“What?”

Heavens ate a man? Did that really…it did. It did make sense. I transmigrated into another world—by extension, logic could no longer be applied.

Hearing his words, I wasn't too sure on what to say. Would they believe that I came from another world? At that thought, my mouth opened to explain but was interrupted.

“We are here.” Indeed, the sounds of chatter and movement could be lightly heard from the position we were at. Although I tried my hardest to memorise how to get here, I had lost the way around the halfway mark. If I ever died again, it would be another week's wait until I found humans.

No. I wouldn't die again; there was nothing to plan for. 

The size was moderate, a simple glance showing around 30-40 huts loosely spread throughout the area. Those pillars posing as trees abruptly came to an end here, forming a circle of flatland. More importantly, I saw multiple individuals all of different sizes. “Uncle Hyu, who is this?” A group of children had swarmed around us, barraging the old man with questions. Without being noticed by anyone, Marle slipped away from them. 

The man, who I now discovered was called Hyu, shone a gentle smile and crouched down beside them. “This is a new guest of our village. Welcome him, he might be staying here for a while.”

This swarm switched their attention from Hyu onto me. “Mister, what’s your name! How old are you! Do you know martial arts? Wait, an insignia! Brother, please teach me martial arts!”

From mister to brother in a mere seconds. At the sight of my insignia, they all entered a fervor. What was I supposed to say? Trying my hardest to formulate a decent explanation, I coughed up an answer. “I’m sorry, I don’t know martial arts. I’m just an outer sect disciple. In fact, I don’t even remember what my name is, let alone martial arts.”

Incredulous stares were thrown my way.  “Mister, do you not know your name?”

Just like that, I went back to mister. These heartless fuckers. I stifled the shame rising within me. “I don’t know, sorry.”

“Well then, you can be called Zephon!”

All 5 within the group nodded excitedly at the brilliant idea proposed by their colleague. Just as I was about to deflect this naming ceremony, the old man nodded along with his opinion. “It’s a good name. At least until you get your memory back or have someone from the sect what you were truly called, just go with this name.”

Helpless, I nodded at all of them. Well, I needed a name anyway; just, I hadn’t expected it to come from a group of kids. Now equipped with an identifier, Hyu showed me around the village, introducing me as Zephon to the fellow villagers. Fields with crops could be seen from the side, but there was one, single thing that attracted my entire being.

“Is that…a well? Is there water in there?”

Hyu chuckled. “What well wouldn’t have water? Here, take some. It’s probably been a while since you’ve had some; goldberries would only take away the physical aspect, not the emotion of desire.”

I didn’t hesitate at all to snatch the bucket of water he had given me. It had been emptied in seconds—it wasn’t enough. Far from it. Thankfully, Hyu saw my struggle and gave me another. It felt like I was on a high. My body was drowning in so much pleasure I thought I would collapse yet I still had to keep walking. 

Without even realising it, I found myself seated on a chair with a plate of food right in front me. Food. Not a goldberry. Proper meat. “Thank you. Thank you so much, benefactor. Really, thank you so much!”

Tears ran down my face. A proper meal. When did it taste so divine? Back on Earth, was I really eating something like this everyday? 

Laughing at my sobs, Hyu waved his hands and brought me to a room. 

A bed. My tears became stronger, and Hyu’s laughter became louder.

“Go and sleep, Zephon. You must be tired.”

I…could finally live like a normal fucking human!

—

3 months passed since I came to this new world. I slowly adapted to the activities of the villagers, joining in on some of the building of huts and sometimes helping out on the field. It wasn’t a grand life, yet I felt more fulfilled than my old one. 

Was that the difference of having a community? Waking up to the meal prepared by Hyu and his wife, Hyon, then going out to work with earnest people and being able to appreciate the beauty of the village. 

The language spoken here was called Anorat—nothing that stemmed from earth. How I was able to speak it, I didn’t know. I simply attributed it to something that came along with transmigration.

Sometimes, I would play some games with the children. I had some buzz due to being a foreign member of the village but by now, it had faded out. I was an integrated member of the village. I was thankful to everyone. They accepted me, a stranger, into their lives with no question. 

Interestingly, none of them actually knew where the Tiger Fist sect was located for me to ask. At least, that was what they told me. I was a little suspicious that Hyu had asked them not to tell me in hopes of stopping me from pursuing martial arts. 

For my benefactor, I thought to respect that wish. Living here made me realise even more closely how little I desired reincarnation itself. It wasn’t fighting monsters that I wanted. I just wanted to change from my bleak life, to be able to have a happier life. 

And I had received it. I didn’t need to uselessly waste it in the hopes of getting martial power. Truly, I felt content with life. 

2 years had passed. 

I had learned that there were actually some creatures in the forest that even regular humans could kill, hence how they were managing to procure meat. Whenever I felt lost about anything, I could simply ask Hyu about it. 

“The reason why some creatures can spew fire from their mouth? Well to be honest with you, I’m not sure about the specifics but it certainly includes something about Qi. Qi moves into their body, and by some process, they manage to externally release it as fire. Did you see a White Cross Wolf in the forest?”

White Cross Wolf was the name of the demon that killed me. 

Hyu hadn’t told me to go out hunting, nor did I have any goal to do that, so I remained in the fields. I had made some friends there; an older fellow named Rjae and a woman called Araiel. We idly chatted about mundane things everyday, chuckling at the stupidity of one another. 

On other news, my own hut was finally being built. I even had the help of some of the children on this project, though the main contributor was Hyu. I truly respected that man from the depths of my heart. A gentle but firm man, and one that had saved my life; more than saving it, he changed me in a way I couldn’t thank him enough for. 

Life had switched in a way that I myself couldn’t believe. To smile as one wakes up, living every moment with appreciation. 

It was something beautiful. 

Another two years had passed. 

No major changes had come over the village on a wide scale, but a new whirlwind had come storming into my own life. 

The woman named Araiel. 

We had spent 4 years together, talking about small and large things together. In truth, I felt suspicious that Rjae had slowly started to distance his presence at certain times just to bring us closer together. Another benefactor.

Her originally plain looking features became more and more charming in my eyes until I could no longer stay composed when looking at her. Dark hair that was always cut to a shoulder length, her hazel eyes that shone under the sunlight—everything kept on taking up my attention.

My work output had started to decrease as I spent more time focusing on her than the fields, yet I had never heard anyone complain. At first, I really had believed that nobody had noticed. However, that dream was quickly shattered when one of the fellow helpers asked me when I was actually going to do something. 

Shame nearly killed me that day. 

However, it only fanned what I felt further.

I earnestly hoped that she felt the same.

6 months had passed since I made my dear wish. 

Tomorrow, I wanted to reveal my thoughts to her. Although I didn't know the age of this body, she was still older than my mental age by 1 and a half years. It was a slight fear of mine. Was I still just being immature? Still. Even so, I wanted to say what I felt.

Night had come but the desire for sleep never came. Restless, I kept imagining what the future held for us. Even as the entirety of the name passed, nothing changed. Only after Rjae called me out did I realise it was time. 

Finally.

When I first arrived here, closing my eyes would show only two demons. Now, after living here for nearly half a decade, all I saw was the face of Araiel. My steps were light, impossibly so. I felt like I would float in the air at any moment. 

Step by step, I reached closer to the fields. Nearly 170 people resided in this village, and all had their own duties to tend to. I couldn't tell if it was paranoia, but I seemed to be garnering pleasant looks. Even the sun seemed to be joining the festivities, burning with a greater intensity than usual. 

I was close, extremely close now. In just a few moments, I would see her face. For a brief moment, I tried moving my face around to let go of any tension. 

Did I not deserve it?

The sun that was glowing radiantly dimmed. In its stead, clouds swarmed the sky instantly and brought a downpour with it. 

I couldn’t tell why.

My mind went to an old story. 

The skies opened.

Here, in the field of the village, my eyes could see Rjae and Araiel making idle talk whilst tending to the crops. 

All it took was one strike. The clouds that obscured the radiance of the sun split, revealing a red hue. 

The sun. 

It had become red. 

Engraved in the sky was a 5 pointed star, formed of a pulsating streak of white.

Streaks of crimson slammed down upon the ground, and the cackles of electricity spread throughout the entire village. 

Everything had simply vanished from existence. 

All the crops that I had grown for over 4 years. They couldn't be seen. The huts that every member of the village resided in shattered into dust. 

The world became empty. 

Looking up, I saw the lightning borne star wildly crash into the clouds, clearing them out into a dome.

The skies turned red.

The majority of the flatland became charred.

Soon, the earth turned red.

I was just a few steps away from seeing the woman who had stolen my heart. Anaiel Demis, the daughter of a hunter. 

As I looked down, all I saw was ash. There was a roaring silence booming in my ear. Were they bleeding?

Skies drenched in blood simply covered itself up back to its innocent pale nature. What was once heavy conditions cleared, leaving a peaceful ambience.

This wasn’t real. This couldn’t have been real. It was a nightmare. 

I garnered every ounce of power in my body and slapped my face to escape this nightmare. One slap didn’t work, so I threw another one. Slaps weren’t working, strangely. It was an intricate nightmare for sure.

But I was still composed. 

After all, it was just a nightmare. 

All I had to do was just use a little bit more force. My knees dropped so I could slam my head into the ground and wake up. One slam didn’t do it. Just one more. Another slam. An odd red stream was flowing into the ash. It was a strange dream. 

My eyes were stinging violently. Something was rolling down my face continuously—was it the rain? It had cleared by now along with the clouds, but the droplets must have been falling from my hair.

I would wake up soon. 

I…

Please.

“Hyu, what does this mean? What does it mean to have such a strange dream?”

No-one responded. Hyu. A man who always gave me some sort of answer was quiet today. Was it out of happiness for the joyous occasion today? It was Hyu's behaviour. I was hearing weird wails screaming out from somewhere. Who was it? Who was ruining this pleasant day?

My throat was sore. 

Those wails…were they mine? 

I slammed my head into the ground one last time. 

This wasn’t a dream.

Ah. I couldn’t see properly. 

Everything had turned into a haze. 

In the far distance, I heard screams. My own mouth was open, however. Those screams were mine.

My body was dropping down. All my limbs felt limp.

A thud resounded from my head. 

Looking at the ash.

Maybe I had lost my mind.

But I saw words form.

‘Your mistake.’