8 years.
it's been 8 years since I've been reincarnated into this shit-hole, 8 years is quite a short time really, except it felt like an extra 24 years was added on top as the topping.
thinking about it now, why did I accept its words so carelessly? I should've asked where i was heading, i should've asked who or what i would reincarnate as. Instead, i just accepted its deal mindlessly, I'm pissed off at myself, incredibly so.
can't cry over spilt milk though, or some shit like that.
"haahh…" i let out a long sigh that I didn't know I was holding, i looked up as my eyes began to wander. 8 years, it's been 8 years in this damned slave camp, treated like a rag felt frustrating, especially knowing you couldn't do shit about it.
thankfully though, in a place like this, comrades in arms usually come in all shapes and sizes, except for them snakes, me and the boys hate those snitching cunts.
speaking of the boys, hearing the stories from the others here is always interesting. some were ex-guards just wanting nothing more but to protect their loved ones, only to be stabbed in the back, others were immigrants left behind by their people, and others were either kidnapped or stolen from whatever lives they had led beforehand. Hell, i even found more out about the body i was inhabiting the more i talked with the others.
36 years old, Seim Hewkie. Sold by his own family as a replacement for their Debt.
quite a shitty place really, they even had kids here.
From goblins to lizards to elves, hell, they even had an entire sector just for human and half-human kids. Not only that, they made em' fuck each other up daily, placing bets on whoever would die last. It's like watching Chucky and Annabelle beat the fuck out of each other, except they're replaced by fearful 6-8-year-olds wielding nothing but a rusty knife.
i even found this one kid, who looked like he would shatter with the slightest touch. Except he's got that heat in his eyes, weak as all hell though, couldn't even stab me even if he wanted to, but his tenacity is something else though.
so i decided to take care of him, take him under my wing. My apprentice or some shit like that, that was 7 years ago though, now he's quite the looker, tall but packing a lean well-muscled body, with a perfect muscle-to-fat ratio, he has a soft but masculine-leaning androgynous face, naturally springy blonde hair, and those natural bright blue eyes, holy shit, he makes me look like the hunchback of Notre-Dame.
and even with him working non-stop on the field day after day with us, he somehow still has pale skin, even with all the shit he went through here. If he was able to escape, I'm sure he'd find a wife as easily as breathing.
he's 6'8 I think? for a 17-year-old, that's tall as shit
"Boss! there you are, I was searching for ya! i couldn't find you near the bunks, so i asked old brook where you were. took me a while to find you, turns out you were just mulling about the past boss, anyway Let's have some lunch!"
he then sat to my left as he folded his leg, even while sitting, he was still somehow completely towering over me 'Nature is just unfair huh?' he then put a dish filled with slop next to my legs as he dug into his portion.
although he calls it lunch, it's nothing but slop akin to the ones served for pig-feed. just slightly altered for human consumption.
"*chew* Sho bosh-*Chew* whatsh ar hyu mullin about *Chew*"
"Swallow first, then talk Deim, You're not 9 anymore you know?"
I use my dirty shirt to wipe his mouth, he always eats like his next meal might be his last when he's near me, I guess this is just how he shows comfort around others.
Quite the ray of sunshine this one is though, somehow always the optimistic one, even in the worst-case scenarios. Someone could be dying, and he would be first on the scene to help, like some kind of hero. If this world is exactly as the one I hypothesised it to be, he might just be one.
"*gulp* you always say that boss, but you're the one wiping my mouth with your rags. if you don't want me to act like a kid then treat me like an adult then, Daad~"
*Twitch*
i feel my eyebrow twitch as he calls me dad, I don't even remember when he started calling me that. now thanks to him there have been rumours of him being my actual kid, I haven't even been in a girl before! damned fogies, trapped down here with the rest of us and yet still somehow able to spread gossip like wildfire.
"shut up you rascal" i knock him upside his head as i take a bite of my portion of slop.
'This shit tastes like body lotion and motor oil'
He comically falls to the ground while yelling in faux pain.
"Aw! Boss, you're so mean! why do you only hit me and never the others?! this is just unfair, isn't it?!"
"Well, maybe it's because you're the only annoying one?" I taunt him with a smirk etched on my face as he dramatically gasps
"Oh, you hurt me so, boss! mine wounded heart can never be healed~"
"Why the hell are you speaking like that? hearing you sound posh is like hearing an alcoholic perfectly sound out the periodic table from memory"
he puts a hand on his forehead as he leans dramatically back as if he had been shot. before breaking out into a fit of laughter moments later
I let out a slow exhale as I chuckled along with him, my situation after rebirth isn't exactly the best, but sometimes it's moments like these where I realise how lonely I truly was before death.
"Number 284! 346! 768! 024! and 867! Head towards the Basalt Sector, The head awaits your arrival in T-minus 2 minutes! Now MOVE!"
284… That's me alright
i stand up as i walk near Deim, he stops laughing as he looks up at me
"what's wrong bo-"
"!"
"stay safe alright? you're practically my kid with how long you've been with me at this point… don't do anything stupid okay? seeing you hurt is bad for my and the other's heart"
I softly caress his head as i let go of the hug
"HURRY UP! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"
Standing up fully i put back on the rusty and shoddy mining equipment that I had taken off earlier as i walk away, towards the warden calling on my number.
"Take care Deim"
i walk towards the warden, not excited for my task whatsoever. Who knew harvesting fresh basalt would be dangerous? no shit
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
3rd Pov
As Ethan's back slowly fades from His vision, the calm look Deim had started to slowly shift into a Psychotic Grin. Filled with nothing but Desire and Obsession.
Deim softly caresses the spot on his head where Ethan had caressed earlier, the grin still growing bigger followed by a slow and eerie yet Infatuation filled Laughter
"Boss….. boss… BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS!
I'll follow you anywhere you go, I'll follow you till the end of my time, no! till the end of time itself, kukukuku~ no matter what, I'll always be by your side boss…. Eheheheheheh my boss, my adorable boss… ehehehehehe hahahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
confession after confession he acclaims aloud for all to hear
'for you've loved this She-demon wretch as nought else but your child, a price of heart ye shall pay. ehehe my dear little Boss~'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
far in the background though, the atmosphere felt a little more... Different.
"Royal Flush, Kovakh, hand over yer rations," an older and rough voice says to his friend with an out-stretched hand
"yer' fuckin' with me! not only do i gotta focus on your sly ass, now there's a crazy bitch out there as well?!" a younger but still noticeably old voice complains aloud
"Soundin' a lot like skill issue there lad" Taunts another voice with a bit of a slur to his speech
"Oh shut up you mud chugger"
A Goblin, a Dwarf, and a lizardman could be seen playing poker. with none of them except the goblin, Kovakh, responding towards Deim's laughter.
"so… should we tell Seim?" Asked the goblin towards the 2 others
"nah" said the dwarf
"it'll be a lot more fun if we didn't tell him no?" the lizardman voiced out
".... fair point"