The Pebble That Sinks After A Skip

"Mm... Where...? Where am I?"

His drowsy eyes felt heavy as he struggled to peel them open. Everything around him felt familiar but foreign at the same time. It took him a few seconds to lift the tired weight off his eyes, and gaze at his surroundings. He sort of knew where he was, but he couldn't have been any more confused than he was at the moment.

On top of his confusion, he had a surging headache. He was in his private chambers, he knew that. However, he could not seem to recall the beginning and the end of his memories. It was all a jumbled mess.

'First of all,' He thought to himself, glancing around the sunlit room. 'What is my name?'

The room he was in was wide, and decorated with a few beautiful flowers. Very fitting for a great elder and peak leader of a notable and well known sect.

As he found he strength to sit up, and sort through all the fog that was going through his mind, the scream of a servant who had come in to change his robes and clean his body filled the room,

"M-m-m-m-master Ki?! I... I-Impossible!"

Staring at him as if she had just seen a ghost, her face went from pale white to green, and then pale white again. It was obvious from her expression that her emotions were in great turmoil, though she felt very frightened. Not hesitating after seeing him shift his gaze from the flower vase on the small table at the center of the room to her, she dashed out of the room, giving a similar image too as if her hair were on fire.

The echoes of her screaming could be heard through the hall even after she had gained a considerable amount of distance from the room.

'That's right! My name is Roh Ki,' He suddenly recalled, as he lifted the upper part of his body up, and shifted closer to the bowl of water the servant had left on the floor. He gazed upon his reflection for a while before burring his head in his hands and sighing.

'So was it a dream?'

He thought, but waved it off recalling the servant's reaction to him being awake.

'No, I'm certain I was in a coma. But then, who is it that woke up?'

He was incredibly flustered as his mind continued to race. Currently, his memories were all jumbled up. He remembered his life as Roh Ki up to that point very clearly, yes. But he also remembered a life he wasn't all too sure he lived, but he was more than certain that couldn't have been a dream. It seemed that he flashes of his past life revisited him while he was stuck in his coma.

What gave his heart a tinge of depression was that even his past life, wasn't much of a good one. 'My name was Rim In Ho, and I had only lived up to age 22 before I was killed by my own father. When I was young, my father was abusive and regularly beat my mother. Eventually, my mother got tired of that life and said she'd had enough, and left me to my father all alone. With no one else to deliver his blows to, I took my mother's place beneath his father's abuse. When I finally graduated from high school, I managed to escape my father by saving up to by a small apartment from all the small part-time work I had been doing. I didn't go to university since I didn't have the money to pay the tuition fees, and my goal was to just escape my father, so I started working in a small restaurant to help pay my bills. It wasn't a good lifestyle, but it was enough for me. My only source of comfort was the library I visited to borrow books from since I was a child, but I was happy with it. Until one day, my father found me, and demanded for money. After he harassed me for several months, I finally gave in and thought that was enough, but he kept coming back for more. Eventually, when I didn't even have enough for myself, I refused to give him any, but who knew that bastard would pull a knife out and stab me, his own son. Then he left me bleeding out there in the cold, just like that. And that was how I died- at least that's what I thought, until I heard a robotic voice in my head saying I was being given a chance to reincarnate into a world the novel I loved the most was based on.'

'I can't believe I had forgotten such a thing had happened. When I was reincarnated, my soul was transferred into the body of a baby who had just been born. Even though it was such a long time ago, still... How could I forget? But now, because of my coma I remember everything. I didn't have a good life in my past life, and the beginning of my new life was also trashy. Tell me, which god have I offended to be stricken with such a fate?! Even though I've managed to climb this high, finally living a life I've taken pride in, I'm about to be slapped in the face with cruelty again?!'

'If I'm not mistaken, and my new memories don't fail me, aren't I in trouble?! My name is Roh Ki, a sect grand elder, and peak leader of Salanghe-ai mountain. If everything truly is as it is in the novel I read then, aren't I going to be killed by the protagonist of the novel soon?!'

[Operations are stable...]

[Welcome, Rim In Ho]

[New character name... Roh Ki]

[Achievement unlocked! Remembrance of the past.]

The alerts that popped up out of thin air startled him, as he let out a yelp with every new alert that rang.

'What is this?' He asked himself as he tapped on the bluish-grey window that had appeared before him. 'Remembrance of the past? Is it because I remember my past life? This sound, I think it was the same one I heard just as I was about to die in my past life!'

[Story progression... 12%]

[Would you like to accept 'blessings of a new life'?]

'Blessings of a new life? Is it telling me that my luck is going to be finally turned around?

[Yes/No]

'Yes!' He said eagerly, tapping the 'yes' section on the screen of the window.

As soon as he did, a bright yellow light surrounded his body, emanating a gentle glow. He didn't feel much had changed with his body, but felt a little hint of heavenliness.

[You have obtained 'Blessings of a new life']

'I've obtained it but what exactly does it do?'

+

{Blessings of a new Life}

Allows the user to heal any physical injury, and regenerate any part of their body, as well as the body of others, at the expense of a great amount of Qi.

+

'It allows me to... heal any injury? I can even regenerate any part of my body? Isn't this a cheat skill? With this, wouldn't I be able to practice any level of cultivation without fear of terrible backlash? The first reward I get and it's already this useful. I'm getting a bit excited for the rest.'

[You may now be able to change the character ending]

'I can change the outcome of my character? I never had the intention of laying down and dying at the hands of the Hero anyways.' He frowned as he read the text on the screen floating in front of him.

His goal had become clear, he was going to change his cruel fate. Destiny had refused to shine gently upon him in the past, but he was determined to not let it do the same in the future too. If surviving meant licking the shoes of the hero who would kill him, then that was what he was prepared to do. He had suffered greatly to come this far. In the first place, it was his suffering that would make the hero desire to kill him. His black past had molded him into the man he was today, though he couldn't say he was a good person, at the very least, he didn't think he deserved to die. At least not at the present time. He hadn't done anything to grievous that would make the hero hate him deeply yet.

He would cause his own misfortune in the future, as he was already acting according to the story's script leading to his bitter end. He wasn't entirely sure how to make his path steer clear of provoking the hero's wrath, but he knew were he had to start. Currently, the hero was a disciple under his tutelage, and the orphaned son of a friend of the previous sect master.

His character, at this point in the story had not really done anything bad directly to the protagonist yet. However, he was aware that the hero was being bullied by the other disciples of the sect, and was harmed and wrongfully punished every day, but did not lift a finger to help him, and distastefully turned a blind eye to all the maliciousness and wrongdoings against the hero. This was the point the hero was just beginning to develop feelings of hatred and anger towards him.

Fate was giving him a slither of hope by presenting him the most opportune time. The best moment to change the hero's impression of him. In the novel, there had been no mention of his character, Roh Ki ever falling into a coma. Which means, the fact that he 'Rim In Ho' did, meant at least one god was finally on his side, and gave him a chance to strive for his survival.

'Protagonist, Yong Kyubok, I will change how you think of me!'