"Ugh…" I groaned on something soft under me, which I found odd, considering I just had my head cut off.
"I did die… right?" I took a second to look at my surroundings once I realized the chains were gone from my body. I was in a very dark place, so I couldn't see much. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head.
"Gasp!" a voice breathed in my mind. I unconsciously flew backward into what was probably a wall.
I panicked and shouted, "Who are you?!" I looked around to get my bearings. There was silence, and then.
"I should be asking you that stranger," a low voice sounded in my head.
"Are you… Heron?" going on a hunch 'if this is the world I think it is, I'm in trouble.'
"Do I know you?" the reply came into my head. I instinctively looked around despite knowing the voice was in my mind.
'Should I say yes? What if he goes berserk knowing his life is manufactured?'
"What do you mean my life is fake?" Heron interrupted with a peeved sound in his voice.
"How'd you hear that?" I asked.
"I'm in your mind, obviously, dumbass," the voice replied. My face went dark at that comment.
'So he heard that…'
"Yep. Now, who the hell are you?" he demanded. "Forget it; I'll see for myself." Suddenly, I felt as if my brain was being opened up by a rock flying at Mach 2.
"Aghh!" I grabbed my head in pain and knelt down on the wall.
"What are you doing to me?!" I cried loudly. I tried pushing him away, forgetting in the panic that he was inside me. I felt like something was washing away from my head.
"...I see," Heron said, sounding beaten down.
"What did you see?" I asked.
"You had a rough life," Heron said, "you seem to have a higher regard for my life. There's one thing you have wrong. I did intend to kill the gods and the 72 demons as the book in your world said it did. They're just keeping a cycle of war to maintain mana circling the earth. Pop quiz," he said, "where do you think Mana comes from?"
I tilted my head at the question, "Where?".
"Death is when the soul exits the body which sprinkles energy which eventually becomes what you call Mana and therefore later on Magic."
"What if people stop dying from the war?" I asked.
Heron said "It's a scheme from the gods and Hell to lure greedy humans and spur them to keep fighting and make bloodshed and collect believers" Heron raised an eyebrow mockingly. "I don't think they're going to stop as long as it works"
I was stumped by hearing information I had no idea existed, and I unconsciously nodded to that remark.
[DETECTION THAT BOTH USERS ARE IN AGREEMENT]
[PERMANENTLY ACTIVATING ALL SYSTEM FUNCTIONS]
I tilted my head in confusion " I think I heard a notification right before my head got cut off."
Inside the mental space, Heron nodded "a blue window popped up before my consciousness faded at the chopping block".
[INITIATING TUTORIAL QUEST]
[RAISE THE MALE PROTAGONIST'S FAVOURABILITY TO 15 (ACQUAINTANCE)]
[FOR REFERENCE: 1-15 (ACQUAINTANCES), 16-30 (FRIENDSHIP), 31-50 (BROTHERHOOD), 51-100
(ROMANTIC (ONLY FOR THE OPPOSITE SEX)]
"You mean that guy who resembled a golden retriever because he always was like a faithful puppy to the Earth Saint?" Heron exclaimed.
The male protagonist from the original novel, Adrian Smythe, was the typical abused male lead. His family abused him once he was awakened as the Saint of Creation, treated as a political tool and given brainwashing incense. He also went through torture made to break his body, expelling mana to increase mana pool. All that abuse turned him mad, so he slaughtered his father- the Marquis, his stepmother, and his stepbrother. He escaped and went to the cold north and allied with the Duke of the North as his patron. Adrian met Briar (the heroine), who is also the Earth Saint, as a bodyguard for the Duke. They met and developed feelings for each other as all protagonists do.
I remember also thinking that he was like a puppy in love when they got more comfortable.
"Yes, but as we are two months before the original story started the Male Lead is probably still being tortured in the Marquis' house right now," I said.
Heron replied, "From your memories, he'd probably be too drugged up to recognize us, would favourability go up?"
I thought for a bit, "the duke has an antidote to many drugs which is how they became acquainted with each other." I suddenly felt like I was being watched from somewhere!"