Pain.
Why is it so painful?
It doesn't make sense.
Subaru gasped as he darkness seemed to meld with his entire being. His existence as if being embraced by thoudsands of hands. Invasive. Possessive. A honeyed and sticky feeling seemed to persist on his skin.
He felt as if his heart was being crushed.
Ah…Is this the feeling of sleep paralysis people was talking about? Hm…I can't open my eyes.
Despite feeling a heavy weight on his body, Subaru attempted to move, just to find out that his body refused to head any command at all.
Perhaps this will be over soon…I can just wait it out. Damn it. My body is going to feel like hell next morning.
Subaru had his fair share of exhaustion after late night gaming, but that didn't make subsequent attempt any better. Maybe he should just try living healthier life.
I think I did quite well keeping my mind adrift…
Still, what brought this on? It could be because I was sleep deprived. However, this has never happened before.
And is sleep paralysis supposed to be this painful? I thought it only made your body immobilized.
…
…why isn't it over yet?
The pressure in his heart started to get worse.
Ack!
Wait. Wait a minute. Could I be having a heart attack?
Hell, I don't want to die young. Although I was wasting my life, I could still turn it around!
…
Eh? The pain…it doesn't hurt as much. Though it still feet as if my heart is being clawed inside out…
And I barely sleep, too. Look like I will be incapacitated tomorrow. I did promise to be active, but this is a reasonable excuse right? Mom and Dad will understand.
…
Why am I thinking about them right now? I will see them tomorrow. No harm done then.
Now that I think about it, it has been a long time since our family went on a trip together. That is something nice to think about.
Alone with his thoughts, Subaru's mind began to wander.
Mom and Dad is always patient with me. They must be very disappointed, yet they didn't show it. Maybe I will try to go to school again, if only to relieve them of some stress. I could have sworn I saw some white in Dad's hair the other day.
…
Ah…I can move my body now. I should try opening my eyes.
Though his heart still felt as if smothered, Subaru willed himself to open his eyes. It took some effort, but finally his consciousness return. It was then that Subaru noticed his vision was tinted with red.
My eyes…is it bleeding? Everything is so...red.
His vision eventually cleared and he became aware of his surrounding. He saw the dark wooden floor enveloping his vision, and suddenly realized he was lying on his face.
This floor…this isn't my room.
He tried to roll over, but a stinging pain in his chest quickly remedied his effort. He perked up and saw a notebook with black cover, splattered with blood, lying in the corner of room.
To the left of his vision was a clothing rack with a black uniform with a glint of something. A patrol cap, with an unidentified insignia rested above it. That glint his saw must be a badge.
Police uniform? It's not from Japan.
Subaru noticed something hard under his body. He shifted his body a bit, and took out the object under him.
An ornate dagger, covered in blood.
A dagger? The engraving is quite detailed…it must be quite expensive?
Leaving the knife on the side, Subaru rolled over and tried standing up, but his heart throbbed once again as he kneeled on one leg. Subaru started panting from the pain.
It is still bearable… Subaru stood up slowly, using the nearby window ledge the prop himself up.
The architecture have classical Western style. Besides the clothing rack, there is a decrepit bed, a study desk, and some wall lamp with distinguished texture. There are various household applications all over the room.
Subaru looked out of the window and notice that the glint in his vision, and the red that currently coated the room was the crimson moon outside.
Huh…how cliché.
Noticing a mirror, slightly cracked as it was at the edge of the room, Subaru slowly made his way toward it. Bright red hair, blue eyes, with stubble on his face. He wore a brown linen shirt, with similarly brown pant. There is a noticeable gash on his shirt where his heart is, and blood still stained the area around it. His hand, too, was covered in blood.
Wait. This is not me!
Subaru mulled over for a bit. It finally made sense! He must have transmigrated!
…I looked like a depressed single dad.
The gash on his shirt...someone stabbed him? The knife from before...it could also be suicide.
And supposedly I was the one taking over the dead body of this guy... this situation is quite morbid.
Well, this was supposed to be a dream came true. He had grown up fantasizing about such situations many time. But the world in mangas and novels were usually vibrant...Compared to this particular circumstance, ít was a bit hard for him to accept.
Wish I could have been in my own body. Wait, do I have family, then? I don't have any experience acting as someone else.
Calm down. Take a deep breath, Subaru. You got this.
At that moment, his head was assaulted with an influx of memories.
It is the memory of Heinkel van Astrea, a citizen of the Northern Continent's Loen Kingdom, Awwa County, City of Tingen. He is also a deputy captain of the local police force.
His lineage is nothing to be scoffed at. His father, Wilhelm van Astrea, is a renowned mercenary, and his mother, Theresa van Astrea, was a high ranking bodyguard of the former king. She had retired after marrying her father. Unfortunately, she lost her life a few years ago trying to fend off some of her old enemies. She could have survived, yet she was with Reinhard at the time, and she probably died trying to protect him.
Heinkel's relationship with his father had been strained every since, because Wilhelm blamed Reinhard for the death of his wife. They hadn't been in contact for a long time.
Reinhard is the name of his son, and he is Heinkel's only child with his wife Louanna. About the topic of Louanna, it seemed like an unfortunate event. She suddenly collapsed on the street last year and fell into a coma. She hasn't woken up ever since.
The three of them live in a two bedroom apartment together. Yes, this barely sustainable apartment. While being a policeman is not a low-paying job, the medication for his wife and school fee for his son offset most of that. He is the sole breadwinner in the house.
Damn it. Such a complicated situation, too.
Subaru couldn't help but compare the situation with his own family, and noticed how lucky he had been. While he was not perfect, much less the opposite, his parents were tolerant and understanding.
My thought…is his temperament affecting me? I must focus…
Subaru shook his head slightly. As he scanned around the room once more, he noticed numerous bottles lying around the room, and the room itself reeked of alcohol. Of course, Heinkel is an alcoholic, everything made sense now. The stress must have been crushing.
Is this why he stabbed himself with a knife? Because he couldn't deal with the accumulating stress?
No…that wasn't quite right.
He still had his wife and son to take care of. The Heinkel in his memory didn't seem like the type to leave his wife and son, especially when they can't take care of themselves.
I must find more information.
Subaru's eyes cast to the dagger on the floor.
The engraving is exceptional. With Heinkel's current situation, he couldn't have afforded something like this.
With a frown on his face, Subaru approached the notebook in the corner of the room. He picked it up and saw an unfamiliar text.
While Heinkel is a policeman now, he used to be a history graduate. His family was well-off at that time, with more than enough money to get him into university. Heinkel knew of the ancient Feysac language, which was deemed the origin of all languages in the Northern Continent. But this particular language on the notebook seemed to be Hermes, with the content often about sacrificial and praying rituals.
I still can't read it…
Suddenly, he saw the text on the notebook shift, and finally turned into something readable.
In Hermes language, the content is:
"Everyone will die, including me."