{The ‘immortal master’ my mom is friends with calculated I would have bad luck today…
Immortality is a myth.
I know. It’s just a fancy title.
Then why waste brain cells thinking about it? We don’t have that many to start with, so we should save the energy for more important issues.
…Is this what they call a self-roast?
Well, you are technically talking to yourself.}
Lucas raises the volume on his headphones, trying his best to drown out the unhelpful inputs from his inner voice. His distant gaze refocuses on the amber-raised palm across the crosswalk. It is taking forever to morph into the white stick figure.
Feeling a little itch in his throat, he rummages around in his backpack for the water bottle he always packed. Where is it? Aha! Got it. Much better. His bad luck with timing strikes again as the pedestrian signal switches just as he takes his second sip.
Shoot. In his hurry to screw on the lid, the bottle tumbles out of his hands and rolls backward. Frick. He scrambles after the rolling bottle, pinching a nerve in the process. Mother-trucker! He limps the rest of the way and finally retrieves the bottle. This must be karma for his doubt of the fortune teller earlier.
Straightening his posture, he decided to wait for the next light. He didn’t want to be the a-hole who decided to cross at the last second and force all the cars to wait on him. He limps back to the curve, sighing as he finally stops. Thank goodness, he is on the way back home anyway. He is already dreaming of the ice packs in his freezer.
A screech of tires yanks his attention back to the present. The first thing he notices is the well-dressed little girl throwing a fit in the middle of the road, while the old grandmother seems to be coaxing her to get up. In the next split second, he notices the truck barreling towards them.
The grandmother notices too and struggles to pick up the chubby girl. It was all happening in slow motion as Lucas’ brain went into overdrive.
{I should do something.
And add to the injured count? Even in your best condition, you might not be able to make it.
I know. But-
You won’t. I know you. I am you.}
Lucas stands frozen as his body goes into self-preservation mode. I’m sorry. The truck is moving closer and closer…towards him. The driver had decided to swerve off the road at the last second. Is this the trolley dilemma in real life?
Screams sounded as his world went black.
-
[Hello? Am I still alive?]
Lucas sees nothing, hears nothing, feels nothing. Is this what death feels like? He can slowly feel the anxiety and fear rise from the thought that he would be stuck forever in this isolated vacuum. No, I refuse! Why, me? I did nothing wrong! I couldn’t save them anyway…
Time passed, or he assumed it did. His anger slowly died down after a while. If his inner voice was still here, he would remind him how useless an emotion like anger is in his current situation. I have to do something. But what?
[Please, if anybody or anything is here. Please help me. I am willing to do anything if given a second chance.]
More time passed.
[...I don’t even have to return to my old body or even a complete body. I promise to be grateful and a good person.]
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Even more time passed.
[...I don’t even have to be human. Anything, as long as I can leave this place. Please…I need…]
Is this it? Lucas feels his fear subside as he slowly accepts his fate. It could be worse. Although he didn’t know how it could be worse, he clung to the thought like his sanity depended on it. It did.
What is that? Lucas feels a wave pass through him, a barely noticeable vibration that slowly grows in strength before it stops. The hope that had barely budded within his mind died with it. Lucas mentally scoffs at his foolishness. Did I really think-
His mind halts mid-thought as another wave passes through him, a much stronger one. If the first one could be his delusions, this one is undeniably present. He can’t feel, but he ‘feels’ the momentum building, an invisible charge. Wait, feel?
Boom!
His world rattles as if it was struck by a massive object. He can’t hear, but he ‘heard’ the strike. The unscientific revelations make his mind dizzy. Dizzy from illogical thoughts or relief, he didn’t know. Maybe both.
Boom! Pop!
The sky splits in Lucas’ world. He is finally free from the unending darkness. It is dark and gloomy outside, but the stormy skies never look brighter to Lucas. He can’t see, but he witnesses the world clearly around him. Too clearly.
The trees bend and creak from the storm as lightning dances behind the dark clouds blanketing the sky. However, they didn’t always remain behind in the back.
Crackle--Boom!
The lightning strikes a man, highlighting his silhouette in the sky before disappearing once more. The man appears to slightly falter before regaining his spot, ready for the next strike.
Ready for the next strike? What am I thinking? Is this dude mental?! Lucas would have lost his mind if it hadn’t been strengthened to new levels from his time in complete isolation.
Ok. Focus. I’m dead. Floating guy. Lightning strikes. Translucent blue…bubble? I’ve reincarnated into a magic world. No. Flowing robe. Long dark hair….and now a sword! I’m in a cultivation world. Yes!
Lucas feels something bubble up within him as hope once again buds in his mind. A Cultivation world means there could be someone powerful enough to send him back to his old world. Although he often dreamed about transmigration into different worlds like in the web novels, his thoughts changed once it happened. Perhaps, it also has to do with his unfinished business in his old life.
Boom!
{No you’re just a coward who is afraid of dying in the cruel reality of this world once it is no longer a mere story.
You’re back!
I’m you. Obviously, I would be here once your mind relaxes enough to wonder. Maybe you have gone a little mad from your time in isolation after all.}
Lucas felt too relieved to even be upset at the sarcastic remarks of his inner voice. Its absence had been more unnerving than he realized. He can’t imagine what it is like for people who will never have an internal monologue, Aphantasia, as it reminds him too much of the lonely darkness he had just escaped from.
BOOOOM!
The world turns blinding white in an instant as the lightning strikes right next to him. No, it struck him, but he didn’t feel the accompanying pain as he should. Something’s wrong.
The light recedes as fast as it came. It’s not nighttime. The sky brightens as the storm clouds disperse like mist in the morning light. Is it the next day, or was it an unnatural storm? A lightning tribulation. That makes sense.
The tribulation was quite intense from his amateur perspective. This man is probably very powerful, maybe even an immortal cultivator. The man in question gracefully floats down to the ground, not too far from Lucas. He looks exhausted but not too badly injured. He sits down on a raised, flat boulder to probably recover his strength.
[Mister! Hey, Mister Immortal over there! Can you please help me?]
No response.
The blue shield has dispersed, but the middle-aged man now has a slight golden glow emitting from his body. Maybe, that is preventing him from hearing Lucas.
{Are you afraid to take a look at your own body?
What do you mean?
Isn’t checking your own body the most natural first response for a person after experiencing something like this?
I-I’ve just been distracted.
Sure. If you say so.}
Lucas is not stupid. He had noticed the differences compared to his previous human experiences, and that terrified him. Rip it off like a bandaid, Lucas.
He looks around himself with his 360 vision, noting instantly how low to the ground he is. His stature is quite small in general compared to the things around him. There is a considerable amount of stone pieces around him. Did I bust my way out of a stone when struck by lightning? It reminds him of a certain monkey from his past life.
Attempting to get closer to the man failed as well because he doesn't have any limbs and can’t move. Before he can register the new information, a shockwave blasts through the area, sending him flying. He hears water. His momentum stops on the edge of the river bank. Instinctively, he glances over and sees his new body for the first time.
A very normal dark-colored rock stands out among the light-colored stones around him.
I am a rock….A ROCK?!