I am always mocked and looked down upon by people who should be my friends. They distance themselves from me just because I come from a poor family. If only they knew the sacrifices my mother made to support someone like me, maybe they wouldn't bother me.
Unfortunately, because of that, I always become the target of ridicule. In my case, it can no longer be considered bullying; it has reached the level of a criminal offense.
There have been times when I reached my lowest point and tried to report it to my teacher at school, but it was fruitless. They even cornered me and told me to leave school if I couldn't handle it anymore.
Leave school? I won't do that. My mother is the source of my strength to endure all these heavy trials. Her smile is the reason for me to keep going.
"Jacob, no matter what happens, you have to stay in school."
Every day, I ask God to release me from this torment. Every single day, every moment. But I have stopped doing that, stopped praying, and I have even come to believe that God does not exist.
My mother left me. She took her own life in front of my eyes, right before me. How can I forget that incident? It has been a year since that tragic event, but I still vividly remember the pool of blood. The splashes of blood that stuck to my face, I remember their scent clearly. I still remember where she lay, and how my mother fell. I even still keep the knife to this day.
"Ah..."
I walked towards the nightstand not far from my seat. I opened the first drawer and took out the item.
"This is the knife."
Then I cut my wrist, letting the blood flow, even a little splattered everywhere, but not as bad as my mother's. I let the warmth touch my skin. Until I saw the silhouette of my mother and father reaching out their hands. They smiled, their expressions warm.
But a few moments later, their figures disappeared, replaced by something terrifying, pulling my spirit roughly. I felt excruciating pain. Suddenly, I opened my eyes wide, my mouth agape.
***
I blinked slowly, feeling as though I had just captured a debate of destiny's whispers that surprised me.
My eyes widened, Heaven? Hell? Or a space?
Darkness enveloped me. It must be night, but it wasn't entirely dark, with a faint light coming from the moon.
Was I still alive? I turned my head, trying to alleviate the dizziness. Stones? Then I saw the high cliff in front of me when my gaze moved straight ahead. I couldn't feel my hands or feet.
***
"Pasto!"
"Hey, he's awake!"
"Is that true?"
My eyes opened for the third time. But this time, I could see four people surrounding me, looking at me. They were strangers but looked concerned about me.
"Wh...where am I?" I said with difficulty.
"What are you talking about?!" The short blue-haired girl exclaimed, looking angry at me.
"He's not fully conscious yet, Arla," the tall, blond-haired man said.
After a few weeks, my health gradually improved. Previously, I was body-surfing someone named Pasto but slipped while trying to save my teammate, Seyna, a sweet girl with long wavy brown hair.
I was in a place called Sainless, and as far as I knew, I had never heard of it in any lessons, books, maps, or even on the Internet. They were far from modern; it could be said it was like the Middle Ages. There were no cars, tall buildings, or supermarkets. They rode horses, and almost everyone carried a sword or other ancient weapons.
After weeks, I finally started getting used to it, blending in and playing the role of Pasto, a plain man skilled in using his two swords. A profession as a monster hunter.
At first, I was startled and even scared when I saw the monsters, but my four companions always helped me. They were suspicious at first because the Pasto they knew was a reckless and fearless man.
But they assumed that I hadn't fully recovered from the fall off the cliff, so they understood, and they were the ones taking care of me every day.
Especially Seyna, she felt very guilty. Because of her, I gained a better understanding of this world. She was confused at first, but I managed to convince her with the excuse of my faded memories due to the previous incident. Arla, the girl with short purple hair, Jomi, the strong man with blonde hair, and lastly Hendo, the sturdy man with a crew cut.
Weeks turned into months. Yes, I have been in this place for about 6 months now. I have become so accustomed to this body, and even better, I have forgotten about my previous miserable life.
In this second life of mine, I feel excited because there is so much I can do. I have friends, and I am even respected. It's the life I had always dreamed of.
Almost every day, we explore different territories to carry out the kingdom's mission of exterminating monsters. Our group is called the Eagle Group, known as the best group in completing missions. We are very famous, especially Jomi, the leader of our group.
Until the moment when the Dragon race attacked the Sainles territory, all the hunting groups and elite warriors of the kingdom fought together. We managed to defeat the dragon. All groups cheered, except for my group. Hendo died, his lower body was completely crushed and unrecognizable, leaving only his upper body. I blamed myself the most because Hendo tried to protect me from the dragon's attack and ended up being trampled by dozens of dragons. It happened right before my eyes.
But as time went on, we accepted his departure and started carrying out missions again. In the midst of it all, Jomi and Arla got married. It made me very happy.
As time went by, the missions felt heavier. At that time, we were attacking the main stronghold of the Ghoul monsters. Our group was not alone, there were two other groups and several royal soldiers. The mission was successful, but once again, in front of my own eyes, Arla was torn apart by several Ghouls. Seyna and I became filled with rage and attacked them blindly. But once again, Jomi died right in front of me. Fueled by emotions, Jomi attacked without calculating the risks. As a result, his body was torn apart and devoured by Ghouls.
After that incident, Seyna and I decided to quit being monster hunters, and at the same time, the Eagle Group was disbanded. The news spread throughout the kingdom.
We chose to get married and isolate ourselves in a remote place. Many groups came to recruit us, but our answer was no. We even rejected the king's orders.
Now, all Seyna and I want is to spend the rest of our lives here, in this small humble home.
And true enough, we did spend our remaining lives here. With the accusation of treason against the kingdom, the two of us were executed, or more precisely, tortured.
No matter how strong we are, we will kneel before the power of the royal elite warriors. I, who am already beaten up, am forced to witness an event that makes my head feel like it's going to explode, and my voice exhausted from screaming.
My wife, Seyna, was harassed by half of the royal warriors right in front of me. I was forced to witness the immoral cruelty of those damn warriors up close, I could hear Seyna's agonizing screams.
I couldn't attack, I couldn't even move. I don't know how many warriors were holding me down. It was extremely painful.
"P-p-please... stop all of this!"
I saw their leader approach my wife.
"How does it feel? Tell your husband."
With a smile on his face, tears continued to flow from Seyna's eyes. I could see the sadness in her eyes.
"I-it's... it's pleasurable, my husband," Seyna said.
Can you imagine how I felt?
After that, all I saw was a headless body. Blood gushed out, covering my face. I couldn't speak, I felt like I was nailed to the core of the earth.
I snapped back to reality when the leader of the royal warriors placed Seyna's head right in front of me, her nose touching mine.
My mind was blank, I didn't know if I was conscious or not. I felt empty.
My body felt like it was being forcefully slammed into the deeply dug ground.
"Just throw away that wretched body," I heard a faint voice say.
Suddenly, Seyna's body and head fell onto me, and soon the earth gradually swallowed me, until all I could feel was suffocation and darkness.
*****