When I came too I found myself waking up in an inky blackness. There was nothing, not a sight to behold, I couldn't even tell if I even existed. I drifted if I was even moving, through this non-existent space devoid of any sounds or smells. I felt nothing, could feel nothing, any minuscule movement was punished by an inconceivable force strangling hold of my being, forcing me into place. And with a lack of anything to do or see I was left with my thoughts.
And so I pondered. Analyzing, criticizing, and coming to terms with everything that led to my death. Reflection, as I found out, is a unique thing. You may loathe your past self for their mishaps, feel content with the actions taken, and sometimes realize the outcome was never in your past self's hands. I compared to most, had a rather eventful life. This naturally came with more to go over. When the weekend came most people would feel a sense of finality as they put behind them their work and relax. I however was most likely trying to avoid capture by national forces, or Yevrox's rival institutions.
After going through my life with such intensity, I reaffirmed that I hadn't regretted living such a lifestyle. I had found a purpose, a calling, that felt right to pursue, I felt content.
My contentness was then immediately overtaken by confusion as to why the fuck wasn't moving on? I assumed the whole place in a void where you couldn't do anything but think so you could come to terms with your life and move on. I was an atheist, you certainly don't exactly get to call yourself a god-fearing American when your kill count is at the upper end of five digits. But when I'm placed in a void after interacting with that "[System]" I'd think that there's some sort of a higher power. Or is this the "place devoid of god" I heard all about when self-righteous pricks decided to lecture me on where I was headed after death? I kinda expected something more hellish.
Well, I still can't move, there's nothing to do or think about since I went over everything I could ever think of. I never was one for being imaginative considering how I was trained to be alert for days on end waiting for that perfect shot. So I guess I'll just wait until something happens.
And I floated
And floated
And decided to start counting because I got bored. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188,
189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305…
It never ends…
IT
NEVER
ENDS
How long have I been trapped here, stuck in this eternal prison? My mind is chipped away by the vast nothingness barely holding onto the last shreds of what little of myself remains. What little hope do I have for this torment to end? What warrants such treatment? What purpose did it serve to dash my hopes?
And then for the first time in whatever amount of time it had taken, something changed.
[Error Corrected]
[Initiating Rebo-
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I felt myself awake in a cold sweat dreaming of a fellow named Murrey, and my revulsion into madness over a prolon-what the devil? Why would I think myself to be such an unpleasant fellow? I am Reynauld, Lord of the Duchy of Leon, a noble serving the king of Brittany after having faithfully saved his life in battle, and known in secretive circles for my dependency in unsightly endev-the hell?! What in God's name is happening? Such thoughts and memories are not mine, I must make my way to the priest before this malignant force affects my thoughts further. My body grows weaker with every passing moment the tendrils of demonic corruption close in, but I must prevail.
"BACK DEMON, OR SO BY GODS GRACE SHALL I FELL YOU AND CLEANSE YOUR PRESENCE FROM THIS VERY REALM! SERVANT CALL FOR THE PRIEST!"
I only made it a couple steps from my bed before I fell to the floor, witnessing the servant's shocked expression upon entering my bed chambers. As I felt the last vestiges of my being devoured, I prayed that such a dark being be cleansed, lest a great evil plague the realm.
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A servant had come clamouring to my chambers shouting of an illness that had befallen our Duke, reciting to me the events that led up to their collapse. The Duke had always been a pious individual and if what the servant told me was correct then he was suffering from a malady that brought upon the inflicted hallucinations. Their state was miserable both physically, and if the servant's tales were truthful, spiritually. It's fortunate the servant came here if they had brought them to a priest as ordered then the lord wouldn't have likely survived the night. Placing the lord comfortably on my operating table I masterfully placed the leaches, purifying the lord's blood as any worthwhile physician would.
However, with such a terrible disease afflicting them, I engaged in the process of administering medicinal vapours and creams that reportedly "soothed the soul" to extirpate the process. Such heavy treatment would have surely helped if not completely eradicated the most vile illness'. However, to my unpleasant surprise, it appeared that such actions had instead strengthened whatever illness raked our Duke as his health rapidly declined. Seeing the effect it had I resorted to the most risky of operations in an attempt to save the Lord's life. Ultimately it was not to be and as the sun rose, and the morning rays peered through the window, the Duke lay dead with no signs of life.
I sent the servant who had bore witness to my failure to inform the others of the Lord's passing. The Duke having left no heirs to the throne, and none of his bloodline alive, it would lay empty till a suitable candidate be found worthy by the king. My position would be rightfully in question as I had failed in my duties despite having exhausted such a grand inventory in my attempt to save their life.
Sighing at such a noble and just soul having parted from the land of the living I recovered my medical instruments along with what little medicinal aids were left. I then proceeded to sort them at my station opposite the operating table. I was midway through sorting and treating my implements when I paused due to a shuffling sound being made behind my person. Curious at whatever made the sound I turned around, the sight causing me to drop a jar in hand, the contents splattering across the floor as I gazed in bafflement at the Duke sitting straight up. The same lord who had been dead for not much longer than half an hour sat upright despite their bones having been set in an unflinchable deadlock unable to move moments ago as a condition inflicted upon the deceased, strengthening its hold on those that had passed.
"It's a miracle," I muttered in disbelief as I witnessed a dead man come back to life. Immediately I proceeded towards the lord to examine their condition, but soon stopped as I noticed their glossed-over eyes staring into nothingness. They snapped out of it, looked around the room, wiggled and moved their limbs and opened their mouth before suddenly stopping, seemingly paralyzed as tears flowed outwards.
I began moving closer, but soon froze in fright as the lord hollered, a tune filled with sorrow, pain and relief coming out of his lips. I trembled at the noise, I stood still, shocked and unsure of what to do. Soon backing up in fright I bumped into one of my worktops. The mournful wail continually echoed in my mind long after it was finished. The cry so distracting I hadn't even realized the Duke had fallen unconscious, their body body flopping over, head resting down once more upon the operating table. Soon after a seemingly infinite amount of time spent getting my wits about me, I trekked over from my corner and confirmed that the Duke was breathing and alive.