"System," I called out.
Instantly, the familiar blue screen materialized in front of me, hovering steadily in the air.
[...]
I didn't waste time asking what this system was or why it hadn't shown up the moment I regained consciousness. Instead, I decided to ask the most important question:
"Why was I transmigrated?"
Sure, I was happy about getting another shot at life, but deep down, I had a nagging feeling. There had to be a reason behind this miracle. It's not like Fate just went:
'Oh, poor guy died while reading a novel. Let's drop him into that story as consolation even though it was his own fault for being immersed in his phone and not watching where he was going.'
I scoffed inwardly. Nothing in this world was free and I will get second chance a life for free ?nah. clearly it was tough to believe but deep down I wished the opposite.
[Host, it is recommended that you complete full integration with the body. Only then will your question be answered.]
"So, it all comes down to integration, huh…" I muttered.
There it was the proof that there was a indeed a deeper reason for my transmigration.
"What if I don't accept the integration?" I asked, just for the sake of it.
[You will lose access to all additional system benefits. Furthermore, the memories currently being suppressed for smoother integration will be forcefully released into your consciousness. As system will be lost. This will result in brain overload, with a 98.87% chance of death.]
"JUST SAY INTEGRATION IS MANDATORY, FOR GOD'S SAKE!" I yelled in frustration.
So, it was a gamble with a 1.13% chance of survival or I could just accept integration not to mention there were additional perks. And after recently dying, I wasn't exactly eager to roll the dice again.
Even if the system's mission turned out to be dangerous enough to cost me life, I'd rather face that than die immediately just because i don't want to pay the price for transmigration, i mean fulfilling the mission appears to be price for this new life.
Why had I assumed the mission might be life-threatening?
Well, getting transmigrated and handed a second life had to cost something dangerous after all transmigration isn't anything less than miracle. Surely, the quest tied to it must be extraordinary—if not downright insane.
But despite everything, I couldn't help but ask:
"How do I know you're telling the truth? Any proof to support your claim?"
Foolish? Maybe. But asking never hurts.
[The system will now release six months' worth of memories without facilitation. Warning: it will be painful. An isolation field will be deployed around the host.]
System said as if it got hurt by my words.
And before I could brace myself—
"URGHHHHHHHH!"
A blinding, white-hot pain stabbed through my skull. I screamed, clutching my head as waves of memories crashed into my consciousness.
It only lasted a few seconds—but the impact was immense.
Six months of memories… in just four seconds.
Six months might sound short, but that's 180 days.
260,000 minutes.
15,600,000 seconds.
Now try living through all of that at once.
Even though it was the first 6 months of life of this body showcasing sleeping, drinking, shitting and again sleeping. All the things this body saw in those 6 months i saw them too.
"Haaahh… hahhhh…" I gasped, taking deep breaths to calm my racing mind.
Fifteen million seconds worth of life directly shoved into my brain.
It was as brutal as it sounds.
But now, I knew who I was—or rather, whose body I had transmigrated into.
"Thorin Frostbane, huh…" I muttered.
In the novel, he was briefly mentioned—a disowned son of Celine Frostbane—the head of the powerful Frostbane ducal family. He had shown up halfway through the story as a sidekick to a villain, claiming he sought revenge… only to be utterly crushed, alongside said villain, by the protagonist and his team. The author didn't even mentioned anything about his looks even though he got such a face as if his existence wasn't worth mentioning—truly unfair.
Even before his exile, he bore a well-known title:
"The Disgraced One."
Born in the family of Frostbanes, a prestigious line, and son of Celine frostbane herself, yet he was branded as a talentless individual. And later, his actions only helped in solidifying his 'esteemed' title of disgrace.
The ironic twist?
Celine, his own mother, was also the protagonist's master and clearly favored the hero more than her own flesh and blood.
"Quite the life…" I muttered, half-amused, half-sympathetic.
I felt a tinge of guilt. Thorin's main cause of downfa— wait downfall? when did he even had growth or development and even if he had one, it wasn't mentioned atleast, anyway the main cause was something he couldn't even control—his lack of talent. And now, here i am taking over his body.
Did I feel bad for him? A little.
But could I do anything about it? No.
Maybe Give the body back?
Sorry—Even if I am kind but not to the level of giving my life away.
Still, I made a mental note to ask the system about Thorin's soul after integration. If I was going to take over this body and complete whatever mission awaited me, I at least wanted to know what happened to the original soul of body.
Clearing my mind of any more conflicting thoughts, I focused on what mattered right now.
"How long will integration take?" I asked, now fully on board with integration.
[Estimated time: 15–20 minutes, Host.]
"Anything I should prepare for? Any side effects I need to know about?"
[No preparations required. You will simply lose consciousness and awaken after approximately thirty minutes. As for the pain—I will manage it.]
"Alright then. Begin integration." A little thankful to system for managing the pain— I clearly wasn't in mood to experience more pain for the day, from accident to waking up and then the forceful memory transfer— I had enough.
[System initializing…]
[Memory transfer commencing…]
[Complete soul integration in progress…]
I heard system's mechanical voice in my head and with that, everything went black.