Undesirable Second Chance

[The Slothful Moon Goddess fails to break your curse!]

The whispers became louder, soon they became shrieks loud enough to shake my very mind, spirit, soul, or whatever you want to call it. Thousands upon thousands of different voices layered—compacted—in between each word, I'm sure if I had a physical body my head would've exploded from the sheer volume.

The pain never subsided, even after the whispers momentarily paused. I felt as though countless flaming needles pierced my brain while my skull was being tightly squeezed between two mountains.

'It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!'

I tried to scream, but my cries didn't form words. Instead, they reverberated in my mind—amplifying the unending waves of pain.

Simply maddening.

I always thought physical pain could never compare to mental trauma, however, this went beyond. It was true anguish…

Was it a side effect of taking the psychedelic as my brain struggled to survive against all odds? I can't help but to try to make sense of my torment.

[The Slothful Moon Goddess sacrifices most of her divinity to lift your curse!]

No…

[Your curse has been weakened!]

… this must be hell. A taste of bliss and an eternity of affliction. How fitting.

'Though, I doubt I'll forget the savory flavor of heaven.'

The warm feeling kept me sane. But I didn't want to remain rational. If it meant becoming one with the torment, accepting a broken mind was an easy decision.

[You have been blessed by The Slothful Moon Goddess!]

The voices were loud and clear, yet I found myself incapable of understanding—my mind was shrouded in a veil of endless suffering, a state of clarity and insanity.

I…

[The Slothful Moon Goddess forcefully breaks your predetermined path of reincarnation!]

… Want it to end.

[The Slothful Moon Goddess designates your soul to a randomly chosen world!]

I clearly comprehended the last whisper. Then, like a gentle tide, the waves of anguish receded, as if my pain was a simple illusion—replaced by indescribable exhaustion.

My mind was clear. And the last whisper gently echoed in my head.

'The Slothful Moon Goddess designates your soul to a randomly chosen world…?'

No matter how many times I repeated the bizarre sentence, I couldn't make sense of it. No, I had a few geeky ideas. However, I was too tired to ponder or draw any conclusions…

'Mm. I deserve a few minutes of sleep.'

As I shut my heavy eyelids, I 'felt' my body turn into specks of white light and dissipate into the surroundings. My current state could only be described as 'parental comfort', I don't know why but it vividly felt as though I was in the warm embrace of my parents—on a large velvety bed.

I softly chuckled.

What business did a twenty-eight-year-old man have imagining such a naïve scene? Letting my exhaustion carry me away, the comfortable feeling eventually disappeared. Whether I don't ever wake up, or some else entirely, it didn't really matter.

'If I had a choice, I'd rather stop existing completely.'

Through my transparent eyelids, I witnessed the three celestial bodies in the sky shatter into countless pieces—then the entire silver field was engulfed in a bright explosion of white light.

***

[Latching onto chosen target.]

[Forcefully absorbing chosen targets soul.]

[Transmigration Complete.]

[The Slothful Moon Goddess wishes you luck.]

Woken by a chorus of melodic and angelic whispers, the next thing I felt was a slight pinching sensation on my right cheek. I slowly opened my eyes—my vision blurred, impaired by the assorted colors blasting at my retinas.

I tried to focus my eyes on the unfamiliar surroundings. What I saw baffled me. A young woman who looked to be in her early thirties was pinching my cheeks. The woman's fair skin was a dark caramel color, which greatly contrasted with her platinum silver hair—adding to her otherworldly beauty.

"Oh? You're up, sweetie," the mysterious woman said, her limpid golden eyes gazing at me affectionately. The syllables she used sounded strange, but I understood her every word. "You've been quiet lately, unlike your sister who's always driving your daddy crazy."

I had to admit, her beauty was incomparable to anyone I've ever seen. But what the hell was going on? Daddy? Sister? I couldn't make sense of the words.

Suddenly, a stinging pain assaulted me as I tried to orientate my thoughts. My brain throbbed and thousands of voices rang through my mind.

[The Slothful Moon Goddess designates your soul to a randomly chosen world!]

The mysterious woman was shocked at my sudden ear-piercing cry. "H-honey, what's wrong?" she said anxiously as she lifted me into her arms. "Calm down, calm down."

It was then that I realized… I'm a baby. An infant small enough to be swaddled and held in the arms of another. Then the intimate, throbbing pain in my head vanished. I immediately stopped crying, and my composure instantly returned.

'Right, I died. And as the voice in my head painfully announced, I was guided into a new world... wait… huh?'

This was something straight out of a fantasy book. How can something so surreal happen? More importantly, why am I so calm? Then it struck me. If demons existed, why couldn't gods?

That was right. Demons terrorized my old world—no one knew where they came from or why they chose to possess humans, however, they did exist. But since I had never seen or even heard of angels—naturally, I doubted if such beings truly existed.

After all, why would demons blatantly terrorize mortals while the gods and angels sat back and watched?

That being said, is this what happens when people die? I wouldn't have minded if my memories disappeared with my past self…

I focused my attention back on the woman I'm guessing is my mother—to keep my mind from wandering. It looked like we had switched rooms at some point.

But given the bland scenery, I couldn't be sure. The room didn't have much. It was a tiny chamber with a straw bed in the middle and the smooth walls were a blueish-white color.

My 'mother' slowly lay me down on the bed next to a wailing infant—she must be my sister.

'Twins?' I couldn't help but muse at the thought.

My 'mother' looked at me attentively as she examined my body, gently removing every layer of clothes I was wearing—she placed her cool hand on my bare chest. A warm green light enveloped my body with a gentle hum.

Then.

[First contact with mana.]

[Opening full status.]

+

Names: Taryl Oryil

Titles: ■■■, ■■, ■, ■■■, ■■, ■, ■■, ■■, ■■, ■■■, ■■, ■■, ■■■, ■■■, ■■■, ■■, ■■■, ■■, ■■■, ■■■, ■■■■, ■, Overseer of Past Lives [New!], ■■, ■

Class: —

Race: Dark Elf

Level: 0

Mana Affinity: Unknown [Accept ambient mana!]

Mana: —

Mana Regeneration: —

Intelligence: 3

Agility: 0

Vitality: 6

Lesser Spell Archives: [Increase intelligence!] [Unsealed]

Higher Spell Archives: [Sealed]

Passive skills: [Sealed]

Active skills: [Sealed]

Absolute skills:

Countless Cursed Lives: level 99 [New!]

Lovers Covenant: level 2 [Cannot increase level: Sealed]

Curses:

Dolorous Soul: [Self-inflicted]

Soul Corrosion Upon Death: [Curse Charmed by The Slothful Moon Goddess]

Soul Corrosion Upon Neglection of Quests: [Curse Charmed by The Slothful Moon Goddess]

Sealed Essence: [Curse Charmed by ■■■■], [Curse weakened by The Slothful Moon Goddess]

Blessings:

Divine Guidance to strength: [Blessed by The Slothful Moon Goddess]

Perceive Past Lives: [Blessed by The Slothful Moon Goddess]

Current Quests:

Accept & absorb ambient mana: Incomplete [Duration two months]

Find out how to increase your mana capacity to 450+: Incomplete [Duration seven years]

Failure will result in Soul Corrosion.

The Slothful Moon Goddess has returned some of your power. She hopes you don't kill yourself.

+

As I stared at the translucent screen in front of me—my mind spun.

This is insane… I'm a damn video game character!

"Nothing seems to be the problem," my 'mother' said, snapping me out of my existential crisis. "What's going on with you?"

I could clearly see her worry-laden eyes through the golden screen. My heart pulsated in guilt as I recalled the fleeting voices that woke me.

[Forcefully absorbing chosen targets soul.]

I felt something climb up my throat, and then an eruption of acidic liquid spewed out of my mouth.

"Eh?"

My mo—no, the mysterious woman was quick to respond as she propped me on my side so I wouldn't choke. After less than a minute, the vomiting stopped.

'None of this is real, even if it is I had no control… it's not my fault.'

The revolting taste in my mouth would not disappear. Deep down I knew it was real—I killed and absorbed this woman's child. My stomach churned. This is no different from when I was possessed by the demon back on Vaga, in fact, it's worse.

I want to die.