"AHHHH!!!"
I tried to hold it back, but a scream tore its way out of my throat. The pain was unbearable.
The last time I felt something like this was when I failed to integrate the SS-rank core, but even then, it wasn't this horrifying.
My mind felt like it was being frozen and melted at the same time.
And it wasn't just my mind; my body was suffering the same fate.
Something was tearing me apart, only to piece me back together again.
I bit down hard on my lower lip, rolling on the ground, desperate to grab onto anything, anything, to stop the agony.
'FUCK! JUST KILL ME AGAIN!!'
I screamed inside my head as my throat burned raw, my voice breaking apart.
Then, suddenly,
Memories began flashing before my eyes.
Memories that weren't mine.
A scene of me playing with a small white-haired girl in a vast garden.
'What… is this?'
A cheerful memory of a carefree child's laughter.
A life free from pain, free from fear.
Then,
Me again, standing before a white-haired woman on a throne, eyes filled with awe and admiration.
'This isn't me... what is going on?'
Another memory,
I'm training, swinging my sword over and over, determination burning bright in my gaze.
Then… kneeling before that same woman, my face frozen in shock by the words she spoke.
'No, this is not me...'
The color began to drain from the memories.
Now I stood in a different memory,
the white-haired girl striking me down, again and again.
I lay beaten on the ground, staring blankly as she looked down with pity.
Again,
I swing my sword, the fire in my eyes gone, replaced by cold emptiness.
Again,
I challenged her, only to be defeated without landing a single hit.
Again,
I slammed my head against the ground, trying to crush the frustration eating away at my soul.
'No, stop it, this isn't me. These are not my memories.'
Sneers.
Laughter.
Voices whispering of failure.
I saw myself buying forbidden potions from the black market.
Challenging again.
Failing again.
Her face,
those same red eyes looking down at me, not with hate,
But pity.
My sorrow…
My rage…
My frustration…
'It's...not...'
Me?
"SURGE."
_Splash!
Snapping me out of my thoughts was the sudden rush cold water poured down on me.
The pain started to subside slowly, but the confusion in my mind rattled me completely.
"Oye! Are you alright?"
A blonde-haired girl with striking sapphire eyes, wearing a battle suit that covered all her vital parts, stared down at me while asking.
".."
I stared back at her blankly, my mind still processing the memories I had just gone through.
The memories of a boy named Cale Tennebris.
The person whose story I was reading before I died.
'How is that possible?'
After all, it was just a novel.
"Oye!"
The blonde girl waved her hand in front of me as I lay motionless on the ground.
As a fiction reader, I knew very well what was going on.
It was just...
'How is it possible?'
"Are you dead?"
I was transmigrated into a novel, but not in the main story, ten years before the main story.
As a villain, Cale Tennebris.
"SURGE!"
_Splash!
Another wave of water poured down on me,
".."
"Are you really dead?" The blonde girl tilted her head slightly as he gazed at me again.
Then, she raised her hand again,
"SUR-"
"THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!?" I yelled, standing up abruptly.
"KYAAAA- SURGE!!" The blonde yelped before summoning another splash of water.
_Splash!!
".."
"W-What! You were alive after all! Why didn't you answer me when I asked, huh!?"
'Calm down! Calm down, me! She is just a girl.'
"Stop throwing water at me," I said calmly before sitting under a nearby tree.
My body was exhausted, and my mind wasn't straight.
I needed to gather my thoughts.
"...Okay, sorry about that, you were just screaming and rolling around like you were on fire, so I thought water might help." The girl said, scratching her cheeks.
I sighed and replied, "Thank you for your help. I actually needed that, but you didn't need to do it again and again."
"Well, what can I do? You weren't responding." The girl shrugged her shoulders.
'So your idea was to keep splashing me?' I thought inwardly,
"It's fine now, thank you for your help."
Whatever, she did help, so thanks was the least I could give.
The girl smiled brightly and came near me. She extended her hand and said,
"It's fine, I am Grace, Grace Reed. Nice to meet you."
I looked at her outstretched hand for a while,
Grace Reed,
I repeated the name in my mind,
'I don't remember such a name from a novel...'
Well, it was ten years before the start of the novel, so no wonder.
I also extended my hand and shook hers,
"I am... Cale. Nice to meet you, too."
"Cale, that's a nice name. Are you alright? Your face looks pale."
"It's fine. It was just a panic attack because of the sudden situation."
"Ah! True, the situation is indeed dangerous...to tell the truth, I am also quite panicked..."
Grace sat beside me as she continued her story,
'What's with this extrovert energy. She is making me feel uncomfortable for some reason.'
"You know I am just a trainee knight under the Arkwright family, but I actually don't like it."
"Is that so?"
'Nobody asked.'
"The training of a knight is tough, not to mention there are hardly any girls beside me there. I think I am more suited for a mage than a knight."
'Don't care.'
I swallowed the words down, as I didn't want to be rude to the first person I met in this world.
"...And today was Young Miss's first expedition, for the first time in a long time, I got a chance to leave the castle."
".."
'Fine, I know this kind of people, she is not going to stop anytime soon.'
So, instead of wasting my effort on her, I started analyzing the current situation.
Earlier, Grace mentioned Arkwright.
One of the strongest human domains in Novara.
That confirmed it.
I was in the world of [Curse of Crown].