When I returned to my place after my jog, I noticed something very wrong on my wrist.
"Why is there a bracelet…?"
Startled, I inspected the jewelry. It was gold-toned and ornate. Embedded with a myriad of gems in different colors, each one having its own charm.
I was certain I would remember owning something this expensive-looking. So why was it on my wrist without my knowledge? I knew for a fact it hadn't been there when I was climbing the stairs earlier. I would have felt it. I would have seen it.
Trying to remove it, I grabbed it with my other hand and tugged.
Nothing.
"Come off!"
I pulled again. Harder. Still nothing.
The thing didn't budge.
After several failed attempts, I stopped and took a breath, already feeling my patience slipping toward absolute zero. I had already used every tool available to me at the moment, and none of them even scratched the surface.
"Is this some kind of prank?"
If it was, then the peach user responsible could go straight to hell.
I hadn't encountered many people today. Just a few neighbors, none of whom had abilities remotely related to something like this.
Which narrowed things down.
The main suspect, for the time being, was the hooded figure I'd met earlier. Hell, that person might not even have been a guy.
"God… when is this thing going to come off?"
I rarely get angry, but when I do, it will come all at once, steam and frustration that will spill out with no filter.
"Get out of my body—"
Before I could yank at it again, the bracelet suddenly began to blink. Every gem lit up in rapid succession, flashing like an ambulance siren.
I didn't even have time to react.
A violent, electrifying sensation surged through my body without warning.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A raw, primal scream tore out of my throat.
The pain was unreal. Worse than anything I'd ever experienced. Every scar, every accident, every injury from my past felt insignificant compared to this.
It hurts.
It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts—
"IT FUCKING HURTS!!!"
I slammed my fist into my chest, raked my fingers through my hair, sweat pouring down as if my body were trying to escape itself. My insides felt like they were on fire.
Make it stop.
Please, make it stop.
It felt like my organs were about to explode.
The light pouring from the bracelet didn't fade. If anything, it grew brighter, harsher, feeding off my suffering as it continued to blaze against my skin.
I didn't even care anymore if anyone could hear my pathetic noises.
At this point, I'd welcome it. Break in. Kick the door down. Drag me out of here if you have to. Just make it stop. I wanted to scream for help, but my thoughts were too fractured, drowning in how utterly batshit awful this felt.
I am about to reach my breaking point.
[Just bear with me, Master. It will be done any moment now.]
…What?
I froze for a second.
That was a woman's voice. Great. Now I'm hallucinating too.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
"Are you the bitch that put me in this—"
"HAAAAAAAAAA!"
The scream tore itself out of me before I could finish the sentence. It felt like something snapped loose inside my skull, the pain cresting past anything I could process.
And then.
Nothing.
My body gave up.
I collapsed onto the floor, limbs slack, saliva spilling from the corner of my mouth as if even my jaw had surrendered. Sweat drenched me completely, soaking my clothes and pooling beneath my unmoving frame. Just like that, my consciousness slipped away, leaving me sprawled on the floor
========
My body jerked as I woke up after losing consciousness. I was expecting a headache or some kind of pain.
But nothing. There was nothing that felt negative in me right now. In fact, I felt even better than usual.
Staring at my wrist, the bracelet I had been agonizing over earlier was gone. What was that about? It had lit up like a Christmas tree, and afterward all hell had let loose.
"Looks like you've woken up, Master," a woman's voice giggled.
Startled by the voice, my body instinctively backed away as I got up.
An intruder?
Besides that, why am I being called master?
"Who are you?" I asked, looking around. That was when I saw someone sitting on my bed. My body froze—not from fear, but from being awestruck.
Shoulder-length crimson hair, blue eyes that reminded me of the sky, a perfect nose that looked as if it had been sculpted by the goddess of beauty herself, and scarlet lips as tempting as a summer strawberry.
Despite that, that was only half the reason I was shocked, because she was wearing a wine-red gothic dress, heeled boots, and stockings.
"My name is Isadora," she said, smiling sweetly as she stood up from my bed.
I backed away slowly, grabbing a broom and raising it like a sword.
I don't know what came into my goddamn mind to grab a cleaning tool as a weapon, but screw it.
"Don't worry, Master. I mean no harm. In fact, I'm here to help you!" she said, opening her arms wide.
Your pretty face won't convince me, woman.
…Okay, I'm lying. Her face actually made me believe her for a moment—but that's it. Nothing more.
Don't blame me. I've been single my entire life; an SSS-tier beauty being near me and talking that way is bound to mess with my head.
"Why are you here?!" I shouted. "I'll report you to the authorities, woman!"
"Isadora. I am not called woman," she corrected slowly, enunciating her name as she walked toward me, completely unfazed by the broom pointed at her chest. "You're such a cutie~"
Fuck. I'm getting a weird feeling inside me. This shit better not awaken something.
Still, this was my chance to ask what had been bothering me.
"Are you the woman who put the bracelet on me?" I asked suspiciously.
She only grinned and wagged her index finger.
"Nope~"
"Then—"
"I'm not the one who put it on," she continued cheerfully. "I am the bracelet."
"...…."
"Hello? Earth to Master?"
What do you mean she's the bracelet? Is that her ability?
If so, what a weird Peach Blessing to have. Then again, with how absurdly varied abilities are here, it wasn't completely impossible.
"Are you some kind of woman who kidnaps guys like me for their organs?!" I snapped. "If so, tough luck! I won't go down without a fight. Even if you have a Peach Blessing!"
"Peach Blessing?" she tilted her head. "Oh, that. I think you're misunderstanding, Master."
"I am a being foreign to this world," she declared without a second thought.
…...Okay. I really need a ton of cigarettes right now to process all the shit I've been forced to deal with in this month alone.
=====
"So you're telling me," I said, massaging my forehead, "that the reason I was screaming like a bitch in pain… is because you messed with my soul, and now you're permanently bound to my very existence?"
"Yes."
Now seated at the table, we sat across from each other after changing my clothes, continuing to pry into who or what she really was.
"Alright, I call bullshit," I said without filtering myself.
"But it's true," she replied, resting her head on her hand. "Didn't you notice? Doesn't your body feel different?"
She hit a bullseye.
I had been wondering why, physically, I felt lighter—stronger, even.
"It's because of me," she said calmly. "I'm the cause of that."
When I pressed her for details, she explained that my body had been rebuilt from the inside out. Muscle fibers reforged, bones reinforced, and everything in between adjusted to handle stress no human body was meant to endure.
She warned me that it did not make me invincible. Blades could still pierce me, and falling from an absurd height would still hurt like hell. A fall that would kill a normal person would only leave me broken but alive nevertheless.
Right now, though, there was only one answer I needed.
"Why?" I asked, my tone was serious. "Why are you doing this to me?"
She smiled, slow and certain, as if the outcome had already been decided.
"Isn't it obvious?" she said. "I didn't rebuild your body so you could live quietly."
Her eyes locked onto mine.
"You're going to be a hero."
___________________
Author's Note:
I wasn't really in the mood to write since I was studying earlier
Thank god I still managed to finish two chapters