1 Death in the name of salvation

September 23, 2021.

Saint-Petersburg.

22:20

…

- And so. As of today, I am officially bankrupt.- the man reasoned aloud, walking along one of the dark streets of St. Petersburg.

This person's name is Dmitry. And today he is an unemployed middle-aged man who does not have a permanent place of residence, as well as not a single penny in his wallet.

- There is no money, which means there is nothing to pay the debt for the rent of the room, which means that soon I will be left without a roof over my head. And I'm going to eat normally now, obviously not soon.

He was dressed like an ordinary office worker:

A white shirt, over which a dark jacket, worn by life, was worn, dark trousers and worn men's shoes of a brownish color.

Outwardly, he was no different from an ordinary resident of St. Petersburg. Well, that's if you don't take into account his small scar on his face, which runs through his left eye, which slightly disfigures his face. And so it is quite an ordinary person without any external features.

- Tc, I'll have to scour the sites in the morning in search of at least some work. You may even have to contact old friends from Moscow. Those may be able to arrange me in some part-time round-the-clock. Heh, that would be nice.

Dmitry continued walking, thinking about the possibilities of finding a job with at least some earnings, until he began to approach the entrance of his high-rise building.

- Yeah, I'm really late today. I'd like to go to bed and have a good night. Although I still need to call Mishka, maybe he'll lend me a couple of thousand, otherwise I'm in danger of dying ahead of time.

And now, he is ready to step over the threshold of his entrance, when suddenly he hears a quiet noise from the right side.

He stopped and looked more closely.

- Eh? A stone?

Dmitry looked around, but saw no one who could leave him.

He casually looked at the top, hoping to find evidence somehow hinting at the origin of this stone... And I was not mistaken.

"What's that?"

Dmitry discovered that a kid was standing on the edge of the roof of his house.

- I don't remember such a thing here.

Although Dima's eye was damaged, but to see the boy's appearance from above was quite a feasible task for him.

"There's just one thing I don't understand... why the hell did he get in there?

Having asked this question to himself, Dmitry did not come up with the most pleasant thought.

- Is he going to jump?

A bad feeling arose inside Dmitry.

It is understandable. Watching a man trying to commit suicide in front of his own eyes is not a good sight.

-112. We need to call the rescue service.

Dima began to scour his pockets in a hurry in search of his mobile phone, until he remembered that he had left it at home today.

- What a fucking thing! When he is so needed, he is always not there!

Looking at the guy on the roof and realizing that there might not be much time left, Dima decided to quickly climb up to him.

...

- Hey *Heavy breathing* p-guy.

- Eh? W-who's here?!

The guy turned his head sharply and immediately noticed the one who made that voice.

- W-who are you?!- the guy asked, shaking all over.

- Me? Yes, I live in this house. I went out to light a cigarette and breathe some air.

"B-but I-I think it was you t-just down there."

-...

A nervous smile appeared on Dmitry's face.

-Y-yes, I went to the store for cigarettes.

- A. I-clearly...- looking away from Dima, the guy answered.

There was silence in the air for a while, but it was broken by a question from Dima:

- Go ahead... What are you doing here? Aren't you going to jump by the hour?

The guy's body shuddered sharply. His face turned so pale that it was impossible to recognize him. As if his most terrible secret had been discovered and now he would most likely be killed.

- Listen, if that's the case, then I think it's not the best idea...

- What do you know!- the guy interrupted Dmitry sharply.- It's not that you don't have the slightest idea about my situation, you don't even know my name! So it's not for you to judge what is best for me!

The guy was no longer like the one he was just a couple of moments ago.

His face was just twisted with anger and anger, and his legs were no longer shaking, as if they were about to fall apart. He became more confident in his words and even stopped stuttering.

There was no chapel to Dmitry's surprise. Such a change in a short time, not for long, but made him fall into a small stupor.

- Well, then let's start from the beginning.- Coming out of his stupor and calming down, Dmitry began to speak.- My name is Dmitry, and what about you?

Now it's time for the boy to enter a stupor.

Apparently, he did not expect that the person in front of him would turn the dialogue in this way.

After a while, the guy replied:

- Ivan...- the guy said timidly and uncertainly.- My name is Ivan. Nice to meet you, Dmitry.

An imperceptible light smile appeared on Dima's face.

-<Well, it looks like the guy has a lot of stress accumulated. Can I offer you a cigarette?>

- Vanya, do you smoke Chesterfield?- Dima asked slowly approaching and taking a block of cigarettes out of his pants pocket.

Vanya's face immediately rounded and seemed confused.

- I am... I don't smoke.

Dima stopped for a moment, but again, smiling imperceptibly, he went on in the direction of Ivan.

- Nothing * snort your nose * - taking a cigarette out of the pack, Dima began.- Everything in this world happens for the first time.

Taking out a cigarette, Dmitry has already approached Ivan at a sufficiently close distance to freely hand it to him.

Ivan seemed to be fascinated by the cigarette in Dima's hands. It seems that he is still in a slight stupor from this situation.

- Well? Are you going to smoke or not?

Dima's question made Ivan shudder, but then a sad smile appeared on his face.

"Well, I'll try, if you don't mind.

Ivan started to reach for a cigarette, but then...

* Slide*

- <FUCK!>

Time seemed to slow down for Dima. Everything around him became so slow that it seemed as if he could do anything.

But now he was focused only on one thing - to grab Ivan by the hand as soon as possible and save him from certain death.

And so, he ran to the edge of the roof at all possible speed for him, stretched out his hand and...

-...I caught it - Dima said, smiling almost in his mouth.

Ivan looked at Dima's face with shock and misunderstanding, and then squeezed his hand even tighter, smiled and...

- Is that a tear? Vanya, are you crying?- making a silly face, Dima asked Ivan.

- N-no, it's not like that!- Wiping the tears on his face with his free hand, Ivan quickly rattled.

But then suddenly...

* Slide*

Time has slowed down for Dmitry again. Adrenaline in the blood increased exponentially and began to flow through the body with renewed vigor. While he had at least some support, namely the edge of the roof, he pulled Vanya on himself with all his strength, hoping to throw him on the roof.

And imagine, he did it after all!

But, alas, he is not able to stop his fall.

From the outside, it may seem that he was falling pretty fast, but for him it was happening quite slowly.

He was looking straight down at the asphalt, which was getting closer and closer...

And, in the end, before the very collision of his body and the earth, he was able to utter only one word:

-...Fucking...

*Bu-um*

...

- <It hurts...>- my consciousness squeezed out.

I don't know how, but I can still think.

[The "Pain Resistance" skill... Satisfied]

It seems... All my bones are broken. Not very encouraging news...

[Skill "steel bones"... Satisfied]

[Steel Flesh skill... Denied. Alternatives... Special skill "Lack of flesh"... Satisfied]

[Crossing skills "steel bones", "Lack of flesh" and "Pain resistance"... Success! The special skill "Skeletal Body" has been obtained.]

- <Damn! And why didn't I think about the fact that he was literally standing on the edge... damn... I wish they would come back>

[Special skill "Time Management"... Denied. Alternatives... Proximity to the magic of the elements "Time" and "Space"... Satisfied]

[Crossing of the elements "Time" and "Space"... Success! The skill "Manipulation of time and space" is obtained>

<If you think about it... If I had more hands or if they were a little more authentic then... Come on, nonsense.>

[The "Multi-armed" skill... Contentedly.]

<Damn... If those stories about rebirth are true... Then I want to become a god of magic...>

[Profession "God of Magic"... Denied. Alternatives... The "Monarch of Magic" skill... Satisfied]

[Crossing the skills of "Monarch of Magic" and "Manipulation of time and space"... Success! The skill "Monarch of Time and Space" has been obtained.]

[Attention! Crossing skills "Monarch of Time and space", "Multi-armed" and "Skeletal body"... Successfully! Special Skill " ҉҈҈҈҇҇☝ ҉҈҈҈҇҇✌ ҉҈҈҈҇҇💧 ҉҈҈҈҇҇❄ ҉҈҈҈҇҇☜ ҉҈҈҈҇҇☼ ҉҈҈҈҇҇" Received.]

<It seems to me... I heard someone. Is the ambulance here yet? Hey! C-can you c-hear me!? Help me!>

[The "Helper" skill... Contentedly. Attention! The evolution of the "Helper" skill into a "Guide to the World"... Contentedly. Attention! The evolution of the "World Guide" skill in...]

At this point, Dmitry lost consciousness and finally left this world.