Third Life's the Charm

As Chris grew up, he realized he was a little different from most others. At first, he did not notice it, but eventually, it slapped him in the face. While reading a fictional story on the internet out of boredom, it dawned on him.

'Aren't I one of these damned reincarnators, too?'

For a long time, he considered it his own imagination that he had reached the age of four in a previous life before dying at the hands of freakish half-human-half-insect people. Even his parents considered it an unusually vivid imagination and convinced him of that fact. Even so, the horrible memories caused a lot of trauma and hardship for him while he was growing up, even to the point of lacking academically and financially compared to his peers. There were only two things he could consider himself notably skilled at after adjusting to life: enjoying fiction and seducing older women. Contradictory, of course, but it was his skillset nonetheless. At least the latter helped him put ramen and mac 'n cheese on the table.

Unfortunately, that life of his stopped short at the receiving end of a gun barrel.

Scratch that.

Make it many guns.

His first sin?

Being poor.

His second sin?

Being poor.

His third sin?

Cucking the president.

Actually, that may have been his primary sin, but it is what it is.

The moment he breathed his final breath, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd have a third chance to try his hand at life again. Maybe be a bit more normal this time. Emphasis on maybe.

…

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...…

...

Birds chirped happily, signaling the early morning. The rising sun greeted the many children living in the residential areas of a quaint little village. Among them, a particularly grungy young lad no older than five years old sat up in the dirt of one of the wooded areas within the village's borders. He looked around with puzzled dark green eyes.

"Where is this?" He wondered aloud.

Upon hearing his own childish voice, he raised a brow.

Checking out his small hands covered in calluses, he wondered, 'Did it happen again? I'm not a baby this time, though. Weird.'

Raising his head, he saw a small pond nearby. Curious about his current circumstances, he stood up. Well, he tried to, anyway. Soreness hindered his firing synapses, and he tumbled back to the ground.

Frown plastered on his dirty face, he realized that his entire body hurt. It was like a dull throbbing pain in between that of what one might feel a day after strenuous exercise and being beaten with blunt objects. Of course, he had plenty of experiences with both during his last life due to his particularly unfettered lifestyle.

For the time being, he forced his small body to its feet and walked over to the small pond. He washed his face and sipped down a few gulps to sate his dry throat. After that, he looked at his reflection.

On the surface of the water, the reflection of a boy no older than five years old looked back up at him with dark emerald-colored eyes. Ruffled and messy chestnut hair sprawled out from his head like a dirty and overly-used paintbrush. The only unusual thing was dried blood caked onto his skull.

'Somebody hit me in the head… did it erase my memory after being reborn again, or did I take over a body after it died? Well, not like I care.'

While thinking such things, he washed away as much of the dried blood as possible. He winced a few times when touching the right side of his skull, which seemed to be bruised. Once all the blood was gone, he studied his new face with curious eyes.

"Cool. A new face again. Fun."

Mumbling a rather uncanny response to his new face, the boy stood back up and looked around at his surroundings. He stood near the center of a small clearing in the middle of a wooded area. The woods weren't particularly overgrown, though. .

Scratching his head, the boy wondered what to do. A few moments later, he shrugged and walked toward the rising sun. He ambled into the woods, stepped over roots, and avoided thorny bushes and vines. To his surprise, he found another clearing after only a few minutes of walking. In contrast to the previous one, this one was much larger.

Still curious about his surroundings, he walked around for a while until he saw a large stone monument in the distance. While walking toward it, he noticed a woman standing in front of the monument. The rising sun cast a long shadow behind her.

Placing a hand above his eyes to block out the sun, he picked out more details. The woman had somewhat long blonde hair tied behind her back. She wore black pants and a green armored vest. Head lowered, she held something in both hands near her neck. A forlorn vibe emanated from her, reminding the boy of somebody in a funeral procession.

Walking closer, a sense of familiarity settled within his mind toward this scenery. The monument and the woman both pricked a feeling of nostalgia within him. As he drew closer, he could see buildings in the distance. They looked vaguely inspired by old Japanese architecture, albeit with some Western influence.

Before reaching the woman, the boy stepped on a rather dry stick. The moment it cracked, the woman spun around, startled. Thin streams of tears marked her otherwise beautiful visage.

Upon seeing the woman's face, the boy's eyes suddenly lit up with realization. He almost couldn't believe it, but it didn't take him long to accept it, either.

'I ended up in this world of all places, eh? Crazy.'