Disclaimer: Nothing is owned by me except the OC's that appear. Everything else is owned by their rightful owners.
You know, I would say that the visit to the doctor yesterday was somewhat of a success.
Sure, we had to wait like an hour or two to finally be called in, but the actual talk with the doctor ended up being pretty well.
He performed the usual examinations on me and asked me some questions, mostly stuff like "When did you notice you can't sleep well?" or "Did you have any other symptoms?". After all that was done, he told us what he thought was the problem. I didn't get the name, but I think he said it was something similar to insomnia, but nothing quite as serious.
In the meantime, he prescribed me some syrup for sleep which I should take till the next appointment, which will be next week, in which he would see if my situation got worse or not.
The good part came when he decided that due to there being the risk of me collapsing from exhaustion, I was to be excused from going anywhere without any major supervision. Sure, I didn't get the answer to what was my problem, but free days are always welcome.
The only problem (besides the constant exhaustion) was that not even the first day of my sick days has passed and I was already bored out of my mind.
Since it was a working day, everyone had something to do.
Mom and dad were at work, Irina was in school and grandma had to go to the market.
Thus, leaving me all alone at home. Usually, I would enjoy this situation to the fullest, but now was not one of those times.
Currently, I was laying on the sofa and flipping through TV channels. While I would find some good shows to watch, they of course would end, thus repeating the cycle.
Fortunately for my sanity, a few minutes after flipping through channels, I stumbled across a goldmine. Said goldmine being 'Allo 'Allo! Sure, it is an old series, but it can get rid of my boredom at least till grandma gets back.
And it did.
After the second episode, I heard the front door opening and a few seconds later grandma entered the living room, carrying bags with groceries.
"Hey kiddo." she greeted me as she went to the kitchen to leave the groceries. I could see she was somewhat in a good mood.
"Hey, grandma. So how was the market this week? Anything new or interesting?"
"Oh, there are a few things I heard that might interest you." she said as she entered the living room and sat in her armchair. "But before that, tell me how are you? Still feeling exhausted?"
"Exhausted and bored. Not sure which is worse." I said as grandma gave a sympathetic nod.
"Nothing has changed?" at her question, I shook my head. "Not even the syrup the doc gave you?"
"It just made me fall asleep pretty fast, but I still feel exhausted in the morning." Not to mention that I was still thinking of the dream I had the other day. While I didn't experience anything similar since then, the memories of it were still fresh in my mind.
The walk through the forest, the different animals that inhabited it and how could I forget meeting and sharing a snack with the Ewok. It all felt too real to be a simple dream.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind experiencing it once more. Mostly because the next morning I felt a little bit better.
"Well, you only took it once. Maybe it will have a better effect if you take it a few more times." she said in a reassuring voice before smiling and clapping her hands. "Now, are you ready to hear about the current talks in town?"
"Of course!" I answered almost immediately. If there was one thing I loved in this second life, it was the conversations I had with my grandma.
They could range from very serious to extremely silly. It didn't matter to the two of us as either way we would have a good time.
"So, what is new in town?" I asked her as I leaned on the armrest of the sofa.
"For starters, do you know the old forest area some distance away from the local church?" she asked me as I tried to remember which exactly, she meant.
"Is that the one filled with nettles?" I asked her. If it was that one, then I know it very well. Not from a pleasant experience, tho.
"No, that would be the other one. I'm talking about the one that has a small river running next to it." she explained to me as I nodded my head. "Apparently people have seen movements in it late at night."
I was silent for a second before saying. "You do realize that could have been just some teenagers? Those situations are quite common."
"It could be teenagers, if only they were not even one meter tall." said grandma in her sarcastic tone. "They say those ... things always move at night. Never getting too near the town, but close enough you can see their silhouettes at night."
"Any ideas what those things are?" I asked her. She shook her head at my question.
"No idea. I mean, people talk and come up with all sorts of crazy ideas and theories. Some people think they are just kids sneaking around or playing pranks. Of course, there are others who came up with crazier theories."
"How crazy are talking about?" I just had to ask. You won't believe with what kind of crazy theories people can come up with.
"The usual superstitious stuff. Something about those things being some forest spirits wandering around. I honestly didn't hear much from that point on as I was already on my way." she said as she leaned back into her armchair.
We were silent for a few moments before something came to my mind. "Wait, if those small people were sighted near the church, how do the people from the market know about it?"
"Someone heard some nuns talk about it when they visited the market and from then, the rumors have spread." answered grandma. "I'm more surprised that nobody called the police to investigate it."
"Maybe they do think that it is something harmless, so there shouldn't be any reason to call the police to look at it." I said as she nodded her head. "So, those small people are the only rumors or was there anything else?"
She thought about it for a few seconds before answering. "Those are the most interesting ones, but there are also some other ones going around. Like how there is going to be a event hosted in London. Many people from the market decided to take part."
"Did anyone say anything about what it is about? Like where does it take place and what you will be doing there?"
"A friend did say that it will take place in one of the fancier bars in London. If you want to apply, you just have to go to said bar, fill in a form and you can take part in it. As for what it is about, it is something for older people to find ... friends their generation. Apparently it was pretty damn successful in the past."
I nodded at her explanation. "I see. Do you plan on taking part in it?"
"I don't know. If I knew more about it, then maybe. But I don't want to take part in something that I don't know." she grimaced at that. "I should know it from experience."
As she said that, I gained an amused smile. "Let me guess: another story from your old days?"
She gained a proud smile and ruffled my hair. "How good you know me. But to answer your question: yes, it is another story from my old days. It's quite an amusing one. You see, it all started in ..."
And just like that grandma went on about one of her stories from her past. They were really amusing and entertaining to hear, to hear all the crazy stuff she used to do.
And just like that, listening to talks of the town and grandma's old stories, a good part of the day passed and I was at least happy that I didn't spend it bored out of my mind. The exhaustion was still there, sadly.
I just hoped that whatever was the problem with my sleep that would be over fast. For now, it is just the exhaustion that I could endure, but who knows what could be if the situation gets worse.
The rest of the day passed rather normally as I spent most time hanging out with grandma and helping her make dinner. In the afternoon I got a visit from Irina who spent time with me until she was called home for lunch, but she promised to come to visit again tomorrow.
I'm truly blessed to have such a friend.
Either way, later came mom and dad back from work and we had dinner. During dinner they talked about something, which I didn't listen to, or to be more precise, I couldn't focus on them as I was barely keeping myself awake. So, the moment dinner ended I went upstairs to go to sleep. Sure, it might have been a little too early to go to sleep, but I was just too tired to try to stay up anymore. I still held hope that the syrup might start giving positive results.
After taking said medicine and going to my bedroom, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep, I would go as far as to say that I fell asleep the moment my head landed on the pillow.
Sadly, my mind didn't quite agree on letting me have a nice peaceful and, most importantly, well-rested sleep for a change. Well, I was not sure if I would call the situation a bad one since the last time that happened, I had a pretty good sleep.
After what I assume couldn't have been longer than a few minutes after I fell asleep, I opened my eyes to find myself in a very familiar situation.
Some time had passed and I opened my eyes thinking that the morning had come but when I didn't see the ceiling of my room above me, I panicked a bit. Once again, I found myself in another place I knew that I had never seen or visited in any of my lives. This time, instead of a huge forest that looked like it came straight from a fairy tale, I found myself in what I assume were some sort of underground system of caverns.
The cavern itself was stretching far and wide with no clear sign of an exit or anything remotely close to that being in sight. There were both big and small stalagmites all around in the ground around me but it was still somehow manageable to walk. The same could be said for the stalactites that were hanging from the ceiling.
A little on the side I could see what I assume was either an underground river or lake as the dark waters reflected the light that was coming from the cracks in the ceiling.
Further from my standpoint there was a small waterfall, which was also the only source of sound in the otherwise dead silent cavern. There was no doubt that this place was breathtaking and could be mistaken for a piece of art.
Sadly, I couldn't focus much on the beauty of the place for long because my mind was occupied with something else.
"That's it, the lack of good sleep is finally getting to me." I said to myself as I stood there in the cave and took another look around.
First it was the forest, now a cavern. Either my mind was trying to send me a message or I was really going off the deep end.
"All that is missing now is another Ewok appearing." I thought about that idea for a second.
I released a sigh of frustration knowing that this dream-like state won't probably end so soon so, for now, I'm stuck in this place. Might as well look around while I wait for something to happen or to wake up. And with that, I began to walk in a random direction.
Walking through the cave was troublesome, but still doable. I didn't have any clear path in mind, but anything was better than just standing around and doing nothing.
The path was pretty slippery and rocky, so walking was not exactly an easy task but it was still manageable. As long as I kept being careful with nice and steady steps this shouldn't prove to be that much of a hassle.
After walking for some time on the said path, I began to notice how the path was getting less rocky, but more slippery. Actually, wet would be a better word than slippery, it was almost as if I was walking in really shallow waters. Even the structure and layout of the cavern path began to slightly change as kept going deeper into one of the caverns. No more were all the stalagmites and stalactites scattered around randomly, now it looked like they were forming some kind of path. I have already started walking this path so I might as well see what's waiting for me at the end of it.
I walked for God knows how much now and honestly, it was starting to get a little boring. Rocks on both sides making a single line with a few turns here and there and water at my feet. There was literally nothing else I could see, hell, I couldn't even hear the sound of the waterfall from where I started. The only sound left was the splashing of the water created by each of my steps.
I was so used to the semi-silent cave that when I heard a small and short squeak-like sound, I jumped in fright for a second. The sound caused me to stop dead in my tracks to look around to see from where the sound came from, but I only saw the same cavern path. Slightly concerned now and seeing nothing that could have made the sound, I continued with my walk.
Sadly, the sound continued to echo with each step I took. Some steps caused the sound of splashing of water to be heard, while others caused the squeaking sound to be heard more frequently. When I tried to increase the speed of my walk, it causes the sounds to also become more rapid and it finally gave me a general idea of where this mysterious sound could actually be coming from.
Coming to a sudden stop, I looked at the place from where I was sure the sound might have come from, which would be the sole of my foot in this case, and looky there, there was something there. The thing that was causing the sound was blue in color, circle shape and really flat with two swirls in the places where its eyes are supposed to be.
Not that I look at it, it looked really cute and kind of reminded me of those slimes you saw in games or animes.
...
...
...
...
Please tell me I didn't just kill a slime by accidentally stepping on it repeatedly.
Sitting down on the ground, I tried to peel the poor slime off the sole of my feet. It took me a few attempts due to how sticky it was, but I did manage to do it eventually. The moment it was off, the slime began to inflate till it was back to its standard form which looked very much like a ball. It wasn't that big though, seeing how easily it could fit in one of my hands.
Now, I may know how to perform the standard CPR or whatever it may be called on a human, but a slime was something completely different. So, I tried the universal action to see if someone is awake. Try to shake them awake.
Not the best idea, but it was all I had at the moment.
Grabbing it on both sides, I began to shake the slime as hard as I could, but still making sure it didn't accidentally fly out of my hands. I was beginning to feel a little panicked seeing as it didn't wake up, but then I noticed it began to stir till its swirly eyes were opened to reveal pure white eyes.
It looked around for a moment before its eyes landed on me. And they instantly turned angry.
"I guess you are angry for me stepping on you?" I asked in a nervous tone. For a slime, it sure knew how to give a glare.
It glared at me for a second before blinking and started to look at me in ... realization, I believe.
It just looked at me and swayed its head side to side a few times, like it was seizing me up. A second later, its eyes widen before it released a sound that sounded very similar to a joyful gasp.
All its anger seemed to be washed away as it jumped a few times in my hands and release squeaks of joy. It then jumped out of my hand and jump towards the way I was walking through.
After a few (rather huge) jumps, it stopped and turned to look towards me and released a few sounds as it was trying to tell me something. Unlike with the Ewok last time around, this time I could partially understand what it was trying to tell me.
I began to follow the slime as it jumped ahead of me and it would stop every now and then to see if I was still following it.
"Mind telling me where we are going?" I asked it for the fourth or fifth time, and just like the last few times, it seemed to just ignore me, maybe this is its little payback for having me step on him. Guess I would find out when I get there.
We continued to walk for a few more minutes before I saw a faint light in the distance. At that moment the slime began jumping more faster while I tried to keep pace with it. The light was getting brighter and brighter the closer we got to it, till it fully blinded me and I couldn't see anymore.
It took me a moment to adjust to the light and when I could see again, I was met with another sight to behold.
Before me was a large cylinder-shaped room that was both stretching above and below me. The entrance I was located on was more like a hole in the wall, with only a straight drop before me.
I looked above me to see the only source of light in the room. It seemed to come from multiple holes in the ceiling. While some of the holes were letting in sunlight, the vast majority of the others were covered in some kind of moss, thus preventing much sunlight from coming through them.
I felt something nudge my leg as I looked at the slime. It jumped to the edge and with its head indicated the depths below. Again, I could understand what it was trying to tell me. So, I leaned over the edge a little to look at what was below.
At first, I only saw pure darkness with no clear sign of the bottom. But, the more I looked the more I began to notice things.
The thing I noticed first was the slight movements in the darkness, almost as if something was moving in it. The light didn't exactly help with getting a better view. Just how deep was this hole?
Focusing more and letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, I quickly found out what exactly was below me. And the sight wasn't exactly a pretty one.
What I assume was just the shadow of the depth was actually some sort of water. It created slight waves that crashed on the few rocks that were risen above the waters, even though there wasn't a noticeable wind current in here. But what surprised me more were the things that were occupying the waters.
There were multiple different types of slimes below me, all in different colors.
Normal blue slimes (like the one beside me) were lazily floating in the waters while light blue ones were jumping on and creating frozen patches of the waters. Dark green and light green ones were stationed on the rocks, while the green ones also were covered in some vines or plants. Light red and purple slimes were also stationed on the rocks, but unlike the dark and light green ones, they were trying to keep a huge distance between themselves. And finally, there were pale green ones that were happily floating in the air with flaps of their small wings.
I was left standing there in complete silence and shock as I just stared at the scene below. I know that anything was possible in a dream to happen, but all of this felt too real to be a normal dream.
As I stared, I didn't notice the slime next to me looking below before releasing a rather loud squeaking sound that echoed through the entire place. And it got the attention of the slimes bellow as all of them turned their eyes towards us.
At first, they did nothing as they just stared at me and not a single sound could be heard. That is, till I decided to break the silence.
"Umm, hello?" I greeted them with a raised hand as my voice echoed. At first, the slimes didn't do anything and I assumed they didn't understand me when they suddenly began to jump up and down (or float up and down in the case of the pale green ones) in what I assume was pure joy. Well, from the happy-sounding sounds they released I assume it was joy. Or at least I hope they were.
It was harder to understand what they were saying than with the one next to me, but from the bits and pieces I did understand, it sounded like they were cheering.
The more they cheered, the more I could feel my face breaking into a smile. I don't know why, but seeing them so happy was just bringing a smile to my face. It didn't take long for me to start laughing. I don't know what made me start laughing, except the feeling of pure joy that was slowly spreading, but damn it, did it feel good!
After a minute of laughing silly for no known reason, I slowly calmed down, but the smile didn't leave my face. Feeling something nudging my leg again, I looked down to see the companion slime. Seeing that it got my attention, it released some sounds as if it were trying to tell me something.
"Go ... f ... est ... fast." I tried repeating the things that the slime was trying to tell me, but I couldn't understand all of it, only broken bits and pieces. It tried to say something again and again, but at that point, it was only faint that I didn't even hear it. My vision was also beginning to blurry as I suddenly felt really light-headed.
I couldn't even keep myself up on my feet as I fell on my side. The slime jumped to my head and looked over me in panic and again tried to say some in a more hurried and panicked tone.
It was no use as I was really close to losing consciousness. Or better said, I was really close to waking up again. So, I just slightly nodded my head to the slime, showing that I did understand what it was trying to say, even if it were broken pieces.
And as soon as I did that, my vision was fully consumed by darkness once again.
Opening my eyes, I was greeted with the darkness of my room with the only light being from the moonlight that shone through the window. Sitting up I took the clock from my nightstand.
"A little after midnight." I muttered rather sleepily as I put the clock back in its place. This was the first time that I have woken up in the middle of the night since I started having my sleeping problems.
Groaning, I looked around my room to see what I could do. Sure, I could try and go back asleep, but I didn't feel sleepy. My exhaustion, on the other hand, is only slightly reduced. But even that is a good change of pace.
"Might as well see what there is on the night programs." I muttered as I crawled out of bed and slowly and as quietly as possible made my way to the living room.
As I walked down, I recalled the dream I just had. It was very similar to the one I had a few days ago, just with a different location and the beings I meet in it. I was still not sure what they meant or if they were just regular dreams.
Maybe I was just overthinking it and they were just regular dreams. And maybe I will forget about them in a day or two, just like with any dream?
Honestly, late-night TV could really come good to me right now. Have something to take my mind off my problems.
Turns out that late-night TV wasn't a good idea in the long run. And I blame my semi-sleep-deprived brain. And it wasn't the TV or what was going on it that caused my troubles.
It started pretty normally with me just changing channels till I found something interesting to watch. That went on for a few minutes till I heard the front door being unlocked and people whispering
At first, I was thinking we were getting robbed when I recognized one of the voices. And the source revealed themselves once they managed to unlock the door.
The said source turned out to be my grandma. And she had company. Male company.
And both were apparently drunk if their slurred speech were anything to go by. And the fact that both ignored me and walked right past me right upstairs.
I don't think I need to spell out what their next intentions are.
Not sure if it was a good thing that I didn't hear anything after they went upstairs.
Anyway, with that knowledge (and a mental image already formed, sadly) I didn't dare to even go upstairs to my room so I spent the rest of the night on the living room's couch. Sadly, the mental image of them doing it was already made in my head so going back to sleep was not an option.
Thus, I spent the rest of the night channel surfing.
Morning came and before anyone was awake, I again saw grandma sneaking her "partner" out of the house, not without promising to see each other again.
Once said man was out of the house and grandma was about to head to the kitchen, she finally caught sight of me.
And oh boy, let me tell you, the awkwardness just increased as we stayed quiet for several seconds before either of us talked.
The rest of the day wasn't any better as the awkwardness between us remained. It only got worse when later she revealed she had another date tonight.
So, I did the next best thing I could think of besides chugging the entire syrup and hope it keeps me asleep till morning.
"And that is why I asked if it's possible to sleep here for tonight." I said to Maria as we sat on the porch of their house. It was still the middle of the day, so Irina was in school and Touji was still at work.
"If I haven't met your grandma, I would have thought you made it all up." said Maria honestly as she finished listening to my story. "But for your question, of course you can sleep here. Even better, since it's Friday you and Irina can stay up longer to have a sleepover."
"Sounds good." Mostly because it will keep my mind away from the stuff that could happen. No matter how old you are, you can go on without the mental image of your grandma going at it with a dude named Eugene.
"Great! Then I will inform your parents that you will be staying here for tonight." said Maria with a happy tone as she stood up. "You want to come inside now or do you want to go home and get stuff you will need for tonight?"
"No, I came prepared." I said, patting the backpack next to me. "In case I didn't find anyone here, I would have slept in our garden house."
Maria chuckled at that as she went inside her house, me following behind. "Glad to see you still have a sense of humor even with those sleeping problems of yours."
I wasn't joking.
The inside of their house was pretty nice and had a welcome-y feeling to it. There wasn't anything unusual about the whole place. Well, except for the weird sword they had on the wall that always gave me that strange feeling I had when I first laid my eyes on it. But other than that, it was a pretty nice place.
"Do your parents know you will be sleeping here?" asked Maria as I went to the living room.
"I already told them, so no need to worry about it." Somewhat of a truth. While my parents did know and approve of me sleeping over at the Shidous if they also agreed, they didn't know why I did it.
It was mostly to avoid The Talk if they discovered that I caught my grandma sneaking her lover over. Once hearing The Talk was good enough, thank you.
"Then it's all good. You can make yourself comfortable and later we can go and pick up Irina from school and get stuff for the sleepover. How does that sound?" Maria asked me from somewhere in the house as I sat on the sofa.
"Sounds good to me."
Guess I was saved for tonight and a part of tomorrow. Hopefully, grandma will learn from this and keep her lovers at their place instead of bringing them here.
The day passed on as normal from then on. At first, I spent most of the time with Maria till it was time to pick up Irina. You can imagine her joy when she came out of school and saw me with her mom in their car, waiting for her. Her joy increased when she found out I would sleep over at their place.
The moment she found out about that, we had to make a few quick stops. Mostly to buy snacks, some groceries and rent some movies. I can say I was pleasantly surprised when Irina picked Big Momma's House as one of the movies.
After that we went back to their home where I helped Irina with her homework so we can start with our sleepover as soon as possible. A little while Touji also came home, we had lunch and after that my parents came to visit, mostly to make sure I had everything I needed with me.
A little after that they left and I found myself with Irina in their backyard, simply kicking a ball to each other and having random talks.
"Did you know that when squirrels land on the ground, they make the superhero landing pose?"
"How did you find that out?"
"I got a lot of free time recently. Had to find a way to use it."
"Ah." nodded Irina in understanding. "Still the same problem?"
"Still the same. No change."
"You know, my dad was telling me about this Holy Maiden in Italy that is known for curing people. Maybe she could help you."
"Worth a shot, but I would have to go to Italy. And even then, it's not a guarantee she could heal this."
"I don't think anyone complained." I heard Irina mutter to herself as we continued with our ball game. Till Irina suddenly asked me a question.
"Do you think you are blessed?"
I answered with the only answer to that kind of sudden question.
"What?"
"Do you think you are blessed?" she casually repeated the question like she was asking "how was the weather".
"What do you mean by 'blessed' exactly?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow. While I knew about some of her religion-based behavior, this is the first time she asked me such a question.
"My dad was telling me this story about how God blessed some people in special ways. That is how I found out about the Holy Maiden." she explained. "So, I thought I could ask you. Would be pretty awesome if you were one."
"As much as it sounds good, I don't think I'm one." I answered as she caught the ball and didn't kick it back, instead looked at me with a semi-serious look.
"Did you even try it? To see if you are blessed."
"No. How am I even supposed to do that?" at my question, Irina thought about it before snapping her fingers as she got an idea.
"I know! if it's a blessing by God, maybe you can try and ask him through a prayer if you are blessed!" as she said that, she gained a proud look on her face like she just scored the highest score on an exam.
Sadly, I wasn't that impressed with her idea.
"Seriously?" I asked with a deadpan tone and look.
"I don't see you giving any better ideas." she defended with a slightly offended tone.
"Touche. Well, might as well try it." It's not like I had anything to lose. "So, do I just go on my knees and pray or what?"
"Hmmm." she again began to think. "I guess it can work. if not, we can always ask dad how to do it."
With that being said, I went on my knees, closed my eyes and put my hands together in a praying pose. "Hey God. Here is Matthew Ainsworth speaking, but you probably already know that."
"Say what you are grateful for first." added Irina from somewhere close.
"First I want to say I'm grateful I was born into a good family. My dad is great, my mom is also great and my grandma ... my grandma has some flaws, but she is also great. Just, if possible, let's not repeat what happened last night."
Ignoring Irina's question about what happened, I continued. "Listen, I know I never was much of a follower or believer or whatever it is called, but I'm speaking with you today because I have a question. A question a good friend of mine, you probably know her with how much she prays with you per day, gave me."
This time I ignored her shout of protest. "She told me that you gave some people blessings, like with that Holy Maiden in Italy that heals people. So, my question is: is there any chance I was also blessed? If yes, send some kind of sign. If not, just keep it as it is. Again, thank you for all of the things you gave me this far."
And something I don't want others to hear, but if you are the one behind my reincarnation then I'm immensely grateful for this second chance. So don't listen to what Butcher said, because you are not a cunt. In my book, at least.
"Amen." I finished and keep my eyes closed. "Is there any change?"
"Not that I can see. Maybe it takes some time before you get ... an ... answer." I noticed that she slowed down with her speech at the last parts for some reason. Opening my eyes, I see that she had her eyes opened wide and mouth hanging open as she stared at something ... bellow me?
Looking down, I came face to face with what caused her shock. Surrounding me was some sort of shadow that was moving ever so slightly like it was alive. I slowly stood and took a step outside the shadow only to see it still there.
"What is that?" I whispered to Irina, who moved to my side as we made a good distance from the ... whatever the fuck that thing was.
"I don't know. I guess your blessing." she whispered back with an uncertain tone.
"What kind of blessing takes the form of that?!" I inquired somewhat harshly as I pointed at my supposed blessing.
She was about to answer something when we both noticed my blessing began doing something. That something being that its middle parts began to glow and something just rose from it. That something took the form of something I have just recently seen.
It was sphere-shaped and light red in color with two small horns coming out of his head, roughly the size of. It opened its eyes (which were the only feature on its face) and looked around before its eyes settled on us two.
Now that I got a much better look at it, I knew what it was. It was one of the slimes I saw in my dream last night. And this one looked identical to the Pyro Slimes from one of my favorite games in my previous life.
The Pyro Slime didn't make any movements as it just stared at us, so I also didn't risk in making any moves to not alert it.
Irina, on the other hand, did the only logical thing a 10-year-old would do when they saw a giant flame slime coming out of the ground.
"DAAAAAAD!"
"Ehe~ So warm and comfy~"
I could only stare in pure deadpan as I watched Irina, who has done a complete 180, laying and hugging atop of the Pyro Slime. Said Slime was also simply sitting there and radiating an incredibly comfortable warmth, which combined with its natural bounciness made it really nice to lay on top of it.
You see, the moment Irina screamed for her dad, he was already outside with some weird gun in his hands. Then he saw the Pyro Slime and immediately aimed. The Slime naturally got afraid and it went to take cover. Said cover was me. And since the reason why she screamed came to her, Irina moved to the next safest place, which was next to her dad.
After some more screaming and us explaining what happened later, Touji urged us into the house. We went there, but the Pyro Slime also followed us after I told it to follow me and behave once inside. And behave it did. In fact, it was so behaved that Irina actually got the courage to approach it and after noticing how comfortable it looked and felt, she laid herself on top of it.
This brings us to this moment. Me sitting on the couch, Irina on top of the Pyro Slime, Maria sitting on the other side of the couch and Touji somewhere in the house calling someone who apparently had more knowledge on those kinds of situations.
"So that ... thing just appeared after you prayed?" Maria said with skepticism as she eyes the Slime carefully.
"Appeared from a weird shadow that formed under me after I prayed, yes." I answered her as my mind was trying to figure out what exactly happened. And if I could come up with an answer to where I was.
Sadly, no success on either front.
Soon Touji entered the room with a serious expression, apparently already finished with his talk. "Alright, I talked with my superiors and explained the situation to them. They think they have an idea of what it is. But first; Matt, how familiar are you with the Supernatural?"
"Supernatural?" at my question he nodded. "You mean the show that came out or stuff like angels, devils, fairies and the likes?"
"The latter."
"Not much except the basic stuff. Like dragons love to hoard gold, dwarfs are great at making stuff, fairies are little bastards, etc. Why do you ask?"
"Because what I'm about to tell you not only is connected to your 'blessing', but it will also change your whole worldview."
And he proceeded to tell and explain all to me. From the Three Factions considering of the Angels/Church, Fallen Angels and Devils, to how the other mythologies like the Greek, Norse, and Egyptian also existed. He also explained how my supposed "blessing" was actually some sort of artifact called Sacred Gear, made and given by the Big G himself.
He also told me some other things, but I was pretty I wasn't listening at that point anymore. Mostly because my mind was occupied with other thoughts. From trying to use the newly acquired information to figure out where I ended up, to figure out if some of the Gods or if even the Big G had anything to do with my reincarnation, to what exactly my blessing was. The last part I figured out it had something to do with summoning, if the Pyro Slime is anything to do.
"I can see this all is a little too much to take in. Can't exactly blame you." he said while giving me a sympathetic look. "I made some calls and managed to arrange for someone more experienced in Sacred Gears to come and figure out what Sacred Gear you exactly have. They will probably be tomorrow here already. Till then I would suggest thinking and letting all of this settle."
"Uh-uh." I nodded with an absent tone and probably look. "I think I need some air after ... all of this."
Nobody said anything as I simply went outside in their garden, sat on the porch they had there and released a huge sigh of pure frustration.
I was not sure what to think of all the info that was dropped on me. It gave me more insight into the world I was living in, but it was still not enough to answer me exactly where I was. Especially since the terms for my blessing, Sacred Gear, sounded vaguely familiar. I learned I possessed one of the said blessings, but not an exact idea what its full capabilities were besides summoning slimes.
Not to mention I learned that my best friend and her father were soldiers of the church. The same church that is in most shows portrayed as corrupt. At least Irina wasn't a boy then that would have caused a whole different set of problems for her.
"At least they didn't try to mess with my mind to hide their existence." I muttered to myself as I put my head into my hands. That would have been a whole new type of mess if someone managed to see inside my mind.
I don't know how long I sat here and let my mind run wild when I heard the door opening and someone taking a seat next to me.
"You alright?" I heard the sound of my friend's voice coming from beside me. Looking up, I saw her giving me a concerned look.
"I have no idea." I answered honestly. "All that your dad just said is a little ..."
"Too much?" she finished my sentence with an understanding look. "Yeah, can understand you. It was the same for me when I found out about it."
"When did you found about it?"
"I think I was about ... 5 or 6." I gave Irina an incredulous look. She knew about it for half her life!
"You serious?" I couldn't help but ask as Irina nodded.
"Yeah. And I was shocked as much as you were. Just we expressed it differently."
"My way of expressing it is apparently having an existential crisis. How did you express it?" at my question, Irina gained a nostalgic look on her face, like she was reminiscing good memories.
"It was a great day. I still remember it like it was yesterday. My parents were extra nice to me that day, doing everything I wanted. Then night came and they dropped the bomb on me. I remember I was so happy and excited when I heard the Lord and all the Angels were real!" she told the story with such joy that her eyes could start shining. "And then I fainted from the same joy."
"Huh." Guess it is a normal thing to happen when you tell such things to a 5-year-old.
"Yeah. But I can say that you will get used to it. Not soon, but it will soon become normal for you." said Irina in an apparent attempt to ease my worries about what I learned tonight. "Besides, you are in a much better position than I am."
"In what way am I in a better position than you?" I asked with genuine curiosity.
"You are older than me, so you can handle it better! You didn't faint at least. You also have me, your best friend, to help you with getting used to it!" she almost squealed in delight. "We could be a true senpai and kouhai duo! Then there is also your Sacred Gear! Ohhh, I just can't wait to find out what it is!"
How come it was that she was more excited about figuring out what my Sacred Gear did than me? And yes, she had a rare habit of using Japanese terms. I understood most of them due to some prior anime knowledge, but I had to ask her to translate.
"You would be my mentor in supernatural matters?"
"You can bet on it!" she declared proudly as she puffed her chest. "With me by your side, you will get used to this side of the world in no time!"
I couldn't stop the smile forming on my face at her enthusiasm in helping me get used to this all. "You have no idea how much that means to me. You really are my best friend, Irina."
I heard a gasp beside me. When I turned to look at her, she was looking at me with wide eyes and mouth covered with her hands.
"What?"
"This ... This is the first time you called me your best friend." Irina answered in a shaky tone as her face turned even happier. And I could have sworn I saw some tears forming in her eyes. "This is really the best day!
I couldn't prepare myself as my confirmed best friend launched herself at me and hugged me in a surprisingly tight hug. Guess the training she did actually paid off.
If it were me from a few months ago, I would have pushed her away in annoyance. But right now, I was welcome to the hug. To the point, I even hugged her back.
Besides, at this moment, a hug was something I could really use. At least to show that someone was with me during this whole mess.
After our moment from last night, I and Irina stayed a little more outside and talked before we had to go inside. We didn't immediately go to sleep, but ended up staying up to enjoy a good movie night. In the middle of the movie, Touji had to leave us due to receiving a call from the church.
If I didn't know he was a die-hard Christian, I would have thought he was cheating on Maria.
Anyway, the rest of the night was spent watching the movies we rented when it was time for us to go to bed. Maria was the entire time with us, but Touji still hasn't returned from whatever he was doing.
Morning came and we had breakfast, a mix of Japanese and British styles. Got the chance to eat some new food, at least.
After that me and Irina spent our time just hanging around, watching TV and playing some games. It was a little before noon when Touji came back and explained to us that someone came from the Church HQ, presumably the Vatican, to check on my Sacred Gear.
So without much complication, me and Irina (who decided to tag around as moral support) got into the car and Touji drove us to the local church.
And that is how I found myself here, sitting in one of the benches inside the church with Irina sitting next to me and her father speaking to the person who was sent here.
"Aren't you excited?!" asked Irina giddily from my side. She seemed more excited for this than me. "You are about to find out what your Sacred Gear is!"
"Mhm." I answered simply with an nod. Honestly, I was somewhat excited to learn what exactly I had. So far, I know it had something to do with creating. Now that I think of it, I could ask the person if they knew some sort of prayer or anything like that which could help with my sleeping problem.
Irina was about to say something else when her father came from the side rooms behind the altar.
"Alright, they are ready to take a look at you and see what Sacred Gear you possess. They are waiting at you at the confessional."
"Do I need to know anything before I go? What should I say or do?"
"Just go in, greet politely and they will do the rest. No reason to be nervous. Besides, it will be just the two of you. Nobody is able to hear what you say." said Touji as I nodded.
"Alright. Here goes nothing." Calming my nerves, I made myself to the confessional. Looking one last time behind me towards my moral support, I saw her giving me a thumbs up and encouraging smile. Sending one back, I entered the confessional and took a seat on the stool inside. It was pretty dark inside, with the only light coming from the holes in the wall on my right side, where the other person is apparently sitting.
Said wall opened up to reveal the person on the other side. And boy, was I in for a surprise.
The other person revealed themself to be a young woman, easily in her 20's. She was easily one of the, if not the most gorgeous women I ever saw in this life. The fact she was wearing a complete nun habit didn't make her any less beautiful. And don't get me started on her blue eyes.
...
If I didn't know any better, I would say I just fell in love.
"Hello." she greeted with a sweet voice. "You are the boy Father Shidou told me to check for his Sacred Gear?"
"Yes. Matthew Ainsworth, nice to meet you." I greeted politely.
"Matthew. A nice name. The same name as one of the twelve apostles of Jesus."
"Or the name of one of the main actors of Friends."
"Your parents named you after Matthew Perry?"
"No, after Matthew McConaughey." I corrected her before giving her a puzzled look. "Wait, you know about Friends?"
My question was met with an amused smile. "Of course. Like anyone else, I also need something to do in my downtime. Did you think we from the church are ignorant of anything other than our believes?"
"Well, I didn't have proof against it." I answered truthfully as I felt my cheeks growing ever so slightly warm at the slight accusation.
"Nonetheless, let's get down to business. My name is Griselda Quarta. One of the exorcists of the Church. Nice to meet you." she greeted me in a friendly tone.
"Nice to meet you too. So, how do we do it now?"
"Quite simple, really. But first, I need to ask you a question. Ever since you discovered your Sacred Gear, did you try and use it?"
"No."
"I see." she said as she closed her eyes and gained a thoughtful expression. "Well, we can still work with that. Your Sacred Gear should be awakened, so we can skip that part. Touji said you created a ... fire slime, if I recall correctly?"
"Yes."
"Then its a creation type Sacred Gear." Griselda summarised. "They are quite a lot of those. Best way for me to figure out which one you possess is to see it in action."
"You want me to use it? Right now?" my question was meet with an questionable gaze from Griselda.
"Of course. Is that a problem?"
"Well, I only used it last time. And even then it was an accident." I answered somewhat unsure. "No idea how to use it at will."
At that Griselda adopted a warm reassuring smile. "No problem. It is quiet easy to use them. Sacred Gears respond to desire, which is what makes the work and evolve. Now, I want you to close your eyes."
I did as she told me and closed my eyes.
"Good. Now, I want you to imagine a small creature. Something you would want to see."
At that request, I thought a little. A small creature I would want to see.
The list of them was surprisingly big, but I decided to go with something classic so to speak.
Focusing on my choice, I felt something leaving me and my exhaustion increasing. I waited for a second before I opened my eyes and was meet with the smiling and somewhat proud face of Griselda.
"Did I do anything?" I asked as I looked around only to see everything was the same and no creature was inside the confessional.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" as she said that, something else floated down in my field of vision.
That something else could be described as ghost dressed in ragged robes and a helmet with horns, covering its face besides the red eyes and fanged grin. It was also carrying a tuning fork and a stick in its tiny hands.
I was simply floating in front of me before it moved to float around aimlessly.
"Well, what do you say? Not bad for your first attempt." praised Griselda as she looked at the floating Fiend.
"Uhu." I nodded as I also followed it, still not believing I managed to summon it and made it look just like I remembered it.
"After that, I now for certain know what your Sacred Gear is." that caused me to turn my gaze from my creation to the sister in front of me.
"You do?"
"Yes. And I have to say you were truly blessed by The Lord." I could tell from her voice that she was being honest about it and some fake sentimentance. "You, Matthew, are in the possession of Annihilation Maker."
...
...
...
"I'm in the possession of what?" I asked in confusion. I know that Touji went over with me what Sacred Gears are last night, but he never named any of them. So I had no idea of knowing what Annihilation Maker was. Although, if she is any indication, it is apparently a big deal with me possession it.
"Right, forgot you are still new to this. You do know what the Longinus Sacred Gears are?"
"Yes." I also recalled Touji saying something about them. They are supposedly the top Sacred Gears of them all. The crème de la crème of Sacred Gears, if you will.
"Good. Then you should also know that Annihilation Maker is one of the Longinus Sacred Gears. One of the top four, in fact." she explained to me before gaining an amused look. The reason of that was probably my shocked expression.
I mean, how did you expect me to react when I learned that the ability I possess is one of the best you can get from out of a thousand other abilities.
"Close that mouth, don't want any fly to to go inside." she jokingly chided me before turning serious. "I know this might now be a shock to you and you will need some time to let it all settle down, along with everything else you learned last night. But believe me when I say you will go through it all with no problems."
"Alright. Alright." I said, trying to calm myself down. It took me a few moments till I was somewhat calm. The fact that the Fiend floated in my arms was also helpful. "So, what do I do now?"
"Well, seeing as this was all sudden and you had no prior knowledge on the Supernatural world, I would say we make sure you get settled in." explained Griselda calmly. "And seeing that you are already on friendly terms with an exorcist and one in training, I would say that they teach you the ins and outs of it all."
"And what about this?" I said while raising the Fiend in my arms so she could see it. "What about my Sacred Gear?"
Griselda hummed in thought. "We had to deal with a lot of Sacred Gears, but never with Annihilation Maker. Best we can do is show you how to control it and make sure it doesn't go out of control, but on the more precise things you will sadly have to figure them out yourself."
"I guess that makes sense."
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask them."
"I do have some." Griselda simply indicated for me to ask her. "What exactly can my Sacred Gear do? Like you said, it is a creation type Sacred Gear so that gives me a basic idea what it can do, but are there any limits to it or drawbacks I should be aware of?"
"Annihilation Maker, also known as Demonic Beast Creation, is actually the strongest creation type Sacred Gear, which is why it is among the Longinus's. You see, if you have a strong imagination, you could essentially make any creature you imagined. But it comes with some obvious drawbacks. Like whenever you create something, it will drain energy from you. You probably noticed it when you made that little creature."
"Yeah, I did notice." It was like my energy suddenly left my body, leaving me more exhausted than a few moments ago.
It kind of reminded me of when I wake up in the morning the past few days.
...
Wait a sec ...
"It is possible to reduce that drain. The more you use the Sacred Gear, the more you will get used to its and will require less 'costs' to create your creatures. Of course, if you want to make something stronger, it will require more energy from you."
I nodded at that, putting my previous train of thought aside. "But is there a limit to what I can make?"
"I don't think so. You can make something simple as a bunny or you can create something more complex like ..." she was quiet for a second, trying to find a good example. "Like Stitch from Lilo & Stitch. But you have to be able to bear the cost of it requires you to make it."
"Neat." I answered simply. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"Not sure if you already knew, but you can command your creatures to do stuff." she pointed to my Fiend. "Why don't you try it giving it a command?"
"I can try." I turned my gaze to the Fiend in my hands, who gazed back at me. "Fly 5 times in a circle as fast as possible."
The moment I said those words, the Fiend began doing exactly as I told it. It was also pretty fast as it finished the circles in a second.
"Now try giving it a mental command. Without saying anything." instructed Griselda as I thought was I could make it do.
A few ideas came to mind as the Fiend floated to Griselda and gave her a hug. I will admit that my face turned slightly red at the amused look she was giving me. That was not the command I gave it, I swear to whatever deity is up there.
"Guess you need to work on your mental commands." said Griselda in a semi-serious tone.
"R-Right." I said, my face still red. "What happens when I don't need the creatures I summoned? Do they just go away or?"
"I would say you need to make them disappear. Try imagining them away."
I did as she told me and soon a shadow like portal, similar to the one that appeared when I summoned the Pyro Slime, appeared below the Fiend. Said creature gave both me and Griselda a farewell wave before sinking in the portal, leaving me and Griselda alone.
"Do you have anything else you want to ask?" Griselda asked kindly, the teasong look and tone gone.
"... Why did we have this talk in a confessional?"
At my question, Griselda giggled lightly. "I thought it would be appropriate. Plus, here we have a 100% guarantee nobody will eavesdrop on us?"
"Oh."
"Any other questions?"
I thought a little about what all happened here before shaking my head. "For the moment, nothing. Maybe in the future."
"Then I would say we are finished." said Griselda as she sat up. I followed her example and we walked outside the confessional, where we saw Touji and Irina sitting at the benches, presumably waiting for us to finish. They saw us and made their way to us.
"How did it go? Did you manage to find what his Sacred Gear was, Sister Griselda?" asked Touji as he looked between us, Irina just looking with a curious expression on what happened.
"It was a success. And for the matter of his Sacred Gear, I need to talk to you in private about that." instructed Griselda as Touji nodded his head in understanding. She then lightly crouched so she was at eye level with me. "And you, if you ever have any question, feel free to ask Touji. If he is unable to answer ..." she then produced a card with a number written on it. "You can call me on this number. If I'm unable to answer, I will call you back the first chance I get."
"Will do." I said with a nod as I pocketed the card. "And thank you again for helping me."
"You are welcome." Griselda said in a sweet tone before leaning forward and planting a kiss on my forehead. "I know it is all sudden, but I know you will manage it. You have two familiar friends who will help you."
"Uhu." I nodded dumbly as my mind was still occupied with the kiss a few seconds ago. I know it was probably just the "encouraging" type of kiss, but it's one nonetheless. Besides, Griselda was quite attractive so that was an bonus.
"Great." she said with a smile as she stood up and turned to Touji. "We need to discuss something before I take my leave."
"Understood." said Touji simply as he pointed to where the offices, were I presume. "Should we move the discussion to the office then?"
"It would be for the best, yes." she then turned to me and Irina with smiles. "I hope I will get to meet you two in the future. God bless you."
"Bye./Bye, Sister Griselda!" both me and Irina said our goodbyes, Irina's a little more cheerful as the Sister began to make their way to the office.
"You two wait here. This shouldn't take to long." instructed Touji simply as he followed the Sister, leaving me and Irina alone in the church.
We remained silent for a few moments when I turned to look at my friend, only to see her sprouting a cheeky grin.
"What?"
"Nooothing~" She answered in a sing-song tone. "I just noticed how Sister Griselda gave you that peak and how you reacted."
"Yes. And what of it?" I didn't like where this was going.
"You never reacted that way before." said Irina as she leaned in closer. "Plus, I don't think I ever saw you red like that."
I didn't bother with an response as I simply narrowed my eyes at her. She apparently wasn't bothered by at as she took a faux-thinking pose before gasping and clapping her hands before her mouth.
"Could it be ... you have a crush on Sister Griselda?" she asked me in a mix of fake shock an amusement, a grin almost splitting her face behind her hands.
I, in response, gave her a nasty glare. I did try to find a response to that accusation, but kept failing before finding one quite fitting for the situation.
"... Shut up."
After our visit to the church and after Touji had the talk with Griselda, he decided to also bring Irina up to speed on what all Griselda told him. To say she was shocked was an understatement, but that shock turned to joy when Touji announced we will be spending the rest of the day in London.
When I asked about that, he said it was mostly to easen up from the revelations since last night. I wasn't complaining and I guess it could be good to experience something more relaxing after all these revelations.
Anyway, we drove to London, visited all kind of different places. Apparently the exorcist, the official name of the people who work for the Church, were getting a pretty damn good paycheck. Which explained why he was so lax about what we had for dinner. And let me tell you, me and Irina ate like kings. From the main dish to the dessert, everything was top grade.
The day was coming to a close and we drove back home. I went to the Shidou house again, this time so Touji could instruct me on how to make sure that I didn't activate my Sacred Gear on accident.
After that, the entire Shidou family + myself went to my house. The adults were in the living room, chatting among themself. Grandma wasn't at home since she went on a "sleepover" at her "friends house".
On the good side she learned her lesson, but on the bad side I now had the idea of her doing the nasty. Not an image I wanted in my head right now.
But while the adults were in the living room, me and Irina for a change were in my room and were experimenting with my Sacred Gear. It was mostly small stuff, from actual animals to creatures we saw in movies and cartoons. But we always made sure it was something that wouldn't alert our parents downstairs.
They stayed over for a while before having to go home again, not before Irina promised to come by tomorrow. With them gone, I watched a movie with my parents before it was time to go to sleep. I took my medicine and went to bed.
Sleep came soon to me and I didn't have any dreams. Quite the opposite in fact, the sleep was the best I had the last few weeks. So it came as a great surprise when I woke up again the middle of the night and, surprisingly, felt refreshed. I could still feel some lingering exhaustion on me, but it was nothing compared to the last few days. The fact was, I had a good night rest for a change.
And it gave me something to think about.
It came to my realization that the feeling I had the last few days was very similar to the one I felt when I made something with my Sacred Gear. It could have been just a mere coincidence, but whenever I made something, the exhaustion I had from my sleeping problem would increase.
That made me think that my sleeping problem might have been somewhat related to my Sacred Gear. But if that was the case, I would have probably noticed that I have the ability to summon creatures.
Then there was the matter of my last two dreams. I was pretty damn certain they had something to do with my Sacred Gear, especially since the Pyro Slime was the same as one of the slimes I saw in my last dream.
Releasing a sign, I looked outside the window which was pointed at our backyard. I was unsure if I was onto something or was I just looking to deep into that. Which is why I decided to ask someone about it. Either ask Touji or, in the case he doesn't have an answer, call Griselda and hope she would have an answer.
With that decision made, I was thinking of going back to bed and enjoy the luxury of a restful sleep. But my own curiosity got the better of as I looked at the window sill that was used as my seat.
Focusing harder compared to all the times I did today, I saw the shadow-like portal forming on the sill. Dozen of ideas went through my head on what I wanted to make before settling on something simple, but not natural. And seeing that I was still a amateur with my Sacred Gear, I didn't want to risk to see if I can give my creatures any sort of ability. So for now it would only have the appearance of it.
As soon as the image was formed in my head, the creature came through the portal. Its size was between an infant and a adult cat. It was humanoid in shape with some demonic traits like pointed ears and a forked tail. It also possessed blue skin, black hair that casted a shadow over his eyes, which were lightly glowing yellow.
Looking around the room, the little demon settled its eyes on me and gained a large grin, showing its fanged teeth.
"I thinking could get used to this." I muttered to myself as I offered my hand to the little demon. Instead of taking it, it jumped on it and crawled up my arm till it was preaching on my shoulder like Jack the Monkey on Barbossa.
Yup, definitely could get used to this. Now if I only knew where exactly I was, it would have been it much better. But I can't complain with this.
Overall, my reincarnated life is about to start feeling like a real isekai.
And there you have it, folks. After a year long wait, this story finally got an update.
I will be honest: at multiple times I lost motivation to write this and/or any other stories. But said motivation returned, so you can expect more updates. Not regular, but also with huge differences between updates.
For the story, I already have a plan on how it will continue till canon and a little in it. So, all that left is for me to write it all down.
Another thing, something I tried to avoid, is that i'm currently having trouble picking the paring, be it single or a harem. If I decide to go with the latter, it will be at max 4 members.
So I ask you, my dear readers, to suggest up to 4 possible pairing choices. The only restrictions I have is no gender-bents and the choice has to make sense, with an legit reason why they would be an pairing choice. And if possible, keep the characters from other animes, games, show, etc. to a minimum.
With that being said, I have nothing else to say except I hope I see you soon on the next chapter.
Like always, leave a comment, follow and favor this story.
See ya all next time and stay healthy. Peace out.
P.S.: Huge respect for the people who can guess what the two last creatures Matt summoned are.