Restored Timeline- My Death

After years of endless battles between life and death in their wars, the army finally allowed me to rest.

Well... You could call it retirement, or you could call it 'abandonment'. Especially thinking of the delicate yet high position I was in. A peaceful life I'd proudly earned with my own blood, sweat, and tears!

I had become a hero of the century...

A fiendish demon to many outside the country, yet still a saintly hero to those of the nation I protected.

Well...

At least to the citizens...

The political world was a stormy sea. Me? I was one boat who hoping I wouldn't sink under the waves...

Sometimes wondering if the decisions I'd made were worth the effort... Worth the blood spilt.

No, I shouldn't think like that.

My comrades would have died in vain if that wasn't the case. If I hadn't ended up earning at least a few years of peace for the nation. I truly wanted to believe their sacrifices hadn't been made in vain.

Wanting to believe they had a purpose...

Please, if there was a God out there, have mercy on this wrinkled prune. Don't blame them for it.

...I felt 'old' after thinking about it like that.

Now, as an eighty year old man, the regrets I felt when looking back at my life were extremely high.

My back started to ache.

The yellow of my teeth wouldn't come out with whitening toothpaste anymore. It was real messy.

Sadly, all I could do now was sit on this wooden armchair and lament about the far gone past.

I had lived a life longer than the average person...

How ironic. Despite abusing my body constantly and getting scarred all over, I was able to live the longest.

Was this some cosmic irony at play...?

Though perhaps that took a toll larger than death...

The world around me slowly became grey and lifeless, or maybe it just my eyes playing tricks on my mind again... Fuck dementia. I wasn't able to tell what was my brain melting down and what was real.

It said a lot that I could even think the world literally being dyed a shade of grey could be my 'reality'.

Not just some work of fiction like that one I'd been reading lately. The one about some dude called Jack.

And no, there was no beanstalk involved.

I had a look at the cover page of the story that had accompanied me throughout my life as an introvert.

Helping me pass the time I could use to socialise.

'Steelwell Chronicles' was the name of the fantasy.

An epic about an ordinary boy who became known as the 'The Spear Of God' and changed the world.

Big aspirations a mere soldier like me could never hope to achieve. Mostly because it was useless.

There was no such thing as power being able to be gained through force. Unless you already had it.

Dictators could expand their already existing power and influence, but an ordinary couldn't do this act.

You couldn't improve your position and influence just because you suddenly became more 'Holy'.

Nor would the world reward you for messy emotions. Unlike how it was in Steelwell Chronicles.

Awakening sacred powers instantly let one jump in influence even if they lost their friends and family.

Even if they had nothing.

Which was the reason I got drawn to this story. The reason I liked how 'Jack Steelwell' struggled in life.

He reminded me of myself.

The only difference being that I'd already gotten used to loneliness at some point. It was part of me.

And now that I thought about it...

I wonder when this greyness will fade? Or was mr brain damaged at this point? Where were the hues?

The vivid colours of life...?

Reality could sometimes look entirely different through a filter. After all, perspective was created by a person's own limited perspective of the world. This was something my philosophy friend once spoke.

But something seemed strange.

Almost scarily out of ordinary.

Could it be that I'd  finally became senile?

Well... I guess that didn't matter anymore.

There was no longer anyone who'd heavily scold me even if I HAD become strange with time.

Since that was the case: I guessed it was time to man up and accept reality. Time to resist my fatigue.

Alrighty, then..!

Guess it was time to try using an internal battle cry to wake myself up: 'ROOOOAAAAAR!!!'.

ROOOOAAAAAR!!

roooaaar...

Wow, I felt kinda tired after doing such a great amount of mental gymnastics in my own head.

No, that feeling only an illusion!

Wake the hell up!

Whew, that should do the trick...

I wonder if I should stretch as well?

Hah... Living for so long takes its tole on a person.

My senses weren't as sharp as they used to be.

My heart no longer had the composure I used to keep up in front of my fellow brothers...

I felt fatigued to the point of wanting eternal rest.

My mental stability became looser...

What was the point in my life anyway?

Am I really going to die?

I'd worked so hard living...

But now... everything would turn to dust?

Why do I feel like it's such a waste?

Oh well~ Hmmm, will those guys be on the 'other side'? Would I get to see them in the afterlife?

Meh... Who knows~? I'm still planning to live as long as I can... in case the afterlife doesn't exist.

The doctor said I had a kind of dementia. He was serious when he told me my condition, but... Ha!

Like hell I'd believe him!

There's no way a healthy guy like me could...

No way...

Pretty sure it was probably just his imagination...

"O' please, Great Hero! O' Gaia, please hear and answer our calls. Bestow us a saviour!" A soft and gentle voice resounded in my ear. It was a jolt of stimulation that triggered my survival instincts.

I got up off my seat cautiously and looked around myself in fear. It was my choice not to answer the disembodied feminine voice out of reflex. A part of me felt that the world would cave if I'd done so...

"O' please, Great Hero. Please hear and answer our calls." The disembodied voice I heard in moments ago seemed to have multiplied somehow. This time accompanied with the voices of several others.

The aged voices of men along with the woman's soft voice resounded in my ear once more, yet this time...

I felt a physical attractive force. A power that seemed to distort the grey-coloured world around me.

I didn't know what to do in such circumstances, but a habit that was ingrained into me through many years as a soldier acted up. My quick response allowed me to quickly arm myself to be combat-ready for any incident that was to occur.

I readied myself for battle. First was a bulletproof vest, then a loaded rifle hid under my cushion.

A murderous intent radiated in my eyes. I was prepared to eliminate any suspicious individuals!

"Who the hell are you?" I asked the soft voices resounding in my head, only to realise that I'd made a irreversible mistake. I shouldn't have spoke. The habits as an introvert might've saved me if I just...

Hah... Regret ended up useless.

The world quickly distorted, then my body twirled in the air. Suddenly being transported somewhere.

I was already inside some old European Castle when I'd regained my senses. It was extremely elaborate!

My eyes dilated a few times...

In front of me was a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious gold ornaments. He sat on a big throne and looked down on me from above.... like a tyrant among men. The man asserted his dominance!

I was completely dumbfounded by the sudden change of scenery. Someone like me would've never thought that I'd be kidnapped from my own home like this. Events were happening way too fast!

After falling to the ground, I quickly steadied myself.

I looked at the people around me more clearly and saw that everyone was dressed in strange outfits.

No way I'd call what they had on 'costumes' or cosplay... because the metal swords that these 'Knights' had sheathed near their waists were more than just plastic toys... Even 'I', with my now dulled senses, could smell the faint smell of blood in the air.

These guys were dangerous...!

When my eyes glanced at the bright radiance below my feet. This old heart of mine trembled violently.

An emotion of incomprehensible shock was written all over my face. I tried to calm down my volatile emotions. Under my feet were glowing patterns and markings, and many old priest-looking men held their palms towards me with a look of worship.

"Who are you? And what do you want with me?" I quickly analysed my surroundings and reacted.

My rifle was immediately pointed at the most important person (sitting on the throne above me).

The knight-like men in luxuriously crafted steel armour pulled out their swords like proper soldiers.

They surrounded me in response to the threat.

"Great Hero, slay the Fiend King and bring peace to the Heavenly Divine Sword Kingdom." The rich guy or 'King' decreed with an aura of superiority, which was similar to that of true european royalty.

Yeah, right...

A King? Wait, why does this sound so familiar?

After my body was suddenly 'summoned' into this strange castle, I suddenly felt my mind grow a bit clearer, it was as if my body was somehow being rejuvenated by that sword... The sacred-looking blade was stabbed into the ground in front of me.

Time seemed to slow down. I quickly looked around for information before deciding how to respond.

The luxurious and fat-covered pig watched me.

Was he looking down on me? ME?!!

The man who claimed that he is from a foreign Kingdom, which I have never heard of, is now 'requesting' me to fight against enemies he claims are 'Fiends'? I feel like shooting him already...!

Why would I fight another man's war?!

NOT AGAIN. Never again...

I'm not some foolish youth who'd fall for such a vague explanation, nor was I an easy to exploit.

Judging from the fact that the man in front of me was wearing an excessive amount of gold accessories; the fact that not only him, but even the 'nobles' around him are as fat as pigs, and the fact that he seems to be relaxed on his throne:

...I can safely say that I was 'summoned' to another world to be some kind of advanced super-soldier.

And yes, I had completely accepted the fact that I was 'summoned' after secretly pinching myself.

I let out a deep and emotional sigh of understanding,

This was a troublesome mess...

He wants me to be their Hero...?

LIKE HELL I WILL!

I'd gone through enough trouble back on Earth.

However, just as I was about to voice my countless complaints as vast as the sea, my body felt numb.

My arms started to turn to dust...

I could only watch on in horror. My body started to turn to dust in this foreign land after it had arrived.

I'm... dying...? This... doesn't make... sense...! What happened to the cliché development of forming a hero party and slaying the demon king? Am I really going to die so ridiculously? I can't accept this!!!

Using the last of the strength I had, my finger pulled the trigger of the murder weapon I had.

A loud gunshot resounded...

Hmph, the 'King' died without much resistance...

My face twisted with malice, and the entire palace turned upside down when their 'hero' took a life.

That being of their ruler.

That's what he got for summoning me here!

For kidnapping an innocent unlawfully and unjustly.

No amount of apologies could make up for this.

In fact, killing him was too easy...

Had he never seen a gun before? The knights were also slow to react. Good! You all deserve this!!!

You fuckers wouldn't even let me die in peace!

I'll curse you fuckers.

CURSE YOU.

I wish you all the miseries of the world.

...That was the last thing I thought before most my body finally disintegrated. Only my head was left.

My eyes were filled with fear while 'fading'...

To be shown the hope of surviving old age, only up then have all of that hope taken away from me...

Such a 'joke' only filled me with despair.

Even if I wasn't going to have a pleasant life in this world like the main characters from those 'another world' stories, I would've still benefited from surviving a bit longer. Who didn't want a long life?

This was so unfair...

A light flashed in my eyes. Everything from my youth going all the way to my current old age replayed in my head. My fading consciousness had re-experienced the battlefields of my past.

However, just before I died, it was to my surprise that I had somehow 'remembered' a foreign memory. As it couldn't possibly be my own, it should've been unfamiliar to me. But why wasn't it?

No, was the scenes I saw actually 'my' memory?

.....

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..

.

It was like a repeat of what just transpired, but my body was transported to a mountain that was surrounded by the beauties of nature instead of a large castle. The 'summoners' were also different.

Compared to the scheming 'King' that tried to trick me into doing free labour, this 'Emperor' (or Chief of all the Fiend Clans) that summoned me was a lot more straightforward. That was my opinion.

They called me their warrior and offered compensation for my services in this world.

My role was of their Clan Union's 'Sacred Totem'.

By 'Totem', it seemed like the strange people with animalistic features wanted to give me a position.

It was similar to that of a Hero. The only difference being that I had great influence and privileges.

Unlike the King I previously met, their 'Emperor' offered compensation for my troubles instead of trying to take advantage of me.

Be it in temperament or sincerity, the so-called 'Fiends' had a lot more of it compared to that fat king. It's too bad the throne made of humanoid skeletal bones ruined their image entirely.

I'd say it completely flipped the script.

Well, the difference between their way of welcoming me changed nothing in the end of the day... because I still died soon after being summoned. Doing the exact same thing as I did upon realisation this fact.

A trigger was pulled exactly the same timing as the other, but my bullet was blocked this time.

The beastly emperor reacted fact and had strength beyond humanly possible. Making me feel vexed.

I wish I could go back and shoot him again.

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..

.

The scenes ended there...

But why can I remember this?

Why does my memory split into two sections after being summoned? Almost like I was split in two...

I guess I'll never get to know the answer...

My eyes looked at the King's corpse in front of me with unwilling eyes. My head rolled on the floor.

My body finally disintegrated into dust. That pile of ashes was then easily blown away by the wind...

It' was hard to believe my grave would be here in these lands... of a mysterious and magical world...!

Will this really be the end of my story?