A Crow, Body and Laughter

The moon was shining bright that day, the stars danced around mischievously while a man walked down a street oblivious to all that was around him. The man had a forlorn expression on his face as he kept walking and walking to no end. The man ignored the shouts of people as he crossed the road. The driver tried to swerve to not hit him but it was too late.

Blood splattered on the pavement as the man lay on the sidewalk slowly dying, as life slowly seeped out of him, the last thing the man saw was a crow charging towards him, he broke into a smile at this sight.

****

I opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar room adorned with all kinds of jewels and luxurious items. It was a strange occurrence for sure but I found it hard to care.

The bed was soft and the blanket covering me was warm, as I lay there staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, the memories of a strange man forced their way into my mind. It was an uncomfortable process at first but as time passed I got used to it, it was like seeing a movie in a theatre and as it ended and brought me back to that strange room again, a sigh escaped from my mouth.

It seems like I've possessed the body of someone else….from another world.

What was this phenomenon called again?

That's right.

Transmigration.

****

I haven't moved all day. I feel weak and every part of my body is stiff. But I couldn't care less. It would have been better if I just died right now but that wasn't going to happen since this body was special.

The memories have completely assimilated into my brain, while I'm still the dominant one. I can feel the vague presence of someone else in my mind.

'Oh well,' I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

****

'I'm dreaming right now aren't I?' the man thought as he watched the scene before him. The man was dreaming not about himself but about the man he had possessed: Emperor Theodore Gladius, the first of his name and supreme ruler of the Gladius Empire.

A woman was screaming while the other women surrounding her consoled her, they guided her until the baby was delivered. The women around the new mother rushed over to the newborn's side glancing between themselves with worry etched deeply in their faces.

The baby wasn't crying, it was staring at them with a sense of amusement in its small beady eyes. The women bowed down, not daring to look it in the eye. The women would have found this sight abnormal if not for the fact that this baby was a royal, he had the blood of a god running through him.

—---

The boy was 8 now.

He had started walking within a week after he was born and was capable of speech soon after that. The speed at which he grew up was astonishing even considering his royal bloodline.

But there was a slight issue with the boy, he was incredibly bored with everything, and nothing seemed to excite him. He had started growing bored of everything and everyone.

One day, he asked his father what 'death' was, his father thought for a while and ordered the guard standing near them: "Kill yourself." The man immediately took out his weapon and stabbed himself to death. The boy's mother had screamed but her screams fell on deaf ears as the boy kept staring at the guard, he was fascinated with the colour of the blood seeping out of the dead guard.

It was just so….red.

______

The boy was 18 now.

He wasn't bored now, he was on a battlefield trying to expand the Gladius Empire, he had killed hundreds but strangely enough, the lives he took didn't weigh him down instead it was like a weight off his chest.

It felt good.

The boy never wanted to stop, that was until he met her.

The woman was a prisoner of war, a princess from a neighbouring kingdom. He couldn't take his eyes off her, He started to listen to her every whim and stopped his campaign to expand the empire.

The entire continent hailed her as a saintess sent by the heavens to calm the raging young sun. She saw the good in everyone, even in the boy. Their wedding was the most extravagant event the empire had seen in ages.

_____

The boy was 22 now.

He was a father now as well, she had given birth to a healthy young girl last year, the child was just a year old but was already causing all sorts of trouble. But the woman seemed to adore her, so the boy tried his best to love the child as well.

_____

The boy was 26 now.

His wife had given birth again, this time a healthy boy. The boy didn't want another child since he found the first one troublesome to deal with as it was. But still, the boy tried his best to cherish the children since his wife seemed to love them.

_____

The boy was 30 now.

The boy's face hardened as he watched his wife struggle in bed while several other women surrounded her. The boy stood by the side, his two children standing on either side of him, their face was lined with worry. Soon the cries of a child were heard echoing throughout the room.

The boy ignored the woman rushing toward him with the child and ran toward his wife. His wife smiled upon seeing his face, She said something but they failed to reach his ears as he had noticed that his wife was bleeding too much.

"No…." he whispered in despair.

As his wife closed her eyes for the last time, he screamed out her name in frustration. As the pain subsided, all that was left was anger.

The boy turned around to face the monster that had killed the love of his life.

The boy's daughter who held the child took a few steps back as she sensed the bloodlust in her father's eyes but his four-year-old son who knew none the better, tried to approach his wife, seeing the child move, the boy took the child by his arm and threw him like a bug.

Ignoring the crashing sound that came about as a result, the boy edged toward the monster that killed her.

"D-daddy….stop." his eldest daughter pleaded but seeing that the boy had no intention to stop she ran and hid inside a closet. She held her breath and embraced the child who wouldn't stop crying, tears found their way out of her eyes but she held onto her sibling.

"You all killed her." the boy uttered, walking closer and closer "You killed her." "You killed her" "yOU kILLED hER"

The boy kept chanting the same thing as his children cowered around him.

****

The boy couldn't kill the monster, he was subdued before he could do anything. After calming down, he went into his room and decided to isolate himself from everyone and everything. The boy didn't even want to look at the monsters that leeched off his wife's life.

As the boy laid on his bed crying, he felt chills on his back. The boy looked to the side of his room, a man was sitting on the ground there looking at him.

"Wh-" the man stopped himself upon meeting the man's gaze. There was nothing inside the man's eyes….they were devoid of any emotion. It was empty.

For the first time since he was born, the boy felt fear.

The man brought a finger to his lips and said, "Hush…let me sleep."

~~~~