When I opened my eyes I could not see anything but myself. By the Gods! I was burning and all I could do was feel it. Ah, how it hurt. It hurt so much. A true understatement.

Did you ever imagine yourself dying? Did you imagine how you would die? How would you despair? Would you go down fighting? Fall for protecting the innocent or fighting corruption? Get isekai'd by the infamous truck-kun Or simply jump off the building or hang off a poor unfortunate fan.

Whatever the method. I bet no one imagines themselves burning to their deaths. Fucking Hell! It hurts. If my flesh wasn't melting I would complain about my hair smoking in flames. I spent so much money on my last salon visit.

The fuck how can I think and burn at the same time? Why would my consciousness not fade and why can't I see anything that's not the yellow-orange and strange black flames burning my expensive hair care!?!? I was so damn angry and my fucking god did I mention it hurt?

I screamed but my vocal cords were busy meshing with my collarbones. Finally, they get to know their friendly supportive neighbors.

I tried taking a step but my knees gave way and the floor hit my jaw which then dislocated with a snap. I felt my body slowly turn to smoke and ash. The incessant strange flames consumed the rest of me until my eye sockets started to disappear and still I clung to some form of consciousness except now that my body was probably gone, the pain thankfully stopped.

Strangely I felt calm now. If it was my usual self. I would be hyperventilating bothering a poor stranger's shoulder. No one told me death is equivalent to me thinking with my eyes closed and the lack of usual anxiety and existential dread accompanying it. Hmm Almost like mediation isn't it? Just very ominously inhuma-

Before I could finish the thought I felt my literal soul rip out from existence and violently being thrashed against a very hard very impenetrable wall. It would not break. I don't know how but I knew it in the weird way I know things.

But whatever entity thought it fun to play catchball with a recently deceased human soul, was nothing if not persistent. I was thrashed again and again and again. I don't know how many times.

My soul cracked. My memories faded. Parts of me missing in places that no longer existed. I felt so very tired. This made burning alive look like child's play. I prayed to whoever might be listening ‘Please oh please stop it’

It didn't stop.

My sanity left me. I was thrashed against that hard wall for many countless times. All of my emotions sadness, happiness, fear, kindness, parts that made me myself left with each hard crack against the many wounds inflicted on my soul.

All that remained of me was pain. That begrudgingly hateful part of me that made me aware, made me alive. When I was a bundled essence of pain condensed to infinity, 'it' thrashed me again like you would a particularly dirty towel against the rock to relieve it of the dirt.

The wall cracked and finally. Finally, I was let through.

**…**

I felt my awareness go in and out of many dreams and eternities. Between the wakefulness and blissful oblivion of sleep. I lingered, between many stories and characters I played parts in. The stories where I was the hero and the endings where I was the villain all went by in a whoosh. I no longer remembered.

I was lying face down in some horrible-smelling godforsaken place. The fuck. I tried to open my eyes but they were too heavy. By the shit-eating dragons.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Argh My head felt like an exploded watermelon.

After what felt like an eternity of trying my body finally moved albeit painfully slowly. My eyes met an unfamiliar ceiling of rough stone crisscrossed with glowing veins of blue mineral. The acrid smell of Sulphur tickled my nose and cold dread coiled in my gut.

I was in a cavern of some sort in my same loose shirt, low-waist pants, and an overcoat with my shoes intact which was a relief because it was bloody freezing! What is this secret underground facility?

Was I kidnapped?

Then the memory hit me with cold water. The red, the pain, the charred skin, and the melting bones. I was dead and I was here. I was a very neutral person in my life, even politically. So I am sure it is not heaven or hell.

“Hello?” I tried

“HELLO!!” I tried a little louder.

The voice echoed back in the long cavernous corridor and I cringed. Maybe I should put more emotion into it. No one replies to deadpan introverts.

I started walking in a random direction. Maybe I will meet someone on the way. The blue veins jutting out smelled funny as rotting vegetables would. The whole place felt weird. The air was thick, not humid but there was a pressure you can’t exactly put a finger on.

Stalactites ran down high on the ceiling with a steady drop of water. Pale blue light shimmered everywhere. If it wasn’t for the eerie feeling I got I would even think it looked ethereal. I put a hand on the wall and it came away wet. The walls were oozing water. Eww.

I walked and walked and walked.

“Helloooooooooooo anyoneeeeeee”

one step

“mooooooooooooooooo” Moowing should work

Two step

“blahblahblahblahblah” haha what a weird deserted cave if I walk naked would someone object?

Three step

The whole place rumbled and bits and pieces of stone and dust chipped away.

Huh Holy shit what was that? I looked around in confusion. An earthquake? Did I tempt fate with my mockery?

I am sorry all the gods and everyone I am but a coward. Spare me.

Everything shook again.

All my muscles clenched and my heart hammered away wildly in my chest.

It increased in intensity. Suddenly it felt like a large crowd was running in this direction with heavy footsteps.

Hundreds of black dots were sprinting toward me at an impressive speed. The cave shook under their combined might.

So I am not alone. This is not Hell and there are people here. Would it be a bad idea to ask for directions?

I gazed in the distance at the mob growing in size. Except it wasn’t a mob not even a cattle stampede in a weird blue cave. Those looked like the Bulls running on two feet. With enormous horns and mighty muscles. Their nostrils flared with smoke and their eyes burned molten red.

Nightmare this is a nightmare. I turned my head and started running with all the strength of a shut-in nerd. Before my mind could catch up with my body I risked a glance back and I grossly underestimated their size, they were fucking giants, each one holding a mace on their shoulder, and they very angry and very violent.

I stopped looking and focused my life, blood and energy in running as fast as I could.

oh Boy this is bad. I tripped and fell rolling over twice, my momentum helped me get back up again and continue running. The sound of hooves hitting stone increased in volume and the sinking feeling at the pit of my stomach doubled. I felt wetness slide down my left knee. I was hurt, but it wasn't the time.

The cavern seemed endless and kept getting narrower. I focused single mindedly putting one step in front of another. It might have been minutes, might have been hours. Couldn't have been hours I have no stamina Ha!

But I could hear the bulls huffing now, they were so damn close. Something flew past my ear with a whistling noise.

Holy shit I am going to be murdered to death in cold blood by angry demon bulls. Finally, the cavern opened up into a bright light and I jumped into the narrow opening. Something hit my left shoulder, hard and I felt more than heard the cracks.

Shit

With the floor gone from underneath my feet for a moment or two suspended in the air I felt almost peaceful. All my worries fell away.

I dropped down.

The fall was short. I hit a slope and rolled over dirt and debris with every spiked stone putting holes in my clothes and cutting me at a hundred places as I rolled my way down.

A bloody tree broke my momentum and with a thud I stopped against my stomach and subsequently emptied the content of my already empty gut with blood and bile.

This is the worst day after of my life. worst day of my second life. afterlife? fuck it.

I heaved and groaned in pain lying flat on dirt.

The sky was blue, the birds chirped and two suns shone their generous light on the planet and everything in my body hurt. I did a double take, two suns? Are you bloody kidding me?