I opened my eyes, overwhelmed by a nausea I'd never felt before.
Is this hell?
Gazing at the night sky, I realized it was very late. Had I been abandoned on the road? Hah! And I believed Japan was a good place.
Damn it all, wait.. I can't move. What's happening? Am I even still alive? I am really lucky if that is correct. I could feel my limbs but they felt small and frail, just what is this?
*Awoooooo*
A terrifying sound rang in my ear, stopping my questions.
I was too scared to turn my head, meanwhile, the sound became closer and closer. I was never an outdoorsy guy but I could tell that these things were coyotes.
I am doomed.
My corpse will never be found, and all I will amount to is food for these beasts, fuck dying to the truck would have been better, where are the kids though? I hope they are doing alright.
The sound intensified, Sigh, I am going to hell for sure, I just hope that Gramps isn't there waiting for me.
I shut my eyes tightly, ready for the pain,… but the pain never came, maybe I died instantly… that's better than feeling my flesh being thorn I guess.
What are coyotes doing here in the busy streets of Tokyo anyway?
"———————"
Out of nowhere, someone spoke in a foreign language I never heard, at least I am sure it's not Japanese, or English, it just sounds.. weird.
The coyotes heard that sound too and bolted away as if they saw a terrifying monster of some kind.
Just who is this?
My question was answered when they came into view.
It was a man with a towering figure, and for some reason, he had grey scales beneath his eyes. His brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and an eye patch covered his left eye. He also had no shirt on, displaying his well-built frame and scars.
For some reason, he reminded me of Kalman the Third but he looked older and manlier, is he a cosplayer? A very dedicated one if that's right.
The man spoke in words that I couldn't understand once again, lifting me like it was no big deal.
I saw my reflection in his scales, and it shocked me. Instead of the familiar face that I was familiar with, I saw a little child with emerald green hair and skin that was as white as snow. The most striking feature was my left eye, where an oval red gemstone had replaced the pupil.
I couldn't believe it, I was a literal infant, am I in a new body? This makes no sense but… my eyes must be deceiving me, but this feels so real.
Was I… reborn in the same world as Rudeus?
Did I get my dying wish granted?
Tears started falling down my face as I stretched my little arms, touching the man's scales.
Seeing this the man laughed, but I didn't care.
I have a second chance at life, I could start over from scratch.
Maybe, just maybe, this life would be better.
The man held me tightly, taking me with him. For some reason, I felt safe in his embrace.
I definitely could get used to this.
~10 minutes later~
The man took me to a black castle, it was honestly mesmerizing.
It was like those 15th-century castles you would see in movies or history books or old paintings, I presume it's about 20 stories tall or maybe more.
'Wow' that was my only thought seeing this castle, this dude lives in it? It seems I struck gold.
Even if he was a servant in this castle I would be content, but he seems very powerful, making me feel that he owns this place or at least has a high say in its matters.
Two guards were standing at the front gate of the castle, they were clad in black armor with helmets that completely hide their faces. The armor looked rather sinister, with sharp points on it. Actually, they look similar to something I read in the novel but I can't quite remember.
After they saw us the guards opened the gates, and they chatted with the man holding me, although I couldn't see their faces or understand the word being spoken, I could tell that they were very casual with each other.
Entering the castle I was not disappointed, the inside had the same video as the outside only more cozy, the place honestly could be said to be a masterpiece of architecture.
There were two large stairs, each one of them was on the opposite side but both of them led to a large door.
Instead of going up the stairs like a normal person, the man jumped up to the door in a split second, which caused my heart to race and almost made me pass out.
I wasn't afraid of heights but the speed of his jump was truly terrifying.
We kept moving until we reached a door, the man knocked quietly and waited.
Sure enough, another guard opened the door, he was dressed exactly like the two other guards I saw at the gates but he was much shorter than them.
I peeked at his room, it was very normal with a bed and a table with two chairs around it.
They talked for a while in a low voice before putting me in the room on top of a bed. The man looked at my confused face and signaled to me to be quiet with a smile on his face.
I had a bad feeling about this but the man's smile was very genuine so I simply smiled back. That seemed to make him very happy for some reason.
He then turned his back to leave, but he stopped in his tracks and asked the guard something.
The guard nodded at his request, getting a cup from the table and trying to pour some water from what I presume was a glass container, which was empty.
That didn't fluster the man at all however, he just pointed his hand at the container and said some words.
Out of nowhere, a small water ball formed, dropping inside the container.
Seeing that made me mesmerized, it was like magic. Not, It was magic. It was really fascinating. I want to do something like this in the future.
What I do possess however is that red gemstone in my eye, I could see fine with it but I still wondered what it did.
I focused my eye on the man and sure enough, something happened.
The world went dark, and the only thing I could see was the flow of something from both of the men, that thing flowing looked to be stuck in a state of between solidity and liquidity, I think this is what the people of this world called mana.
What caught my attention however was the way the flow moved when the guard formed the water ball.
I paid attention like never before, trying to memorize how the flow moves.
After a while the guard stopped, pouring a glass of water for the man before turning away.
As soon as they left I used my eye to look at myself, I also had mana flowing through me but it was less dense than both of them.
I tried to manipulate the flow inside of me and it was surprisingly easy, I think I am a natural. I tried to move the flow just like he did it but I was super careful, I had never done this before after all.
After what I think was ten minutes of trying, a miracle happened: a water ball manifested from thin air!
It might not be a miracle to the rest of this world, but to me this is. My heart was full of happiness and pride forming this water ball.
There was a problem though, how do I stop?
The guard did it so fast that I couldn't see how he stopped doing it. This is bad, the water ball just kept growing and growing.
Out of nowhere, I started feeling dizzy, and before I knew it I passed out.
The last thing I saw was the massive water ball descending upon me.
~5 minutes later~
I woke up, feeling cold all throughout my whole body, I was completely drenched in water.
Ah, I over thought this whole process, all I had to do was stop feeding the thing mana and it would have stopped getting bigger.
Honestly, the thing would have still fallen on me regardless, I don't know how to move or shoot the thing yet. I was so excited at the idea that I could form things from tin air that I didn't pay much attention.
Well at least I learned something, how will I explain why I am wet to that man when he comes back though?
'Oh right, I can't talk.'
Well, I hope he doesn't blame me.
I turned my head to see if the door was open or not, and I wish I didn't.
Right in front of me stood a woman of average height, her skin was a bluish-black, her hair white, and her eyes blood red. She had wings like a bat, and a single, thick horn protruded from her head.
Like the guards, she also wore black armor, although it was clear that hers had seen far more battle than theirs had. It was covered in scratches, and any decorative elements had long been ripped off.
An enormous sword hung at her waist, one that looked far too large for her scrawny. The most noteworthy thing about her was an aura of indescribable rage and hostility around her.
I know who she is very well, she's Atoferatofe Rybak, an immortal demon who didn't know reason.
Seeing her, there was little hope left in my heart that she wouldn't do anything to me.
That hope was destroyed however when she pulled out her sword, ready to strike.
Well damn, I am doomed.
And I was just reborn, too.