Everything hurt.
I couldn't move. I couldn't think.I couldn't even breathe properly.Every inhale felt like glass crawling through my throat.My chest kept caving in and rising again like it didn't know whether to keep going or stop.
Time slowed.Everything around me blurred.The darkness didn't fall suddenly — it leaked in, like ink in water.
And yet... I was aware.
I could hear things.
Distant voices. Crashing sounds. Heavy footsteps. Screams? Maybe mine. Maybe Jack's.Maybe no one's.
I wanted to open my eyes.I really did.But they were cemented shut. Like my body had made the decision for me—
"You're done."
And I believed it.I really believed it.That this was it.
My mind spiraled.
Memories flickered. The inn. Alice's grin. Anna's hand on my head.That shitty wooden floor. Nara throwing a mug at someone.
All of it — flashes.
Like fireflies.
I wanted to cry.Not because I was dying — but because I didn't get to try.
I didn't get stronger.I didn't earn anything.I didn't do sh*t.And now I was going to die like a kid.
A goddamn kid.
"You're weak."
The voice echoed.It wasn't his — not the masked man's.
It was mine.My old voice.
The one I thought I'd buried in the last world.
"You thought reincarnation made you special?""You thought you could coast through this like some power fantasy?""You're pathetic."
I tried to scream at it.
But nothing came out.
I was floating now.Not in peace.In limbo.
Weightless. Worthless. A passenger in my own ruined body.
If this was the curse — it wasn't a blessing.It wasn't saving me.It was showing me how fragile I really was.
And then I heard it.
"Roy…"
A voice. Warm. Familiar. Cracking.
"Roy, please…"
Then another.
"You idiot… wake the hell up."
"You're not done yet."
Something inside me twitched.Just a little.Like a nerve that refused to die.
And then it hit me.
"I'm BETA..."
"...from the Obscurum."
That whisper echoed louder than anything else.
The name stuck like poison.
My heart jolted.
Not from fear.
From rage.
HAAAH!
I woke up choking on my breath, soaked in cold sweat.My whole body convulsed, like it was fighting to come back to life.
The pain was still there.But I was awake.
Barely.
But awake.
I slowly looked around.
My whole body felt foreign — like I was made of static. My limbs twitched like code not loading right. I felt… wrong. Like a glitch in a world I barely belonged to.
Still, I moved.Not for heroics.I was thirsty.
Turning my head, I spotted a water bottle next to the bed.
GULP. GULP.
I drank it all in seconds.Felt like I hadn't tasted water in years.Each drop hit like salvation — and yet it didn't soothe the fire in my chest.
I sat back. Took a breath.
Looked around.
The room was quiet — too quiet.
Then it hit me.
Healer's residence.Good. That meant someone brought me back.
I peeled the sheets off and looked down.
Bandages. Everywhere.
From my collarbone to my ankles. Even my fingertips were wrapped.My face stung faintly — I reached up. Plasters.
It wasn't as bad as it felt…But Jack—
Wait. Jack.Where's Jack?
Panic surged. I scanned the room — every bed.Empty.
No voices. No footsteps.Just silence.
That silence was worse than the pain.
I pushed myself up and limped toward the window.Each step felt like a coin flip between progress and collapse.
The window creaked open.
And there it was—
Light.
A sharp burst of morning sun hit my face.
I squinted.Let it wash over me.
And for just a second…For just one breath—
I felt like the world hadn't ended.
The fresh wind touched my skin, carrying the scent of early dew and dusty earth.
It made me forget everything.
Almost.
Squeak--
The door opened revealing a fragile young girl holding a flower vase in her palms.
"Roy.....Sniff..Sniff...", Without a seconds waste the girl embraced me, burying her face on y chest.
She held me tightly, letting all her sorrows out.
"Alice… I'm alright, I'm alright," I said, patting her head gently.
She didn't let go.
I didn't know how long I'd been out — but from how tight she clung to me, how her shoulders shook — it must've been a while.
Eventually, she loosened her grip and looked up.
Her eyes met mine — raw, red, swollen.
Faint dark circles sat under them like bruises made of grief.She'd been crying for hours. Maybe days.
I reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks, pulling her to sit beside me.
"Alice," I said softly.
"Mm," she mumbled, barely.
"How long was I out? What's the situation outside? Did we find out who—"
"You idiot," she snapped.
Her voice cracked.
"You just woke up, and you're already making me worry again."
Her shoulders trembled.
"Do you know how you looked when they carried you in? You weren't even breathing right. I thought—""I thought I'd lost you.""I thought I'd never hear your dumb voice again."
Her voice finally gave out.Tears welled again. She looked away.
"Do you even care about Alice…?"
Her question wasn't meant to wound.It wasn't anger. It was hurt.She was just a kid — holding too much for too long.
And I had nothing to say. I just let her vent out her grief once more. I held her hands and turned her head towards me.
"Do you really think I don't care about you, Alice?" I said, my voice low.
"Do you think I wanted to end up like this?"
She didn't answer.
"I wasn't reckless because I wanted to be brave. Things just… spiraled. Faster than I expected."
I looked down at my broken hands, bandaged and weak.
"If anything had gone slightly worse, I wouldn't be here — talking to you right now."
Her fingers twitched, barely.
I reached out and gently held her hand.
"That's why I have to get stronger," I said."To stop this from happening again. To stop you from crying like this again."
"I know I made you worry… more than I should have. But I swear—on my life—Alice will never have to cry over me like this again."
And with that, I leaned down…
…and pressed a small kiss to her palm.
Was it too dramatic?Probably.
But hey—I read somewhere this is the kind of stuff guys are supposed to do when making a vow to a girl.