Episode 2

I started walking in a random direction. After all, I had no idea where I was supposed to go, so it was as good a direction as any other, logically.

When that bastard dropped me here, I thought I was alone, I didn't see anything or anyone.

That didn't last.

There was another creature in the meadow. An animal that walked on all fours, very hairy and with two huge horns. Big enough to go through me like one of those meat skewers. Whatever. The thing is, it didn't look good.

My body was not only back to how it was when I was a runt.

It was also semi-transparent like a fucking ghost. Nothing more natural in the world, since I was dead. Now, it could be that those horns would go through me like it was nothing, but it could also be that things wouldn't work that way and I wasn't about to put it to the test. As much as a part of me, the cooler, more rational part of me was telling me that I could hardly be any deader than I already was.

In short. I turned and ran.

It wasn't a great idea, as the big little bugger ran after me. Smelling fear. Whatever it was called, it was fast, or maybe I just had the paranoid feeling that it was this close to literally nipping at my heels.

Even as a thirty-four-year-old guy with a history of, uh, problematic medications, I ran faster. Hard not to. My legs were so short now.

But the critter didn't get me.

No, no, thank goodness.

It came close, but I saw a carriage coming through and changed direction hoping for a helping hand. A ghost child would have to be more sympathetic than scary, wouldn't it? Especially in a world where things like that ran rampant.

At least that's what I thought.

In any case. The creature nearly crashed into the carriage, but in the blink of an eye its head flew off. Describing circles like many of the guys I had thrown down the stairs. There was blood everywhere and I more or less got the answer to my question from earlier when I saw that not a drop splattered on me.

Yeah, just more or less.

I was about to thank those idiots, but at that moment....

“What's that?”

They must have been the guards of some important person. I never liked rich bastards looking down on everyone. Anyway, who did?

The same shit as my world, it seemed, because both worlds were full of people.

“What the hell is that?”

“There wouldn't happen to be a soul market out here or something, huh?” I asked that because the first thing that popped into my head, naturally, was that someone had stolen my soul to get rich off of it.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

That's the thing about being a businessman.

I realized that my body had become younger, but not my voice. It sounded strange as hell, but well, it wasn't the strangest thing about all this, not by a long shot.

I didn't expect to hit the nail on the head the first time, just that they would be more useful than Death. In retrospect, I shouldn't have started with soul trafficking. A hello would have been nice.

The guards looked at each other, with a mixture of disgust and horror on their faces. Then...

“Get him.”

The order was given.

“Oh, great.”

A guard lunged for me. Practically flying over the grass, without touching it. Saw his hand reach for the pommel of a sword.

And that was the last thing I saw. Not in the strictest sense of the word, clearly.

It's just that I didn't even realize the attack had reached me until I saw the sword come out of my left shoulder. Coming out, nothing else, no blood, no pain. One hundred percent confirmed. I was some kind of ghost. No soul, though right now I was, uh, all spirit. How did that work? No fucking idea.

“We have to defend the princess!”

“Look, I don't give a shit about your goddamn princess, just listen to me for a moment.”

Then a spear passed cleanly through my chest. This time I did see an attack coming. But since it was already confirmed that they couldn't hurt me, there wasn't even a twinge of irrational fear.

It was more irritating than anything else. I had no time to waste on this. My eternity was at stake, after all. Every passing second should feel like I was being slowly crushed. A torture with only one final destination. But I wasn't feeling much of anything, right now.

I could think about that later. Right now... It was only worth focusing on what was in front of me. Just because they couldn't hurt me didn't mean they couldn't be a problem.

“Can I go now? This is a little embarrassing, man.”

I touched the spear. I was able to do it, it didn't require anything special. Focus or some magic words. No, I just touched it. And I ripped it off. If you could call it that, since there was nothing there, of course.

“It doesn't hurt, but... god what a weird fucking feeling. I have a week to save my immortal soul. Hey, if you help me, I won't kill you?”

They could not touch me. But if I couldn't either, then how did Death expect me to fix the little issue of my soul? I'd have to bust a cap in someone's ass at some point. Anyway. That's why I was able to launch straight into the threats.

The silence was broken by the sound of a door opening.

“Princess, don't...”

Oh right. She, who had remained inside the carriage. Well, until now. I didn't get to see her. Not at the time, anyway.

“On the ground!”

The warning, unfortunately, was a little late. And the danger was something none of them had expected. The headless carcass of that animal suddenly exploded. As a direct result of dozens of tentacles emerging from it.

Blood and guts spilled out.

From the animal, but not only.

Those who had not been lucky enough to be able to follow the warning in time ended up as I had thought I would end up when that animal went after my ass. Pierced.

“Good thing I have an empty stomach... or not at all, rather. Holy mother of God.”

I whistled, impressed. Had it always been able to do that? In that case the thing had picked a good time to interrupt the negotiations. It had done me a favor, actually.

The tangle of wriggling tentacles even threw the carriage, knocking it aside.

I heard a scream. It must have been the little princess, who hadn't been able to get out the door. As I'd said, I didn't give a shit, but that scream (though maybe only because of the fear she must have had, I thought) sounded pretty young to me.

Fuck man, why do I have a soft spot for kids?

That's what I thought as I threw myself on top of the thing. I'd lose some time, but gaining the favor of a princess should come in handy.... Yes, that was good enough justification for me.

“For the record, that wasn't my fault!” That was the last thing that passed my lips before plunging the spear into the middle of that tangle of tentacles. I doubt she gave a shit right now, if she had heard me at all, but I had to make things clear.

Episode 2: FIN