The moon hung high in the sky, casting a silvery glow on the beach, with waves rhythmically crashing against shore, creating a soothing sound. Contrast that to the violence taking place nearby. 4 men surrounded a man, their faces barely distinguishable in the night.
The man staggered back as he tried to maintain his footing. His face bruised with blood dripping down his nose. One of the men threw a punch to the man's stomach. A second one, lean and sturdy looking, gave a hard kick to the man, making him fall over. The man curled into a fetal position due to the pain as the beating continued.
The third and fourth figures were silent and watched the man get beaten with a cold glare, occasionally ordering the men where and how to hit him.
The man cried in pain but was silenced by the waves crashing onto the shore. The man is Mike, who is an up and coming detective, who wished to solve the pending police cases, helping families get some relief. Well, he was up and coming 5 years ago.
Now Mike is just a jobless guy looking for a case. Luckily, he found a rather interesting case of a missing person six months ago, but he chewed more than he could and is now facing the consequences.
After a few more beatings, the guys left. They gave him a warning to never take up a case again or he would end up at the bottom of the ocean.
Mike lay still for a few minutes, his body aching and bruised. With a groan, he tried to lift himself. He struggled for a while but succeeded after a few tries. Every part of him hurt so much; he just wanted to lie down and go to eternal sleep.
With each step a struggle, Mike continued to walk towards the shore, his legs feeling like lead, his breathing ragged.
Finally at the shore, Mike looked up at the sky which was now filled with lightning and thunder. He yelled,
"WHY?"
"What did I do to deserve this?"
The night fell silent, as if it had no response to his questions.
"All I ever wanted was to solve cases and see smiles on people's faces, so why was it me who got beaten up?."
Mike, whose face was one contorted in anger, reflecting all the rage, sorrow and anguish he had felt throughout his life.
"My parents didn't want me when I was a kid, no one made friends with me when I was a teen. No woman liked me when I was an adult. Why is my fate like this? I ask you, gods. Why have you written my fate this way? I am a man who was born a loser, lived a loser, and now died a loser. It's not my fault. IT'S ALL YOURS."
When mike ended his despair-filled speech, thunder roared in the sky as if angered by his accusations. Watching this, Mike laughed maniacally.
"I knew it! I fucking knew it! I knew you would do this."
The lightning, as if angered by his words, struck him with fierce and blinding intensity.
THUD
He fell to the ground, the air around crackling with residual energy. Smoke rose from his burnt clothes. His body lay still against the coils, wet sand.
Mike who was hanging on to his last breath. Thought to himself
'If only I had a second chance'
If only
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A small and dirty room is dimly lit by a flickering bulb, hanging over from the ceiling. The walls once painted in white were now faded. Dust particles flew occasionally in the stale air, caught in the wind that swept through the window.
In the corner, there was a cramped and stuffy bed. It sagged, a testament to its age. It's spring creaking and protesting with every move. A man was lying on the bed, his face etched with weariness but still looked like he was peacefully asleep.
A few minutes later
"AHHHHHH!"
The man woke up screaming, clearly experiencing a nightmare.
After a while he took a few breaths to calm himself down and looked around.
"W-Where am i?" Mike asked, flabbergasted.
"W-Where is the place?"
He tried to remember where he was last night. But suddenly, a piercing headache hit him.
"AAAAHHHHH"
Unknown memories started flowing into his mind. Mike rolled on the bed, clutching his head.
It took a few minutes for the pain to subside. Mike then got up from the bed and walked over to a mirror. He looked at his own reflection and was surprised to find a scrawny, malnourished man. Mike touched himself, trying to grasp whether this was reality or an illusion.
"So, this is really not an illusion, huh? I really thought that was my end back there."
Mike looked at his reflection with a wry smile on his face.
"I used to look like a handsome model, but now I am just a bag of bones. Well, beggars can't be choosers."
Looking at his reflection with a pity he continued,
"Don't worry kid, I will try to fulfill all your goals."
Just as Mike finished his monolog the phone rang.
TRING TRING TRING
Mike picked up the phone, which had rubber bands all over it, and answered the call.
"Hello."
"Hello, Alex." Asked the person on the other end of the phone.
"Hello mom, what's up?" asked Alex (Mike).
"It's nothing, I just called you to check up on you. Is it not the right time?" she asked worriedly, she didn't want to disturb him as her son was working day and night to pay her bills and the loans his father had left him.
"No mom, it's alright. I am not busy. How are you? Are you taking your pills on time?" Alex asked
"Ah, the pills, yes I've been taking them." said Alex's mom in a hurried tone.
Alex, who noticed this, had a frown on his face. As far as he could remember, the pills would have run out a week ago.
"Mom, are you sure you're taking the pills?"
Alex's mom, who was caught on her lie, could only sigh in defeat and come clean.
"W-Well, I ran out of pills last week. But you don't have to worry, i don't need them anymore"
Alex, who got angry listening to his mother said, "Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that you shouldn't worry about money, do you have no trust in me?"
"T-That's not it." Alex's mom replied quickly. " I just didn't want to burden you." she said with her voice lowering with each word she said.
"Mom, you are not a burden to me. Do you understand?" Alex said firmly.
"Yes," Alex's mom said in defeat.
"Okay mom, I will call at night. I love you."
"I love you too, my son."
The call ended.
SIGH
Alex sighed as he sat down on the bed. Too much happened to him in too little time.
Just as he was about to think about what should he do from now on
[Ding!]
[Pervert Detective System is now activated.]
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"WHAT THE…?"