As [Name] was nearing the end of his time limit in the current world. He had another month before he would be sent into a different world. He would just have to wait for the catalyst of his death; [Name] was quite content though, meeting the different people and interesting characters that he has come across was something he loved.
Sometimes he would set himself apart from the plot so he could appreciate the intricacies of most of the characters he has met, all of them compiled into a notebook that was running out of space for all of the characters he has met so far. He admired them all. Their quirks and foolishly, the more he paid attention to them, the more attached he was to every world. Seemingly to always leave a part of his heart within the worlds he had visited.
Waking up from his dreamless sleep [Name] got himself ready for the day. Checking his missions that were set for the day. It has been a while since Lucian has spoken to him, but [Name] had now got used to the absence of the system.
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Lucian was stressed. Something he hasn't felt in a long time, the first time he felt being stressed was when he was a baby system, and still retained quite a lot of his emotions from the human body he was pulled from.
He was a clown. A fool for even allowing himself to feel again. Lucian doesn't want to think, but he has things he needs to do but here he is. Wallowing in self-pity, he sighed. Getting up from his desk he went to the portal to the head of the department for regulated transmigration. The report is done, many of the tasks have been done, but his emotions are a mess.
Suddenly wracked with the weight of his actions; Lucian was shaking when he left the office, his heart was pounding. It was new, the feeling of extreme dread, his head was throbbing and his vision began swimming.
He was such a fool.
He had brought this upon himself, he chose to be a spirit guide. In his ignorance, he chose to be an iconoclast of souls. He had destroyed so many, ruined so many, being under the guise of helping them get through the worlds. His mission was to always apparently qualify the souls for the last cleansing.
He is such a fool.
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[Name] didn't understand how he passed. All he remembered was passing out at his desk and then falling asleep immediately. He feels as if he had just woken up from a dream. If he was dead he should have been in the space where he would meet Lucian, or be transported into the next world and already be given his next mission.
But it was none of those things. He felt confined and in the dark, almost as if something was strapping him down. Opening his eyes, [Name] felt like he was looking into the void.
Confused he tried moving his limbs, but he felt like he was stuck. It was akin to the feeling of being stuck in quicksand. It was cold, and [Name] was starting to lose all feeling in his limbs, wiggling around he seemed to still be alive, but moving was almost impossible.
[Name] could make nothing out about the space he is trapped in, whether he was contained in a room, a trap or maybe even in wet cement; he didn't know.
If [Name] was aware of how delirious he was then maybe he would have noticed that he was stuck in wet cement that was at a constant temperature that would cause hyperthermia to his human body; he would have also noticed that he was delirious, and had a blindfold over him. He was stuck and was in a state of mind where he couldn't even think. Nor would he have noticed the slight sway of his containment, or the burns starting to form on his body.
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Kumiko herself was almost delirious with excitement as she watched the van pull into the courtyard. Practically vibrating with excitement she grabbed one of her bodyguards and flitted down the stairs and into the elevator, and dashing out of the entrance with her bodyguard in tow.
From the back of the truck, there was a crunching sound of metal on metal as the doors were opened.
An explosion was set off in one of the neighbouring buildings, then another. Another. It continued until a building close to where Kumiko was, throwing her and the others onto the ground.
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The sound of distant rumbling woke [Name] up from his daze. Confused, he still wasn't dead, continuing to try and failing to move. He started squirming in discomfort due to the burning feeling his body started feeling.
Then the feeling of his world starting to turn shook the last of his dazedness off and his head was starting to clear. Taking deep breaths that he didn't know he needed [Name] started hacking and coughing harshly as he seem to slide out of some type of liquid.
Breathing came to him much easier now, there was no sustained pressure on his chest and the air seemed... cleaner. Shaking his head, [Name] ripped the blindfold off and could finally see where he was. He was surrounded by rubble.
Suddenly a sharp scream pierced through the air, scaring everyone in the vicinity of hearing it.
"IT'S HIM!"
[Name] scrambled back, trying to get away from the accusation, he saw Kumiko and [Name]'s heart started racing, it pounded in his chest, hammering away like a hare running from a hound. Racing to get up on his feet, ignoring the protests of his burns and his achingly cold body he started for the driveway the same way he came.
'Host, please continue your progress, you are currently at 94% completion. The Punishment Protocol has been engaged.'
The system notification dinged in his head and before [Name] could react he was thrown off his feet, the breath was knocked out of him and his head was throbbing, and he could feel something trickle down the sides of his face, a sort of ringing filled his head.
'Side Mission: Save Akimitsu from his untimely death.'
Hearin his mission, [Name] urged his sore body to move. Stumbling into an awkward standing position he saw Aki run into the courtyard, into the midst of chaos; gritting his teeth he ran towards Aki. The security of the area had called for reinforcement and they were picking off the people that were trying to free [Name].
Including Aki.
He was sprinting, time seemed to slow, and as the bullet was fired [Name] felt the bullet tear into his shoulder blade. Falling on top of Aki he felt a cartridge being emptied into his back.