Chapter 3 - A Difficult Situation Indeed
Chapter 3 - A Difficult Situation Indeed
Elias looked at the sea of clouds, letting out a heavy sigh.
After a few minutes, he chuckled softly to himself. "Heh..."
"What are you laughing about, human?" a deep voice interrupted.
The towering figure beside him, shrouded in an ethereal flame, turned its piercing gaze upon Elias.
"Umm… I died because opening the door stretched the bomb's mechanism string, which ended up killing me," Elias explained, a trace of bitter amusement in his voice.
"Heh… I opened the door. Ah… there's a bomb at my door. Voilà! I'm dead."
Elias's eyes never left the sea of clouds, his demeanor detached and unperturbed.
The tall figure fell silent, its fiery form remaining eerily still. Inside, however, a storm of thoughts raged.
'Is this human not aware that his soul is stuck in the wrong place? Seriously, what the hell are they doing down there?! How am I supposed to deal with this damn human?'
Despite the turmoil within, the figure's blazing exterior betrayed nothing.
It finally spoke, its voice laden with gravity. "You were the first one to open the door in the entire building. The explosion of your device sparked a chain reaction among the other bombs."
Elias's expression barely changed as he listened.
"A total of 176 explosions caused the building to collapse towards the adjacent hospital," the figure continued.
"Out of those, 48 were shared between the two buildings, reducing half the hospital to ruins. The casualty count reached 198,249. 78,041 people were turned into meat pastes. Over 137,678 children became orphans. Countless others were left with missing limbs, lost children, trapped under the debris… etc., etc."
The figure's words grew colder. "Voilà! You killed people."
An unknown pressure descended upon Elias, commanding his very soul to listen and answer. He gulped, his pale face now slick with sweat.
The figure smiled.
No… it was a grin. A wide, menacing grin that bared all its sharp teeth.
"What?" the figure taunted. "Cat got your tongue?"
Its grin widened further, becoming an unsettling mask of delight.
"During your college days, you made countless friends. One of them had a sister who proposed to you."
Elias's eyes widened in horror as memories flooded back.
"You refused politely, talking about starting the relationship as friends and all that blah blah blah. But no one knew you planned to sleep with her because of a stupid bet you lost. And you succeeded, taking her maidenhood. Do you remember her?"
"E-Emi…" Elias stuttered, haunted by his past.
"Emily," the figure corrected, its tone dripping with malice.
"Heh. After that night, you started avoiding her. Unknowingly, she and her brother both dropped out after three months. Due to the semester exams, you didn't notice her absence. On a fateful day exactly four months later, her brother attacked you. Do you remember what happened afterward?"
The figure's twisted pleasure was palpable.
"He dragged me to a hospital." Elias's voice was barely a whisper, his eyes refusing to meet the figure's gaze.
"Emily was in labor. She was giving birth to a child… no… they were… twins." Tears welled up in his eyes, but he couldn't cry. The figure's teeth receded as it leaned closer.
"Whose children were they?" it asked.
"They were mine and Emily's." Tears streamed down Elias's face, the guilt, and sorrow overwhelming.
"Then why did you have a different family? Would it have been too late to take responsibility for Emily and her children?"
The figure lifted Elias's head with a burning hand, forcing him to face its fiery gaze.
"I was ready to take responsibility. I explained everything to my parents, promising her I would return in a couple of hours. But there was a gas leak in the ward she was admitted to. A total of 31 people died in that accident, including her and our children." His eyes were red, and he couldn't stop crying.
The figure let go of Elias's head and snapped its fingers. A sudden numbness washed over Elias, lifting the pain and regret as if they had never existed, yet the memories remained vivid.
"So many people died today, and you find it funny. You humans really don't care to think that your actions could involve other lives too."
Elias felt the pressure lift and found his voice.
"I didn't kill them! It was those damn terrorists who are responsible for all this! Why are you torturing me?!" he roared, his defiance breaking through his fear.
*Clap* *Clap*
"I knew it, I didn't choose the wrong guy." Another voice echoed through the space. The tall figure stood up from its seat and kneeled, paying respects in Elias's direction.
Elias suddenly felt a pair of hands on his shoulders.
Pat
"Ingril, you didn't follow the script," an elderly voice sounded from behind Elias.
"Your Excellency, forgive me, but I couldn't tolerate his carefree attitude." The tall figure, now named Ingril, spoke fearfully.
Yes. It spoke fearfully.
The same person mentioned by respect came forward and stood in front of Elias, facing him.
He looked like a normal old man, his demeanor cheerful and calm.
"Listen carefully, human," the old man began.
"Your soul was supposed to suffer through a series of trials, but it is somehow stuck in the transmigration and reincarnation hall. You'll be transmigrated to a random world. Well, you already know the usual cliché from those novels."
Elias nodded hurriedly.
"No, no, no," the old man chuckled.
"Actually, I swapped your soul with another transmigrator's soul. That guy will suffer in the trials on your behalf. Hehehe."
"If accidents such as souls going to the wrong places were normal, these people would not be needed." The old man pointed at Ingril.
"Then… why did you swap me?" Elias asked, bewildered.
The old man sat down on a chair that Ingril had been sitting on. With a casual wave of his hands, Ingril was shifted far away, and immediately a table appeared with tea and appetizers for two people.