When Elmond's eyelids finally lifted, as heavy as iron gates, the first thing he noticed was the silence. No echo of stone corridors, no crackle of firewood in a hearth. This was somewhere else entirely. A pure white void, as if the sky itself had been stripped into an endless blank page.
The pain in his chest was gone, yet beneath his skin the phantom burn of poison still lingered. He flexed his fingers; strangely, he could still feel his body.
"So this is how I'll look..."
The voice didn't come from behind him, nor from any single direction; it came from everywhere at once. A shadow took shape in the whiteness. Slowly, it coalesced into a short but wide figure, with a sagging belly and a greasy, porcine face and had slanted eyes.
Sweat glistened on his bristled beard, which ran from cheek to chin. He was completely naked — an image no one should ever have to see. His beady, lustful eyes roamed over Elmond, drool sliding from the corner of his mouth.
He couldn't help but ogle Elmond's massive, muscular frame, his gaze shamelessly lingering far too long on the prince's manhood.
"My second life is going to be amazing!" the man declared with unholy glee.
He licked his lips, his tongue thick and slimy like a serpent's. Elmond narrowed his eyes as he rose to his feet.
"And who the hell are you?" he growled through clenched teeth.
The greasy man's mouth stretched into a grotesque grin. Filthy saliva dripped between yellowed teeth.
"Me? I'm... the new owner of your body." His small eyes gleamed as they traced Elmond's broad shoulders and sculpted chest. He let out a shuddering sigh. "Thank you, gods..."
A flare of rage and disgust twisted across Elmond's face. The veins in his jaw stood out as he clenched his fists. The silence of the white void grew suffocating beneath the man's rancid breath.
"The new owner of my body... I see."
Elmond's lips curved into a thin line. The man's vile words echoed in his head, but the decision had already been made.
In a sudden motion, Elmond's arm shot out, seizing the man by the throat and hoisting him into the air. The squat, bloated body flailed helplessly.
"So this body belongs to you, does it?" Elmond's voice was glacial, razor-sharp.
The grin drained from the man's face, replaced by shock and terror. His eyes bulged as a strangled wheeze escaped him. Elmond slammed him down with brutal force, the impact reverberating through the endless void.
Without hesitation, Elmond pounced. His fist crashed into the man's cheek - bone cracked. Another blow crushed his nose. Then his jaw. Each strike shattered the silence like thunderclaps. Blood, spit, and shards of teeth sprayed into the void.
"I'll kill you here and now!" the young prince roared, his fists merciless.
The man's voice dissolved into muffled groans. His tiny eyes twitched with fear, his ruined lips trembling as if to plead—but Elmond's blows drowned out every sound.
Finally, Elmond drew back, panting. His fists dripped crimson. His eyes blazed with fury, yet a ruthless calm burned within them.
The man's face was unrecognizable — swollen, to purple, shattered. And yet somehow, he still breathed, a pitiful wheeze rattling in his throat.
Elmond seized his throat once more, lifting his chin high. His words came in a low, icy whisper: "Now speak. Who are you? And what is this place?"
"P-please, stop! I didn't do anything..." the man sobbed. "They told me... after I died, I would reincarnate into your body. You're dead right now, but my soul was meant to replace yours. Just like in the novels I read!"
Elmond's eyes narrowed. A flash of realization struck him like lightning. So this pig was only a pawn. Someone out there was treating his body like a prize to be handed out.
"Novels, is it..." he muttered, tightening his grip. "You think I'm your plaything."
Tears streamed from the man's eyes as he clawed at Elmond's wrist. "I swear! That's what I was told! When I died, they said I'd be placed in a strong body! It's not my fault! I only—"
Elmond's grip suddenly loosened. The man collapsed, coughing and gasping. Elmond stepped back, drawing in a deep breath. The void was silent once more, but a spark of cold calculation flickered in his mind.
This was no ordinary afterlife. Someone was tampering with the flow of death. And Elmond was beginning to see it.
"So I really am dead..." he whispered. He opened and closed his hands. He could still feel everything — muscles, veins, heartbeat. That meant the bond between body and soul had not been severed.
The greasy man crawled, desperate to get away. Elmond's gaze pinned him down.
"You're nothing but a parasite," Elmond said, a cold smile tugging at his lips. "But I... I am the rightful owner."
The man shook his head frantically. "No! You don't understand! If you resist, we'll both be destroyed! Stuck here in this void! Neither of us will ever live again!"
Elmond fell silent, weighing the words. They made sense. Two souls fighting for one body could annihilate each other. But fear didn't take root in his mind. Instead, his resolve sharpened.
"So the only way..." he said slowly, advancing on the man, "is to devour your soul completely and claim my body for myself."
The man shrieked, his high-pitched cry piercing the void. "No! Impossible! Do you think the goddess who sent me here will allow this?!"
Elmond loomed over him, their eyes locking. "To hell with your goddess. Did you really think I'd let you take my body... my life... the woman I love... and everything I've built? I'll kill your pathetic god if I must, but you will never own me."
The greasy man's face twisted from disbelief to sheer terror. His eyes bulged, his body scrambled backward, frantic.
He screamed, raising his hands. "Stop! This is forbidden! Humans can't eat souls! It's impossible!"
Elmond pounced, one hand seizing the man's head, his fingers digging deep into clammy flesh. A low hum resonated through the whiteness.
"My soul. My rules," he said coldly.
The man shrieked as black-and-white light seeped between Elmond's fingers. His essence poured out like clotting smoke, dragged from his core. He flailed, limbs thrashing uselessly. His eyes bulged, his voice a rasp.
"Release me... the goddess... won't allow—"
Elmond leaned close, his whisper cutting like a blade. "I'm not asking permission."
Then his mouth opened, and the essence streamed into him like a dark vortex. The man's screams shattered the void, then faded. His face melted like wax, his eyes rolling blank. His body dissolved into dust, scattering into nothing.
Elmond exhaled slowly. He opened his hands over his chest. The soul he consumed coursed through his veins like fire. His strength swelled. His mind cleared, as though a hidden layer of reality had been unveiled.
"So, I can devour souls... interesting," he murmured, calm yet shaken.
The void fell silent once more. But this silence felt... watched, as though invisible eyes lingered.
And then, a heavy voice resounded:
"You've made your choice, Elmond. You have eaten the goddess's pawn... There is no turning back."
Cracks split across the whiteness. From them spread black veins of darkness. The ground quaked beneath his feet.
Elmond only clenched his fists. "My body is mine. Whoever you are... you'd better understand that."
And the darkness swallowed him whole.
Elmond's eyes flew closed to a pounding headache. But before he could catch his breath, memories that weren't his own crashed into him like a tidal wave. He screamed, clutching his skull.
Visions stormed through his mind:
- A fat child begging for scraps in a village square.
- A dark room, peeping on women in secret.
- A gambler pleading after losing everything.
- Stolen breaths, vile cravings.
Each memory invaded him, none belonging to him. They were the filthy remnants of the soul he had consumed.
"Get the hell out!" Elmond bellowed, collapsing to his knees.
But the memories surged on. Shame and disgust soaked into his being, trying to infest his mind. He shook his head violently, roaring, but the torrent only grew clearer.
Yet amid the filth, something else surfaced. Sharper. Stranger.
Suddenly, alien images unfolded before his eyes:
- Strange wheeled machines of metal and glass, rolling across paved roads.
- Wingless iron beasts soaring through the skies.
- Dark rooms glowing with boxes that spoke and displayed moving images.
- Small devices in one's hand, connecting voices across vast distances.
- An invisible web that spanned the entire globe, carrying endless knowledge: the "internet."
Sweat ran down Elmond's brow as he whispered through gritted teeth: "This... is another world."
Yes. The greasy man's mind carried knowledge and habits of a different realm. A world without nobility, where steel barrels spat fire instead of swords and spears. Armies fought not on horseback but in machines of iron. People bowed not to gods but to reason and science.
Elmond sank onto his knees, panting. The pain was unbearable, but the value of what he had gained was immeasurable.
"Gunpowder... rifles... cannons... and beyond..." he murmured. Visions flared: trains screaming along rails of steel, towers scraping the heavens, stock markets ruling fortunes, nations building weapons capable of erasing each other.
To a prince's eyes, each one was an opportunity.
"Knowledge..." Elmond muttered, his fists clenching. "Who would've thought that disgusting pig... would actually be useful?"
And then, a translucent screen appeared before his eyes. The agony in his skull vanished, drowned out by the sight.
[System initializing... 1%]