"Kyle, I'm tired," Georgia murmured.
"It's okay, we're home now... I," Kyle reassured her, stealing a glance at his wife. He forced a smile, trying to comfort her.
"Let's get a divorce," Georgia said with a tired expression.
Kyle's body trembled. He hesitated, his foot hovering over the brake pedal, but it was too late. The car sailed through the red light.
"Sizzle—bang!—"
A massive truck emerged from the side, smashing into their car and flipping it over.
Two bodies. Three lives.
---
Moments Earlier
In a parked Mercedes-Benz, a man and a woman kissed passionately. The man's demands grew greedier, but the woman resisted.
"Didn't you promise to buy me those pair of shoes I saw a few days ago? Why don't you keep your word?" The woman complained.
"I forgot about it, next time, I will definitely do it," Kyle evaded casually.
"You always say 'next time,' but you never follow through. I don't think you love me at all," the woman retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Who said that? I love you with all my heart! Tomorrow, I'll give you my bank card."
"Oh, I don't know how many girls you've said this to," she scoffed.
"How is that possible? I'm loyal, I've only said it to you," Kyle protested, attempting to hug her again, but was pushed away.
"There's someone outside the car."
"Who cares? What's there to be afraid of?" Kyle dismissed her concern indifferently, caught up in his high mood.
"No, wait a minute, she seems to be looking this way. It feels disgusting," the woman said, disgusted.
"What are you looking at?" Kyle rolled down the window impatiently, only to see a gorgeous pregnant lady.
"Ge... Georgia..."
…
"I'm so sorry!" The woman bowed and apologized profusely to Georgia. "He never told me he has a wife and that you're pregnant. I'm deeply sorry!"
Georgia remained expressionless, neither blaming nor speaking. Her eyes were filled with a silent, gloomy resignation, as if this betrayal was nothing new.
The woman apologized repeatedly, eager to leave and feeling repulsed by the situation. She thought she had found true love, but instead, she discovered Kyle's true character—a cheating husband.
Kyle attempted to justify himself. "Honey, she seduced me..."
"Bah! You're a scumbag! A disgrace!" The woman erupted in fury. "You'll suffer a miserable fate! You'll go to hell!"
Unable to bear Kyle's excuses, she stormed away without slapping him, out of sympathy for Georgia.
…
"Georgia, please get in the car..."
Kyle watched the woman drive away and quickly turned to show courtesy to his wife. It was the third time Georgia had caught him cheating.
The first two times, Georgia had cried a lot, but this time she remained eerily silent, which unnerved him.
The car started, slowly navigating the road. Georgia leaned against the window silently, not uttering a single word.
The atmosphere inside the car was heavy with tension.
"Honey, I saw the bag you liked the other day. I'll buy it for you tomorrow."
"Honey, isn't your birthday coming up soon? Let's go to Egypt, you always wanted to visit."
"Georgia, please look..."
Kyle kept trying to break the oppressive silence, visibly nervous. Yet Georgia remained silent throughout the journey.
When the car reached an intersection, Georgia suddenly spoke without warning.
"Kyle, I'm tired."
…
Man of dust,
Cloaked in ignorance, consumed by greed, ensnared by lust, and blinded by your own folly.
The messenger, bearing omens from realms beyond, whispers secrets veiled in the nameless mist's benediction.
Return now to the embrace of Azathoth, descend into the timeless cage of forgotten aeons, and be swallowed whole by the abyss of dread eternal.
In an unknown space, where words formed without a voice to speak them. The message was clear, yet its meaning eluded. Before Kyle could decipher it, everything around him suddenly turned blindingly white.
…
"I'm sorry, but I have no plans to date anyone and would rather focus on my studies," the girl said softly, her voice distant yet piercing in Kyle's ears. "Kyle, you're a good person, but I'm just not ready."
Kyle's body jolted, his mind grappling with the surreal disconnect. His last coherent memory was the haunting impact of the truck, and simultaneously being rejected unable to comprehend the transition from that moment to now.
In the next second, a torrent of memories flooded his mind, overwhelming and disorienting.
He was Kyle Ryder, a 16-year-old high school student in Tokyo, Japan. He was also Kyle Redgrave, a 33-year-old psychologist in New York City. Two lives, two identities, now fused into a single consciousness.
Kyle Ryder was of American and Japanese descent, while Kyle Redgrave was purely American. These distinct lives now merged, creating an inexplicable confluence of experiences and identities.
There were advantages from both heritages. Kyle Ryder's bilingual proficiency was excellent, thanks to the language-rich environment he grew up in. He was also good looking.
Yet, misfortune had struck both lives. Three years ago, Kyle Ryder's parents, died in a car accident. The devastating news almost crushed him. However, they left him with millions. Despite his wealth, Kyle Ryder chose to live modestly, occasionally taking on part-time jobs.
Nevertheless, the one who encouraged him to get out of that predicament was his best friend, Yuki Yoshikawa. She was also the person whom the previous Kyle Ryder had just confessed to, only to receive the "nice guy" rejection card.
The new Kyle wondered how he had arrived here and what sort of fusion had happened to him. As he traversed through this altered reality, a tragedy unfolded. Glancing around, he noticed several classmates watching.
"Wow, what a reckless version of me from before," Kyle mused internally.
The public rejection of his confession felt like social death to his innocent former self, second only to being caught by his parents in compromising circumstances. However, for the new Kyle, who had faced the fallout of cheating on his wife with calm detachment and nonsensical justifications, this scene held little significance.
"Oh, okay," Kyle replied to Yuki before moving on his way.