Waking up again

My head was pounding with pain. The headache I was experiencing made it difficult for me to remember what had happened to me.

Had I been in an accident? Did my father decide to come back and finally finish me off?

Did I not even get to choose my death?

Everything hurt badly. The pain made it difficult for me to recall where I am.

But I did know one thing for sure. If it was my bastard father who had found me I needed to do something.

I could not allow that man to lay a hand on my mother. I had vowed to protect her.

And the only way to do that was to end my life.

I had to bite my tongue off right now and pray for an easy death. That was all I could look forward to in this life.

But it was easier said than done.

The human body has a will to live. No matter how much the brain wanted to die, the body would fight back.

Instincts would kick in and stop your actions before they became lethal.

But I had the mental strength to keep going. I was stubborn to a fault, and my body could not defeat me.

The human tongue was a fragile muscle. It could only resist the rising pressure for so long before giving in.

Blood had a peculiar taste to it. But it was one I was far too familiar with.

It did not take long for my consciousness to start fading. The sweet release of death was within my grasp now.

"Oi, boss. The hostage tried to kill himself. What should I do?"

The voice panicked but it came from afar. It sounded worried for someone.

Was it worried for me? Concerned about my death?

But why? It did not matter. My existence did not matter.

"You idiots. Someone go and get a healer quickly. We cannot allow our bargain chip to die like this."

The second voice sounded heavier. The urgency in his voice was clear.

But it was not pleasant to my ears. The self-important note in that voice reminded me of my father.

"B-Boss, we can't hold him still. He is moving around too much."

I did not know what I was doing. But my body seemed to be struggling with the man holding me down.

"If he's that much of a problem, then knock him out. We can't bargain with the empire if the young prince dies."

Young prince? Were they talking about me?

Or was there someone else trapped in this hellhole with me?

Had my father decided to get another child to abuse? Was it a nickname for their target? Won't be the first time this happened.

And if so, then I had to help him. Mother was always so sad when things like this happened.

She always cried and hit herself. I could do nothing but watch it happen.

But not this time. Just once I wanted to see her smile.

"B-Boss, the bleeding won't stop. He would bleed out at this rate. And he won't allow us close to him."

The voices were growing duller by the second. Soon enough they won't even be a problem for me.

Was this what death was like? It felt different from the first time I died.

This death was more peaceful and on my terms.

But wait? What did I mean by the first time? Had I died before today? Was it even possible to remember?

But then why? Why did my brain show me the memories of a miserable time? A time when all I wanted to do was to live and be free.

"Get away. You are all useless. Let me show you how we do things around here."

A heavy fist connected with my head and it hurt. But it also caused me to go numb.

Hands pried my mouth open and a finger touched my tongue.

"So, what's the verdict? I am ready to hear the bad news."

Was bad news referring to my death? But why would someone care for nobody like me? My existence did not matter.

"I-It's amazing. His body has almost no magic reserves but his healing rate is off the charts. Even our magic dampeners could not stop his blood's healing properties."

The healer sounded amazed. But I took it as a curse.

This darn power had followed me to this life as well? Why would it not leave me alone? Why did it want me to live so badly?

"So he'll live? Then that's all that matters to me. You boy, come here and take care of him. Make sure he stays alive."

Small hands picked up my body.

I could only tell that the person carrying me was another kid a few years older than me.

There seemed to be something familiar about him. Maybe it was the shape of his eyes. Maybe it was his aura.

Maybe it was the overflowing magic his body gave off.

But I was sure that this was not an ordinary kid. He seemed too powerful to be a one-off character.

This aura screamed the protagonist if I had ever seen one.

"Hey kid, if something happens to him then you will die a painful death. Did you hear me?"

The boss sounded angry. And the poor kid could do nothing but agree.

I could not blame him for behaving in a way befitting a person his age.

"And you! Do not try to kill yourself again. You would not like the consequences of your actions."

Was that person talking to me?

The sound of footsteps leaving the room reached my ear. I wanted to be left alone but my body would not listen to me.

"Umm, excuse me. C-Can I clean up your face? There is a lot of blood on it."

The speaker sounded hesitant in his approach. From the voice range, I could only guess the age of the speaker to be somewhere between 10-15 years old.

My lack of an answer must be making him nervous. But I could just not muster enough strength to open my mouth.

I felt like I would vomit blood if I opened my mouth. And that was not figurative speech either.

"Oh right. Here, you can empty your blood into this bag. I will burn it once you're done. I understand that you don't want your blood taken by strangers."

The kid continues babbling. Maybe he was nervous?

But he did help me straighten my back and opened the empty bag in front of me.

I did not know what he wanted from me but I decided to humor him this time.

There was a lot of blood in my mouth. And it felt really good once I let go and emptied it into the bag.

"Right. Let's dispose of this now." The kid opened his plan and the vag instantly burst into flames.

'This is not normal. A bag should not be able to burst like this. Who is this kid?' My thoughts were all over the place.

Who was this kid? How did he perform that magic? Was I dead? Maybe this was the underworld?

"I know I'm not the best when it comes to magic, but I'm doing my best. One day I will be free from these bandits and live a peaceful life outside."

The kid continued his monologue. Either he did not notice my discomfort. Or did ignore it in favor of helping me stand up.

My knees were weak and the loss of blood was not doing me any favor either.

"H-Hey kid. Do you have a k-knife on you?"

Oh god. I could not even recognize my one voice. Has my voice always been that high?

Somehow I did not remember my thirty-year-old being like this. My current voice sounded closer to a kid than an adult.

"A knife? Sure I have one. Here."

Bless this clueless kid. He did not even ask me what I needed a knife for. He just handed it over anyway.

It had been a long time since I'd held a blade. But it still fits perfectly in my hand.

I did not ideal for long. The blade made a clean cut on my arm and my blood began flowing.

In reality, my body could not handle any more blood loss without serious drawbacks. But I did not care.

I had to know whether my curse had decided to follow me along in death.

And my heart sank as my wound began to close up at inhuman speed. My wrist was perfectly flawless in a few seconds.

"W-W-What are you doing? Are you suicidal? Why did they leave me here with you?"

The kid seemed to be taking my attempt worse than I was. He sounded stressed but also on the verge of crying.

I was not a compassionate person in my previous life but this kid was a pitiful sight to see.

"Stop crying kid. I wasn't going to kill myself. What is your name?"

My voice was still soft and fresh. It sounded like a kid which made me despise it to a degree.

'Now that I think about it, my body feels quite short for my age. I was never tall but my present height is even shorter than I remember.' I thought I might be hallucinating.

After all, how could one grow shorter?

"I'm not a kid. I'm older than you are. And my name is Cain. Can I call you Lawrence?"

Cain and Lawrence, both were not common names. Was Lawrance my name? I was so sure it used to be something else.

But the ache in my head did not allow me to think beyond my present thoughts.

These words tickled something in my brain. It seemed as if my brain wanted me to remember something but I refused to pay attention to it.

"Cain, huh. How do you know me?"

I was not a well-known or well-liked individual in my last life. I went out of my way to stay out of sight.

All I wanted was a peaceful life. One which I could spend with my mother.

But she died before my dream could be achieved.

"Huh? Is this some kind of a test? Of course, I know who you are. Everyone knows the face of the empire's younger prince. You might not be a genius like your brother but no one could forget your face."

The kid sounded so sure that he made me doubt my memory.

But his words did not sound like a lie. And I could faintly remember these details.

"Hey kid, what is this place? I mean, what is the name of this continent."

The kids looked uncomfortable at being asked so many questions. But I needed to know right now.

I needed to know before I forget the thread of information in my brain.

"Y-You don't remember the name of your one empire? It's eternity. Sir Lawrance, you are the second prince of Eternia."

Eternia, Cain, Lawrance.

Now I remember it all. Where I am and what I am doing here.

I am no longer on earth but in the plot of a novel, I read a long time ago. I remember encountering the goddess and being asked to choose who I wanted to become.

And I remember choosing the most insignificant character of the story with a name. The second prince of the Eternia empire.

All that was said about him was his name and the vast amount of wealth he had. He was. a carefree character doted by everyone around him and enjoyed his freedom.

He was someone I admired. He was someone I was envious of.

And his freedom of choice was something I wanted to have.

So why? Why did things turn out to be this way? Where was my freedom? My choice?

"My lord, are you alright. Should I get a doctor for you?"

The kid sounded troubled. And I almost jolted away from him in shock.

Cain was a name that was as recognizable in the book as the eldest prince's. He was one of the two main leads of the book along with the throne prince.

And now he was in front of me as a kid. This was never mentioned in the story up to the point I had read it.

But I needed to calm down and think things through. The first order of things was to get out of this place and then think about my current circumstances.

"Hey, you. Can you do me a favor? Can you help me run away?"

The kid did not look like he stood much of a chance against anyone. Much less the big and strong fighters outside the door.

But he was the protagonist. I had to account for that when I asked the kid to help.

"I'm sorry but I can't help you. Please don't try to run away either."

Was this wimpy kid seriously the protagonist of this world? Did I make a mistake in chowing to side with him?

I did not know the answer to these questions.

What I did know was that I needs to get out of here and run away. Once I did that, my freedom was guaranteed.

And all I needed to know was that I must survive until the end of my timer.