Chapter 11 - Again?

This was definitely not a lucky day for him. For the second time, a pain more unbearable than anything he had ever felt in his entire previous life assaulted him mercilessly.

It felt as if someone was slowly moving a knife in his eyeball, carefully trying to carve a beautiful new statue for their personal collection.

He grinds his teeth, desperately trying to bear the pain.

Why was this happening exactly? He didn't feel any memories flowing into his mind this time, so it was clearly something different from the previous event. So what was going on now? He was just fine a few moments ago.

As these thoughts run through his mind, the pain intensifies, cutting his contemplation short. The agony becomes so unbearable that he simply can no longer form a coherent thought process anymore. Trying his best not to pass out is the best he can manage.

A few minutes pass by.

Arthur feels his body drenched in sweat. His fingers weakly trembling as they desperately hold onto his face, in an unconscious attempt to ease the pain.

His mind was starting to become faint. He probably would not be able to handle that torture much longer.

And as if some divine entity had heard his thoughts, the pain starts, slowly but surely, receding. Now, whether said entity took pity on his plight and decided to help him or if instead, they only stopped the pain because they would find no entertainment in observing the torture of an unconscious person, that was unknown.

For starters, Arthur was relieved the pain stopped at all. That was not a pleasurable experience in the slightest.

As the pain starts subsiding, he starts returning to a normal state of being. First, his mind gets back on track, no longer blurred by the pain, and then his body regains its ability to move normally.

After a few more minutes, Arthur is totally back to normal.

Still, he remains on the ground, patiently waiting for some sort of rebound to happen. If he had to endure the same thing again, he would prefer to be prepared for it, rather than getting caught off guard again.

Luckily for him, no matter how much he waits, the pain never returns.

Some relief washes over him. Though his wish in his previous life was indeed to unlock his emotions and experience the reality of the human condition that seemed to be taken away from him, this sort of method seemed a little too hamfisted for his own tastes.

This sort of basic suffering and agony, while natural, seemed very basic and surface level when it came to understanding the human condition. 

It wasn't anything new either. Sure, he had never endured this level of pain before, but he had definitely experienced physical pain in his previous life. He knew how it felt to cut his finger or scrape his knees.

However, that wasn't what he sought; he yearned for something more profound. Thus, if possible, he would rather not endure this type of pointless suffering, as it did nothing to deepen his understanding of himself.

Putting this in the back of his mind for now, Arthur gets himself up.

He placed his hand on his right eye, attempting to feel if any noticeable change had occurred. The pain was so intense that he expected a significant alteration to his face.

However, as far as he could discern, nothing had changed. There was no blood, and his eye didn't seem to be hanging out of its socket. It was as if nothing had happened at all.

Somewhat anticlimactic.

Yet, on the positive side, he didn't need to worry about possibly dying from a serious injury to his eye. In his condition, he had no real way of treating such a wound, and if it ended up getting infected, he would be on his way to the grave.

However, a problem still remained.

Even if there was no superficial damage, it didn't mean he wasn't in danger.

Some sort of internal problem could have developed, and while it didn't show any signs on the surface, something sinister could be brewing inside his body, like a ticking time bomb, simply waiting to explode.

He attempted to probe inside his body, trying to detect any abnormalities, but ended up finding nothing.

This placed him in a peculiar situation.

Everything appeared to be fine. From what he could discern, there didn't seem to be any consequences for what had just happened.

However, that didn't sit well with him. How could something like that have happened for no apparent reason? Especially something of that intensity. He remained unconvinced.

He was determined to get to the bottom of this. It could result in nothing in the end, and quite honestly, part of him hoped this would be the case. It would be better if nothing serious came from this.

However, in the event that something serious did indeed emerge, he wasn't going to leave it to chance. He was resolved to uncover the truth of the matter.

He lifts his head and looks around at the admittedly beautiful view.

However, he had no time to appreciate it. Surveying the area, he spots a small stream, with exceptionally clear water flowing down, swerving and meandering along its own journey.

He remembered that this was the place where Lao had collected the water to make the alcoholic drink he had indulged in last night.

He begins moving in that direction.

As he approaches, the sound of flowing water becomes clearer in his ears.

Reaching the edge of the stream, he kneels down, attempting to bring his face closer to the water to examine his eye more closely.

Upon seeing his own reflection, he is instantly startled.

'This...'