Sky stared at the bottle of beer in front of him. He was hoping for a promotion and did his best at work. But fate was at odds with him. It was the third time he had been declined for promotion.
"My life is a failure."
He laughed hard as he drank another sip of beer.
"I am a failure!"
The glass shattered as he threw it at the wall. Debris was scattered on the floor. Then, he saw a reflection of himself in the window.
"Why am I such a failure?"
His eyes had no tears, but they held a different kind of coldness from within. There was a smile on his lips, but it looked terrible.
"Am I forever going to be a failure?"
He sighed.
"My parents said they are proud of me for achieving so much. But I don't feel happy about it. All my life, I have followed and abided by the rules of the book to reach my current position and status. Yet nothing seemed to satisfy me. I still feel like shit!"
He laughed again.
"I must be crazy!"
Sky punched the table this time, and a crack appeared in the middle. He was dissatisfied with his work's progress. He was never content with what he had in life and always wanted more. But the truth hurts the most, he was still lonely after all. He was still the only one carrying all the burden.
Tonight was another night of drowning himself in alcohol.
"I wish to have an easier life..."
"I wish to be powerful..."
"I wish to face no failures or setbacks...
"I wish to find happiness..."
"Whoever is listening, please grant me... a new life."
At the stroke of midnight, Sky, who had fallen asleep, stopped breathing.
-
Sky was awakened by a whip lashing on his back. It was so painful that he concluded it was not a dream. As his eyes fluttered open, he was shocked to see himself covered in wounds and dried blood.
"The bastard is awake!"
The laughter of several men followed the shout.
"Whip him some more!"
"Whip him!"
"Whip him!"
"More!"
"More!"
"MORE!"
The continuous whipping on his back made his tears fall. He couldn't believe what was happening. He awoke in a place he had never been before. The screams of agony and wailing from other people made him tremble in fear.
Where am I? What is this place?
He caught a glimpse of the whip that was used on his back. It was one covered in thorns and rust. He didn't know why his hands were chained to the walls.
What era is this? I can't possibly go back to the Middle Ages.
"Tie them up and prepare to feed them to the wolves!"
Feed me to the what?
Wolves?
Shit!
Sky couldn't move his body, nor could he feel anything other than pain. But he wanted to survive.
When the men tied him up and dragged his body, he felt helpless. He was thrown inside a truck. He wondered if fate had played a prank and brought him into a fantasy world because of his wish. But there was no way he would be brought back to Earth if he wished to.
The truck was slowly filled with bodies. Some were dying, while the others were cold corpses. The wolves from the mouth of the man earlier might not be a joke. But even with fear lingering in his heart, he was still thinking about surviving in the wilderness.
Due to the constant shaking, they must be delivering us up the mountain! I don't know if it would be a graveyard I'm looking forward to, or a dark forest.
Sky was a big fan of fantasy movies, novels, and games. He also played survival games, but due to his work, he never had the experience to back up his skills in the wilderness. He has no problem with cooking skills. But the world he was in was still unknown, and he did not even inherit the memories of the body he occupied.
When the truck stopped moving, the bodies were slowly unloaded.
Sky was thrown with a pile of corpses.
It did not take long for those dying people to die when they inhaled toxic gas. Sky, with his eyes barely open, could still determine that the air was polluted because it looked like black mist was covering the grounds.
Sky heard the deafening roar of beasts from afar.
He was sure they would like to eat those that were still alive, compared to those cold corpses.
I need to get out of here!
With the truck gone.
Sky tried his best to move his hands. It was so painful, as if his bones were severely broken. But even with difficulty, he still crawled to the best of his abilities.
It was exhausting.
Sky found a shelter from the dumpsite. Then he curled himself to fit in. He felt relieved that he had hidden himself, because just as he went in, the beasts had arrived to devour their meal.
He could still hear some people torn alive by the beasts. The endless wailing made him realize that the world he was in might be a chaotic plane. But the people don't dress up like ancients. Their tools were also quite advanced. But none seemed to matter, because at the moment, he was all alone and dying.
Sky did not remember how he fell asleep, but he was awakened by hunger the moment he opened his eyes.
His body was still injured, and he had no food in his clothes. The sudden temperature drop made him ill. He had never expected he would still survive after experiencing such things. And somehow, he was wondering if his body possessed a hidden skill.
It was freezing last night, and with my injuries, it was a miracle that I survived.
Sky slowly tried his best to move his body. As if testing if he was not paralyzed. Luckily, he was not paralyzed. But he was very hungry.
Can I even find food outside without dying?