《A Chance Again》 Chapter 1: The Beginning Chapter 1: The Beginning A chubby, young dark-skinned man lay on the floor surrounded by damaged furniture, ripped carpet, large piles of vomit, and multiple beer cans along with a bottle of rum in his grasp. Glug Glug Glug Glug. The sound of alcohol being swallowed permeated throughout the silence in the room. ¡°Aaahhhh!¡± Cough Cough. The pain from having his life fall to an all-time low hit the man like never before as he resumed his drinking. His voice weak and cracking, he voiced his own concerns to himself. ¡°Why do you refuse me? I want to make things better but I need you to help me make it better. What can I do? Just tell me. It¡¯s been weeks since we have been in the bedroom together too.¡± Glug Glug Glug Glug. The young man took another big mouthful. ¡°Hey Mom! I¡¯m sorry for letting your birthday gift come in late. I tried my best to get it expedited to you but there was an error online. Also, I¡¯m sorry for withholding big sis¡¯s secret from you. She told me she was taking a break from NYC university for a change scenery but I did not know she flunked out. I¡¯m happy you guys have made up but Mom don¡¯t hate me.¡± Glug Glug Glug. The young man once again swallowed another big mouthful of rum. Uaggh! The mouthful he swallowed along with other contents and more alcohol from before now reemerged on the floor. His bloated belly also lessened by a little bit yet he continued drinking. Glug Glug Glug. ¡°Pops¡­ Hehe, you forgot t...to tell me the family cookout was yesterday¡­ See, tell me i¡¯m not go¡­ good for her. I got the woman you thought I would never have!¡± Glug Glug. ¡°Big sis, you¡­ your car fr¡­ from the shop is fixed so retr¡­ return mine. Glug Glug. The bottle was totally empty. Not even a drop or a hint of leftover residue was left. The young man threw the bottle of rum. The bottle left a dent on the wall as it shattered to multiple pieces. The young man wailed in his own self pity. ¡°Kase, I¡­ Ms. Andrews¡­ Cynthia¡­¡± The young man reminisced about his current misfortunes and wrongdoings. As he thought about the past couple of months of his life, his phone vibrated. ¡°I have not had a text in a month now.¡± Possibly even longer if you count the text that broke the streak was one he sent to himself. For a brief moment, he sobers up and clarity returns to his mind and senses. His phone intensely vibrates again. He picks his phone up, opens it up and unlocks it with breakneck speed. Only to see Wireless Emergency Alert for a flash flood warning until midnight. About a quarter till midnight. The young man burst into a hysterical laughter as his falls into a delirious trance. Then, his body finally begins to cave to the alcohol. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In an unknown place spun a huge maelstrom consisting of different corridors that all led to its center. Inside each corridor is a moving line of particles full of an assortment of vibrant and gloomy colors. Throughout the corridors, there would be different forms of particles. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Now, a particle by itself attach to no other was just a particle. However, when some particles collide together and are not repelled, it eventually gets to a point where hundreds of particles are stuck together. These particles are globs, which is the formation of new souls. After reaching max capacity, a glob begins to repel all the particles outside compared to those in the glob. However, the max capacity for globs varies meaning a glob of ten particles to thousands could be formed. The maelstrom is in fact a small section of the afterlife and the cluster of particles, globs, are the formation of new souls of sentient beings. Then, there is a special type of glob whose structure resembles that of a star system but with maelstrom particles called a wisp. In the center of the wisp lay an abnormally large dark glob full of tens of millions of particles that occasionally radiated specks of bright particles. Revolving around the center were two other globs of millions of particles that change colors every second at different distances to stabilize the system of the wisp. As it moved through the corridors, the wisp was a big bully. It would intentionally absorb the brightest and darkest of particles in the corridor while repelling all the others to the side. As for the globs, their newly formed instincts told them to move. In fact, some burned off a couple particles to accelerate out of the way. However, the wisp fulfilled every interpretation of an asshole. Particles and globs could not enter within the wisps system as if there was a shield around it. Yet, its power extended far beyond the shield. Particles and Globs would get caught in its influence and be flung around like baseballs. Occasionally, a few globs would break passed the barrier of the corridor due to the size and speed the globs were launched. The fate of these globs was unique. Some would burn themselves out of existence to get back to the corridor. Others would eventually succumb to the surrounding pressure of the maelstrom and go *poof* out of thin air, well space. Other globs were very fortunate to be launched from one corridor to another. Magnificent, is exactly what the wisp thought. Yes, the wisp thought because wisps are reincarnated souls and this one in particular was strong. To be able to play in the maelstrom is extraordinary. For those who do and whose actions lead to the destruction of new souls, it is a part of life that they will never get a chance to live. Therefore, the wisp repeated its actions thousands of times until it got to the end of the maelstrom. Who knows how many potential beings were annihilated in the process. Nevertheless, passing through the last trail at the end of the maelstrom is more critical. The globs inside the wisps burned at a noticeable speed as all three decreased in size to empower its shield. Yeah, always the ending that is rough. Chapter 2: Subjugation Chapter 2: Subjugation Wow, forget the Maelstrom. I hope the next reincarnation is easier if there is another one. Hopefully. Crossing past the last trial of the Maelstrom drained a significant chunk of my soul. Too significant, I am around a thousand times smaller than before and reduced to only one glob now. Before I could analyze the situation even further, all the activity in my soul ceased as I crossed into the final path of my journey. I realized it was the end because various particles and globs would accelerate past a certain point in the core area inside the Maelstrom towards different kinds of directions. The area in front of me was filled with millions of bright and dark colors, large and small globs that catapulted towards the stretching abyss. Soon, I will join the rest of the herd along those behind and beside me. A cycle, an eternal one. Then, it occurred to me. What kind of power would be able to disrupt such a system? Before more thoughts could register, I was launched towards the end of the abyss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pain. Rage. Depression. Sadness. Grief. Pity, pity of the self. Envy. Confusion. All those emotions came collapsing as if it was unintentionally smoldered. And I was the one who released it. Like a raging torrent, it came more intense than before. Gradually, I felt myself sinking further and further. This feeling continued to swallow my soul as if it was my reaper. Hell bent on aiding me to submit to death. To send me back to the Maelstrom. But I held on to my soul, my instincts, my consciousness and the memories alongside it. I held on to ME and continued to observe. No longer, can I view terms as I did throughout the afterlife to describe souls as particles and globs. Yet, the feeling of examining a glob that drifted close to me as did many due to my size was the same as now. It feels awfully similar meaning I was close to another soul. I was right and there was another soul that I watched as it tried to pull me into the same cycle as itself. I felt my soul become increasingly submerged in the same pain, pity, and other multitude of emotions. This process of assimilation as I believed it to be started out small and grew bigger. A vicious cycle, this process would only continue to grow until my soul was submerged. Then swallowed. That means my journey was for nothing! I have successfully reincarnated! And I could not help but be happy and slip into this feeling of pure ecstasy. Instantly, I repelled the onslaught of emotions and tamed the previous owner of the body. All those negative emotions were contained in the other. Although, I lost a significant chunk of my soul from the journey through the afterlife, I was still fairly strong. I could wield parts of my soul though severely limited. Also, the other could not implicitly control its soul as well as me thus leading to an easy subjugation. Now, with interference from the other gone, oh the sweet feeling of having a flesh and soul together in concert has returned. Yet, from all the emotions I felt, only the pain remained meaning I develop a connection with this body. The pain however intensified since I felt a link develop between my soul and the body. ¡°AHH! AHH! ¡± I could not help but curse as my head was aching badly, my whole body was in severe discomfort and there was an acute pain on opposite sides of my body under my chest. Whatever was causing the pain, I had no clue. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Wait, I do know as the memories of the other appears in my mind. Half of my focus was on watching the memory and the other half on numbing the pain. Eventually, I found what led to such a critical situation, but the pain did not end there. It was alcohol. An excessive amount of alcohol . No wonder the other was exhibiting all those emotions and suppressing him was easy. HE WAS WEAK! AND COPING! Damn, so the extent of pain I am feeling is due to my kidneys working its hardest to filter out the alcohol and this body needs water. My body needs water. Despite the pain, I asked myself where I can get water. I find myself turning to an area my mind denoted as the ¡®kitchen.¡¯ In the kitchen is the ¡®sink¡¯ with a faucet and water comes through from manipulating the handle. I duck my head under and raised the faucet and begin gulping down water until I am full. That is not enough. The pain forces me to flick in and out of consciousness so before everything goes black, I overdraft on my soul to temporarily enhance the body¡¯s resilience and recovery. Well, I can just train my soul again. Then, everything goes black and I have officially lost consciousness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eventually, something shines in my vision. A familiar feeling, sunlight. It brightens my vision as I begin to awaken. Since I have awoken, I¡¯m guessing I am still alive. DING DING DING! Correct as I begin to examine this puddle of filth beneath me. It turns out to be a mixture of urine, water, and sweat. I raised my body weakly and make my ways towards the bathroom which is in the suite bedroom. That¡¯s right, suite. Everything is different compared to my previous life seeing how life here depends on ¡®technology¡¯ rather than arrays led by mana or other forms of energy. I guess it is sort of similar seeing how energy is used to power tools that can do stuff. I stripped myself of this filthy ¡®clothing¡¯ in the bathroom and see the new me. A young dark-skinned youth with a shaved head, average face with barely any hair, and a vast chubby body. Furthermore, seeing how the entrance to these rooms are designed, I am average height too. But Damn! I had to dig really deep to find my tool. My stomach stuck out like POW and covered the whole front of my waist. No way to describe it, I was left at a loss of words. My body is still covered in this nauseating mixture of liquids so I get in the ¡®shower.¡¯ I turn the handle below the shower faucet and water begins to stream down my body. ¡°DAMN!¡± It was ice cold and I jumped back awfully quick. My weight crashes towards the bathroom wall and makes a loud thump. I collect myself and hear thumps from beyond this wall as the water gradually warms up. I knock against the wall a couple times and the thumps come back repeatedly and louder. A weird world indeed. I collect myself under the shower and used some ¡®soap¡¯ to cleanse my body. It really cleans me good and my mood brightens as I begin to consolidate all the memories from the other. Thus making this the true subjugation and claiming of this body and soul. This should take a couple of ¡®hours,¡¯ a time scale my people which is based on¡­ on the¡­ on the full rotation of the ¡®Earth,¡¯ the planet humans call their birth home. Yeah, after this shower, I should really focus on the other¡¯s life, choices, culture, everything. Chapter 3: Family Circumstances Chapter 3: Family Circumstances Assimilation of body and soul is finally complete. I could have destroyed the other but the information gained from other show it is too vital. Unfortunately, forcefully absorbing other souls can lead to severe complications when they resist. I just hope the other''s influence on me is small. Luckily, that man had long submitted to his misfortunes. Damn, I should stop referring to the other as if we are not acquainted now. Haha. Your name is Ray Junior. My name is now Ray Junior. We are both Ray Junior. ¡°Well, if I did not absorb you Ray¡­ or I¡­ or me¡­ Whatever, your soul would have long passed since you intended on taking your life.¡± Even this world¡¯s language is exciting but weird. Regardless, voicing my thoughts will help me adapt to english better as I still think with my previous language, Stoletz, as a base which leads to a discrepancy between what I think and speak. ¡°In time, I will become used to this world. The only thing that did not change is the nature of Hessus¡­ Oops, humans and the contradictions that plague my people.¡± ¡°Now that I think about it, the water provided is not free I believe. Or even this room I am residing in.¡± ¡°DAMN! I hope I have enough funds to pay for the water and all various damages. But, I can at least lessen the cost now.¡± I turn the faucet in the shower off then dry myself off and change into another spare set of clothing. I¡¯ve already been in for a quarter of a day trying to fuse the memories of Ray with my own. I can¡¯t help but sigh. Never will I lose my awareness under water again! ¡°So, I have a whole day which roughly equates to 26 hours for this planet to make a full rotation.¡± Great, more than enough time to clean the whole suite. Suddenly, thoughts of various tools use to clean homes appeared in my mind such as a sweeper, vacuum, floor cleaner, duster, and others which were contained in a all-in-one device. Such a magical device! It was a black, round, sleek device about a quarter of a in diameter with a height a little past my shins. Usually, such a device is kept in the suite pantry aside from other house necessities. In fact, it moved on its own! I took it out of the pantry and place it in opened space did turned it on. Lights immediately brightened on the device from red to blue to green and begun scanning the room through a visor surface. Based on its motions, I guess that is how it sees. As the whole suite is getting cleaned, I collect all the empty bottles of alcohol and trash them in a bin to avoid disturbing the device. I grab my phone afterwards because based on my memory, it is important. A big rectangle but rather thin and sleek, I ignore the warning messages from hours ago. I connect to the internet, something that holds all the answers I seek. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, half a day has past with my ass glued to the bed. Although, a little sore but I now have a firm understanding of the world. I begin to summarize everything I have read beginning with my phone. It is total garbage. Severely Outdated. Prone to hiccups and a relic of the past. In other words, this is not getting taken out in public. First of all, the brace is a whole lot better as it can attach to your wrist and brings up a screen of light! Well part light but still, you can interact or talk to it and it will do stuff! Like, everything my phones does it does. Not only that, it replace the personal devices or something of the past. Tablet, Panel, PC, etc. Last, I have a reputation to uphold. Based on my past self though, it has been really bad. I would have a brace if only my past self was smart enough to not get shunned by the family. I mean I understand having a older brother and sister along with a younger brother and sister who are all exceptionally better than you. And a mother and father who placed more importance on them because you are at least exceptional at fucking up relations with other people. Honestly, you did well at not lashing out at your elder brother who stole your first girlfriend. Or the elder sister who told her clique you like to write and you particularly wrote about a girl in her group. Especially the stuff you would do in heavy detail. *Cough* At least I know what led to you gaining size. Ah, things must be hard for a growing boy. Oh yeah, lets not forget your younger brother and sister who hate you due to the deceitful methods your elder brother and sister had used to them on their side in almost every argument. Even now, they automatically assume you are wrong. I guess that is why mother and father sees you more as an eyesore. They usually complain about you to your own relatives. Ever wonder why your cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews avoid you? Yet, even mother still complains about your weight or well, she used to complain. That beats your father by a giant tide who would otherwise remain indifferent to you, no matter the occasion and have someone else indirectly deliver you news. Wow, what a family to have. And all that history was dug up because I asked myself, why have an obsolete device like this over a brace? Even his wife has a brace which was bought with his family¡¯s money and she talks with every single one of them and a couple of relatives from time to time. That is right, your wife. You met her two years ago at an academy for becoming technicians with space shipware because your parents told you to get your life together because after you become an adult which is at 18 years old in this world, you are off on your own. But, you did and graduated from that rough year of learning about all the different components of a ship and how they operate with each other. Even though it is basic understanding but this planet, Rhea, is in need of such technicians. Hence, you graduated and married your wife who you got into a relationship with halfway to being a certified as a space technician. Yet, it has been a year and a half and now she is totally disgusted with you. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Damn! So what is left now? Me of course! And being someone with a different outlook on life, I intend to enjoy it to the fullest! I blame not having braces for this family tangent but I am done thinking now. Plus, I stopped speaking english to myself to get myself adapted quicker like a fool. Damn I am a fool but this is why patience is a virtue. And now my patience of being in this room is wearing thin and it won¡¯t like my handiwork if I am here for another hour. Well, I kept myself here and it is now time to go. ¡°For my miraculous achievements as a rookie space technician at my employer, Vital Industries, thank you for this wonderful vacation for two people at this wonderful resort whose name remains unknown to me.¡± I pack my things up, turn off and placed the black device searching for things to clean back in its pantry, and check the room for damages. I don¡¯t even know what counts as ¡®damage.¡¯ Guess I will find out later when I am billed for it then. I step out of the suite with my stuff and the verification card provide by the hotel. At the top of the card is Rhea Resort which I assume is its name.I hold the card up to a scanner to the right of the door which verifies correctly and thus locks the door. Wow, I could not imagine a world without mana, other energy forms, and magical arrays but here it is. Now that I think about it, magical arrays are really similar to electrical circuits of this world too. They operate based off two different laws but how it works is roughly the same. Being a ship technician does not sound pretty fun now. I released myself from my thoughts as I reach the lift machine aka ¡®elevator.¡¯ ¡°Hey! Hey!¡± Before I could press the button for the elevator, I turn toward the originator of the noise. Oh. My very first contact with another human after leaving the room. That was quicker than I thought. This is definitely going to be a miraculous moment. I feel it. Looking closer, I see he is a bearded white man about my height sporting a shaved head, square face with a pronounced jaw line, and a nice body from my quick analysis. Haha, I am quite envious I daresay but I will have that body in a couple of months if I am unlucky. ¡°Lo¡­ Hello!¡± Phew, you got to be patient with communication Ray. I close my eyes and take a deep breath then ask, ¡°How are yo¡­¡± Before I can even finish my greeting, the man pushed off his left foot towards me and swung his right arm. His fist was fast and caught me off guard. Being without a body for an extended period of time made my senses dull. Especially when the body is not your own and it''s a little chubby or a whole lot! Nothing I can do as my now but sacrifice my face to be pummeled but prepare my hands that was unconsciously raising up to grab the assailant. Ugh, the only thing going through my head is the impact from his fist. Although the fat on my cheeks mitigated a little of the impact but DAMN that hurt! Luckily I grabbed the man but then he grasps the back of my head with two of his hands and locks it extremely quick. My soul is weakened due to the maelstrom and overdrafting its energy to save this body, but it was strong enough for me to accurately perceived a vague image of my surroundings. Also, based on the man¡¯s stance, I predicted what was coming towards me was a knee. A very fast and accurate knee towards my liver. The knee was already in motion. As I took the knee to the liver, I bite my tongue to prevent myself from losing consciousness. The pain was excruciating considering I just survived a near-death experience from being intoxicated but I beared with it and tackled the man down. I could feel my mouth filling with blood and spat it along with a tooth towards his eyes. He moved for it to blind one of his eyes but kept the other open the whole time and continued to watch my movements. I used my weight to fight for a better position on ground and begin to hammer away at his head. This body was not weak but it definitely was not strong either. By my sixth punch, I was feeling drained but summon up more energy to launch a couple more before a woman was yelling stop and tried to pull me off the man. I stopped but she continued pulling. Her pulling was negligible for someone her weight dealing with a person my size. I put my palm and foot down then raise up still staring at the man and him staring back at me. ¡°All is fair in love and war.¡± I can¡¯t help but murmur then turn around and meet eyes with the woman. She steps back and I walk to my luggage and press the button for the elevator. I take a deep breath and stare at the elevator entrance. I guess my first contact did turn out to be a miraculous experience. Haha. The door opens and shows a vacant lift. I carry my luggage inside and commanded the elevator to take me down the first floor. I groan out a cough and spit blood over the floor. Damn that knee almost did me in. I even had to bite my tongue to avoid fainting. Someone is definitely going to step on that blood. Hopefully they are not barefoot at least. Whatever. I step out of the elevator and what greets me is a crowd of people moving in and out of the Hotel and some relaxing in chairs and couches in the surrounding area. Also, everyone is so different! I see white, brown, black, ghost pale, orange, all kinds of colors in people! Watching my past self¡¯s memory is different than seeing it myself. I daresay but the human race has come a long way in my book. Chapter 4: Complete Chapter 4: Complete Damn, what is wrong with that guy from earlier though? Here I thought people were supposed to be reasonable. For actions like that, I know you can get in bad trouble and put into a cage. ¡°Excuse me sir. Excuse me sir Hey, excuse me sir.¡± Oh! Someone is talking to me. I look down at a scruffy middle-aged man over encumbered by his luggage. Aren¡¯t you panting a little too hard now? ¡°My apologies, the lift is all yours.¡± This whole getting lost in my thoughts is distracting me from the world around. I take a deep breath and concentrate on remaining in the present. Time to leave now. I make my way towards the line under a ¡°Checking Out¡± sign at the receptionist desk. There were three groups in front but the service was quick and before I knew it, it is my turn. A stunning, young redhead smiles at me. Damn, this woman is gorgeous. Almost got me speaking a different language, literally. Patience Ray, you need to be patient. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± she awkwardly asked me. ¡°Yes of course,¡± I replied and handed her the suite card. She accepts it then scans the card and places it somewhere under the receptionist desk hidden from view. ¡°Would you like your receipt for the bill?¡± she said as she slowly raised her eyes at me. Bill? Bill? Ahh, that¡¯s right. My eyes raise up and I lean close to her past my edge of the receptionist desk. I notice the suspicion on her face and body language. I silently whisper to her, ¡°Do I have to pay?¡± Because the heaven knows this young man right here forgot his account card which has access to his funds. She laughs then recollects herself shortly. ¡°No, I was talking about the receipt for your stay. We try our best to accommodate our friends at Vital Industries. In fact, usually you would have to wait for departure but as an esteemed guest of ours, allow us to escort you back to the city.¡± Thank god for my employer and their generous policies. As if a twin arrived, another pretty young redhead tapped my shoulder to lead me towards my transport. I walked for several minutes carrying all this luggage in discomfort while she would make small talk about the history of the hotel or occasional activities tourist would do. ¡°You have a lot of stories don¡¯t you?¡± I asked her. She does, half of the details slip past my head. ¡°Yes I do,¡± she responded and glanced at me to confirm the question came out of my mouth. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you were listening.¡± ¡°Your voice covers my pain¡±, I said. Then she looked at me in contempt and stopped to ask,¡±Need any he¡ª¡± ¡°No! What¡¯s your name?¡± She laughs and points to your chest. At least I got her to laugh. Wow, I failed to notice her work attire struggling to contain her curves. Then I see the tag on her chest. ¡°Pepe.¡± ¡°Penelope!¡± She bursted into a hysterical laughter. I mean, it was only two syllables gone. Regardless, she continued to talk except even more enthusiastically than before. Her smile beaming radiantly as she transitioned from details about the hotel to herself. It was a nice sight to see. Still, I only grasped about a quarter of all the words she spoke understandably but gave the illusion of someone listening intently. I continued to take occasional glances at her and nod or agree with topics I knew about. It was a technique I subsciously inherited from the past Ray. Strong habits truly die hard as he communicated with people from a passive stance his whole life I realize. Before I knew it, we got to a large flat strip of land where my escort was. ¡°Ahh, I can¡¯t believe you butchered my name will you. Well, your transport is over th¡ª Wait! Penelope Stricken. My contact is on the Rhea Resort employee list.¡± As I walked past her, I gave her an OK and continued straight towards the transport. Can¡¯t help it, the massive dark green object in front gave me a shock. Especially when I got close to it and felt a force not towards me but the ground and the transport hovered. Such a sleek design without wings yet the object can still fly. I understood what it was from Ray¡¯s memories but seeing is believing. This world scarce of mana continues to amaze me. Stuck in my own thoughts, the transport door slides open. A man in a sleek red outfit unique to Rhea Resort employees welcomes me aboard. ¡°Hey Mr. Junior, had a fun vacation?¡± What a booming voice. ¡°Yes I did. It was lovely.¡± ¡°Hey, umm, I was supposed to be expecting two. Where is your wife?¡± My wife? We were supposed to come here together but she told Ray she had issues to deal with at home. How unfortunate. The transport became silent as its engines roared for take off. Funny because the engine was not even that loud to begin with. ¡°She was busy. Anyway, do you own this ship?¡± ¡°Oh no! Something of this quality by Vital Industries! Even for a transport, to be equipped with top of the line armor that can last against the worst anti-air weaponry. This has got to be over 600,000 UP. This was a gift from your company that I enjoy very much.¡± He seems he enjoys his job a lot. UP? Universal Pound. This world¡¯s currency. So that is what it stands for. ¡°Mr. Junior, sit tight, watched the view, and I will have you back at the city in a jiffy.¡± I followed the pilot¡¯s advice and admired the scenery below.. There are trees surrounding Rhea Resort but the size of those in the wilderness are massive in comparison. ¡°Green green green,¡± I could not help but exclaim. ¡°Yeah! And even more green beyond the horizon because the trees get bigger too. Luckily, we don¡¯t need to expand there. Yet.¡± Wow, feels great knowing there is green all around me. After a couple of minutes hearing the Pilot ramble about the expected increase in this planet¡¯s population to 100 million people following the next couple of months, we arrive. Finally. It never occurred to me the size of a city full of people. Remembering the pilot¡¯s comment on the population, I lifted both of my hands and began counting. Ok, 100 million is in fact 9 numbers. ¡°Hey,¡± I prepared to ask the pilot in order to confirm my calculations. ¡°How many zeros are in 100 million?¡± ¡°Ugh, 8¡± he answered. Damn! And this city¡¯s population is looming close to 4 million people but it can sustain three times more than that. ¡°I got a lot to learn when I get back home.¡± The pilot did not comment this time. Good. Then the transport doors slid open. I got up from my seat and jumped out the transport. ¡°Hey Mr. Junior, wer¡ª¡± ¡°Thank You,¡± I replied with a big smile, waving the pilot goodbye and manually closed the transport doors. The transport took off heading in the direction we just came from. I look around from the top of the building and observe the structures created by man. My eyes stray towards a large tower in the center of the city roughly a mile high. As you rise in the tower, the building itself becomes thinner due to structural constraints. I cannot continue to allow myself to be shocked at everything I see along Ray¡¯s past but that building is huge. I doubt you need measurements to know something is huge however, it really adds to the imagination. And I recognize the building I am standing on top of too. Vital Industry¡¯s secondary building in the City of Wenyuela where the logistics for the multiple factories and employee parking is handled. I make my way down a set of stairs to the first floor where my car is located. I searched around my luggage and take out a bunch of keys. One in particular which is connected to the car, I separate from the rest and toggled the key. Beep Beep. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Oh! I toggled the key again. Beep Beep. And again. Beep Beep. And a couple more times after that until I found the source of the noise. A grayish car that similar to blocks on wheels. Then I look around and can¡¯t help but admire the sleek design and uniqueness of everything else. I toggle my key again to confirm if the car is mine. Unfortunately, it is. I took a deep breath, unlocked the door, stepped inside the driver¡¯s seat, set my luggage in the passenger seat, and close the door. ¡°Ok Ray, just the experience of traveling in a new world has overwhelmed me. Quite frankly, I want to go home wherever that is so help a partner out with some knowledge. Especially about cars.¡± Through Ray¡¯s memories, I begin to analyze the different components and their corresponding functions. Before I knew it, I inserted the key into the ignition switch, twisted it. The engine of the car sounded off a high-pitch whine before it transitioned to a continuous low hum. I could hear the electronics inside being activated but only disabled the radio. Turns out this car is really silent due to the electrical components inside. ¡°Great, I don¡¯t need the noise anyway.¡± I shift the car¡¯s gear into reverse then place my toe gently on the pedal while looking towards the rear of the car and pressed down on the pedal lightly. The car moves back. I shift to drive and pressed on the pedal lightly again while looking forward. The car moves forward. I repeated that a couple of times until I felt comfortable enough to steer out of my parking spot. The familiarity that Ray has with this world¡¯s technology has been of great use to me. Now, I just need to follow the same route he takes home multiple times a week after starting this job a year ago. Sounds good. I look behind me and reverse the car out of the parking spot and continued maneuvering slowly until I left the secondary building. As I drove onward, I followed the route indicated for exiting the area. All the surrounding buildings are owned by Vital Industries and important stuff is happening in every one. That is why this whole area is fortified by minimum defense systems as a precaution apparently. I also notice very few drivers other than myself taking the exit route. ¡°Honk!¡± Something behind me went off but I intuitively understood the need to increase my speed. I thought I was going a little to slow for myself as my thoughts were straying. Before I knew it, I get to the exit gate and stop behind three other cars and wait. I knew the drivers in front of me were preparing identification for the guards at the gate. As they did, I begun searching through my luggage for a card representing my identification. While rummaging through my stuff, I remember it was in my wallet and took it out. Found it. An identification card aka my ¡®ID¡¯ from Vital Industries with my name, employee number, and a picture of me sporting a frown on it. ¡°Honk!¡± Oops. I drive up to the exit gate and stop at the guardsmen. ¡°ID sir.¡± The guardsmen, a fairly large brown-skinned male spoke in a low pitch voice. Really, that voice of his was so unnaturally deep I felt goosebumps. Regardless, I handed him my ID and proceeded to watch this man fairly closely. I heard a short burst of sounds behind him after he moved his wrist over my card. Guess I am in the clear as he returned my card. We met eyes for a moment as I stared at him and he back at me. ¡°Honk!¡± Wow wow wow! This guy is annoying. I cannot believe he made me lose the staredown I started. Wait, I should be thanking him because that type of behavior is uncivilized. Well, I begin driver forward and later fuse into city traffic. On my way towards the outskirts, I seen people walking in and out of buildings on the path beside the street, the occasional ship passing by above, and the cars in front of me being directed by traffic at each intersection. Strangely, I followed the traffic too, but then made a right turn, left turn, kept straight, another right turn towards the outskirts of the city. It was weird like I knew where to go. In fact, I knew to keep straight until I reached a town called Glenns View. Then make the first left turn after entering Glenns View. I did and ended up on the street my home occupies. I drove for a short moment and get to a cul-de-sac of five homes. Mine was the third home and was in the middle. I imagined a pentagon and thought of my home as the top point of the pentagon as I pulled up into my driveway. Gave me a chuckle. Compared to when I entered my vehicle as ¡®me¡¯ for the first time, everything I did seemed like I have been doing it my whole life. Getting out of the car, taking my luggage out then unlocking the car, separating my house key from the rest on the chain while walking to the front then opening the door. It was strange as if I really knew like how I know plenty of other things. How Rhea is the 47th planet to be discovered by the GSC or the Galactic Space Command. How the humans originated from Earth and the first space colony inhabited was Mars even though the planet¡¯s atmosphere was dead. I also knew that Rhea would not have been discovered in the year 2317 based on the earthen calendar if it was not for a mad-scientist, Bundi Thovenkov, who created the Thovenkov drive after stealing the research of numerous other scientist. Even those whose theories did not qualify as real, comprehensive theories were stolen. Thovenkov compiled the research and created a device in 2256 that can fold space so an object can be brought from one point to another or something like that. Well, the device has been improved but is only used by ships to travel over large distances. It kicked off the new frontier which was space travel but only few organizations could afford ships at the time. Oh yeah, it is currently September 22, 2556 and my birth was twenty years ago on August 22 at noon time. Damn I am such a young man, practically the same age I died at in the other world¡­ Hehe. Another thing I know is I where my bedroom is too. I forgot my luggage but walked up stairs and straight into my room, strip my clothes down, and took another shower. During the shower, I felt my whole body ache thanks to the alcohol. Although, two specific places gave me severe discomfort. My left cheek and close to where my liver is on the right side of my body. In fact, I knew the liver was a weak spot of humans based on past experiences but I did not know the source of the pain after impact was the liver. Damn, why did that guy attack at me though? I recognized he was a room next to me because a while after I locked the suite, he came out. What did I do? Or what did the past me do? Ahh¡­ I think I knocked in the shower and he knocked back afterwards but is that enough to warrant an attack? Nope but what¡¯s done is in the past. Even with a quarter of the day left, I feel so tired and drain. I am going to take a nap then. So I put on some underwear and rest my non-sculpted body on my bed. Haha! What was supposed to be a nap turned into a healthy night¡¯s sleep. I arose at the beginning of midnight because I wasted a whole quarter of a day. It was worth it. The world seemed different. I felt different. This body still took a while to adjust too but it is my body. And my mind felt unusually sharp as if I hinged on the edge of great clarity. I guess it takes time to truly fuse in mind, body, and soul but it is done and a new life awaits ahead of me. Goodbye d¨¦j¨¤ vu. ¡°Goodbye Rajz¡­ Hello Ray Junior!¡± Chapter 5: Workout Chapter 5: Workout Grrr. I guess now is the time for a little snack. I close the door and make my way downstairs towards the kitchen. ¡°Reminder, don¡¯t forget your luggage at the door¡± I tell myself. Then I flicked on the kitchen light. On the countertop next to the oven was a message. In Writing. Not too many people even use paper anymore unless for something important. Any type of information can be found if a person looks in the right places. Skimming the note, I see at the bottom ¡®Love Christine¡¯. I take a deep breath and prepare myself because I have a gut feeling a specific part of me will not like this. The letter read, ¡° Hey Ray, I know it has been a long time since we spoke and I have not been myself as of lately.¡± I read each and every word slowly. One part of me felt indifferent while the other was gradually being frustrated. ¡°Look, it¡¯s not you but me. And I lied about being busy, I just did not want to go with you on vacation. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Damn! My anger begins to boil inside but I forcibly calm myself down and read on further. ¡°You going on vacation gave me time to think for myself.¡± If it was not for me, your husband would have been dead. And so would I if I did not overdraft on my soul to save this body. ¡°We truly had something special and I love you I do. It¡¯s just that¡ª ¡° Nope, it is settled. I will continue to get pissed the more I read so I resume reading in anger. ¡°¡ª you don¡¯t make me feel like me any more. I mean my god Ray the last time we did it was four months ago.¡± AAAAHHHHH! I SHOULD HAVE ERASED YOU AND SAVE MYSELF THE TROUBLE! Damn. That guy really loved her. It PISSES ME OFF I cannot cut the connection between me and him. ¡°Patience Ray, you need to be patient.¡± I forced myself away from the note and sat down in the living room.Then I begun to regulate my breathing sucking in a deep breath of air to exhaling for twice as long. I maintained this state until the emotions boiling inside cooled down. Before that, this technique was used to master one¡¯s inner state and not be bogged down by their emotions. This world refers to it as meditation but it is more of lesser importance here. In my past, practicing this technique effectively was the prerequisite to controlling mana. Regardless, I struck fortune this time. What I believe to be a world scarce of mana was duly wrong. I never took the time to properly meditate on my recent experiences. I became shortsighted. From what seemed like an eternity spent crossing the afterlife to facing the maelstrom, saving this man¡¯s body and soul, enduring the stimuli of a new world, and experiencing another man¡¯s wife leaving me deeply impacted me. I refer to her as someone else but that person is now apart of me so she should be ours. Anyone would need time to collect themselves. I do but before I can, the rest of the letter needs to be read. I prepared myself again. I know this would make me angry but this is the new life I accepted and resumed reading. ¡°Ray, I like you but I don¡¯t love you anymore.¡± Nothing to see here, just anger and utter disappointment. Looking back at it, Christine would refuse every one of Ray¡¯s advances with an excuse. Either she was tired, not feeling well, frustrated, all kinds of excuses. Clearly, her love had extinguished a long time ago. Alas, I continue reading. ¡°Look, I just need some time apart to get a handle on things. Love Christine.¡± Love my ass. My anger ignited once again begins to boil boil fervently but I hurried to the living room, sat down, and begun to meditate. Inhale deeply¡­ Exhale twice as long. I repeated several times before I truly felt calm again. The anger was still there but my resentment begun to grow. Not only towards Christine but my family too. My employer treats me better than this even if I was not paid. I meditated even more. Time flew by past then the morning rays begun to seep past the window blinds. I advanced towards the window and peeked through the blinds. Slowly, as I moved around, I caught a hint of a big red sun approaching the horizon. My stomach growls loudly. I begin to cook up a quick meal. Lean beef with a small patch of white rice and some greens on the side. Ever since Ray was 17, he moved out the Junior home to Wenyuela after passing the EOA or End-of-Adolescent testing. In Wenyuela, he got a simple job arranging shipments and supplies for Vital Industries which payed for his expenses and food. Thanks to that, he learned how to cook relatively simple meals which he still does now since Christine cannot cook. Ray always told himself that he would start losing weight by first changing his diet. After long hours spent looking at what he should eat and their proportions, he finally decided on the diet he needed. The only problem was he never did it because he was either too tired, too much to worry about, or too whatever. I will do it for you and show you a body unlike any other. Lies, this is being done for myself but you can enjoy it too. Also, I have my motives t good body is the other prerequisite to controlling mana so I have my reasons too. After the meal, I begun to meditate once again. Just like before, I perceived the mana around me. However, my perception of mana at the moment is inadequate for my goals. No need to hurry as everything will come in due time I know for certain but this is good. I feel my perception of mana slightly rise after each section. With the rest of the day to myself, I went to go change into suitable outfit for my next task. Buying appropriate athletic gear and getting into shape. As I was about to leave, my phone vibrates. Not an emergency message this time so I check to see the recipient. It''s my mother. The message reads, ¡°Come home, we need to talk.¡± Ray got messages like this a lot since he moved out. Every time he would show up later and it was never for a good reason. Instead, I head to my gray little block and ride down to Glenns View athletic facilities. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Only about ten minutes from my home, I arrive shortly to see three large buildings. One building customizes and sells athletic wears, my objective. Another host the gym equipment which is what people primarily come to the athletic facilities for, to work out. The last is a building larger than the other two combined was built to train Glenns View militiamen to be enlisted into Rhea¡¯s army. Women are allowed too though very few in number among grunts aka infantry. A planet usually raises their own army and cooperates with Galactic Space Command for a number of projects whether that is infrastructure work on planet or other miscellaneous work outside in space. As soon as I arrived, I went to the athletic wears building to buy shoes customized for myself. The technology is amazing. You place your feet in a machine then it illustrates an image of the contours of your feet and designs the best shoe for you and the training you do with the best materials you can afford. Literally, the image later gets printed into reality using whatever material you chose. Although, a simple shop like this has the most basic of materials and machines. Whatever, even basic printed wears is better than pre designed wears by a large margin. Only cost me five hundred UP too. Solid darker colors are cheaper too. I got mine in black. I put my new pair on. The shoes worked like a charm and before I knew it, I was at the second floor of the gym running on their track. I never knew my feet could feel so good after running. Too bad I only ran for about two and a half minutes before my breath ran out. I underestimated how big I am but everything in due time. Over the next couple of months, this fat will be butter in the sun. I moved to the first floor and spot many people working out. Some doing bench press, squatting, weighted-pullups, or even a crowd of people attending an instructor¡¯s class. As a newcomer to the area, most men noticed me but went back to talking to their friends or focusing on their workout. Women on the other hand looked at me in slight disdain, even those in worse shape than I am! But did not dwell on it any longer since it is a sight they are use to. As much as Ray looked up certain exercises online, I knew how to do them but this would count as his first time working out¡­at a gym. Hell, this is my first time working out in a new world and at a gym. Seriously, majority of the people here are fit and occupy most of the racks for a long time. Especially those bastards in groups taking their time. I cannot complain though. My first time here so I begin stretching and warming my body up until a bench press or squat rack opens up. After a while, a woman finishes her squat rack and I walk towards their shortly. She did not put the weight up but it does not seem like a lot so I start with that. I got into stance under the bar then hoisted it up. Fuck! What the hell was this woman doing! That mess was freaking heavy. Took every ounce of strength in my body to lower it back onto the rack. Ok, so a bar is 45 pounds approximately. She had two 45 pounds, one 25 pound, and one 10 pound. Ok, so that adds up to 125 pounds which is approximately a third of my weight. Times it by two then add 45 pounds to it and I just had 295 pounds on my back. And a woman squatted it multiple times fairly easy. No other way to explain it but you weak as hell Ray. Damn, that means I am weak as hell too. My legs already hurt from trying to offload that one rep back onto the rack. Hell, can¡¯t even call that a rep too. ¡°Patience Ray, you need patience¡± I spoke to myself. And I did, I took all the weights off and begun to practice on my form using the bar alone. I made sure each rep was perfect. I kept my face looking forward, legs shoulder width apart, bar rested on my back muscle under my neck, and squatted until my legs were parallel to the ground. In total I only did sixteen perfect reps. Despite that, it was only the beginning. It was a feeling like no other yet very familiar too. As if I had done this in the past before. It is true. I have done this before and I will repeat it again. Although, training my body is not for survival this time. A big bonus I daresay. After resting, I added ten pounds in total to the bar and rep as many as I can. Then I added twenty pounds in total to the bar and rep as many as I can. Then thirty, forty, and further until I reach a total weight of 120 pounds including the bar. It was amazing. My legs that were strained before were pulsating with energy. As if it gained its second wind but I knew it was tired. What I did at the squat rack, I repeated on every other exercise. Work on the form then slowly transition up until I felt close to failure. I did that with bench press, barbell lunges, incline press, hyper extensions, pull-ups, bent rows, and a lot more. My heart was beating incredibly fast and I felt like I drunk a whole gallon of water. Explains why I went to the bathroom three times. I hit every muscle in my body that I could then ran on the second floor until my energy reserves ran out. When I finished, I was drenched in my sweat. And when I passed a mirror and seen my reflection, my forehead was shining. Great. It felt really great. After running, I went down to the first floor to exit the entrance and some of the guys would look at me and nod. Others when I passed them would greet me. What surprised me even more was I condensed my workout to roughly an hour and a half. My body has not even adapted yet so total time spent in the gym will decrease. I exited out to my car all wet knowing very well it was going to smell like me more intensely from now on. I don¡¯t mind. I went home, ate a couple of meals, studied a bit on what I am working on tomorrow because vacation is over, and went to sleep. It was a good night''s rest. The only problem was no one told me I was gonna be sore out my ass when I woke up the next morning. Nah, I already knew that. Thank my luck this planet''s rotation is twenty-six hours.