This day was particularly dreadful, especially as the rain poured down on us as a few of the soldiers were digging some graves for French civilians who were caught in the crossfire as we retook the town. A few were thankful, most however would've preferred if they were left out of the war.
Well, I guess I could understand where they were coming from, if my family and friends were caught up in the middle of a battle, I'd blame the soldiers too. Honestly speaking it was just a bad situation all around, in fact, the platoon commander was hoping we could sneak around the village and cut off the supply lines to the village before we tried to take it.
Most planes don't survive first contact though so, I guess we should be thankful the vast majority of the casualties were the Nazis and very few civilians were caught up in the gunfire. A few of us were injured, and we did have a few casualties of our own that would be sent back home, to be properly taken care of by the families. Hopefully, the more...unpleasant ones would be cleaned up.
I would hope so as well, as I'm sure the family would love to bury their son father, or friend all in one piece. That and if they could have an open casket funeral so they could properly say their goodbyes. Me however, well I'd much prefer cremation and for my ashes to be spread inside the mind where I spent quite a bit of my life so far. I would rather be buried in the dirt and darkness.
After all, if this was the DC world well I'd rather be haunting a mine where they send children and try to prevent further deaths that didn't have to be. That is if I came back as a ghost and didn't go directly to whatever afterlife I deserved. In fact, I was sitting on the ruins of a house right now that got caught up in the explosion during the battle.
It was a nice little place at one point, one I'd love to live in myself although with a bit better plumbing and maybe an internet connection. I was forgetting some things but the major 21st century stuff I remember. I also made sure to actually write down a few major things but some of the finer details of those events escape me. Like the 2008 housing crisis, or how covid started.
Well, there was only so much I could keep secret from these people so I had to start using the journal I had gotten as well as an actual journal to drive off suspicions. It made a bit of sense I suppose, people would forget things as they became less important, and like most humans, I didn't think of my future, not in the same way most did anyway.
Anyway I digress, I was sitting down on the ruins of an old house just writing when I saw a faint glint. I didn't know if one of the later lights had shown on some steel or if the sun had just peaked through a bit but well it got me curious. Getting up I went over to it and dug through the rubble before I saw it, a half-dead old man with a dagger on his chest. From the looks of it, I could tell he was barely breathing and would die if he didn't get any help soon.
"H-"
His hand shot up covering my mouth before I could speak and he put a single finger over his lip making a shush motion. He then began speaking in a quiet manner, with a tired tone to his voice, and yet his voice sounded like he was still in his thirties even though he looked one hundred.
"I-I-I can tell you h-h-have good intentions but i-i-i'm dying so please I have one final request."
He then handed me a dagger, it had a black handle with a silver tip and a curved gray metallic blade that had a weird black symbol near the handle, with the name "Wulf" on it for some reason. I think it was German for wolf or something like that but why an old man in a small French town would have it I couldn't understand. I took hold of it and I felt strange holding it but it also felt familiar, not like I held it before but that I'd seen it somewhere before.
I held it in my hand knowing what he was about to ask but still not wanting to do it.
"S-S-Stab me in the heart, quick a-a-and painlessly please grant me t-t-this final mercy."
Gulpign and with tears in my eyes, I moved a bit of the rumble around and felt his chest, trying to find his heart. I hated that I was about to do this but if I could grant this old man's last request I'd gladly do so.
Even if I wasn't trained in medicine I could tell he was on his last legs and we couldn't help him recover, nor could we stay around to treat him for a long time. Even then well if it was his final request, even if I was dishonorably discharged I would do it to fulfill an old man's final request. Raising the dagger, I stabbed down at his heart as the old man's lips curled into a cruel smile and his ragged breathing disappeared.
"Heh Heh Heh, looks like you fell for it kid, although I should thank you for granting an old man's request, looks like you're cursed now."
"Quick little warning, you'll be in pain for the rest of your miserable existence no matter how much power you obtain."
"Good luck American or should I say Rumpelstiltskin."
Then the old man began aging rapidly his entire body turning to dust as only his clothing remained. I stared down in horror as I felt a course of pain flow through my body, then I saw the name "Wulf" erased from the dagger and replaced my own name, now the name on my birth record William Henry Weaver, but the one my parents gave to me, Rumpelstiltskin.
I grabbed hold of my face as the pain contiuosly coursed through my body I could feel a darkness, or something like it seep into my veins.
Even as it lessened it didn't go away completely, no instead it just became a numbness. Something I would never get used to no matter how long I lived. I also felt the power, the power this dagger granted to me, I could already feel the...the...the magic. I didn't know how or why but I felt magic flowing through my body giving me power I never knew or understood before.
Then I remembered where I saw this dagger from, it was from a TV show I watched that was all about fairy tale characters, alongside a few Disney originals. It was "Once Upon A Time" and this dagger was from a particularly powerful individual Rumpelstiltskin or Mr. Gold.
I didn't know how to feel about it as looking at myself in the photo I looked like a younger Rumpelstiltskin meaning whatever deity that was in charge of reincarnation put me in this position for some reason.
For now though all I knew was I had all this power and I-I-I didn't know what to do.