《My Second Life as a Seer, But It Was Just Another Terminal Illness》 Chapter 1: Cancer of Logan ¡°My name is Logan Astra Forsaith. I¡¯m 22. And I have stage 4 pancreatic cancer. This means that my liver, lungs, and other parts of my body are filled with cancer cells that will more or less kill me sooner or later¡­¡± I said. ¡°At least, that¡¯s what my doctor says my future will be.¡± I look into the camera. An ensemble of four stands behind them, not even showing any ounce of care but to the documentary they are making. Blinding flashes of light capture my face, forcing me to look away. Since long ago, I accepted my fate as an object of curiosity for the people around me. Although, I cannot lie. I really wish my family hadn¡¯t begged me to appear in this documentary. I¡¯m not some freak object for study or sympathy. I am literally dying, forced to lie down on this hospital bed, tucked in layers of blanket while hurting - crying - every time I burp or move my torso. Maybe some peace of mind would¡¯ve been better. ¡°As a dying man, do you have any last wish, Logan?¡± the interviewer said. ¡°Maybe look into the camera, Logan, it¡¯s a bit hard to get your face in the video.¡± I force a smile to their camera. Every fiber of my being, if willing, would be shouting at them. Kicking them, punching them, and getting rid of them from my presence. These people are the worst. ¡°I don¡¯t have a last wish, but if I did¡­¡± I said. ¡°It would be to get rid of you all from this Earth¡­ haha¡­ that¡¯s it.¡± The documentary crew widens their eyes. They appear shocked at my words. Heck, I¡¯m even shocked I had the gall to say that in front of them. What would my parents think of me? The interviewer chuckles, obviously nervous at what I just said whilst smiling.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Haha, I didn¡¯t know you were into dark humor, Logan!¡± The rest of the crew chuckles. I chuckle as well. ¡°But, no, seriously, what would be your last wish?¡± ¡°Let me think about that, actually.¡± I said. I sigh. What else, really, is there for me? I wish I was more brave in my life. I know that when I was still in high school, I had a lot of potential. I was good at sports, I was good at my academics, and I was close with all my friends. I feel like I had everything, but I let my sickness - which at the time wasn¡¯t that big of a deal yet - get the better of me and my parents. I freaked out over being diagnosed with cancer, but I should¡¯ve done more. Instead, I just listened to my parents and went along with whatever the doctor said. Just like now. To an extent, that is also why I wish I didn¡¯t work as hard. I wish that I expressed myself more through art and through my relationships with people. I wish I stayed in touch with my friends instead of being ashamed. I wish I experienced more. Fundamentally, what are those wishes? Can I even summarize them? I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s just the fact that I was dying that made me scared. It was also the fact that I let myself succumb to my own safety net. My parents. I never thought that pushing for an unattainable cure would take away so much from my time and energy to the point where I would be unable to think of anything else. To conceive of any life, any future, of me doing or being something else. I sort of just internalized my sickness as part of my self-identity. That¡¯s the key, isn¡¯t it? I opened my eyes, tears ready to flow down. ¡°Yeah, I guess my wish is to¡­¡± A giant roach-like monster replaced the documentary crew. In fact, I think the monster is currently chewing them down. ¡°What the-¡± The monster noticed my presence and jumped at me. Its nasty hairy mandibles gnaw at me. The entirety of my body is crushed with its endoskeleton, specifically what I feel is its mouth. In less than a second, I don¡¯t feel anything anymore with my vision being clouded totally with the insides of the roach-like monster. I guess I didn¡¯t finish my wish. It was to live. And to know the future I had lost. Chapter 2: The Inferior Void. That was the last thing I remembered as the cockroach monster consumed me. Weird, though. I still feel as if I am laying down on my hospital bed. But, without the layers of blanket stacked on top of me and my torso. Rather, I feel rather free right now. Like I am floating. It was then that my peace of mind was interrupted. A loud screeching clashed with the sound of continuous booming clicking. I frowned my closed eyes, then tried my best to cover my ears, crawling up to a ball - trying my best to ignore the upcoming pain from my stomach. ¡°WHAT IS HAPPENING?¡± I shouted. I only wished for everything to stop. If I were eaten just now, why still torture me? Is this the afterlife? Granted, I¡¯ve never considered myself a religious person, but how I wish God existed now. Or the devil. Or the grim reaper. Anyone and anything just to end the pain I am getting from these sounds. I screamed, hoping to blurt out the noise. However, the noise only got louder until it stopped after several seconds. Sweat covers every millimeter of my body, or at least a pervasive sensation of such. I braced for further impact, but I was fortunately let down by the fact that only silence ensued for minutes. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I see nothing but my own body lying down in some kind of invisible bed. It was almost panic-striking if not for the violent noise I had to put up with earlier. [Thought synchronization finished.] A raspy voice whispered. Similar to those ASMRs that I can find online. I tried to look for the source of the voice, but only the dark occupied my field of vision even as I turned to the front, sides, back, up, and down. It was only then that I realized the voice came from inside my own head. ¡°Wait, who- what are you? What happened to me? Where am-¡± I said. [Only two percent of thought synchronization is achieved. Requiring innate biological and metaphysical alterations of the designated entity for an additional three percent increase in increasing symmetrical communication through thought synchronization.] The voice continued to whisper. ¡°Answer me!¡± I shouted. This has to be the afterlife. Maybe I am being punished for my sins. For not being brave enough and for not doing enough in my life. [Authorizing limited communication with inferior entity.] Is that supposed to be me? How ableist, I know I have - or had - cancer before I died, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m inferior! What was originally a vast empty space and void started to melt. I fell from my invisible bed to the ground. The environment started to mold into a brown sticky substance. My hand gripped the ground as soon as I fell to the floor, embracing the substance which had the viscosity of an almost-frozen honey. I removed my hand from the floor only to get my feet stuck to the ground as I attempted to stand at the same time. A drop of the substance fell from above me. I turned to face the sky, or rather what was the sky. What was vast empty nothingness has been filled with a behemoth of an entity, similar to the previous cockroach-like monster although in a much more absurd proportion. I see nothing but an obsidian carapace that is stretching across the void like a series of bones, black tendons, and wooden shrapnel that were forced to be stitched together in the shape of an impossibly-large cockroach. Right above me, however, was its antennae. Each strand is as thick as my body, twitching and making clicking sounds. The monster¡¯s mouth opens, gaping an infinite chasm of interlocking and twisting inners. A gust of vibrations descends from its maw, accompanied by the same combination of clicking and screeching sounds. ¡°??¡­¡û¡­¡ú?¡± The monster above said. Is it saying something to me? I don''t understand anything. [Thought contains unsynchronized elements. Require simplification with pre-existing/synchronized elements.] The voice inside me said. They¡¯re talking to one another. Two different entities that I can barely comprehend. But if the voice inside me can talk in English, why not the other? Silence followed. I gulped. I have to accept my fate. Whatever is in store for me, I will just have to accept it. I was unlucky in life. No reason why I cannot be unlucky in the afterlife. ¡°UNIT¡­ THIS¡­ PRE¨CBLESSED¡­ NO FUTURE USE IN CURRENT STATE.¡± The monster above said.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Unit? I suppose that is supposed to be me. But, pre-blessed? What does that mean? And what does this thing want to ¡°use¡± me for even if I wasn¡¯t pre-blessed? [Increased synchronization from thought interaction to ten percent. Intensifying basic conceptualization.] The voice inside me said. ¡°FINALLY.¡± The monster above said. My eyes widened. A tendril from the monster¡¯s maw descends in an instant, stopping just a few centimeters away from my face. A rotten eyeball rotates, observing my physical body. ¡°H-h-hello?¡± I said. No answer. ¡°S-so, are you God or the Devil?¡± I said. Still now answer. The eyeball still appears to just be observing me. I might have to take the initiative. What¡¯s the worst that can happen? ¡°I mean, I-I figured either one of you must have existed, you know. I wasn¡¯t a complete agnos-¡± [Increased synchronization from vocal interaction to thirty percent. Intensifying grammatical and metaphysical thought processing system symmetry.] ¡°GOD.¡± The monster said. This is¡­ God? All along? Out of all mythology, predictions of the future, of rapture, and everything else, this is what God looks like? A giant roach? ¡°Wow¡­ I mean, I never e-expected anything from the physical appearance of the Supreme like you¡­ but I just never thought that you would be a roa-¡± ¡°NOT YOURS.¡± The monster said. ¡°WE EAT YOURS ALREADY.¡± ¡°What?¡± I exclaimed. [Increased synchronization from vocal interaction to thirty-five percent. Maximum threshold achieved for quasi-transversal coherence of respective intra-dimensional concepts.] ¡°INFERIOR,¡± The monster said. ¡°COMMUNICATE YOUR PRE-BLESSING.¡± ¡°My¡­ what?¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. My blessing? What blessing?¡± The tendril moved. It slithered around my body like a puke-worthy vortex covering almost my entire body in the viscous substance, before stopping in the area of my belly. It presses gently against my belly button. I winced reflexively. I half-anticipated for the pain to kick in, just like usual, instead no pain expressed itself. ¡°THIS REGION,¡± The monster said. ¡°EXTRA¡­ORDINARILY ALTERED.¡± I panted. ¡°I-I have¡­¡± I stuttered. ¡°or had¡­ cancer.¡± ¡°CANCER...?¡± The monster said. ¡°DELICIOUS¡­ SHOULD HAD MORE.¡± I think this monster-god ate my cancer. I can¡¯t believe it. A roach-god who enjoys eating cancers. But, aren¡¯t I dead? What does it matter if this entity ate my disease away or not? I remember vividly the cockroach consuming me whole before I had woken up in this space. If that is truly the case, then more importantly, what does this monster-god want from me? ¡°So-sorry, roach-god, but what do you want from-¡± The tendril withdrew in an instant into the main body in the pitch black sky. I flinched, utterly disgusted at the sight of this gargantuan roach-god. ¡°THIS.¡± The mouth of the roach-god releases a plethora of colored smoke, mimicking a giant exhaust pipe of a broken car. I hear a hum from the inside of the maw. A series of clunks becomes louder and louder until I am forced to cover my ears. Each clash fills the void with a thunderous boom of metal. That is it. Metal upon metal heading downwards. Some kind of giant object. Wait, it¡¯s heading in my direction? I ran as soon and as fast as possible in a random direction. I was surprised that I managed to make - at least by my estimation - half of a football field in less than half a minute. Once I realized this fact, I turned back to see the spot where I had just previously stood after I fell from the invisible bed. A giant body, or the remains of a body, in the form of a rusty metallic mega-humanoid was ejected, followed by a variety of scraps singing a hollow chime as it peels away and spirals into my direction. As it crashed into the ground, cracks run deep through its armor, and from within those ruptures comes a robotic resonance as though the final whispers of its decayed power still tremble within the core of the fallen body. ¡°?,¡± The roach god said. ¡°UNSAVORY, BUT STRONG.¡° I couldn¡¯t even think of anything to say. The sheer scale of everything that is happening makes me think that I was an ant in the middle of a cosmic chasm that I am not supposed to even comprehend. ¡°EAT?¡± The roach-god asked. ¡°??¡­¡û¡­¡ú?¡° ¡°There¡¯s that last part again,¡± I said. ¡°Erm¡­ eat? But how-¡± [Maximum integration request accepted by inferior.] The metallic robotic corpse began shining. [Inferior will be reborn with post-integration capabilities. Chosen designation: Seer-Master. Chosen reincarnation subject: Random] ¡°What?¡± I said. ¡°Wait, reborn? I am dead, then, hang on-¡± ¡°???¡± The roach-god said. ¡°PITY¡­??¡­.MEET AGAIN...FUTURE!¡± It is as if someone turned the brightness of the void. Gradually. I start to lose my sight of the roach-god. Then, my consciousness entered into another nothingness. A white void. Chapter 3: Incarnatio In Continentia In the heart of Shattered Mountains, a giant valley exists, the place where humanity resides from the dangers of the outside world in a city of immense size. The valley is not natural. The borders of the city appear as if someone had intentionally drawn an exact perpendicular square in the middle of the giant valley. However, the city¡¯s shape is as unnatural as the mountain range surrounding it, a place where mountains are cracked with various spherical damages and burnt marks that have never faded away. Similarly, strong wind has never stopped blowing through the gaps between - and within - the mountains. Differentiating between the sound of the wind and the natural sound of creatures living in the mountains is not an easy task. However, most residents living in the edges of the city do not care. This impossible city is Continentia, the last and greatest bastion of humanity. And the region outside is referred - at least by its commoners - as Incontinentia. It is known that those who exit the mega city through its main gate into Incontinentia perish because of the wilderness, vagrants, and - its most frightening threat - the Leukotic demons. White demonic monsters whose origin is unknown, yet feeds on the blood of Continentians. For all intents and purposes, the world outside is nothing but an endless vast of white demons. This has been the case for at least a thousand years for Continentians through the protection given by the Overwall - a magical barrier specifically stopping Leukotic demons from penetrating into the city at any given point of time. Ancient Continentian history tells the story of the First Kaisar - a nameless Sorceress and the founder of Continentia who mysteriously appeared and sacrificed herself through magic to establish the Overwall, thereby protecting humanity. It is thought that this period of history remains as the most significant of any period of history of Continentia. Honoring the legacy of the nameless Sorceress, the people of Continentia and the subsequent Five Families organized their government under the singular banner of the Kaiserrean - the unitary government of the Kaiser and its sovereign protector against the threat of the Leukotic demons. Little did the people know, a massive upheaval will embrace the continent, shaking the very foundation of Continentia through the infection of an alien cosmic force into their world. *** Hot Pig Inn, Malev Governorate, Gambit Commercial Sector I opened my eyes. I see what appears to be the run-down interior of a medieval tavern, or inn. I shuddered and panted in shallow gasps. I¡¯ve been reborn, or reincarnated, or whatever is the term for ¡°this¡±. I¡¯m still too terrified at what I had just experienced in the endless void where I had met the roach-god or whatever that thing might be. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Thus, the contrast jarred me. Having already felt horrible from being eaten by the cockroach in the hospital whilst reminding myself of when I fell into the ground of the void without realizing I had been rid of my pancreatic cancer, I felt a bit surprised to find myself now sitting on a wooden stool too uneven to be called a comfortable sitting platform. My upper body is relaxed, lying on a wooden dusty table with wooden grains sticking out here and there. The first thing I heard was the strumming of a ukulele-like object accompanied by the gleeful singing of a man. However, before I could turn to see the person, I felt a heavy tap on my shoulder. ¡°Ey¡­¡± A voice said. The voice was that of a mountainous, rugged man with little to no expression of being friendly. Mountainous not only from his size but also from what can be described as his general aura. His clothes were definitely of the medieval variety, but stories must be extensive with him as the white tunic¡¯s color is fading into a brown-yellow-ish color. I stared at him. Confusion abounds. He stared back with an annoyed expression, a protruded chin pointing at me whilst his eyes looked down. It was several seconds of silence before he continued to talk. ¡°Finally awake.¡± The man said. ¡°I don¡¯t see much¡¯o you ¡®round these parts, but I hope you¡¯re not one of those late-night runners scammin barkeeps by fakin¡¯ a drunk.¡± ¡°I¨CNo¨CI¡¯m not drunk¡­¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m just¨C¡± He must be the host of this inn. The man¡¯s eyes pierced through my stuttering. I glanced at the sight he had gazed whilst I responded and saw a stack of five wooden beer mugs, each around the size of my stomach - at least before I was reborn into this misunderstanding. ¡°Eh.¡± he said. ¡°Sound drunk talk to me enough.¡± I let out a weak chuckle, forcing myself as well to strain a smile at the man. ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°What was your name again, bartender?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a barkeep.¡± He said. ¡°And it¡¯s Frederick, you drunk.¡± He frowned. ¡°Oh, yes, Frederick- Fred. The barkeep!¡± I said. ¡°Really sorry, but where¡¯s the toilet again?¡± He grunted before walking to the back of the bar. He pointed to a door in one corner of the inn. A wooden door adorned with some rusty metal parts and old hinges, separated from me by approximately two tables crowded by a dozen men of various exteriors, some fat, rough, and as slim as a walking skeleton. As he walked away from me, I saw the opportunity to dash for the door, not caring at all at the possible reaction from the people who might have noticed my abruptness, including the barkeep. ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®cho pass out in my¨C¡± Frederick said. At least that was the last thing I heard from him as I entered through the door. The room which was referred to as ¡°the toilet¡± was really a horizontally-cramped space with a repurposed bucket nailed to the ground. Some suspicious murky water was running from a small hole in the wall right next to the aforementioned not-so-clean seating platform. A flash of light hits my eyes, reflecting from a broken area on the right side of where I was standing once I entered the room. This is just what I needed. I immediately face the mirror. In actuality, since the very moment I opened my eyes and heard the barkeep, a central question plagued my mind. Who am I now? In this seemingly medieval world which I¡¯ve been reincarnated to? Am I still in the same body as I was in my world? Most importantly, if indeed that was the case, am I still with my cancer? The answer was not what I expected. Fuck. I saw my own face. Chapter 4: Bucket Around ten minutes have passed since I¡¯ve entered the toilet. In that time span, I inspected my own body for signs of my cancer. I noticed that although I have the same face as my pre-reincarnated self, there are still significant differences in terms of my physical appearance. For example, I observed how I now have bigger muscles despite the fact that I exercised in my original only for the sake of preparing myself for surgery, and even with that, exercise is a big word for what is essentially picking myself up with a medical trapeze bar. In contrast, my reincarnated body has the physique of someone who commutes with public transportation - most likely from what I assume to be the walking I have to do in this world. Not bad, but my biggest relief has to be from the fact that I don¡¯t seem to show any symptoms associated with pancreatic cancer. Right then, I fell down on the floor, or the lack thereof due to its ruined condition, crouching whilst hanging on to the wall and crying. These were tears of relief at my new body¡¯s condition. Of sorrow at the sight of the roach monsters. Of disgust at the roach-god. Of gratitude at being given a new chance at life. I suppose this is a fresh start for me. A new world, probably without modern technology as it seems. At least they speak English, it seems. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a farmer in Medieval England?¡± I said to myself, looking at my own clothing which consisted of a brown tattered tunic. ¡°Probably not a nobility judging from this, though.¡± I washed my face with the murky water and prepared myself to walk out to face this new reality. A familiar voice reappeared in my head. [Integration process finished. Total integration failed due to low levels of structural integrity of the superior specimen. Post-integration capabilities will be revealed upon use by the inferior.] It¡¯s that voice from the void. I jerked away from the wall when the voice spoke. ¡°Whoever you are.¡± I said. ¡°Why is this happening to me? What is going on, and what does that mean, post-integration capabilities?¡± No response. ¡°Answer me!¡± I shouted. I wiped away my tears, bolstering myself with a level of self-certainty. After several seconds of silence, the closest line of thinking that could even be considered somewhat rational for me was the following: Am I an experiment of that roach-god? It only made sense. I mean, there are many theories of reality being a simulation. Maybe this is one of them and the existence of the roach-god was as simple as an administrator. Another theory is¨C [Request for inquiry denied. Further possibilities of inquiries have been banned under the mandate of ??????????. Guide will be discontinued from this point on.] Guide? It was guiding me the whole time? What for? There is something bigger at play here. A loud crackly thud strikes my eardrums. Someone is knocking at the door of the toilet. Is it Frederick? ¡°Oy, whoever you are,¡± the person behind the door said with a booming voice. ¡°How long you use the shitter for? I¡¯ve been waiting for a fucking year, guy! You wanna make me wait for another?¡± I jumped back, my heart lurching at the person¡¯s sudden appearance. ¡°H-hang on!¡± I said. ¡°I got a bad case of diarrhea!¡± ¡°A case of what?¡± The person said. ¡°Diarrhea!¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m taking a big dump, basically.¡± The person behind the door laughed. ¡°You what, guy?¡± The person said. ¡°Nevermind! I¡¯ll just go use the outhouse instead. I can¡¯t believe shit-drinkers like you live ¡®round these parts. Erm, enjoy shitting your shit, guy!¡± The person walked away. I sighed with relief. I guess I only have to figure out who exactly I am in this world. Settle down and the likes. It seems that I have history with at least the barkeep, maybe I can start with that. I picked myself up, or at least tried to. I slipped, grabbing whatever I could to prevent me from slipping. In this case, I grabbed the bucket-toilet. At that moment, everything went dark. Where am I? Am I back to the void? Where the roach-god is? A bright light emanated from the ground in front of me. Specifically, a neon white outline starts to form. At first, it was a flat disc. Followed by a cylinder with no top connecting the disc vertically, and afterwards, a curved and wonky parabola. ¡°Wait, is this the bucket?¡± I said. The outline transformed into the bucket that I had just grabbed. At that moment, I could be or do anything but be perplexed. I walked a few steps to observe the bucket. Here, it is in a much more pristine condition than it had been as the toilet. Then, I saw a man sitting down, dressed in blue robes. He is focused on the bucket, holding it and hammering copper plates. ¡°Hello?¡± I called out to the man. He didn¡¯t respond. He seemed too busy to even notice me, or maybe he didn¡¯t hear me at all. It was just him, the ground, and the bucket. Minutes must have already passed. Then hours. I tried to call out to the man, but nothing happened. He was just busy, hammering away at the bucket before occasionally inspecting the bucket. It was then I realized.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°These must be the powers that the voice talked about.¡± I thought out loud. ¡°None of this is real. It¡¯s just¡­ the past? The person who made the bucket?¡± I tried to touch the man, but I phased through his body. I decided to sit down near the man instead. I curled up my legs into a position where I can comfortably assert my posture. I watched as the man crafted the bucket. Days must have passed of me staring at the man working on the bucket. I have not felt thirsty nor hungry, but I sometimes scream my frustrations away at the void and at the man. It was during one of these ¡°internal frustration management sessions¡± at the man that I saw something that I hadn¡¯t noticed before. ¡°Wait a minute, something is shining from inside the bucket.¡± A dim ray of white light is beaming. I got up from my position and phased through the man to position myself behind him, facing the bucket he is holding. ¡°To think I missed this all along.¡± I thought out loud. Inside the bucket was a hidden platform made from a different material than the copper platings surrounding the bucket. I extended my hand, trying to reach into the bucket and touch the ray of light. The platform reacted to my touch. Finally, something is happening! The light exploded, surrounding - for less than a second - the entire area with the white light. Did I do something bad? Turns out, I did do something, but I wasn¡¯t really sure on the good or badness of it. The blue robed craftsman is no longer occupied with tempering the bucket, instead I now see him stuffing pieces of metal into the bucket. He looks concerned as if hiding a secret that shouldn¡¯t be known by anyone. The craftsman turned to me. ¡°Wait, you¨C you see me?¡± I said. The craftsman did not respond. ¡°Man, say something!¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you crafting a bucket for days now! And you didn¡¯t say anything at¨C¡± ¡°Filthy vagrants!¡± The craftsman interjected. ¡°You¡¯ll have to go through me to get my family¡¯s savings!¡± He pulled out a sword from within his blue robe. The craftsman swung the sword in my direction, causing me to flinch. ¡°W-wait, what?!¡± I said. The sword phased through me, parried by another sword which came from behind me. I bounced away, turning to the direction of the craftsman¡¯s sword. I saw the person parrying the craftsman¡¯s attack, standing fully armored to the brim with what appears to be rusted and somewhat-torn medieval armor. Their head is covered with a medieval knight¡¯s bascinet. Behind them, there were a dozen more people wearing the same style of armors, each brandishing a different kind of weapon from swords, pikes, bows, and spears. All seem to be hostile towards the craftsman. ¡°Give us the bucket.¡± The person in front said. ¡°We know this looks like we¡¯re threatening you, but trust me, we just want to uphold justice¡­ with the gold you have, good sir.¡± Their voice seemed to be deep, although I was unsure if it was because of the helmet or otherwise. The craftsman wiped away their sweat. His veins bulge across his forehead accompanied by a sarcastic grin, showing his yellow teeth. ¡°You mo¨Crons!¡± The craftsman said. ¡°Do you not have any idea who I am? I am the direct descendant of the High-Ranked Groundbreaking Hammerjaw! I am Balico¨C¡± An arrow strikes the craftsman at the chest. The craftsman staggered back at the attack, but the arrow did not seem to hurt him at all. ¡°We know.¡± The man in armor said. The person in armor charged at the craftsman, followed by the rest of their posse of knights or whatever they are. ¡°Wow, he¡¯s fucked.¡± I thought out loud. The craftsman pulled out the arrow from his chest. While holding the bucket, he stood firm. Taking a stance that you would see in martial arts movies. His hands put in both of his sides. Wait, is he really going to take them on? With his fists? Then, his eyes shone with yellow light. ¡°Hammerjaw¡¯s Law!¡± The craftsman said. ¡°Law No. 10, Right to Crack the Earth!¡± The light got so bright, I had to look away. I felt the surroundings vibrate, tickling me. However, when I looked back at the scene, there was nothing left. Not the craftsman nor the armed knights. Only the bucket. I saw another ray of light from within the bucket. The moment I pressed it, however, the bucket vanished. ¡°Holy¡­¡± I said. What was that? Was that magic? This world have magic or whatever that Law thing was? I mean, I guess it makes sense seeing how I saw a roach-god, then wherever I am now. The reincarnation must be part of a grand magic of this world as well. That craftsman, though, must''ve been a really strong person to be that confident in facing that many people. I¡¯m sure he wrecked those people with that power seeing how everyone disappeared. After several seconds, it reappeared accompanied by someone, trying to nail it down into the ground. His face was wincing as if he was in pain whilst covering his nose with a wooden clamp. ¡°Wait, he seems familiar.¡± I said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you¡­ Frederick, the barkeep?¡± Of course, he did not respond. However, I got closer so I can observe his actions more deeply. As I got closer, I heard him talking to himself. ¡°DAMN, THIS SHIT STINKS!¡± Frederick said. ¡°I SHOULD¡¯A BOUGHT A NEW BUCKET FROM AN ACTUAL COOPER, ¡®NSTEAD OF USING A RANDOM ONE I FOUND LIKE THIS, BUT WHATEVER.¡± I got it. I am in the toilet of Frederick¡¯s inn. I guess this is how the bucket ended up in the toilet. Frederick found it somewhere after the bucket was left alone near the spot of the fight between the craftsman ¨C or the cooper is the appropriate term perhaps ¨C and the group. I¡¯m still not exactly sure where the blue robed cooper crafted the bucket originally since the void doesn¡¯t tell much in terms of physical locations. After several minutes, Frederick seemed to have finished. He made a hole in the bucket, but he seemed to have missed the items that were put in there by the cooper. The bucket had been nailed to the ground, the same way I had found it the first time I entered the toilet. ¡°Huh, that means the gold ¨C or treasure ¨C and everything that the craftsman put is still there!¡± I thought outloud. ¡°I didn¡¯t see Frederick do anything besides poke a hole and nail it to the ground. Maybe I could give a look at the treasures that the group of people were looking for!¡± I hurried to the bucket, wanting to check on the treasures. However, I hadn¡¯t realized the implications of this action given the unknown amount of time that has passed since the bucket was being fought over between the group of knights and the blue-robed cooper. What was originally a pristine bucket for hauling water has become nothing more than an impromptu toilet. I should¡¯ve expected it based on Frederick¡¯s reaction. ¡°Damn, it really is just a place to shit.¡± I said. No smell emitted from the miniscule chunks of excrement. I tried reaching into the bucket, only to phase through the object. ¡°Oh, right.¡± I said. ¡°Then, now what?¡± I pulled back my arm. It was just now me and the bucket, alone in the void. I searched for another ray of light just like before, but I didn¡¯t find any. I went back to sit to wait until something happened. Hours must have passed before someone appeared and used the bucket to dump their poop into the bucket and flushing it with an invisible stream of water. I can¡¯t remember how many times I fell asleep, then woken up to the sound of someone doing their best to get their poop out into the bucket. Some had mild cases of diarrhea. Some were too drunk to wipe their ass, thus leaving fragments of greasy slick, slimy ooze of varying colors on the floor. Some just pissed into the bucket. There was one case when someone puked out their insides into the bucket, then took a shit. Oh, well. People are people. *** It must¡¯ve been days, maybe two or three, when I thought to myself whilst I was laying down on the void floor. ¡°Is there no way of speeding things up?¡± I said. It was then everything stopped, including the drunk person taking a shit in front of me. I widened my eyes. A forward and backward button like a video player popped up. I laughed, then farted. Chapter 5: Destiny ¡°DAMN, THIS SHIT STINKS!¡± Frederick said. ¡°I SHOULD¡¯A BOUGHT A NEW BUCKET FROM AN ACTUAL COOPER, ¡®NSTEAD OF USING A RANDOM ONE I FOUND LIKE THIS, BUT WHATEVER.¡± After pressing the back button, Frederick was once back in his previous spot, nailing down the bucket to the ground. I should¡¯ve known that I didn¡¯t have to sit through the entirety of this bucket¡¯s history. Perhaps my mind has some sort of internal mechanism that triggers the powers¡¯ features? I will have to figure this out as soon as possible. A limitation that I now know is - although I can go backward and forward in time - I still have to stick with certain ¡°checkpoints¡± that I¡¯ve made in the void. If I have already touched the ray of light that appears from an object, that seems to be the indication of a checkpoint, thus I cannot return to a moment in time before I perform such an action. ¡°The ray of light must represent some kind of significance in time, then. If not a checkpoint, maybe it¡¯s the powers¡¯ way to tell me that there¡¯s nothing else worth seeing ¨C for one reason or another.¡± I said. ¡°Although, it doesn¡¯t explain why I have to see days of people shitting and puking right now¡­¡± I sighed, then I navigated to all the buttons available to me through the holographic projection of the interface. There were specifically five different buttons. Starting from the left-most side, it was an arrow with two notches, followed by a similar button but with only one notch. I think these are essentially the same buttons, just a different pace in reversing time. The right-most side had similar buttons, but was just headed to a different direction, probably to fast forward to the future. In the middle, however, were a button resembling the pause button in most modern video players. With that, I pressed the fast forward button. I saw the varieties of individuals which I had already seen before. The pukers, the shitters, and the drunkards who are a little bit of both. I forwarded and forwarded like I was watching Youtube at two or three times the speed. I made sure I paid close attention to the details of the bucket and the people. Maybe there¡¯s another ray of light that I¡¯m missing. I don¡¯t know how much has passed while fast forwarding all the people and their activities with the bucket. However, I eventually reached a point where I saw a face I recognized. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s me.¡± I said. ¡°I assume the replay would stop after I talked to the person outside the door.¡± I kept pressing the fast forward button. But the replay never stopped. In fact, I saw something I had never done. I saw my own face. I witnessed myself ¨C or to minimize confusion, who I will be referring to as Replay Logan accompanied by his handsome face ¨C laughing. First, I mumbled something. Then my mouth stretched wide like a maniac trying his best to maintain sanity. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Replay Logan then looked in my direction. ¡°You¡¯ll see, past-me.¡± I said. He moved to the bucket before praying away the inside wooden coverings and copper platings of the bucket¡¯s insides, revealing the hidden compartment which had been the blue-robed craftsman¡¯s stash for his family savings. ¡°Huh, this is¡­ the future?¡± I thought out loud. ¡°I did¨Cwill do this?¡± Replay Logan calculated what seems to be a pile of coins from the bucket, still covered in some not-so-mysterious mix of dark brown sludge. Afterwards, he looked around the room before showing a concerned expression and running out of the room, knocking the bucket to the floor, leaving it to ruin. After a few more minutes of pressing the button, Frederick reappeared, in the same crouching position as before and saying the same statements as before whilst nailing down the bucket. ¡°DAMN, THIS¨C¡± Time loops! That must be why I just sat for days while seeing the blue-robed cooper craft the bucket. It was because he wasn¡¯t doing that for days at all. I misunderstood all along because it was looping over and over until I noticed the ray of light. ¡°But if that¡¯s the case, why am I still here? I didn¡¯t see any ray of light in this replay.¡± I thought to myself. I skimmed the ¡°footage¡± more than ten times, doing my best to be thorough so as not to miss any single detail. It took me more than six hours of loops, going backwards and forwards, and examining everything, but nothing. There is no ray of light. What do I do now? I¡¯m stuck in my own powers? That seems unlikely. ¡°Hm, if earlier the skip button appeared because I thought about speeding things up, what happens if I invoke a desire to stop the replays?¡± I said. I blinked, and I was now in the toilet again. It was just as the replay showed. ¡°Oh, he¨C I was right.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m stupid.¡± *** I had just finished prying open the hidden compartment of the bucket. The replay was right ¨C as expected. There was a beautiful, yet chaotic, sight within the bucket. Some shimmering gold, a sprinkle of blood red diamonds, and some funny looking metal ingots of unknown make and model. In all honesty, they didn¡¯t look real until I touched them. I counted the treasure one by one. I didn¡¯t know the value of these items, but I was sure that they would be valuable. They turned out to be a literal handful, managing to fit both of my hands when joined together in a praying-like style. The blue-robed cooper from the replay did say that this was his family¡¯s savings. ¡°Is inflation a thing here?¡± I mumbled to myself. ¡°Probably not?¡± I pocketed the treasure into a random pocket, causing my right belly to look somewhat saggy. Now, based on the replay, I should run outside. But, why though? I feel like I should take my time first. That was a lot to take in, with my time powers and all. It¡¯s like something out of a fantasy novel, especially witnessing the blue-robed Cooper use the ¡°Law of Jammerhaw!¡± or something of that sort. However, before I could compose myself and try to rationalize my situation, a loud bang manifested itself from outside the door in the main room of the inn. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s why.¡± I mumbled to myself. There were grunts from beyond the door. It sounded like Frederick and a guest shouting at each other. I ran. Fulfilling my destiny. Chapter 6: The Shriek Thwack! The sound permeated through every millimeter of the inn. It came from the slap. As I had exited the toilet, I saw and heard that Frederick was shouting at a customer before he was promptly slapped. A small crowd of onlookers had gathered surrounding Frederick and the customer. I joined them as a spectator. The customer looked important. His round and short figure was surprising considering how hard that slap turned out to be. Just appearance alone was enough to tell that they came from different worlds. Frederick, an average person from the peasant class who boasted through his giant size. The customer, a wealthy and most-likely powerful person with real political sway. The latter wore a double-gilded tunic with an additional brown vest embroidered with an unknown black fur ornament across the neckline. A most noticeable detail, however, was his jeweled ring which had a sigil of a smiling clown face. My gut feeling told me that Frederick might have messed with the wrong person. Despite this, Frederick still stood almost two times as tall as the wealthy man. He looked unamused at the slap. In fact, he had not flinched at all at the slap, just staying still whilst piercing the man with a stare. ¡°You¡¯s a liar.¡± Frederick said. ¡°You drink no bad ale. It¡¯s same ale as everyone drinks.¡± A high-pitched voice came out of the wealthy man. His face looked flushed. ¡°Well, if I - good sir - am indeed a liar as you have every right to claim just as every barkeep in the Gambit District possesses, I am sure you are also not going to hold back in discharging me from this establishment, no?¡± The wealthy man said. ¡°What¡¯re you trying to do here?¡± Frederick said. ¡°You wanna fight?¡± Two black-masked, heavily-robed people manifested out of thin air right next to the man. One had long hair, extending beyond their visible neckline and tucked into the robe, while the other had spiky black hair. ¡°Another magic?¡± I thought out loud. ¡°They must be bodyguards. It¡¯s like they teleported the moment Frederick said ¡®fight¡¯.¡± Frederick¡¯s eyes widened. He looked annoyed and disgusted at the same time. ¡°Shadows.¡± Frederick said. ¡°Aren¡¯t yous¡¯ two supposed to be upholding the law? Protecting me¡¯s and the other lil guys ¡®round here? Not helping this fucktwat of a drunk startin¡¯ fights? This is my private property, ya know!¡± The two black-robed people looked around, especially at the crowd. The crowd around me whispered things. One random person even came to me to whisper as well. ¡°We all should get out of here¡­ My husband accidentally tripped over a Shadow a good few months ago, and both his feet were boiled! They told me h¡¯was guilty of public inconvenienc-ing or something cause his feet turned red!¡± I nodded just to be polite. However, simultaneously, the two people said something to Frederick. I was too far to actually hear them, so I stepped closer to try and figure out what was being said. The spiky-haired person, who was called a Shadow by Frederick, stepped closer to him, putting the wealthy customer behind with the long-haired Shadow. There were still a massive size difference, Frederick clearly being the beast out of them, yet the Shadow carried a darker aura. ¡°¨Ctouch Sir Midas, or leave as much as the wrong air around his presence, and I will ensure your two peasantry hands will be nothing but bone and flesh pulp, only fit to be eaten by the dampest and mustiest rats of your own bar as dirty jagged lumps of soup mixed with¡­ some trace amounts of YOUR. BAD. ALE.¡± said the spiky-haired Shadow. This is not good for anyone, especially me. I can¡¯t¨C or I don¡¯t want to be killed as soon as I just reincarnate into this world, even if I have the time powers. What if I step forward, read the future, and I just see myself being decapitated by these Shadows?This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Wait, hold that thought. If I can read the past-present-future of an object, shouldn¡¯t it work on myself? Can I see my own future? It is a shame because Frederick so far has been the only person to recognize me in this world, so I¡¯ll be losing a valuable point of information regarding my identity here by leaving. Regardless, I¡¯ll have to get out of this place before it turns into a bloodbath. I saw that some customers had already taken the initiative by rushing to the front door. Similarly, I made no reservations to stay put, leaving Frederick and the spiky-haired Shadow alone to settle their differences ¨C hopefully in a more peace-able way. I dashed to the front door, knocking over some chairs and tables along the way. The wealthy customer, who was called Sir Midas by the spiky-haired Shadow, noticed me. ¡°Lana!¡± Sir Midas shouted. He pointed to the direction of the front door, where I was headed, and in an instant, the long-haired Shadow seemed to have teleported to block the front door. None of the people from the crowd were able to leave, including myself. None of us were brave enough to push through. A few of the people dropped to the ground, begging for mercy. However, the short-haired Shadow named Lana stared at me instead, someone who was located relatively far behind the others. I gulped my saliva. From behind me, Sir Midas grinned and chuckled at the sight. Frederick remained silent at the situation, unchanging in his stare, although his overall expression tells a different story. He frowned, his breathing faintly heard. He must have been breathing hard and slow. Lana turned back, facing the door. She closed her eyes and ¨C taking a few seconds ¨C chanted. I could barely make out her words. ¡°Book of Universal Justices,¡± She said. ¡°Chapter 23, Passage: Then Jagonas stood on top of the porch. Relief to those whose doors have been eternally locked away under His mandate.¡± The wooden door vibrated. Violently. It shook the entirety of the building before growing a strange black metal, covering all gaps which had previously characterized the appearance of the front door. All gaps were covered by this material until the door ¨C all of its locks and possible gaps ¨C were closed off. It looked like the door had transformed into being a part of the wall. All windows of the inn had also been shut off with the black material, leaving no chance for escape through this route. Lana grabbed the handle to try and open the door, but nothing happened. It was then she turned back to the rest of us, specifically me. ¡°Good job, Lana!¡± Sir Midas shouted from across the room. ¡°Now, time to get back to you, barkeep. Come back here, Lana. Let¡¯s finish this cock-sure of a peasant.¡± Lana did not move. She still stared at me. I looked at the other customers who were too busy panicking to notice this behavior by Lana towards me. ¡°Lana?¡± Midas said. To be fair, I didn¡¯t think I could even escape given the chance. This whole situation seemed fucked from the get-go by just me sticking around to spectate the situation. I mean, what else is the worst that can happen to me? Death? Again? Plus, I could perhaps try to find a way to use my powers to my advantage in situations like this. After a little while of awkward standoff-ing, coupled with the fact that Lana still stared at me without blinking, I gathered enough courage to speak up. ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re La¨CLana, was it?¡± I said while having raised my hands with palms facing towards her. No response from her. Frederick, Sir Midas, and the short-haired Shadow all directed their gaze at me. They seem taken aback. ¡°Let us leave.¡± I said. ¡°We just want to go home, you know? We have nothing to do with this, and we didn¡¯t see a thing. I promise¨C¡± ¡°You¡¯re not scared¡­?¡± She said. ¡°I-I mean, I am. We all are, I¡¯m sure.¡± I said. ¡°But, I feel like there¡¯s no reason to be. Well, personally, I¡¯ve been through worse than¡­ whatever this is with you two people, no offense.¡± Lana¡¯s eyebrows arched up. ¡°P-people?!¡± She shouted. Lana lost her composure. Her stance wavered. The crowd gasped. ¡°He sees us!¡± The short-haired Shadow said to Lana, rushing to my direction. ¡°Recast your Shadow, Lana!¡± What in the Roach-God¡¯s name did I do now? Lana mumbled something while I directed my focus at the short-haired Shadow. He was dashing fast in my direction. One of his hands had grabbed a knife made out of an unknown deep-blue metal. It looked sharp. Sharp enough to end me the more I saw it. His speed, coupled with Lana¡¯s seemingly instant teleportation. I have nowhere else to go. I can¡¯t use my powers fast enough without touching something. I closed my eyes. I can already feel blood pouring out. Then a loud, guttural shriek.