...
Crazy wiped off the blood on his sword, feeling slightly under the weather.
He glanced around at the bodies around them, the blood slightly tinting the ground as rain fell, dripping off his hair.
He stared up into the grey sky, feeling each and every raindrop hit his face, wondering about what would come next.
His mind shattered years ago, but he still couldn't help but question the reality of this situation.
He took another look at his bloodied arms, that seemed to give off a new amount of strength... He then glanced at the fallen knights.
What was their problem? Why did they label him as a 'Demon'? And where were the damn bakeries?
Crazy was suddenly craving bread. It's been a long time since he had it... Just the thought of the smooth, fluffy, crispy food had his stomach rumbling.
He sighed, before taking a closer look at the knight's emblem. Something about it tickled Crazy's brain...
And there it was.
The Azure Lion emblem. It was made out of curvy blue lines that formed out a lion... Or what seemed to be a lion.
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced through his skull, the agony so intense it felt like his very mind was being torn apart. His vision blurred, and his knees nearly buckled under the weight of it. It was as if something, someone, was forcing their way through the fractured parts of his memory, clawing its way into his consciousness.
And then, there it was. A battlefield, smoke choking the air, the ground shaking beneath the tremors of explosions. The thunderous roar of cannons and the desperate clashing of steel filled his ears.
Then, he was torn from the vision as he was suddenly kneeling on the ground, holding someone... A woman. Her golden hair clung to her face, matted and slick with rain. Her soft blue eyes seemed to lock onto his as though they had always known him. Her armor was battered and broken, a jagged hole torn into her torso, blood staining the once glorious metal.
On her chestplate, where the symbol of her order was proudly displayed, was the emblem. The Azure Lion.
The rain pelted down, soaking her muddy face, but still, she offered him a smile. A smile that should have been one of fear or agony, but instead, it was filled with quiet acceptance.
"■■■■... Don't cry..."
The words echoed in his mind, as if they had been whispered directly into his soul, pulling him into the depths of the moment. And then, it struck him. The rain on her face... They were his tears.
Then, just as quickly as it had come, the vision vanished, and Crazy was thrust back into the present, his head still throbbing, the battlefield and the woman fading into memory.
Crazy stood there, blankly staring into the air as rain fell around him, wetting his hair. After a few seconds, he suddenly blinked, before putting a hand over his head, scowling.
"Ah, f*ck, my beautiful hairstyle..."
...But Crazy went silent... What the hell was that? He felt as if he just witnessed another life. It was unreal. It was like a dream...
But the feelings that he felt in those moments felt so real...
Suddenly, the crimson window appeared in his vision again, seemingly unaffected by the rain.
--------{Notice.}---------
[Assimilation rate increased by 2.4%.]
---------------------------
He stared at the screen, which glinted ominously in the cold, grey night...
Assimilation rate..? What was that..?
He blinked, and as soon as he did, the ominous message was gone.
Crazy rubbed his eyes, but it wouldn't come back...
He was left alone in the rainy forest, surrounded by the bodies of the knights. The awkward silence filling the air...
Crazy took a second to breathe, before sighing. If he wanted to survive this world and find out what the hell this was all about, he had to survive.
He looked down, and saw the shiny, tained chestplate of a knight.
It looked his size.
Crazy grinned to himself as he yanked the chestplate off the dead knight like he was raiding a marketplace.
He didn't care. Who cared?
The guy was already dead, after all. That was his armor now. It was shiny, and damn, it almost felt like it was made for him. Probably because it was. And besides, who was gonna stop him? The poor guy on the floor? The guy was still a corpse.
He slipped it on with an almost casual disregard for the gruesome scene around him. The metal was cold against his skin, but hey, it was better than nothing. "Armor's a bit tight, but I'll make it work." He adjusting the straps, trying to make it fit better on his gangly frame.
Then, the sword. He wiped it off on the knight's now exposed shirt, twirling it lazily, the blood staining it even more. He didn't care. Blood was just another part of the world he had to exist in. In fact, he felt it made him look even more badass with it. His grip tightened, and he swung it in a quick, practiced arc. Perfectly sharp. Nice.
He kicked a knight's body just to see it roll a little. "Hey. Get up. Kowtow and praise me for honoring your chestplate by wearing it. It's not everyday you get to share your armor with someone as pretty as me."
He stared at the body blankly. The guy didn't move. Crazy scoffed. Such Impertinence.
The rain kept falling in sheets, drenching his hair and running down his face, but Crazy barely noticed it. He wasn't thinking about it, wasn't feeling the chill.
He was thinking about bread. Soft, warm, crispy bread. His stomach let out a rumble that almost felt like a howl. It was the only thing that made sense in a world that had none.
Then, his eyes caught something again, that damn Azure Lion symbol on the knight's armor. The same symbol he'd seen on the woman's chest. The one in that weird vision. His head throbbed just thinking about it, like it was trying to crawl out of his skull. His brain was so broken, it was as if he had two different lives running in his head at once. Maybe three.
"Yeah, whatever," Crazy muttered, slapping his head. He wasn't in the mood for head trips. "Shut up, brain. You'll get bread soon. Probably."
Suddenly, she saw the woman again, her blurry voice still echoing in his head...
"■■■■... Don't cry..."
The pain in his head flared, and he let out a breath. The vision was already fading again. Gone. Just like that.
"Ahh, for f*ck's sake…" He reached up and rubbed his temple, scowling. God, his mind was on fire. It felt like his brain had been melted and reshaped, like someone had just thrown him into a blender. But he didn't care. Not really.
It was a problem for the future him to face. He maxed out his procrastination stats anyways.
For now, he had to satisfy his grumbling stomach.
He had to find a bakery.
A bakery. That's what he needed. A warm, fresh loaf, the kind that made life feel worth it. But as he turned to leave, he felt it again—that itch in his skull, like something was watching. Like something was waiting for him to remember.
Oh well.
Crazy was sure it wasn't important.
Not as important as bread, anyway.