In total darkness, I heard voices—
Screams.
Shouts.
The ground trembled around me.
Pain, searing heat, and the sensation of thousands of needles piercing my body.
"Heat...? Is this... hell?"
The sounds grew clearer. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they were covered in a thick fog. Slowly, light crept in, forming a hazy image of this new world.
My legs...
Dirty, bruised, and covered in cuts. Sweat poured down, soaking my sun-scorched skin.
"Why are my legs so heavy?" I thought, stumbling forward.
Then I realized it.
Thick iron chains were wrapped around my ankles. Shackles that bound my steps, like the invisible weight of sins past.
Clang... clang... clang...
The chains echoed with every step I took.
Suddenly, I froze.
Tattered clothes, filthy body, chains... I looked like... a prisoner?
"What's going on? Where am I...?"
"Don't play dumb! You've committed a grave crime. It's time you paid the price!" barked a uniformed man—a guard—beside me.
"A crime...? So... I really died?" I thought.
"And this... is hell?"
I looked up. All around me, people were shouting, jeering, their eyes filled with hatred. The crowd's roars pierced my ears.
"But... this is strange. Hell shouldn't look like this..."
What I saw was a grand city. In the distance stood a majestic palace, styled like something from the medieval ages.
In front of it, a tall execution platform loomed, with five nooses hanging, ready.
"This... isn't hell. This is... another world?"
My body trembled.
Had I... been reincarnated?
Without thinking, I called out for my mother and father. A faint, broken cry escaped me.
Slap!
A hard strike landed on my cheek. The pain lashed through me like a whip of reality—this wasn't a dream.
"You pathetic worm! Begging like a child in your final moments! Hahaha!" the guard mocked. Laughter erupted from the crowd.
I said nothing, staggering toward the execution stage.
"We've arrived," the guard said.
Five of us stood on barrels:
A young man, a grown woman, an old man, a little girl... and me.
The nooses already circled our necks, as if awaiting the end of each of our stories.
Thump… thump…
Heavy footsteps echoed. A royal aide approached with a scroll in hand.
A trumpet blared, shaking the sky. The crowd fell silent.
The King, seated proudly on the palace balcony with his family, raised his hand.
The aide unfurled the scroll.
"The charges of the condemned shall now be read!"
"First, the accused: Ichwan, age 18, a stone breaker. Charged with destroying a tavern while drunk, causing damages totaling two gold and three hundred silver coins."
"Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Ichwan raised his head, his voice hoarse. "I didn't do it... I was framed! I swear to God, I'm innocent!"
"But all witnesses have testified—it was you."
"No...! Please... believe me...!"
Without sympathy, the aide signaled. The executioner kicked the barrel.
BAM!
Ichwan's body dangled lifelessly. The crowd cheered again.
"Second: Maudia, age 34, occupation: prostitute. Charged with murdering her client in a Molka city inn."
"Do you have anything to say?"
"Hahaha... Finally, he's dead! That filthy man deserved it! Hahaha!"
Without mercy, the barrel was kicked. Her body swayed, and once more, the crowd roared.
"Third: Petoron, age 76. Accused of stealing potatoes from a citizen's field."
"Any last words?"
The old man turned to me and smiled.
"Thank you, son."
Thud!
The barrel flew, and the old man hung beside me.
"What... what kind of world is this...?"
Before I could think further, a heart-wrenching scream came from the crowd.
"My child! She's innocent! She's only ten! Please... spare her!"
The little girl—Elan—stood on the barrel, tears streaming down her face.
The aide looked at the King with pleading eyes, but the King gave a cold nod.
His daughter appeared to beg him, but he ignored her.
"Fourth: Elan, age 10. Her crime... stealing three apples."
The aide fell silent. His face darkened.
"I know... you didn't want to do it…" I whispered.
"I have a daughter her age too..." he replied softly.
With trembling hands, the aide began to raise his arm...
"Mother... thank you... Elan loves you…"
Elan's words struck me like lightning. Memories flooded back.
My sister's laughter... her smile...
Her small hand holding mine when I cried.
"Big bro, are you coming on vacation too?"
"I know..that day... will never come again…"
"STOP!!!"
My voice shattered the silence.
All eyes turned to me.
"She's innocent! I was the one who told her to steal!"
The crowd gasped.
"I came from a distant land. I was starving, had no money. I forced that child to take the apples...!"
BAM!
A punch from the executioner slammed into my gut.
"Lies! Read his charges!"
The aide stared at me for a moment.
"Fifth: Dann Fasto, age 25, laborer. Charged with raping fifteen women in a single week."
The crowd fell into stunned silence. The King's daughter bowed her head, face flushed red.
"N-no... That wasn't me..." I whispered.
But the people had already passed judgment. They shouted for my death.
Crash!
Something fell from my pocket.
"What's that...?"
A guard picked it up—a black metal weapon with a rotating cylinder.
"A revolver...?!" I thought. "In this world...?!"
"That... that's a weapon from the future!" I shouted.
"It was given to me... to kill the Dark Demon King!"
The King rose to his feet. Everyone went still.
"The Demon King...? You know about them?"
"I'm certain, Your Majesty. I was sent to exterminate them—demons, orcs, goblins... and the Dark Demon King."
"Your Majesty!"
A soldier rushed over, panicked.
"The eastern village has been attacked by the Boar King! Our forces... were completely wiped out!"
Panic spread, but the King raised his hand.
"Calm down! Let us test the boy's claim. If he speaks the truth, he walks free. If not—let arrows be his end."
"EXECUTION POSTPONED! ALL CITIZENS, RETURN TO YOUR HOMES AND TAKE SHELTER!"
The crowd dispersed. The King and his family departed.
Elan was released, embraced by her mother.
The aide approached me.
"Young man... come with me."
I looked up at the sky.
Maybe this isn't the end...
But the beginning of a fate I never imagined.