Third Person POV
past speech = "example"
past thoughts = example
present speech = "example"
present thoughts = example
Rai looked above the clear blue skies covered by the dark green foliage from the oak trees.
"...."
He closed his eyes gently as he deeply inhaled the fresh air that he was rarely able to savor.
It's as if it was all just a dream...
He could still remember the particular memory of his bland death. The stench of a corpse, his fallen enemy, and the pool of blood he was lying on.
On his last breath, all he could think of was, "Am I going to die?".
But in reality, he didn't care anymore. He just wanted to rest now.
"Haha..." A teardrop rolled down his bloodied cheek.
Finally, He smiled gently. The day he was waiting for finally came.
His tears soon stopped falling as he peacefully closed his eyes for the last time and entered his awaited eternal sleep... But, the moment he opened his eyes again, he was already in another world.
Why me...?
He has suffered so much, yet he wasn't even allowed to rest in peace.
He wasn't a hero, nor was someone fighting for justice. He was just a human who wanted to live comfortably. So, why? Why would you do this to me?
The furious young man dug his fingertips into his palm. He felt cheated. Cheated by the cruel universe. He pursed his lips tightly as his memories from his past life come flooding back like a tsunami wave.
Swoosh---
Suddenly, the trees and the sky above him vanished, and all that was left was a black abyss.
"...."
He looked down on the black water below his feet. There, he could see the reflection of a black-haired child whose appearance was the exact carbon copy of his younger version.
The child was smiling like an idiot, unlike the cold, stoic Rai.
He stared blankly at his reflection, observing its every move.
The child in the water started to frantically walk farther away from him, as if it feared him. He blankly stared at the child as it looked at him with a frightened face.
...It was frightened of its future self.
Why did he look so sad? Why does he look so cold? Its tears started to well up in its eyes.
"...Why... Are you like that?"
It hesitantly asked the young man above the water.
"...."
Rai remained silent, and the child gulped nervously.
"Am I... Going to be like that too?"
It asked him another question, but he continued to remain silent.
"...."
The young child, who lost its patience bit its lip furiously and shouted,
"Don't ignore me!"
Its demure eyes turned into a wrathful glare, showing its true character. It smiled eerily as its eyes turned pitch black, just like the abyss.
"...Hey, don't try to pretend."
It walked closer to the still Rai, chuckling madly. The moment its reflection was under Rai's feet, the eerie child suddenly came out of the water and grabbed his collar aggressively.
"You know you can't escape it."
"—Rai!"
Flinch.
"....Huh?"
Rai looked up to the young man frantically shaking his cold body. Confused, he shifted his gaze at his feet. Sure enough, the child he saw earlier wasn't there anymore.
"Are you alright?"
The blonde-haired man asked with a concerned face.
"...Yes, I'm fine."
He replied calmly, puzzled inside.
Why am I...?
But before he could finish his thought, Johan suddenly yelled at him with his voice full of anger.
"No you're not! You were cold as an iceberg!"
Flinch.
Rai instinctively flinched at his sudden yell. It was so loud that it almost made his eardrums bleed.
"Do you know how long you were standing there like a dead person?!"
"You were...."
As the young man ranted his heart out, Rai stuck his finger inside his ear to check for the damages. Thankfully, when he pulled it out, the finger wasn't stained with blood. ...Phew.
"...Hey! Are you really okay?"
Johan's loud question finally snapped him back to reality. He paused for a moment. Now... How do I explain this...? It was hard to explain his weird condition, especially because it sounds like it doesn't make sense in the first place.
"That..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the young man abruptly pushed him down on a nearby log and shouted again,
"Stop! Don't say anything else!"
"....."
Rai obediently kept quiet, as he felt tired anyway. He silently sat on the rough log as he observed the blonde man hurriedly run away and come back with twigs, stones, and a bundle of grass.
"....You're making a fire?"
"Of course! If you keep freezing like this, you'll die!"
The frantic young man shouted as he immediately pulled up his sleeves and began to rapidly rub the two sticks together, making a trail of smoke.
Chirp—!
Suddenly, a tiny yellow bird landed on his shoulder and began rubbing its face on his neck.
"...?" Rai glanced at the bird from the corners of his eyes, befuddled.
Is it... Trying to warm me up?
Rai carefully pat the tiny bird's head. Surprisingly, it really did feel warm... and comfortable.
"...."
His eyes started to close slowly. Despite the frantic shouts of Johan, it unexpectedly felt peaceful.
Soon after, he drifted off to sleep with a blissful smile.
***
"Ah, you damn bastard!"
I yelled furiously at the sleeping man beside me. This damn jerk, why the hell do you have to be so troublesome?
"Haa...."
I sighed heavily as I stepped back and watched the fire get bigger.
This damn jerk just had to catch hypothermia in the summer! Hell, how does that even happen?!
'I just left him alone for a minute, and he's already about to leave the mortal world!' I gritted my teeth in anger as I wiped the dust off my pants and took a glimpse at the man comfortably sleeping on the log with a smile.
'He looks like he hasn't slept well for ages...'
I sighed in exhaustion.
"...Haa, why the hell do I have to babysit a transmigrator?"
I sorrowly complained to the sky, but no answer came down.
"...." Whatever. Let's just drag him outside the forest and leave him there.
A moment later, I tried to drag his arm, but he wouldn't budge. He was steady, just like a stone wall.
"Urgh...!!!"
It was like playing tug of war with the Eiffel tower. Even though I put all my strength into it, his body didn't move a single bit.
Plop—
"Haa... Haa..."
I panted exhaustedly as my butt fell to the ground. Okay, I give up. This is clearly impossible.
[....Pfft.] The quiet blue screen spoke up to chuckle at my demise.
"...."
A small vein popped on my forehead. For some reason, I felt like a mother dealing with two troublesome children. One was sick while the other one was a prideful brat who hated nicknames.
On the other hand, Goldie felt like the neighbor's child that would always send you gifts every holiday.
"Goldie, psst. Come here."
I called out to the tiny bird for comfort, but no bird flew on my shoulder.
"...."
"...Goldie?"
Worried with the lack of response, I shifted my head towards the little bird, who was cozily sleeping on the hypothermia patient's shoulder.
"...." I heard my heart crack into pieces.
[I told you, companionship is a scam. Even Goldie likes the interesting human more than you now.]
The prideful system scoffed proudly as if it won a bet.
"....."
Even more imaginary tears started to fall down my face. Goldie, is hypothermia patients your type? Am I not cold enough for you?
"...Haaa."
I sighed melancholically.
Today I learned... The power of a protagonist's charm... Is terrifyingly dangerous.
END
[school is getting busier so i'm lowering my word count to 1,200+. I hope yall are okay with it ;u;]
