Today, a day like any other, yet an important one for me, I could not find a reason to keep living, hahaha.
There I stood, staring into the void on a cloudy day, rain about to fall, and I decided to jump without hesitation. But minutes later, I awoke in a dark place devoid of light, and I realized that my body had not materialized.
"Where am I? Is this the afterlife? Is this what comes after death?"
Suddenly, I hear a voice laughing mockingly. It draws closer; I cannot see its face or any part of its body, only its voice—a deeply unsettling, derisive voice that begins to introduce itself.
"Hehehehe, what an entertaining life. Such a shame it will not continue."
"Who are you? Where am I?"
"Hehehehe, this place is where I am imprisoned. Ah, and I..."
"Uh, I did not catch your name. Could you repeat it, please?"
"Hehehehe, mortals cannot understand nor pronounce my true name, but you may call me Dam. I summoned you here because I want you to do something for me. You will have the life you always dreamed of, and you might even find the girl you were in love with."
Dam begins to tell an entire story in which the gods craved power, seeking to become the one true and absolute god. The battle has already begun, but he tells me that he will make me reincarnate twenty-seven years before this war between deities begins, with the mission of saving humanity. He also warns me that my companions were summoned through lies by another god, and that I must be careful.
"Why me? Why do I have to save this world?"
"I am sorry, but I do not have much time left. I trust you, Azrael."
Azrael, upon awakening, sees an extremely bright light and several people around him. He realizes that, against his will, he is crying. He cannot move freely; everyone around him seems like giants, while he himself is tiny, until he sees his own hands and body. At that moment, fear overwhelms him.
'How did I get here? Why do these strange things keep happening to me?'
Moments later, still confused after waking up, he sees a woman breastfeeding him and suddenly loses consciousness. When he wakes again, it is daytime and, for no apparent reason, he feels an intense hunger and begins to cry. He does not understand it; he cannot control it.
'This is another world, just as Dam said, but was it really necessary to send me into a body like this?'
As the days pass, he begins to grow. He learns to crawl and little by little starts to understand the language of this world. He also realizes that he was not born into a wealthy family, but into one that lives day by day.
Over time, he comes to understand this world better. In it, magic exists, along with humanoid beings that are a mixture of humans and various kinds of animals.
When Azrael turns four years old, he manages to speak his first words, though they make no sense at all, filling his parents with joy. Meanwhile, Azrael already possesses fragmented information he does not fully understand, but from what little he manages to piece together, he deduces that there are two main factions of gods, worshipped by humans and demons, and that both communities are in constant conflict.
Ugh, today I finally managed to take my first steps. In a few days I will turn five years old, but it is frustrating; I still cannot read. Still, I enjoy it a bit because I do not have to do anything. I have started to grow attached to my parents, something I never managed in my previous life.
And so, as time passed, Azrael grew even closer to his parents and welcomed his newborn little sister. As time went on, Azrael turned eight years old. However, his maturity did not match his age, though he made an effort to behave like a normal child.
Another day. I will have to go to the forest to gather medicinal herbs to sell.
Ignoring his father, Azrael leaves the house without permission, determined to help by gathering medicinal herbs. But as soon as he finds them, a goblin ambushes him. The creature slices off nearly half of his hand. Panic-stricken, Azrael does not know what to do; fear and pain are clearly reflected on his face.
"Please, I do not want to die! Just when I finally obtained the life I always dreamed of, why is this happening to me? Help! Help!"
Without realizing it, Azrael notices someone descending. He watches them arrive and, for the first time in his life, witnesses the use of magic—but not the kind he had imagined. The mage kills the goblin in the blink of an eye and heals Azrael.
"What are you doing here, boy? These places are dangerous. Where are you from?"
"I am from—"
The moment Azrael utters only the first two letters of the place where he lived, the mage's expression turns cold. He looks at him with disgust and contempt. Standing upright, he begins to recite a spell meant to kill Azrael. Shocked and terrified, Azrael does not know what to do. Desperate, he starts running aimlessly, tears streaming down his face.
'Why am I so unlucky?'