The sun had fully set, casting the world into an eerie twilight.
Juan's eyes snapped open, his senses assaulted by the unfamiliar sounds of ramming water around him.
As he pushed himself up, a wave of nausea washed over him. His head throbbed, and the world seemed to spin.
Blinking away the fog, he focused on the setting sun, its golden rays casting a glow across the shoreline.
Where? Am. I.
Juan noticed an unfamiliar stone axe in his hand, his fingers trembling as he tried to make sense of how it had ended up there. His school uniform, rumpled and damp with sea spray, clung to his frame, a stark contrast to the primitive weapon in his hand.
Panic rose in his chest as he scanned the deserted shoreline, the crashing waves and swaying palms serving as the only witnesses to his bizarre predicament. His mind raced, grasping at the fragmented memories that flickered through his consciousness like a damaged film reel.
The last thing he recalled was the blinding light in the classroom, the panicked shouts of his classmates, and then... nothing.
Juan's heart pounded as he struggled to piece together what had happened, his gaze darting from the unfamiliar landscape to the crude tool in his hand.
Swallowing hard, he forced himself to take a steadying breath, willing his racing thoughts to slow.
Think, Juan, think.
He had to focus, to make sense of this surreal situation.
Juan rose on unsteady legs, gripping the axe tighter as his eyes scanned the horizon for any sign of familiarity, any clue that might lead him to an answer.
Then, a realization dawned on him—was he truly still himself?
Juan hurried towards the small puddle in the sand, his heart pounding as he dropped to his knees beside it.
Peering into the still water, he caught a glimpse of his own reflection - a young man with dark, disheveled hair, pale skin, and brown eyes framed by a pair of slightly crooked glasses.
Raising a trembling hand, Juan tentatively touched the surface of the water, watching the ripples distort his image.
It's still me…
Damn it, I knew watching all those isekai anime would mess up my head. he thought, his breath catching in his throat. The realization that he was, in fact, still himself seemed to ground him, if only for a moment.
Straightening his glasses, Juan started tidying himself, brushing off the sand and seaweed that clung to his uniform.
As he straightened his clothes, his attention was drawn to a small book hanging at his right waist, secured by a chain.
Intrigued, Juan examined the item, his fingers followed the chain. To his astonishment, the chain vanished just before reaching his skin, as if attached indirectly on him without any visible link.
The turmoil in his mind was overwhelming. Was this all just a dream?
Wincing, he slapped himself, it hurts.
Confusion overwhelmed Juan as he flipped the book open to its middle pages. An entry caught his eye: "Day 4 - I met Diana and agreed to become teammates soulmates." Skimming further, he read, "She's cute, to be honest... Day 8 - Do not go to any Ruins." His mind raced. 'A Diary?'
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Juan's eyes narrowed as he flipped through the strange book, tracing the cramped entries. The sloppy handwriting seemed to blur across the pages. A sharp pain shot through his temples, causing him to wince and close the book. He pressed his palms to his forehead, willing the throbbing to subside.
As the last ember of daylight faded, Juan knew he had no choice but to stop skimming the Book. With a deep breath, he took his first tentative steps, the crunch of his shoes against the coarse sand the only sound breaking the eerie silence.
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Gripping the unfamiliar weight of a stone axe in his hand, Juan scanned the area, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. The lush vegetation surrounding him was both beautiful and ominous, a stark contrast to the shoreline he had awoken on. There must be a road… or someone else out here, just as lost as I am.
After what felt like an eternity of walking through the vegetation, a sudden, piercing screech from the nearby undergrowth caused him to flinch, his grip tightening on the stone axe.
Cautiously, Juan's gaze landed on a peculiar creature that seemed to defy the laws of nature. Its form was liquid-like, shifting and morphing before his eyes in a mesmerizing yet unsettling display. He had never seen anything like it, and the sight sent a chill down his spine.
A cold chill gripped Juan as the creature’s face twisted into something familiar, one of his classmate. "Juan…" it hissed, its voice disturbingly familiar. The creature then shifted again, morphing into the shape of a dog, its jaws gaping wide as it lunged toward him.
Panic coursed through Juan, and he instinctively swung the stone axe, desperate to fend off the attack. The weapon connected with the creature's form, but it failed to make an impact, and then a slimy sensation enveloped his whole head.
Struggling to breathe, Juan flailed, inadvertently dropping his axe and frantically clawing at his own head, desperate to escape the creature's grip. The agony was searing. With a final, desperate strike, the creature's hold on him finally broke, and Juan collapsed onto the sand, his lungs heaving for breath as his frame shook with unease.
The creature didn’t flinch. Gritting his teeth, he reached down and grabbed the stone axe, its weight a steadying force in his trembling hands.
With a renewed sense of determination, Juan surged forward, swinging the crude weapon with all his might. The axe struck the creature's shifting form, and to his surprise, it seemed to recoil. Emboldened, Juan pressed his attack, raining down blow after blow, his breaths coming in ragged gasps.
The creature's liquid-like body splattered and oozed with each impact, until finally, it began to melt away, collapsing into a puddle at Juan's feet. Amidst the remains, a blue orb and a torn piece of paper caught his eye. Loot drop?
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Juan knelt down, his eyes narrowing as he examined the strange objects. The orb pulsed with an otherworldly blue light, while the torn paper appeared to be some kind of familiar. Ah, it looks just like the book page on my hip—only this one’s got tattered edges and stains.
Juan stared at the tattered page, his brow furrowed in frustration. The fading light made it impossible to make out the faint scribbles on the paper. He brought the page closer, squinting his eyes, but the words remained a mystery.
"Ugh," he muttered, his grip tightening around the crude stone axe. The weight of the weapon felt reassuring in his hand, a tangible reminder that he was still in this bizarre reality.
Am I really still on Earth? he wondered, his mind racing.
The appearance of the strange, shapeshifting creature had shattered any illusions he might have had about this being a simple dream or hallucination.
No, this is too real. Too damn real.
Juan's eyes fell to the glowing blue orb that rested on the ground. He reached out, his fingers brushing against its pulsing surface.
As he was about to store both the orb and the torn page in his pant's right pocket, the items touched the mysterious book dangling at his waist. Suddenly, the book flashed, and the orb and page were absorbed into it, vanishing from sight.
Juan stared in bewilderment, his hand hovering where the objects had just been. His brow furrowing as he tried to process what had just occurred.
I better stop thinking. Calm down. Juan trying to steady his nerves. It seems the answer for my current situation is in this book.
I need a safe place... Juan looked up, his gaze settling on the towering trees that loomed above him. Without hesitation, he holstered the stone axe and approached the nearest tree, searching for sturdy branches to climb.
Carefully, he made his way up, the rough bark biting into his palms as he pulled himself higher. Once he reached a suitable height, Juan settled onto a thick branch, his eyes scanning the horizon.
The clouds began to part, and the moonlight spilled through, casting a light over the landscape.
Juan opened the book again, his fingers skimming the faint text on the pages. Perhaps the answers he sought lay within these pages. He settled in, resolved to unravel the mystery before him. As he turned to the very first page, he noticed a passage written in a deep crimson hue.
Remember Death.