I'm Back?

After that day, I had the same exact dream every single night. It didn't stop, even if it was just a dream. I still felt the pain. But now, 10 years later, the dream only happens twice a week. Still horrible, but better than my old experiences.

After graduating from hell, I mean school, I immediately had to find a job. There were countless choices, among them, I had a few interests. I wanted to be a businessman, but business didn't go well. So now, I'm stuck working in a job that involves computers.

The only thing keeping me sane here is my colleagues. We would sometimes enjoy life by drinking away at night after work, though the aftermath wasn't pleasing.

"Theo, I sent you a file. Can you work it out for me?" A fat man came to my desk and asked a favor. Seriously, more work? This fat piggy only knows how to eat at the cafeteria. I sigh as I continue to press the keyboard like an automated robot.

"Hey Theodore, wanna grab a few drinks after work?" One of my friends appeared; he was a decent man. At least out of all the friends I had in this world, he was the only decent dude. You can communicate with others, they just irritate me.

"Sure, I'll just wrap this up," I replied while clicking on the mouse. Work is hell, and the salary is even worse, but I need to put food on my damn table.

After a long, gruesome workday, I finished. Time to get some drinks? I prepared my things and left the building where we were working. Just a few minutes of walking, there was a bar.

We ordered a few side dishes and took a few shots of alcohol. There were a bunch of ladies trying to catch our attention, but I paid no mind to it.

"Theo, is your wallet brimming with cash?"

"If it was, I wouldn't be working at that job anymore."

"Right?! I'd do the same. Being ordered around by a lazy boss makes me wanna punch him," then he laugh, and I had a few smiles. This is nice.

The night was still young, so I drank more. We had a few talks about life and work, and as time passed, we were the only ones left at the bar, so we had to leave. I was a bit drunk from all the alcohol I had, but it was no big deal; I could take it.

At the crossroad, only a few cars would pass by, and during a red light, my friend and I made a daring decision. We crossed it, but at the exact same moment, a bright light shined towards us. It was a truck, but I managed to drag my colleague and myself out of the way.

The truck driver gave us a scolding, but we got out of the situation alive. It was then that I regretted that decision. Upon arriving, there was a river we passed by every day, and in that moment, I felt a slight push behind my back.

As I fell into the river, I saw the face of the man I trusted, the one I called my friend. I couldn't understand his face.

"Bastard," I looked at him with anger. Maybe I could still get out of the water, but my realization came: I couldn't move my arms. It was heavy, and my feet wouldn't move as well.

My head slowly sunk down into the water, but not before hearing a few words from his mouth, "go back." Huh? What did he mean, go back? As I was slowly drowning and going deeper and deeper into the depths, once again, even in my second death, there were still unanswered questions.

Once again, I couldn't see a thing. Was I still drowning? Was I still underwater? It didn't feel like it, nor was it the same as my first death; this time it was darkness, no light, no mist, just pure abyssal darkness.

It continued for a few more minutes until I heard something, "Our Goddess, grant them life and mana, your children of hope, heal!" Huh? God? Healing? Am I hearing things? Where is this? My eyesight was still blurry.

I could hear swords hitting each other and monsters being slashed every second. My sight returned after a few seconds, and as my eyes cleared up, I saw familiar structures.

The lamps, the floor, and a statue. Yes, I remember now, this is the temple where I supposedly perished. I looked at my body and found no wounds; it wasn't decomposing either.

Then a sword was aimed at my neck.

"Who are you?" It was a man with light leather armor and shoulder pads. It looked like he was ready to pierce through my throat if I said I was a monster.

"I am....", wait, what should I say? I can't just say I am a low-paid worker or the sun dragon, so at this moment, who am I?

"Hey, speak up or you will be bathing in your blood," huh? Who does this kid think he is? I'm being polite here, but he is definitely getting on my nerves.

"Ah, calm down, Nathan. He's just a young adventurer like us," a woman in a black dress like a nun came up to me.

"Adventurer? He literally just appeared out of nowhere."

"Or maybe his party thought he was dead and left him?" The both of them continued to argue, and then a bearded man came to me and helped me stand up.

"My name is Terius. Don't mind these two; they are always like that," he smiled and walked towards the other two who were fighting.

I moved forward maybe a few inches, but a sudden shot of an arrow came and missed my foot by a few inches. "I'd prefer if you don't move and stay where you are."

Oh, there was another one? Wait, doesn't she look quite familiar? Her face resembles a girl from an anime that I watched. Hmm, who could it be?

Ah, f*ck, why am I thinking about anime in this kind of situation? I need to get out of here, at least.

Then a sudden clap echoed throughout the temple. My instincts told me to be on guard. Was it because of trauma or just pure fear? But I soon realized that it was Terius who clapped. He called everyone for a group meeting.

As everyone gathered into a circle, I was in the farthest place, so I couldn't hear a single word. But the archer had her eyes on me, so I couldn't move.

"Alright, so kid, tell us how you ended up here." Why are they calling me a kid? I'm a full-fledged adult. That was what I thought until I began to thoroughly examine my body again.

No, no, no, no, no! My body has become young. This body is from my younger years when I was still youthful. All my masculinity is gone! This is a dilemma.

"Ahhhhhh," I don't know what to say. I should at least lie because if I say nonsense, they won't believe me, and they will leave me here.

"I was left here by my party?" Please believe me, please. I swear I can't do anything with this body. I at least need help until I return to the surface.

"Maybe he was part of the group that came out when we entered?" Thank you for the coincidence.

"Alright, next question: What is your name?" My name? Should I say Theodore or Alexander? Then a sudden thought came to my mind; I remembered someone.

"My name is... Alex, just Alex." I don't know where you are right now, but I swear I will find you, at least the two of you.

"Alright, well, I think we should bring you up to the surface if you're stuck here," Terius seemed to be the kindest in the group, but there was someone who didn't like the idea.

"No! That kid isn't going anywhere. He might be a shapeshifter or a humanoid demon. We can't risk it."

And quickly, the woman in the nun dress shut him up. But before we began the ascension, we had to eat, of course.

But there was one more question I had to ask, and it was bugging me for quite a while, "What year is it now?"