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SLW Chapter 1 : Reincarnation
🕑 Added 2025-01-25 23:46:09 +0000 UTCHere I am, 19 already, and all of my time has been wasted on this laid-back fantasy game not really a getaway because of life, but a waste of time, drawn from it. The irony is staggering; the fact that I'm here at all is laughable trapped in a ridiculous world of dragons, magic, and noble quests. At least I had moderation in view I must have thought so before I pursued the last fantasy novel and learned some obscure, made-up language. Maybe I'd impress someone, find that elusive connection. But no, it only made things worse, i still get no bitches.
So I would literally spend hours, lost in worlds of manga, dragons and wizards, thinking of grand adventures and heroic feats. I used to read all of them through, memorizing spells, and fancying me a daring hero in some far-off land. I thought, surely this will make me stand out, make me that much more appealing, that much more desirable. Instead, it turned me into a walking encyclopedia of pointless knowledge and useless trivia.
I mean, not until after I had finally boiled enough courage in me to put myself out there while meeting people, and all that waited for me was a lot of disappointment. The more I tried to impress, the more people seemed to be repulsed. I would name-drop arcane spells, spell out some of the minute details of creation histories in a fantasy world, only to have people stare at me with glassy eyes and awkward silences. No wonder I'm single. If anything, it's gotten worse over time. My vain attempts to make myself seem interesting or quirky only showed more clearly how out of touch I don't even realize I am really.
It's absurd, really, how what I love has twisted to be my greatest failing. My interests, in quotes, extended to learning languages practiced by nobody or discussing imaginary politics, driving me further and further into isolation. I had hoped to be the enigmatic figure with fascinating tales and arcane knowledge, yet all I've managed to become is a social pariah. Almost as if with every aim to be something I'm not, a shovel is taken to dig me lower into this pit of self-loathing.
Every day is a reminder of my failures. I look at my life and see nothing but missed opportunities and regret. I am stuck in this loop of delusion and disappointment; I run away into a fantasy world while my real life comes crashing down. All the time, I wait for things to change, believe in a miracle, but deep within, I know that it can't happen. It's like I've set up this whole elaborate fantasy as a coping mechanism, and it's really just reinforcing my own isolation more than anything.
As I sit here, playing yet another useless game, I realize the brutal truth: I let my dreams become my reality, and now I'm stuck in this life that's neither fulfilling nor satisfying. What kind of atrocious joke is that—to chase dreams that only make my waking life more unbearable?. So here I am, on a mission, pointlessly in despair that all my efforts to cope with the real world are perhaps spinning me off into the abyss of acute dissatisfaction.
In the depths of his dissatisfaction, lost in thought, Aeron's were suddenly interrupted by the shrill sound of his mother's voice calling from the hallway.
"Aeron! Still in there?" she inquired, as though it were a question that needed to be asked, irksome with the usual caustic mix of frustration and exasperation.
He groaned, dragging himself back into reality and rubbing his eyes. "What now, Mom?" he called back, hoping irritation wouldn't creep into his voice.
The door creaked open ajar as his mother looked to him through the opening. "I need you to run an errand for me. The grocery store down the street has a sale for baking supplies. I need you to pick up some flour and sugar. I'd go myself, but you know how crowded it gets."
Aeron's heart sank. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with the outside world, particularly in the execution of something so everyday and ordinary. "Seriously?" he grumbled, already walking away with the weight of the task.
Irked as he was, his mother was unabashed. "Yes, you'll do it. I have a million things to do, and I can't stand in line. It'll only take a minute. Just go and get the things. It's no big deal."
He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes in surrender. "All right, I'll go," he said, his voice practically oozing annoyance. Shuffled from the room he had been in, not just by that horrible level of mental exertion, but now by the oppressive weight of his very own dissatisfaction, intertwined with what sprawled on the other side.
Just the thought of facing the crowds and the daily grind made Aeron Grimace. He could easily take his coat and keys, but he knew much better than to refuse his mother's demand. He let out a defeated sigh, muttered to himself, "Here I go," and stepped out of the house.
A chill burst of air greeted him as he tramped down the street toward the grocery store. His mind raced with complaints, even his footsteps a statement of his rising frustrations. "Great, another day, another useless task," he growled. "Why does life have to be so humdrum? Just doing this grocery run shouldn't be this vexing."
As he neared the intersection near the store, Aeron watched a young child crossing the street. The light was red for the cars, and the road was empty. He didn't think much about it at first; it was just another typical moment as part of a day of routine.
But as he was about to get close to the crossing, a shocking noise pierced his ears, a deafening revving of an engine. His eyes opened wide at the sight of a truck hurtling along the road at crazy speed, it left him shocked. There was no time to think. Aeron spared hardly a glance; his body jerked forward, pulling the child out of the truck's way without thinking.
In that moment, as he pushed the child out of harm's way, Aeron's thoughts were racing. "WHERE THE FUCK DID IT COME FROM? Ain't no way that's Truck k..," he thought. Disbelieving and terrified, his voice was both. A little too late, it hit him. Before he could realize the danger, the truck hit with a sickening crunch. Pain blossomed all over his body as the world began to spin out of control. The last thing he had seen was the shocked face of the child he had saved, and then everything went black.
At that final moment, all the weight of lifetime frustrations and regrets collided with the brutal reality of a sudden fate about to befall him. Aeron Grim's uninteresting life ended there.
Or so it seemed. A moment later, as he floated in the emptiness of nothingness, a voice broke through the darkness. "Welcome, mortal child, to the river between life and death.
Aeron turned, still drowsy, to face the speaker. There in the front of him was a woman of such breathtaking beauty as to have only been comparable with a goddess. Her very presence seemed to shimmer with a mystical light that was not of this Earth. Aeron's voice went high with a crack as he asked, "Am I.. in heaven?
Calm, the expression on her face was, but amusement flickered in her eyes. "No, you are not. I already told you where you are."
Aeron's eyes widened, pieces falling into place. "That fucker was Truck-kun," he muttered to himself in realization, each word hitting him like a shock.
With that outburst, the goddess was taken aback. She therefore stuttered a bit as she continued, "Your life has been quite. uneventful for one so young. For that, we offer you certain..."
Before she could finish, Aeron cut in with, "You'll offer me choices and whatnot, right? I know how this goes."
This seemed to startle the goddess. She blinked, confused. "Isn't that how you guys do it? You send that bastard to run people over, and then you offer to send them to different worlds?"
The goddess was still flustered. She stammered, "I am a goddess, and I have no idea what you're insinuating. Anyway, as I said, your life was…
She paused, visibly choosing her words with care. "..less than fulfilling, and for that, we shall offer you options. You can be reborn into a world of your choice."
Aeron, clearly less than impressed, muttered, "Yeah, yeah."
Goddess had it and snapped, "Ugh…want to be reborn in another world of your choice? You can choose any utopia you want, or you can get reborn in your own world and try to correct what went wrong in life.”
The second option made Aeron burst into laughter. "No, fuck no!" Before he thought to himself, "Sorry, but I would sooner go to hell than live one more day in that shit reality."
Suddenly, an idea hit him. "WAIT! I can choose literally anything?!"
The goddess nodded. "Naturally. Now, state your destination."
Places that would fit, Aeron thought to himself “ It would be one that is peaceful, full of beautiful lady elves where i can be king! and eat, fuck, and live happily ever after. Hahaha!”
"Middle-earth? No, as much as I love it, I could end up getting myself killed off by an orc or worse.”
He thought harder. "What of Narnia? Magical and so otherworldly, but there's always the possibility of me getting into fight with the White Witch. Or maybe Harry Potter's world? But having to deal with dark wizards and terrible beasts doesn't sound fascinating, either, and it’s just a stupid wizard school"
Consumed with thinking about his option, and not meaning to, he said aloud, "Maybe Westeros…No it’s too..."
Not quite getting the hesitation, the goddess smiled. "Westeros then, I'll have an extra gift for you as well" She raised her staff and tapped it on the ground.
The white light flooded over Aeron, panic filling him. "NO! WAIT! NO! YOU BIT—"
But it was too late. The light grew brighter, taking him entirely and into a new world. With his last desperate cries, he split them all away from himself as lonely echoes in the void.
