Realization And... Another World?

"Hah!" He breathed heavily and sweated profusely.

He was here… again.

His small 350 foot square feet studio apartment that had been his place of residence for the past couple of years decorated in modern furniture and plants that he took care of… it was all there.

"Wha…?"

"What…?"

Vivid memories of being mauled and eaten by a zombie was fresh in his mind. But another mystery presented itself, he was here, without any wounds whatsoever in this apartment.

'So… I died? Two times?'

His eyebrows scrunched in confusion. The deaths could be put aside for now, but this mystery in front of him had to be addressed.

"This… this is my apartment… right…?"

He went around looking at everything, from the water turning on to the bathroom.

Nothing was out of place.

The sound of the air conditioner turning on, and various other natural ambient sounds surrounded him… Yet… something was missing… What was it?

'...Cars… where is the sound of cars moving?'

Coming to that conclusion he realized that although various noises happened, any sounds of life ceased to exist, as if he was the only person living in the entire world.

He quickly rushed to the window.

'Everything… everything is frozen…?'

The scene in front of him was the clique of time stopping, people froze in place and didn't blink, birds remained stationary and leaves stopped just like how the wind ceased to move.

"What kind of sick joke is this…?"

There was a feeling… an indescribable feeling that he suppressed in hopes of getting answers.

He had to go out.

Dressing up, he went through the front door again.

A blinding light overtook his vision, it was strange considering he had already adjusted to the light.

Upon his eyesight returning, he was met with another strange scene.

All around him were people. People dressed as if it was a medieval period of time and he was on a stone street with horses galloping with carriages behind them.

"...Huh…?"

That's all he could muster, he couldn't tell what was real and fantasy any longer.

"You know… about that rumor right? Oni attacking neighboring countries and wiping them out?"

He looked over to find two people conversing, talking about folklore about Japan.

'Oni? Demons?'

"...Excuse me… could you tell me what you're talking about?"

"Hm? Oh… Are you a traveler? Your clothes are quite a mess aren't they?"

"Huh?"

Looking down at his clothes, it was covered in dried blood along with cloth missing at where his neck area would be.

'Wasn't I just wearing my clothes…?'

"Anyway, you wanted to know about the Oni invading other countries, right?"

"Y-Yes, please."

In the back of his mind he hoped this was all an illusion, nothing more than an ill dream that haunted him only to wake the next moment.

But, and only but, if this was indeed reality, he had to prepare, it was either adapting or death after all.

"From the rumors, Oni are beings with horns that have immense power, they have already taken down quite a few of the neighboring countries." The man whispered down underneath his breath, "It's only a matter of time till we're next…"

"If that is true… then how come no one else around seems worried?"

Looking around at the other people, they didn't seem particularly bothered at this aspect.

The rough looking man replied, "They don't know. I only got this information from another traveler like yourself. I hope it's not true, if it is, our doom is the only thing awaiting us if it is."

The man had a somber expression that looked beyond that he could see.

"Oni are all-powerful, us humans stand no chance against those monsters."

"But… don't you have a change of clothes, traveler? You don't seem to be around these parts."

He blushed, clearly embarrassed, "No, I'm actually broke as of the moment…"

"Haha! That's fine, would you like me to house you? I have no company as of the moment."

He tried looking for the man's 'friend', but to no avail.

"Are you looking for my friend? Don't worry he must have left by now, he grows bored of my talks anyway."

"Allow me to welcome you to our kingdom, the Rimdar Kingdom!"

* * *

"...So it wasn't a dream…"

The rough sheets of cloth proved it. 

Last night both he and the soldier 'Lon' conversed over dinner. He looked like a rough veteran soldier, and he was apparently one as well.

There were scars on his face that wouldn't make sense otherwise, though he said that he got some from Oni Animals instead of a human sword.

"We woke up quite late, didn't we?"

Lon laughed, he seemed pleased and in a better mood ever since he had him as a guest. They had spent a lot of time during dinner the previous night talking about the world and his adventures as a former Knight of the Kingdom.

"Then… let's eat sou-" 'There's a soun-'

Both his thoughts and Lon's voice overlapped. Lon cut off and didn't continue, he couldn't. This was the second time for him already. An unexpected attack occurred.

Boom-!

There was a distinct purple color in the lazer in front of him. Like a machine gone bad, his head slowly turned down looking at his two hands.

They were missing.

"Ah…"

"AHHHHHH!!!"

"AH! Ugh…"

It hurt, a burning unimaginable pain spread through his mind from the stumps that used to hold his forearms.

"Hah… Hah…" 

If not for his adrenaline, the pain would have been worse. This pain… it was on a similar level to his previous death. He wanted to die, the pain was too much.

Screams and chaos ensued in the streets around him.

'What kind of shitty luck is this…!?'

Perhaps the warning from the day prior should have been taken as a warning, but like a fool unable to believe the reality he was in, ignored it and took the hospitality of the now dead man.

'Hide… no! Run!'

He couldn't decide.

Which was better in this situation where he couldn't even stop his own bleeding? If his surroundings were anything to go by, there was no way for him to live. He would bleed out and die. Just like that.

'No…! No!'

He struggled to grasp reality.

It hurt.

His death was once again inevitable, just like the first time. He could only run feebly, trying to find help of any kind.

"Sir!"

A Knight had found him, could he help? As he turned, the Knight's mouth quivered and that was when he realized when all hope was lost.

"Please, Almighty God… Let this man rest in your eternal kingdom."

'A… prayer…?'

An incredulous look overcame him. That was all he was going to do? Pray? To a god no less?

"Help me…"

He said, all hope but a small flame, a flicker and it would vanish.

"I am no magician, I can not help you…" The Knight continued in a whisper, "If only a magician were here…"

The spear in the Knight's hand shook, the man was a moving corpse pending his wait into God's kingdom.

The flame was gone and darkness was all that was left.

Uttur, hopeless despair came over him. Was this the feeling people had in his modern world when they were prescribed with an incurable disease?

It wasn't like the other two 'lives' where it was an almost instant death. No, he was 'diagnosed' with an 'incurable disease' called death. What was the difference between those two anyways? They were both 'paths' that all lead into death in the end, different means to the same goal.

"Ha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"

The Knight stopped in his prayer for a moment before praying and getting up, there were screams about an Oni and as a Knight he was obligated to fight for his country.

There he was, lying in the middle of a medieval stone street, no one else around and him lying in a pool of his own blood.

'Cold… I need a blanket to get warm…?'

In his last dying breaths, a radiating wave of light appeared. A delicate woman with blond hair went down and reached for him.

'An… angel…?'

* * *

"Hah… Why did they send me down here?"

Atora sighed, she was in essence Heaven's grunt in odd jobs. But she accepted it as she was one of the Angels that actively interfered with the mortal world.

'But to think a human showed up out of nowhere…?'

She looked at the dead man, no, at something beyond him. At his soul.

"Well, best put him into Heaven to let him reincarnate."

Her hands reached into his body and a soul appeared. It appeared ordinary and the man's white self was in a fetal position waiting for it to be in Heaven to be guided by the angels.

"Well then… off we go."

The soul itself floated above her hands as she flew into the sky and upon passing through a cloud, appeared within God's kingdom, Heaven.

"Yes! Over here please!"

Angels were sprawled around, guiding the lost souls towards Heaven's 'light'.

Upon stepping onto the 'surface', Atora placed the 'orb' that carried the soul onto the ground.

However, unlike other souls who unconsciously walked where the Angels guided them to, this particular soul laid still on the ground.

Atora felt a light behind her.

"Elder angel!"

A mature looking woman with white robes, white wings and glasses had an unusual serious expression that was normally nowhere to be seen.

"Atora, destroy that soul immediately."

"Elder Angel!?"

Atora was dumbfounded by her sudden order.

"Nevermind, I'll do it."

Raising her hand, the elder angel, 'Vitasla' formed a bow of light and arrow in her hands.

"Wa-!?"

Before Atora could even retort, Vitasla had already sent her holy arrow flying at the strange soul.

But the instant it was about to hit and evaporate the soul, it disappeared into nothingness, the outcome that was going to happen either way.

Vitasla warily looked around, trying to find even a speck of the soul but nothing was there except the serene water surface of Heaven's entrance.

"Elder Angel, you destroyed the soul did you not!? How could you do that!" Atora yelled at her superior, in return, Atora got no response.

"Ha…"

"I guess you'll fill out the report for this Atora?" Vitasla gave a cheeky smile.

"Me!?" Atora replied.

'...God was frightened… He was never once frightened even during the war against the Demon King…'

Vitasla thought, her face hidden and eyebrows scrunched.

As the pair returned to their duties, a small air bubble rose to the top of the waters. It was a strange sight due to the water being everclear… A seed was planted.