Chapter 2
I was never a self-sacrificing type of guy. I was just a normal person living a boring life who wanted a not-so-over-the-top job, take care of my family, get married, and live a peaceful life with my soulmate.
So why did I do that?
Why did I let go of the cliff?
To be honest, I don't know myself. My body reacted before my fear caught up to the brain. It just happened in an instant. Maybe it was just a whim at the moment. If I had been given another chance, I am not sure if I had made the same choice. Well, nothing's gonna change crying over spilled milk.
My mind was clouded with all these thoughts but then I realised: Why wasn't I dead? And what the hell was that hologram in front of me?"
"Advanced teleportation partially completed"
"Analyzing the condition of host"
"Host is in CRITICAL CONDITION."
"Host will die in 10 seconds"
"10… 9… 8… 7… 6…"
I mumbled to myself "What the fuck! I am not dead yet. But I can't move. My whole body is numb. Everything hurts like fucking hell. Even breathing is taking a toll on me. I can't even see anything except this fucking screen. What am I supposed to do?"
"Forcefully beating the heart of host using Soulforce of %@#*&"
"Process completed. 30 more seconds added to host's life"
"Urgent Quest:
→ Bath in the Amrita Water before heart stops beating
Reward on completion: All-Devouring Breathing Technique
Penalty on failure: DEATH"
So in a nutshell, I was alive but I was gonna die in the next 30 seconds if I didn't find this Amrita water. But how was I gonna find it? I couldn't see anything. Everything was blurry.
"WARNING!!!
20 SECONDS LEFT"
I needed to move my body. I forced my eyes to focus on something… anything. There was darkness everywhere, but in the not-so-far distance, there was a faint glow. That should be it.
I clenched my teeth and began moving my body with one hand. My other hand was broken and already useless. Every inch I moved sent shockwaves of pain through my body. My breathing was heavy, my lungs were burning, but I didn't stop. I didn't have a choice in the matter.
The faint, distant light became closer. Maybe it was the Amrita Water, or maybe not. It didn't even matter at that point. I just wanted that pain to stop, one way or another.
"WARNING!!
5 SECONDS LEFT"
"BEGINNING THE COUNTDOWN"
"5"
"4"
I screamed at the top of my lungs, not from the pain but to get that adrenaline rush—to use every bit of strength in my body. All of the nails of my hand were already gone, and there was just sheer pain and blood. With one last drag, I reached the glow, but there was nothing there. I began to fall down. It might be the end of the ledge I was laying on.
"So this is how my life ends," I thought as my body fell freely.
"2"
"1"
SPLASH.
"CONGRATULATIONS
QUEST COMPLETED"
I slowly opened my eyes. I was underwater, but strangely, I could still breathe. All the pain in my body was gone. I was slowly getting deeper and deeper into the water. Normally, I would have been freaked out, but strangely, it was so peaceful. I had never felt such peace before.
"All the conditions are fulfilled
Beginning the absorption of Amrita Water into Host body"
A strange light began emitting from my body and my body began to heat up. It started becoming uncomfortable.
"Alert!!
The pain of absorption will be unbearable, and Host may die from the pain.
Forced shutdown of the Host's consciousness is recommended."
"Shutdown?
Yes No"
I didn't want to bear any more pain than this. I moved my finger slowly and pressed Yes.
I began to feel sleepy and closed my eyes. I heard a distant voice. It wasn't clear. The voice was panicked and cracking. That person must have been terrified and crying. But that voice… It was somewhat familiar.
"Please…. @#$% I beg you @#$%. Save @#$%"
The voice became more and more distant, and I slowly opened my eyes. I was floating on the water, facing upward. It wasn't water, actually. It was sparkling like stars. And as I looked upward at the sky, there were only two words to describe that:
"Holy shit," I mumbled.
There were two moons in the sky—one was red, and the other was white. Both of them were so big and close to Earth.
I slowly got out of that strange liquid and looked at the surroundings. The place was surrounded circularly by trees as far as I could see. But what the hell was wrong with those trees? They were so fucking big. Each tree was about the size of Qutub Minar.
And in the middle was the pond of this strange sparkling liquid—or should I call it Amrita Water.
At the end, one thing was clear: I was no longer on Earth.
I looked at my reflection in the pond. My black hair had grown longer, almost reaching my nose. My shirt was torn and ragged. Only my jeans were left. All of my wounds were gone. My body was ripped, and my muscles were twitching. I was feeling as if I could even carry a car with a single hand. The burn mark on my forearm that I got when I was a kid was gone too.
But one thing was strange—the birthmark in the middle of my forehead; the vertical, diamond-shaped black mark was still there. So even this Amrita Water could not remove a mark I got from birth.
There was one more thing that needed my attention more than my ripped body. Yeah, it was that thing.
"Vivi Initializing…"
"Congratulations. The Ceremony of Awakening completed successfully."
"Host's authority rises…"
"You have received the title – The Awakener"
"Main Quest:
→ Escape from the Forest of Cursed Gumiho
Reward on Completion: ???
Penalty on Failure: ???
[ Claim Reward of Previous Quest ]
[ Return to Home Screen ]"
I read the window and put my hand on my chest,
"So this is how it's gonna be. Don't worry, Raj, you are absolutely gonna survive this."
I moved my finger to the floating window and smashed the Claim button.