Pain
A dull, throbbing pain coursed through Ethan's head as he slowly regained consciousness. His body was wrong, it was Heavy. Weaker and way too much Different
A chilly breeze started to sweep across his skin, bringing with it the smell of something. Strange. The air was clean, and it was unpolluted, with the slight scent of baked bread, burning wood, and damp stone
Blindly, he opened his eyes slowly and started wincing at the bright sunlight
And what he saw, that thing chilled his blood
Monolithic stone structures rose towards the heavens, their windows shining in the morning sun. Cobblestone roads teemed with folk attired in tunics, cloaks, and armor, their voices blending into a cacophonous harmony of haggling merchants, giggling children, and clashing steel
A carriage passed him, its rhythmic clip of hooves resonating against the stone thoroughfares
Knights in shining silver armor guarded the corners, their eyes keen and alert, it seemed that if they saw any danger they would eradicate it in a blink of an eye. A blacksmith beside them pounded at a hot-red hunk of metal, sparks shooting with every hit he made on the metal with his hammer
Ethan caught his breath
This, this was not his world. This is somewhere unknown yet familiar
A sickening realization ran over him like a runaway train
He recognized this place.
No.
He recognized this world.
His gut churned in agony as the name appeared in his mind like a bad dream, it started crawling out of the darkest recesses of his subconscious
This was the world of 'Gods Final Requiem'
The world of the book he had just read. The world that was fated to be destroyed.
"This is not real. This is not real"
But no matter how many times he said the words, the feel of the sun on his skin, the coarseness of the ground beneath his fingertips, the smell of rain in the distance hanging in the air, it was all too real
His heart pounded against his ribcage, panic scratching at the back of his throat. He was tensed scared and anxious at the same time
He had to see
He had to verify something
With shaking legs, he leaned over and propelled himself up to the edge of a puddle of water near where he had ended up. The surface was disturbed slightly by the wind, but as he dipped his head to peek in
The reflection looking back was not his. It was someone else and the one whom he never heard of
Messy black hair
Dull gray eyes
Frail, malnourished build
Wholly unfamiliar face, yet handsome
Shivers of icy fear slithered up his spine
And then, with a dam burst of remembrance, thoughts assaulted his mind and these thoughts were not his
A name
A past
It was a life that belonged to someone else
"Emil, I'm Emil Valcrest?"
His voice trembled as he whispered the name. His name was not Ethan anymore. It was Emil
A sickening weight settled in his gut
He knew that name
Not because Emil was an important figure in 'Gods' Final Requiem'. No, it was worse than that
Email Valcrest was a nobody
Not a protagonist. Not a hero
Not even a named side character
Just a random, talentless, background brat
He dug through his new memories in desperation, looking for anything that might assist him
Nothing
Emil was the son of a destitute merchant. His father had died of sickness when he was a child, and his mother scraped by barely enough to keep them both from drowning. He was not skilled at sword fighting, did not have any talent for magic, no special skills whatsoever
His stats were trash
In a universe where dominance ruled survival, Emil Valcrest was anything but insignificant
And now that Emit was him. He was just a nobody in the world who would meet a harsh and brutal ending
His breathing became erratic
"This is bad"
This world was going to perish
He already knew how the story ended. The Demi-Gods and the Outer Gods would consume everything. The hero, the strongest of warriors, the greatest heroes all of them would perish.
And he?
He was not even worthy enough to be a footnote in history
A wind gust swept over him, billowing the coarse, ill-fitting tunic he wore
Something tiny landed on the ground beside him
Emil's gaze shifted in its direction
It was letter
It must have been dropped from somebody's pocket
His curiosity overwhelmed his fear as he cautiously reached for it. The paper was thick, luxurious, stamped with a golden crest
His brows knitted as he turned it over, his hands shaking a little as he read the words printed on the envelope
Empire Academy Admission Lette
His breath caught
Empire Academy
The most elite academy in the empire
A place where only the strongest, the most brilliant, and the most talented were admitted
A place far beyond his league
But that wasn't what shook him the most
It was the name written under it
Recipient: Emil Valcrest
His name
His fingers tightened around the letter
But he never applied applied for it. So how did he get it?
With his garbage stats and nonexistent talent, he should not have even been considered someone worthy enough to be here in this academy
So then
"Who sent this? And more importantly. Why?"