I find myself in the room of a house, observing as the sun rises slowly outside the window. The soldier who saved me provided me with clothes, although they seem a bit loose after I put them on.
According to him, I seem to be the sole survivor of a devastating zombie attack that leveled a small village. "It's a miracle! You remained unharmed even though you were under the rubble while the zombies ravaged." The soldier said, disbelief in his voice.
But what happened? I remember being immersed in studies, and then suddenly I found myself in the park near home.
I start to feel a pain in my temples.
The last images that come to mind are of the park... Am I dreaming, perhaps? If it's a dream, it's incredibly realistic. I try to pinch myself, but the pain tells me it's anything but a dream.
"So it's not a dream! But then... am I dead?"
I spend a few minutes in silence, bitterly accepting my new reality.
I notice a sheet hanging on the wall of the room, so I approach.
"Year 802, August 30th."
It's a calendar... I think I understand where I am.
This is the world described in "The Courage of a Hero," where the story begins in the year 807 with the events that the protagonists experience at Fort Academy.
But how did I end up here? If it were truly a dream, I would have woken up by now... I must be dead.
In these last few days, I was really engrossed in the book, so maybe that's why I'm now "living" here. This is nothing more than a highly realistic representation of a world that interests me, and my brain makes me perceive it as real to escape the true reality... That I'm dead.
This justification makes sense to me.
I had read studies on the human brain, where it was said that brain activity continues after death. Moreover, there might also be a temporal dilation, where a second in real life corresponds to a longer time here.
That could make sense too.
Well, it's either this or I've gone insane.
If, in the end, I'm really dead, I got off easy. I felt no pain, and I've always been curious about what happens once life ends.
Sure, I would have liked to live another fifty years or so, but this world seems so real.
I look at my hands, move my fingers...
After a couple of hours contemplating existence, I head towards the door. I go out and find myself in a small town, populated by people who seem to live peacefully. I look at their smiling faces and wonder: why do they seem so happy? Aren't they afraid of demons? What if one of them were to suddenly appear and wreak havoc?
I look down and notice an old worn-out ball. A blond child in the distance gestures for me to join them.
I ignore them, then turn around and go back inside. "Well, I've already died once, so why worry if I die again?"
I think about my parents. Are they suffering now that I'm dead? I sigh and lie down on the bed I noticed earlier.
Sudden noises wake me up. I jump up and look around, seeing someone on the floor on the other side of the kitchen. I approach and notice that he looks like a soldier, wearing some kind of leather and iron armor. He must have tried to get up and miserably failed.
Now that I'm here, I also notice a scent of intoxicating alcohol.
"But shouldn't soldiers be more responsible?"
He lifts his face and stares at me.
"I-I'm a m-mercenary!" He shouts, pointing at me, then collapses again and starts snoring.
I watch the scene with a bewildered look. I leave the house, thinking that maybe I should seek help elsewhere.
Looking around, I see some houses, all close to each other. 'If there are soldiers, they will help me.' I think.
I stop someone on the street and ask them where I can find them.
"Continue in this direction, and you'll find a wooden gate, there are two guards there. Ask them!" He replies.
I walk faster, even risking a fall, not being used to this child's body. I reach the gate and see a guard, so I approach to ask him some questions.
"Ex... excuse... me.... guard" I say out of breath.
"What's up, kid? Catch your breath and speak clearly, time is money here!" The guard replies.
I look at him with a disgusted expression, recalling the behavior similar to that of the mercenary I met earlier.
Trying to stay calm, I tell him my situation.
"I've heard about you. You were saved from a bad situation, didn't Jin tell you anything?"
Jin? Who is Jin? Could that be the mercenary?
"Do you mean that drunk- that mercenary?" I ask.
"Yeah, him." He replies.
I look at him disheartened. "What does he need to tell me?" I ask anxiously.
Very reluctantly, the guard replies: "Go back to him and wait for his awakening."
....
I return to that dwelling, and Jin is still lying on the floor, complaining about who knows what.
What a pathetic sight.
But what do I do now? In this world, one must be strong to survive...
Should I enroll in that academy?
On one hand, it's necessary if I want to survive; on the other, it's a bit of a death sentence, since it will be invaded by demons, and after a few years, it will be destroyed.
I'd be screwed either way...
The point is that there's more security in following exactly the events described in the book rather than doing something else. You never know what might happen in this same village; maybe it will be attacked by a demon, and everyone will die.
If I could become stronger, I could surely come out alive from the conflicts, and maybe I could even stop relying on future events.
As I immerse myself in my thoughts, I feel a presence.
It's Jin; I see that he has finally decided to get up.
"Are you Jin?" I ask abruptly.
He stares at me dazed for a moment.
"By any chance... am I your father?"
I just look at him with doubt and disgust.
"Oh no, no, right. You're that kid who was among the zombies... Bad story..."
He approaches very slowly, holding one hand on his stomach, then puts a hand on my shoulder.
"Come on, at least you're alive. How about a drink to celebrate?"
I look at him with my mouth open, with a growing desire to headbutt him.
"Come on, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You really don't look like a kid!"
I avert my gaze, which happens to fall casually on his armor.
I can see my reflection.
Apparently, the face is the same as when I was young. The black hair seems rather long, and not being used to it gives me a strange feeling.
Internally, I also heave a sigh of relief. At least it's me; I don't think I could have stood having another body.
I shift my gaze back to Jin.
He has put a hand on his chin and seems to be thinking about something.
"Well, your parents are dea-"
He suddenly stops talking, maybe he doesn't want to tell me to avoid making me cry.
"Should I tell him that I've been reincarnated?"
No, no, no, I don't think that's the right choice. Even if he believes me, worst case scenario, he'd consider me some kind of demon, and I'd end up getting killed.
I just settle for a sad expression.
"Do you know that your village is destr-"
He did it again.
Seeing him struggling, I decide to lend him a hand.
"What should I do now?"
I speak to him with a distressed tone.
"I-I've already talked to a Hero... You should enroll in some kind of training academy."
What, already? Am I not still too young?
I look at him confused.
"You'll have a room where you can live until you grow up."
Ah, now I remember.
It's been mentioned a few times, but near Fort's academy, there's a facility that houses all orphaned children, a sort of orphanage.
Having no relatives, this is the only solution governments have found to raise them... namely, preparing them from a young age to become demon hunters.
"So I'll spend the next four/five years in that facility?"
The smell of alcohol intensified after Jin spoke, almost making me vomit.
Noticing my reaction, he rushes to open the windows.
"Sorry, sorry! Had to celebrate the victory against those zombies."
He points to his weapon, excitedly.
"This little one is my baby..."
He shows me an all-black sword.
It must be a weapon forged from demon flesh.
One of the ways the author found to kill demons is to use weapons made from demons themselves.
Seeing that my lackluster reaction didn't satisfy him, he sheaths the sword in the holster around his waist.
I start to look at him more carefully, and a doubt arises.
"But was there a Jin in the story?"
I'm pondering this right now... I don't recall reading about a character like him.
He's probably already dead within five years, or at best, alive but not strong enough to be relevant.
I look at him with a sad and somewhat pitying expression.
"Come on, don't be sad. You'll make a lot of friends in that orphanage."
But he seems to have misunderstood my reaction...
"Can I lie down on the bed?"
I point to the bed next to me.
"Yeah, go ahead! Meanwhile, I'm going out for a drink."
Just for a change.
"Be ready tomorrow morning because I'll take you to Fort."
I nod and dive onto the bed.