[Warning: The user has lost a significant amount of blood] [Warning: Several of the user's organs have been damaged] [Warning: The user presents severe trauma in different parts of the body] [Warning: If the user is not treated soon, death is imminent]
—Are you dying? —A primordial voice spoke to me; it was the same one from when that Shockpinfinder was chasing me—. Poor Samuel... that's what you get for humiliating something greater than yourself. You must die like the dog you are.
That guy really holds a grudge against me; I can't believe gods are this immature. I only denied him one request; besides, he wanted to control a part of my body. Well, whatever, I'm crucified on a rock in infernal pain. At times my vision blurs and I lose consciousness; the sensation of dried blood in my mouth is horrible. I feel how my lips are cracked and my entraals are throbbing. Maybe this is the place where I die for good.
What a shitty string of lives: I die on Earth of cancer, then, for some strange reason, I reincarnate as a stone, only to later become a Liva, then I die again and come back as a baby Liva...
What am I? Why didn't everything just end when I passed away on Earth?
God! I can't even complain; I have no strength left for anything other than agonizing.
—Soon my puppets will destroy that entire kingdom thanks to my help —the god's voice announced—. I hope you suffer even more in the Underworld. You were a poor Envoy.
That damn word! What does it mean exactly? That I'm an "Envoy"? So I really am in one of those reincarnation stories where the protagonist is super strong, has five busty women, and conquers the world. At least that's how it is in fiction; they didn't give me powers or anything. Just a mocking system and gods that give out suicidal missions.
Maybe that guy who looked like a black hole was the one who brought me here; after all, he said he was God. That bastard must be evil. They always say God is benevolent and helps good people... To hell with all religious speeches! I'm dying in the worst way and nobody is helping me.
[The user's vital signs are in critical condition] [The user will die shortly]
I guess this will be my last breath; I couldn't finish the mission to kill the Leviathan...
—Hey... Over... Here... Is... Mr. Samu... —As my vision turned dark and empty, I heard screams in the distance. Thanks for caring, but I'm already dead.
[The user has died]
I don't know why I thought this time would be different.
[Recalculating...] [The user has been taken to another plane]
Glup!
I heard the sound of a drop falling into water.
My vision returned out of nowhere. I was in... Where am I? I see a sky between blue and pink. There are tree leaves... Now I remember where I am. This is the same landscape from when I reincarnated as that stone. Did I travel back in time? Don't tell me I'm going to have to repeat everything! Am I a rock again?
I tried to move, but nothing happened; only my vision managed to shift. Everything was identical: the moss beside me and... the bones? These are my old friends, Freddy and Jacob. I remember I was alone for a long time, lost in my thoughts, so much so that I hallucinated that my ex-boss was that moss. How crazy; at least back then I had no worries or weird missions.
Well, what do I do now? Will I have to wait for Viktor to come find me? Will he show up this time? I'm not sure if I traveled to the past or if this is something else. I have to stay here. Is the system around these parts?
"System!" I tried to shout, but I had forgotten the small detail that I no longer have a mouth. How frustrating.
—"A stone, some moss, and a couple of bones can be seen lying next to a tree. They look like rotting trash."
It was the System's voice! I was able to call it.
"Hey, can you hear me?" I asked with my thoughts.
—"A small whisper was felt in the environment."
That means it does hear me.
"Do you know what happened? Why am I a stone?"
[You do not have access to that information]
Again with that. Apparently, I never have information about anything.
"At least do you know where I am?"
[The user is in a space outside of Priya]
What? What do you mean "outside of Priya"? That means something brought me all the way here.
"Can I know if I died?"
[You do not have access to that information]
I guess I can't do anything. I'm going to start counting seconds like I used to.
"One, two, three, four, five... Eighty-nine thousand five hundred fifty-three, eighty-nine thousand five hundred fifty-four!"
Now I have to calculate how much that is. If sixty seconds is a minute, then I have to divide by that number. That means I've been here doing nothing for about one thousand four hundred ninety-two minutes, which in hours is about 24. Great! I've been here for a day.
Get me out of here! I'm bored. I don't know how I could stand being like this for over a year! I don't want to keep doing more calculations, even though I'm quite good at it.
—Hey... Wake... up... Mr. Samuel... —that whisper again. I think it's the voice of one of the twins.
Why can I hear her? If I can do that, it means I'm still connected to my body somehow.
—Mr... perverted... cockroach... —It's definitely the twins.
[The user can return to his vessel]
Fine! I can finally leave this damn place. Being a stone is horrible.
—Shut up already! You're tiring —another voice spoke. It was very different from the others—. Now go!
As soon as they said that, I fell asleep immediately. I felt a light on my face, also the vibration of the ground and the sound of something rolling. When I was able to open my eyes, I saw the two brats sitting beside me crying. When they aren't in assassin mode, they are very cute. I looked up and there was a very low wooden ceiling, like that of a wagon. I realized I was being transported.
—What's happening? —I said in a very low voice; it hurt a bit to speak.
—Mr. Samuel woke up! —Anastasia shouted.
—Good, the perverted cockroach didn't die —Petra said with her usual coldness.
—It's so good that you're alive, Mr. Samuel! —Anastasia threw herself on top of me crying. Then the other followed.
Since when did they grow fond of me?
—Did the vermin wake up? —a familiar voice asked. The cart stopped.
They opened the door, and once the light stopped blinding me, I saw Janeth.
—You're more resilient than I thought; I see now why you could withstand several blows from the King.
—Obviously I'm very strong —I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in my abdomen threw me back—. Cough, cough! —I coughed a bit and blood came out; I was still in very bad shape.
—You'd better not move, because you're really going to die —the giantess warned me.
—What happened? What did they do with Mother Karlota? —I asked, a bit distressed.
—About that... —Janeth climbed into the wagon with a worried face—. You've been asleep for two months and a lot of things happened —she took a pause—. That "Master" guy took the castle that day; besides, the King was imprisoned. We don't know his whereabouts and we had to flee.
They took the palace? This is worse than I thought. Strange that the twins came with me and didn't go with their boss.
—I couldn't protect his majesty... Ah... h-ah...! —She was on the verge of crying—. He sacrificed himself so we could leave. I promise I will return.
I had never seen Janeth like this; that meant the situation was very grave.
—I swear I will kill that bastard and his whole group! —she exclaimed with great fury.
I remained silent.
—The good thing is that the perverted cockroach woke up! —Petra exclaimed.
—How am I still alive? —I asked with a hint of incredulity.
—The old woman helped you. The King's mother is very good at healing people —Anastasia revealed.
—So the old lady cured me? When I see her, I'll thank her.
—Thank me right now, then —Mona appeared.
—Thank you very much for saving me, Lady Mona —I thanked her from the heart.
—Well, we'll talk later. We must continue our way and don't even think about moving. You're in a very bad state after what that crazy woman did to you —the old woman said grumpily and gave a signal to the driver.
The carriage started up. Janeth, the brats, and I were inside.
—Where are we headed? —I asked.
—We're going to Bigue —Janeth replied.
So, after all that drama, I would end up stepping foot in that place anyway. If they had told me sooner, I would have saved myself the effort of designing and building that yakhchal; what a waste of time and resources. Apparently, fate has a rather twisted sense of humor with me.
—We'll arrive in a few days —Janeth added, breaking my train of thought—. So rest, vermin. You're going to need it.
She didn't have to tell me twice. With my body still feeling as if a truck had run over me, I settled as best as I could on the floor of the wagon. We undertook the path toward the coastal village, leaving behind the ashes of what I knew. I have no idea what fate has in store for us in that port, but after dying twice and reincarnating as a stone, I only hope that whatever comes next is, at least, a little less catastrophic.