a few minutes late, you probably wouldn't have made it till tomorrow morning."
Elric lowered his eyes, after some thought, he figured out this person's identity, "Thanks, George!"
George, he was the son of the village priest thankfully due to his status he was the only one Elric could talk equally to.
'village priest?' Elric inwardly thought. Suddenly he remembered something and a burst of murder and anger filled his head.
His memories returned to Elric's father, David. Because the village could not provide enough tributes for the so-called "God of water" who protects the village. it sent the so-called divine punishment that drowned most of the villagers including George's dad and my dad.
Elric still remembered the tears his father shed begged then to escape, saying that this was his punishment for being unfaithful.
In this world, Gods are everything! A powerful God can shelter millions of people while a weaker one like the river god back then could shelter only around a few hundred people.
There are even some rumours that powerful Gods can allow mortals to gain immense strength and even live forever.
Unfortunately, as he began to ponder this current situation, another sharp pain jolted through his head, bringing up a familiar scene in his mind's eye.
He was in a dark room, with no one but his grandfather. Yes, his grandfather was the former village head before his dad.
Under the dim light, He solemnly passed him a book
"Elric, my dear grandson, this is our Family's heirloom, I didn't give it to Davis because I wanted to keep this all away from him."
"This book contains our family's research on how to gain magic to defeat the so-called Gods."
"Unfortunately due to this, we were treated like mad people and blasphemers and hunted everywhere."
"I hope you won't ever need this because if you do, it means the worst has happened."
After taking a deep breath he continued,
"All creatures want to believe in something bigger than themselves."
"They cannot live without blind obedience. And to escape the pressure of that trust, those in whom faith is placed in turn look for someone higher than themselves."
"And then those people in turn look for someone even stronger."
"That is how all Kings are born. That is how all Gods are born."
"This is our family motto and I hope you never forget it."
Although it sounded somewhat familiar to Elric, he shook his head as had something more important things to do.
"The book!"Elric's eyes narrowed, and his right hand subconsciously moved to his chest.
As his hand touched his clothing, he could feel something solid underneath, the book was still there.
Heaving a sigh of relief in his heart, he thought to himself, "Phew! Thank God it wasn't lost in that darn God's punishment. Thinking of this he started getting angry but soon cooled down".
Elric was a scientist in his former life, and the very mention of such a mysterious force as Gods filled him with a desire to conduct some research about it.
Furthermore, he didn't want to be chased back home because he had lost such an important proof of entry.
Although he had taken over this body and even its memories, he was still very different from the original Elric. His family members, who had spent years with him, would easily be able to tell the difference.
If they mistook him as being possessed by a demon and perhaps begged one of those mysterious Gods to purify him, it was extremely likely that he would be found out.
"However, if I can get answers from this book it would matter by then I wouldn't be afraid of these Gods. Strength! For the first time in Elric's life, he felt the need for strength."
Just as he was in deep thought, a pair of strong large hands suddenly assisted him to his feet.
"What are you thinking about?" George asked.
"No– Nothing!" Elric quickly shook his head but then held onto it once more, still in pain.
He suddenly spun his head around and looked at George, causing the boy's heart to stop in its tracks. He felt as if he was being stared at by a venomous snake.
Elric rolled his eyes and asked, "George, why didn't you wake me up earlier, instead of letting me just lie on the floor like that for so long?"
"Heh heh! I saw you having such a nice sleep, and thought you liked lying down there!" George scratched his head abashedly. However, his eyes sparked with a cunning gleam.
Under Elric's murderous glare, he finally raised his hands in surrender, "Fine! Fine! I forgot you laid there."
The original Elric wasn't always the most social due to his status so it's normal to be forgotten. Speechless Elric decided to think of other things
Suddenly as if remembering something important Elric looked up at George " By the way where are we?".
"I'm not sure after the village head and priest gave their lives to save the few of us we washed up into this cave" his voice suddenly choked as he muttered
Elric's eyes moistened as he muttered, "No matter what, it feels good to be alive!"
Looking at the surroundings, he noticed several large twigs and leaves put together to make a crude temporary campsite. There was a large fire in the middle.
There were many youths around the fire, sitting and resting on cloth mats laid on the ground. silent in sorrow as they thought about the day's events.
Elric walked towards the bag that had quite a few pieces of bread placed in it. as one of the few things preserved
When he approached the area, he saw that a few people were queuing up. As they spotted Elric, their gazes turned to him after all he was the next in line to the village head
Although nervous, he did not leave. No matter what, he still had to eat.
"Hurry up!" A hoarse voice rang out.
"So… Sorry, Davis!" A thin boy quickly apologised and took his share of the food before running away.
[Beep! Danger Alert! Danger Alert! The host body is extremely close to a source of danger. It is recommended to move at least 1000 metres away!]