"Albert, do you take Sasha to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor, and cherish from this day forward?"
"I do."
"Sasha, do you take Albert to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, honor, and cherish from this day forward?"
"I do."
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife... Albert, you may now kiss your bride."
Albert gently lifted the white veil, revealing the glow on Sasha's face.
"You're more beautiful than ever, Sasha," he whispered.
"And you're the most charming man I've ever known, Albert," she replied softly as her eyes drifted closed.
My friends, I'll be off on a new journey...
With a quiet breath, Albert closed his eyes and leaned in, drawn to her as he moved in for their first kiss as husband and wife...
Smooch.
....
....
....
Hm? Did I kiss her foreh— SMACK!
Ughh... Albert sank to the ground, his mind hazy as he stared at the bulky woman in her forties behind a fruit stall.
"FOR THE LOVE OF LUNA! STOP KISSING THE DAMN WATERMELOIN YOU FREAK!!!"
H-H-HUH?!!
...
"In the beginning! Luna was wandering in the void and met a dwarf sun...
'You must be lonely,' she said. So she created another sun beside it.
She stared at it for a hundred years... but suddenly, she felt envious.
'Tsk. Must be fun having someone,' she said, clicking her tongue. So she made another one!
The new sun immediately gets between the two suns, and slowly, they form a triangular formation.
Luna felt satisfied, so she made the world and dropped bacteria on it.
She watched it evolve for millions of years… and then, suddenly, she grew bored.
'Tsk. too slow,' she said, clicking her tongue. So she immediately created humans!
She watched the humans interact and bond with one another. But then, on the seventh day, they all died...
'Tsk. I forgot to feed them,' she said, clicking her tongue. So she created animals! And then humans again!
She watched the humans hunt the animals and eat their meat. But then, on the fourteenth day, the animals died... And on the thirtieth day, the humans followed...
'Tsk. I forgot to feed the animals,' she said, clicking her tongue. So she created Plants! then animals! And then humans again!
She watched the humans and the animals live in harmony. 'Oh, I forgot water,' she said.
Even a creator can learn from mistakes!
So she created the ocean! And then the fish! Then the weather for ambiance! Then dinosaurs—by accident!
'Tsk.' Luna clicked her tongue, then sent down a burning stone to wipe out the dinosaurs.
'Hm… perfect,' she said, watching her creation.
A few years passed, and she watched the humans grow while the animals thrived in balance and harmony…
'Sigh… can't they wear clothes?' she said suddenly, letting out a faint exhale that created the seasons.
So... she gave them free will!
A thousand years passed, and the humans prospered. They built houses and clothes, then civilization came after.
They all lived in peace, and Luna was happy… but then, war came.
She watched the humans kill, massacre, and burn mountains.
Luna's cheeks pouted as she watched the humans destroy her creation.
'Tsk, looks like you need a lesson,' she said, clicking her tongue.
But instead of wiping out the humans, she created… the 'Unknowns.'
The world plunged into chaos as shriveled, deranged creatures descended from the heavens!
The humans immediately stopped their puny war and united to resist the impending doom…
But still, even with their united strength, the humans were powerless against the Unknowns! Kingdom after kingdom was destroyed as the monsters ravaged everything…
Just as the four remaining kingdoms were about to fall, a man knelt, clasped his hands in front of his throne, and murmured, 'Creator… have you forsaken us…?' his voice was filled with sorrow.
'Hm... So you finally learned how to pray' Luna said.
She raised her hand, and brilliant light surrounded the kneeling man! Then she blessed him, searing a triangular-suns mark on his hand to contain her power.
'Touch it,' Luna said.
The man froze at the sudden voice and raised his head. A beautiful young maiden appeared before him.
The man immediately understood and touched the mark. Knowledge of power surged through his mind, and a Warrior of Luna was born!
Then, he walked regally outside the castle and proclaimed,
'THE CREATOR HAS GIVEN US THE CHANCE TO RESIST!' he shouted to the millions of men and women clad in armor.
The Warrior's voice echoed as he raised his sword, leading the remaining humans to plunge onto the Unknowns!
A decade passed, and the humans eventually forced the Unknowns to retreat.
The humans rejoiced and praised the Creator, Luna, for her benevolence. They built churches and monuments to show their faith.
The majority eventually learned how to pray and performed rituals to ask for blessings. But the sudden influx of requests annoyed Luna.
'Hmp. I don't want to,' she said, so she only blessed the items presented by the Warrior.
Hundreds of years passed, and she eventually grew tired.
'Hm… gotta sleep, ciao…' Luna said, slowly transforming into a moon to prepare for her rest.
But since Luna loved all her creations—except the dinosaurs—and the Unknowns had completed their task of changing humans, she gave half of them the ability to think, making them "conscious." She erected tall mountains on half of the world and gave the other side to them before going to sleep.
This made the humans doubt their fate, but even so, they still believed that Luna, the Creator, had a plan.
Along with this, she created deities and tasked them with maintaining all her creations. She also gave them the authority to bestow blessings in her stead.
The deities did their job, and the majority of humans eventually abandoned Luna, dividing their faith.
But a prophecy was given! One day, Luna will return and punish those who abandoned her! Then she will save those who still believe in her and allow them to enter her kingdom in heaven," the man in his thirties said, standing. He was speaking in the Selvan tongue.
He held a book in his right hand and wore a brown robe with a triangular-suns symbol etched in the middle.
"Amazing..." Albert said in awe, sitting.
"What the f—ck was all that crap?" he added.
A week had passed since he had transmigrated. Though heartbroken, he had already accepted his fate and moved on.
"Sasha... one day, I'll return..." Albert whispered solemnly.
"PTOOEY! One day, our beloved Luna will return to show her grace! And when that day comes, you'll be smitten!" the man in the brown robe proclaimed, letting out a dramatic spit.
"Ha! PFFFT! Ptooey!" Albert shot back, mimicking him with flair.
The man in the brown robe stormed off, muttering in frustration.
"Tsk. What do you mean the Creator pouted?" Albert remarked, slowly standing.
He walked to the street and arrived at an inn. Then he reached for his pocket and stared at his bronze coin.
One bronze coin is equivalent to ten copper coins. One silver coin equals twelve bronze coins, and one gold coin equals eight silver coins. With only one bronze coin in hand, that leaves me with ten copper coins… A normal inn costs four bronze coins, and a meal with meat ranges from eight copper coins to one and a half bronze coins, depending on the type of meat. Albert pondered.
"Sigh... I wanna curse this life... If only I hadn't retained his memories..." Albert murmured.
He had been transmigrated into a man named Calen, 18 years old—black-haired and of average appearance. He had an older sister. Their parents had died when they were children, leaving them orphans with no relatives.
They did their best to survive, gathering herbs in the mountains and then selling them. It was barely enough for them to get by each day.
When winter came, they had no choice but to eat tree bark in order to survive, since herbs were scarce in the cold season.
A woman named Julia felt pity for them and decided to take Calen's sister to have her do chores every winter.
Their life felt easier during the cold months, and when spring came, they would continue their struggle to survive by selling herbs.
Then, one day, when Calen was 12, a woman clad in armor arrived at their village. She was an overseer for the Day of Blessings.
The Day of Blessings is when all children who have reached the age of 18 are given the chance to receive a "blessing"—if they are chosen.
A blessing is granted by a deity to their chosen. When received, a symbol of the deity is seared onto the body, containing its power.
That day, Calen's sister had already turned 18 and decided to try her fate. She wanted to secure a chance at life for both of them.
She succeeded and was chosen by the Burning Deity, becoming a Warrior of Flama.
"Such a blessing!" the woman in armor exclaimed. She immediately took Calen's sister and left, not even giving her the chance to say goodbye to her younger brother.
Calen, only twelve at the time, could only clasp his hands from a distance, powerless.
"One day, I'll find you…" he vowed to his sister.
In the end, their lives did change…
...
Present time, Mororo Inn, Zonia Village, 40 km outside Selvara Kingdom.
"HAHAHA! Have you heard?! He made love with a damn watermeloin!"
"HAHAHA! He finally had it!"
"Right?! HAHAHA! I'd rather make love to a banano tree than a watermeloin!"
.....
"Ahem... It's the alcohol..."
...
"Merna! The usual please!" Calen shouted, sitting in a corner at the inn.
"Coming!" Merna shouted in reply.
"PHEW! These damn drunkards, changing stories," Calen muttered, annoyed.
A few moments later, Merna dashed in with a dish in her hand.
"Here it is! Chicken feet glazed in soy sauce," she said, serving Calen.
"Thanks, Merna," Calen replied, taking a bite.
Merna suddenly leaned closer and whispered something in his ear.
"Ahem… I heard you're having trouble finding love… M-may I suggest you to my single aunt who works at the fruit shop?"
"Wh— cough! cough! A-ahem... Merna, I appreciate your concern... but I'm still young, and your aunty is already forty." Calen said, nearly choking on a chicken bone.
"Ha! I heard that in the face of love, age is just a number!" she proudly exclaimed.
Calen's brow twitched and glanced at her while biting the chicken feet.
"Merna, I'd rather have you than your wrinkled aunt," he said with a perfectly straight face.
W-wh— Merna's cheeks suddenly turned crimson, completely taken aback.
"Silly boy!" she shouted, dashing back to the kitchen behind the counter.
Meanwhile, Calen revealed a faint smirk. Tss… I'm already married! Well, I was… Still, I'm loyal to Sasha! Even though you're the same age as me back on Earth!
Merna was already twenty-one. Her face was fairly pretty, and her build was robust.
"That boy…" Merna whispered, pouting. She was peeking at Calen from behind the kitchen curtain.
Grunt, her father, noticed her staring.
"Tsk. That damn pervert again?! What did he do this time?!" he asked, gripping a kitchen knife.
"N-nothing, Papa! And besides, he's already eighteen! Maybe he'll get chosen by a deity on the Day of Blessings…" Merna said, a trace of gloom in her voice.
When she was 18, the deities hadn't given her a blessing…
"Tsk! What good does it do if the deities choose a man who makes love to watermeloins?!" Grunt exclaimed.
"P-papa!!" Merna shouted, flushed.
Back on the table, Calen was nearly done eating.
"Sigh… at least the chicken feet dish in this world tastes amazing… and it only costs 3 copper," he whispered, fairly satisfied with his meal. Then he slowly stood up to exit the inn.
"Maybe try a coconuta next time!" one of the drunkards shouted.
Calen momentarily froze. "Maybe your daughter next time!" he shouted, then quickly ran.
"B-bastard!" the drunkard cursed.
...
Walking down the street, Calen noticed the surroundings growing dark. He tilted his head to look at the suns.
Strange… I bet science would go crazy explaining this, he thought.
In this world, the three suns are fixed above, and behind them hangs a massive moon. Time flows similarly to Earth. When night falls, the three suns slowly unfurl behind the moon, and when daytime comes, they gradually move back in front. Even so, the moon still shines unnaturally bright, illuminating the surroundings..
Calen quickened his pace and arrived at his crooked house. He opened the window and jumped onto the bed.
"Sigh… I hope a deity will choose me," Calen murmured, staring at his uneven ceiling.
"I'm a transmigrator, and yet… not even a single cheat… crap…" he added in frustration, then shut his eyes.
A pleasant breeze whispered through the windows, bathing Calen in soft waves as he drifted into sweet slumber…