Chapter 3: First night on the road

The way was arduous and with the petty excuse the former master of this body had called shoes his feet soon felt worn out. But he took this jus as a further test of penitence, not stopping until he came to a train station.

Heaving himself on the train platform, he caught weird stares by the waiting passengers.

Even though Josh definitely had his reservations and technically enough money for the moment he didn't know when he would get the chance to earn some money, and since everyone's attention was on him regardless of what he did he decided to ask for a few donations.

Moving towards a young pair, the man moved in front of the woman to shield her, even though he was a bit shaky himself.

Well he did look a bit crazed as he crawled up the platform so he could understand, cupping his hands he tried to ask in the most unthreatening voice he could muster "Would you be so kind and spare some change for this unfortunate soul?" Chukling a bit at his little inside joke.

He couldn't honestly say that he wasn't a bit ashamed, begging and running around in dirty and ragged clothes, but he knew that many people lived in these conditions every day and this was but his first one.

Part of his humbling process would be to throw most of his dignity away and train his humility.

The couple seemed to have misunderstood his intentions, since the young man hastily took out his purse and practically threw it at him. "T-Take my m-money and leave us alone." He shakily cried.

'Isn't that a bit harsh of a reaction?' Josh wondered, he removed some coins of the purse and gently placed it back into the mans shacking fingers. Still it didn't seem right to just leave after scaring them quite a bit.

"Are you alright?" His voice seemed to cut through the tense air, with a disbelieving gaze the women asked "Shouldn't we be asking you that instead? You have a knife sticking out of your back!"

At these words his face scrunched up, and he tried to pat himself down the back, quickly rubbing against a handle the size of a thick carrot sticking out of his back. Freezing for a moment, he had to consider that someone had killed the previous owner of this body. If this was a gateway for him to squeeze in, he didn't know.

He tried to keep a calm face while forming an apologetic expression he asked softly "Would you mind…Helping me out heh?"

—— a few hours later——

Josh had successfully removed the knife from his back, with the help of the more than reluctant pair, at the repeated question on if he needed a ride to the hospital he could only shrug and deny the gesture. The wound closed on its own and without any aid needed, at first he attributed it to some kind of reincarnation mumbo jumbo, but when he scraped his knee at the concrete when he tried to shift his weight while sitting on the ground, it also healed at inhuman speeds.

Scratching his head, he didn't have any plausible explanation for it. he supposed out would be better to keep this newly discovered superpower to himself for now.

As ending up on some sickos dissecting table wasn't on his checklist of experiences.

He also obtained more detailed direction to the homeless shelter, apparently a train would soon pass through that was headed in the right direction. Even though it was amateurish he had train hopped before as a teen and was rather confident in repeating this method of travel.

But alas the universe doesn't care about you or your plans, and so the train was delayed.

The prospect of him having to sleep on the platform was getting ever more probable, not that he really minded.

As a child and later teen he had to sleep in even more uncomfortable places more than once, notably a few prison cells.

When Joshua closed his eyes, obscure shadows of the void haunted him, he felt like if he really tried he could make out what being transported him to this world, but the saddle feeling of insanity even a glimpse seemed to hold was enough to deter him for now. Prisms of darkness coiled around, until it all vanished and he found himself standing on a dark green meadow.

In the distance a shape made it's way towards him, at first it seemed tiny and insignificant. A black dot on the horizon.

But it moved with unknown speed, racing in his direction, and in an instant he could make out the fangs, the salivating maws of a great beast. A long snout topped with black and ashen fur, was jutting out from a skull of epic proportions.

In the world destroying beasts eyes shone scarlet red a malicious anger only the betrayed could boast themselves of.

They had a diameter as large as himself and in contrast to a humans the sclera (A/N: The white of the eye) the rabid titans was colored a midnight black.

It looked like a wolf, but it was obvious that it was something much much older.

Before Josh could turn and run, which would've proven futile either way, it reached him. And just before the maws could reach him, they shut closed, pierced by a giant sword. Banging against the air like a dog in chains, he noticed that golden links of intangible light hat wound themselves around the creatures entire body holding him back for just a few millimeters.

(A/N: Is the pacing okay the way I'm going at the moment? If you have any ideas for the story please leave a comment and if I like it, it might be incorporated)