Welcome to My Playground

Pressure. Overwhelming, crushing pressure. He woke abruptly, finding himself submerged in water. Panic gripped him as he thrashed against the liquid, struggling to understand his surroundings. Darkness obscured his vision, and muffled sounds surrounded him. Where was up? Every direction seemed the same. 

Occasional lightning lit the water surfaces as he urgently swam towards the surface. Guided by fleeting bursts of light, he broke through the water, gasping for air. His hands instinctively flailed, searching for a solid anchor. 

The awakening felt surreal, an abrupt shift from dreams to a submerged reality that gripped him like an unwelcome embrace. Yet, it was strangely familiar, as if he was living a dream replayed thousands of times.

This must be it. This has to be…

"I've actually been isekaied!" he shouts, only to be immediately struck by lightning.

He awakens once more beneath the water's surface, the events preceding feeling like a distant dream. 

A sudden realisation crept into his soul—a terrifying revelation; he might be in a re: zero rip-off.

His muffled voice escaped in bubbles of a frustrated, "Sh-t," the sound muted by the surrounding water. Struggling for air, he regains his breath and resurfaces again. In the onslaught of rain, he tilted his head upwards, desperate for clarity. It was then he saw it.

A colossal serpent emerged from the clouds, its form a dance of water and lightning. It twisted and turned through the storm, its serpentine body extending far beyond his vision. Every inch of its form crackled with electric energy. 

If he made a sound, would the lightning strike his way again? It wasn't a theory he was willing to test.

The air bore the weight of a profound sigh, a precursor to the storm serpent's voice that unfolded amid the turbulent atmosphere. It weaved through the tumult with a touch of mystique, disdain colouring its words, "It reeks of that… bitch."

It was searching for something. In its pursuit, the creature's massive body slithered, causing a dramatic shift and transformation that propelled me head-first across the sea, plunging into the water with a crash.

Emerging from the disorienting impact, he fought to clear his vision and fixated on a distant figure—a boy. The boy floated motionless beneath the surface, his body sinking further and further. Below them, a mysterious vortex stretched far beyond his vision's range. It was just a hunch, but it may be his only escape. 

His eyes, however, lingered on that boy. Something, he doesn't know what was urging him to save the child. If the lightning wouldn't get it perhaps the guilt would. Well… he's the main character, right? He should save everyone he can!

A lightning bolt pierced into his depths, striking him with electrifying force.

At the beginning again, he cursed a little louder, then surfaced, spotting the distant serpent. After a while he was again thrown across the sea, he saw the vortex, pondering it as a possible escape. Despite his last lesson, he felt compelled to save a distant boy. After all, it might've been the hesitation that got him last time.

He began swimming towards the boy. 

This is stupid. This is reckless. His mind could only come up with reasons to flee, but his body did not waver. 

Every fibre of his being resisted the relentless forces, each stroke narrowly evading the striking bolts. Seizing the boy with one hand and reaching toward the swirling vortex with the other, he felt the overpowering currents that churned relentlessly, its ferocious swirls resembling an impenetrable wall.

Shit. What can he do now? He's running out of breath fast. There must be something, anything. 

In an instant, a familiar surge of electricity coursed through his chest, signalling an imminent strike. Without hesitation and fueled by adrenaline, he summoned all his strength and hurled himself into the whirlpool. It swallowed him whole, whisking him away from the impending fury of the serpent's might.

This all feels like a sick joke. Who in their right minds thought spawning him in front of the final boss was a good idea? Then again, being alive right now would also count as a miracle; after all, surviving lightning strikes inches away from you without dying practically defies every law of conductivity. 

Gathering the final reserves of his energy, he pressed his hands together in prayer. If there was some cruel god out there, please don't let him die so soon. 

Thrown into the violent currents, he succumbed to the unyielding power that threw him around and fell unconscious.