Time... At about 7:00 a.m. The solar disk gradually ascends to heaven, blessing the earth with its warm golden rays, the
bright, green grass covering the fertile soil was bathed in the granted light, bright flowers bloomed, and birds sang their
sonorous natural song. The beginning of a new day... the beginning of a new stage of life.But for one person, this day means the end of his human life cycle.
Almost tightly chained to a soft, hospital bed in an ancient nursing home "Old Oak ", an elderly man stared blearily at the
ceiling of his room, a heart monitor sounded softly next to him, on the table on the right side there was a vase with fresh
beautiful golden flowers and a small photo frame - a gift from the son of an elderly man. The framed photo looked a little old, as
it was taken back in the days when this old man was still an adult, full of strength, an experienced robotics engineer, three
people were depicted in the photo itself: An adult man dressed in a kind of engineer's work suit with orange inserts on his knees
and elbows, with short black hair with gray, almost silvery eyes, and rough facial features, complete with black stubble. A man
with a warm smile had one arm around the shoulder of a beautiful girl dressed in a strict black office suit with a gray tie, with
shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes, and kind features. And this family photo was completed by a young boy who looked
about 8-9 years old, whom his mother and father warmly held by the shoulders, the guy had silver eyes, short dark hair and a
perky expression in which both the formidable line of his father and the kind side of his mother looked at. Previously, an elderly
man looked at this photo with warmth in his soul, but time passed, and his body weakened, and now he is no longer able to look
at the happy part of his past with a smile. Today, his dear son's family came to him, but unfortunately, he could not even answer
a word for a word, all he could do was smile weakly when his time-impaired hearing still gave him the opportunity to hear his
son's happy stories about the family he had created with his beloved wife. The elderly man was glad to hear the fantastic stories
of his grandchildren, their experiences, their aspirations, to hear about the experiences and overcoming difficulties from his
son's wife... An elderly person will miss all this.
After all, it was the last day of his existence in this world. He felt it, gradually, less and less, he stopped hearing the world
around him, and more and more he heard the slow pounding of his heart. Very soon, it would stop pounding, he knew it, and
was not afraid of it, the only thing he felt was... Regret. An elderly man will never again be able to hear the stories of his son,
hear the voices of people close to him, will no longer be able to experience adversity with them, and rejoice in happy news, an
elderly man covered his clouded eyes, the whole world was covered with a veil of darkness that is about to take his soul, and
take it to the other side of the veil, and nevertheless, he could not hold back his tears, for a moment, the elderly man presented
a sad picture: his son, and his family next to him, his son no longer tells him stories from his life, sadness and pain grew in his
eyes, she left his soul through bitter tears, his grandchildren also cried, after all, they could no longer see their kind
grandfather, who would always listen, who would always smile at them, the face of his son's wife was also sad, because the
departed man held a special place in her heart, as well as in the hearts of all family members. The heartbeat was getting quieter
and quieter. Soon, silence fell around the elderly man, he could no longer hear how the heart monitor issued a thin, prolonged
squeak, the screams of doctors, all this remained on the other side, on the other side of the veil.
Just like the dear, old, kind world.
***
In the yard... 6:50, The solar disk gradually ascends to heaven, blessing the earth with its warm golden rays, the bright,
green grass covering the fertile soil was bathed in the granted light, bright flowers bloomed, and birds sang their sonorous
natural song... A new day was beginning.
But for one particular body, serenely drooling into a soft pillow, morning came with the infernal howl of an alarm clock,
which, as befits a responsible employee, began to properly perform the task assigned to its mechanical parts: to wake up its
owner at the right time, which the owner himself set so as not to oversleep. For another 2 seconds, the fierce cry of the
mechanical device did not find an answer, until the 3rd second, oh miracle! The body finally showed signs of a dissatisfied
grumbling life and finally did not turn off the dedicated alarm clock.
- Ahhh... And who just wakes up so early? - The question, said in a gruff and at the same time pleasant voice, was rather
rhetorical. Reluctantly, but the body finally got out of bed, and, putting on bunny slippers, wandered towards the bathroom,
where it began to tidy itself up, removing the remnants of drowsiness and preparing for a new day.
But as soon as the man's hand reached for the toothpaste, the man froze abruptly, at the same second, the man's hands
gripped the sink with a death grip, holding the body in a standing position, his head ached, as if thousands of red-hot needles
had pierced his brains, the man wanted to scream, but only a wheeze escaped from his open mouth, the whole body seemed to
turn out Inside out. Suddenly, the man's head tilted back, the body bent, becoming vaguely like a crescent moon, but the hands
continued to hold on to the sink until the body twisted forward, and something like vomit mixed with blood came out frombehind the man's mouth. The man's head rang and buzzed for a few more seconds, and at some point the man began to
gradually recover from the sudden influx of pain to his head...
And memories.
" Oh, you finally remembered everything! You should know how many times I've tried to reach you, neighbor. " The man
froze again, his eyes widened in shock, and his head automatically began to look around, looking for the source of the strange
voice that seemed to come from everywhere, however, instead of the source of the strange voice, he heard another, warm, kind,
and caring voice coming from the kitchen, not very loud, but enough to The man could hear him:
- Angie! Finish preening and go to the table to eat! -
- Okay, Mom, I'll be there in a minute. - The answer came automatically, but Angie felt a little bit... He was embarrassed,
and there was a reason for that: after all, he should be dead, he felt that his heart had stopped then, his time had come and he
died in a nursing home.
"I died... My life ended, then... Why am I here? Why is my heart beating? Why don't I feel tired anymore? Bone pain? I'm
even... Can even see? And I can hear well, too, and Angie... That's not my real name! My name is... My... Name... " Angie
suddenly clutched his head, a slight pain pierced his consciousness, his heart beat faster than it should, adrenaline struck his
brain like lightning, the pupils in his eyes trembled slightly, betraying the horror and misunderstanding of the soul of a man
who, after so many years of existence in a new world, finally remembered himself... But to lose one of the main aspects of his
past:
- Name... Why can't I remember my real name!? - Angie almost screamed when these words came out of his mouth, it
became harder to breathe.
" Unfortunately, neighbor, this is the price to pay for preserving your identity and memories. I'm asking you to calm down a
little, yes, I know... It's not easy to do in your position, but you are... " When the voice appeared again, trying to calm Angie
down a little, he suddenly looked at himself in the mirror and almost shouted to the " voice of his mind ":
- What the fuck are you!? Have I lost my mind in my old age? Or are they such strange near-death hallucinations? Or... Or
what!? - What was happening did not fit into Angie's head in any way, what was happening to him now could not be called
anything but the delirium of a dying mind: from the beginning he found himself in hell knows where, he has a new body, old and
new memories, and also this strange voice in his head... Well, it seriously resembles the ravings of a madman.
A sad sigh was heard from the side of the " voice of reason ", in the same sigh there was also a strange acceptance, as if the
" voice " knew that his interlocutor would react this way. After a second that seemed like an eternity to Angie, the " voice"
finally answered the question:
" Well, not " what ", but " who ". My name is... uh... Just call me Gumaru Yurei, yes, call me that! And it just so happened
that you and I became unwitting neighbors in the inner world after one very... An unexpected incident. As for your doubts: no,
these are not hallucinations, you really died, your soul overcame the veil between life and death and fell into one of the
countless streams of souls. Now you should go eat, I'll tell you the rest when you sort out your everyday affairs, I'm glad to
finally talk to you, Angie Inia. " From the words of the voice, or rather, from the words of Gumaru, Angie somehow did not feel
better, but thanks to him, Angie Iniya remembered that he was called to the table, and if he did not go to eat with the rest of the
members... Families, then it will look suspicious. Therefore, somehow bringing his mental health back to normal, Angie washed
his face, took the rest of the necessary personal hygiene procedures, and stomped into another room, where his parents were
already waiting for him peacefully sitting at the dining table.And here is our young model~ - Angie's lips involuntarily twitched in a smile when he heard his father's joking comment,
the lights of memories shone in his head, they told him that Eragon Inia always treated Angie and his mother with kindness and
a slight degree of jokingness, although when Angie looked at his father's appearance, Rather, an image of a kind of formidable
beast was forming in his head, ready to tear his victim apart and scatter the remains around the world: tall, muscular body, not
stooped, " sharp " silver eyes with black pupils, sharp short claws on his hands that seemed to be able to easily tear flesh from
bones, semi-bestial facial features somewhat similar to those of a wolf, black hair reaching to the temples, gray home clothes
that are surprisingly good It was combined with his snow-white skin, and sharp teeth very similar to shark teeth completed this
image. And despite such a creepy image, Angie noted that his father, Eragon Inia, was an attractive man, Angie's father could
get additional points from the fair sex due to his gruff low voice, which in the right key could even resemble the growl of a big
cat.
- Perhaps in the future you will look at me from big screens and be proud of my success in show business. - Angie was not so
simple, and he hit back at the joke mercilessly. Eragon's smile widened, more like an animal's joyful grin than an ordinary
person's smile, but the virtue of the whole family did not allow him to respond with a new joke:
- Maybe in the future it will be like this~ - Sonmi Iniya, Angie's mom, and just one of the kindest people Angie has known in
his life. She was the complete opposite of his father: beautiful silver hair reached to her shoulders, kind and gentle facial
features that somehow made her look like a cute fox, similar features, along with her silver eyes, perfectly matched her snow-
white skin, and a beautiful silver dress that emphasized her "average" well However, what Sonmi Iniya looked like Eragon in
was the shape of her teeth, which were much shorter than her husband's, but also looked like shark teeth, but surprisingly, as
Angie noticed for himself, the "toothy" smile made his mother much more beautiful. Magic. But then, Sonmi's kind face
darkened. Angie involuntarily shuddered when she turned to him again, but this time there was concern and fear for her son's
health in the tone of her kind and gentle voice: - Angie... How are you doing? You look... A little tired, and a little pale... -
" Damn it! Although, it would be too good if they didn't notice what happened to me, it's good that I thought of putting
myself in some kind of order..." That's what Angie thought as he looked at his father, who quickly approached him and gently
touched the back of his hand to his forehead. When Eragon took his hand away from his son's forehead, his expression only
became darker, concern shone clearly in his eyes, he turned to his wife and said:
- Sonmi, please bring a thermometer. -
***
Like a sack of potatoes, Angie fell onto the bed in his room, his gaze focused on the ceiling. Angie grinned, what a familiar
picture, except this time the body was bedridden not by pain and death, but by simple fatigue, and not even physical, but
mental. Angie's parents love their son very much, as Angie noticed, very much, otherwise they would not have been so worried
about his health, no, no tantrums, panic, or something like that happened, just until the thermometer confirmed that everything
was fine with the young man's health, Sonmi and Eragon could not be calm they took turns asking their son questions about his
well-being, with concern, but with a more or less calm intonation, Angie was even... Painful to answer these questions, he saw
how much his parents loved him, how worried they were, and his heart aches when his memories show him the same picture,
but the people on it... Completely different. Angie remembered how he also couldn't find a place for himself when his child felt
unwell, when you see that your son is somehow ill, you start unwittingly winding yourself up, an unpleasant feeling creeps in
your stomach, and your heart begins to bleed. But what makes him feel gross more...
He doesn't remember his wife's name or his son's name... Not his own, just what he has in this world. It was as if Angie had
been doused with cold water.
- Speaking of world... Hey! Em... Gumaru Yurei? Guramu? Do you hear me? You... You promised to tell me everything that
interests me, my health is fine, and I don't need to go anywhere today, my friends... My parents told me that the Academy I will
have to go to will start tomorrow, because today is a day off, you will have the rest of this day to tell me as much as possible. - It
was a little awkward for Angie to " talk to the void " like that, but he didn't see any other way out yet, he just didn't know how to
address that voice that is in the devil knows where.Fortunately for Angie, Gumaru Yurei answered after a second of awkward silence:
" I'm here, don't worry about it, neighbor. I just... I forgot for a moment that you can hear me now. But before I start my
story, I'll tell you a couple of important words: First of all: you shouldn't talk to me verbally, otherwise if someone sees you
talking to yourself, it may attract the wrong attention. If you want to talk to me, then talk with the help of mental messages, just
imagine that you are talking to me mentally, and you will succeed. Secondly: my story will be quite tedious, difficult to
understand, and very long. Do you understand everything? " Maybe Angie should have been scared at the last words, but
considering what he just went through today, the possible tons of information didn't scare him much. Instead of worrying about
the safety of his mental health, Angie decided to try to address his interlocutor with the help of his thoughts, for simplicity, he
began to imagine that he was making something like a phone on which he would talk.
" I... I'm not scared, do you hear me? I'm listening to you carefully. " For a short time there was silence, which was broken
by a strange sound, which Angie interpreted as " clapping of hands ", it seems that Angie managed to " get through" to her
mental interlocutor, no matter how strange and delusional it may sound.
" Congratulations on your first " brain dialogue ", i warned you, then don't tell me that I told too much. So... It seems that I
started with the fact that you died here, and your soul was on the other side of the veil, yes, that's what I said. Then, your soul
ended up in one of the countless streams of souls, what is this very stream of souls? This is a channel connecting certain places
where souls can get to after the death of the physical shell in their home world, well, you know what I mean. Each such stream,
or as it can also be called, the channel of souls is connected to a certain place, it can be any place: a variation of a heavenly
place, a hellish abyss, another world, and so on. But in most cases, soul channels are associated with special places where souls
are born, such places are called "Lake of Souls", they can also be called Soul Cycles, Seas of Souls, and so on. A soul trapped in
a channel associated with the Cycle of Souls enters this special place and gradually undergoes the procedure of rebirth. The
procedure of rebirth in the Cycle of Souls occurs as follows: a soul trapped in the Cycle of Souls gradually undergoes a
purification procedure, cleanses itself of its memories, personality, until only the indestructible Core of the Soul remains, then
the purified soul enters another channel of souls and goes to rebirth in another world, the soul that was born in the Cycle of
Souls is purified, and just like other souls, they enter the soul channels and go to be reborn in other worlds. How are you? Have
your brains burst yet? " When Gumaru interrupted his story in order to inquire about the mental health of his " neighbor " in the
inner world, Angie, after slowing down for a few seconds, nevertheless answered the concerns of the " narrator ":
" Yeah... I'm fine, it's just... I'm just really glad that my brain is so well developed thanks to the knowledge from my past life
as a robotics engineer, brrr! You warned me, so I won't be outraged, right now... I remembered it: Death, the Cycle of Souls,
Purification, Rebirth, A New world. Then, I will immediately ask a question so as not to forget: since it turns out that I probably
got into one of these Cycles, and had to lose my past self there, then... In what way... Am I still me? " It was very difficult for
Angie to believe that these mental words belonged to him, if someone from the outside found out about their " entertaining "
conversation, Angie was sure that one group of psychological doctors would not be enough here.
After making sure that everything was fine with the " listener ", Gumaru Yurei continued his informative " story ":
" And this, my inquisitive neighbor, is a good question! And there will be an answer to it... Quite simple: the fact is that souls
who are in the Cycle of Souls can... to " escape " from there at the time of the " cleansing " procedure, in rare cases - before it
begins. Souls can " escape" in various ways: either unknowingly or consciously break out of the Cycle of souls, escape with the
help of a powerful entity or some other crap, and so on, there are many options, but the outcome is almost always the same: the
" escaped " soul either successfully enters one of the soul channels and goes with other souls to Rebirth into another world,
either... Either it flies away to some unknown distance, where, like a pinball ball, it crashes from the beginning into one barrier
of one world, and then into another barrier of another world, and so on until the soul either somehow receives the power
capable of overcoming any of the strong barriers, or until the soul she will not find a weak barrier for her through which the
soul can break through and be reborn in a new world. " For a moment there was silence again in Angie's mind, apparently
Gumaru was checking the condition of his listener again. And he, having processed the information received, began to reason:
" Yeah... And it turns out that my soul, perhaps having lost a certain number of memories during the " purification ",
somehow incredibly managed to escape from the Cycle of Souls... And... And what happened next? " And to Angie's thoughts,
Gumaru Yurei was happy to give an answer:" And here... The story of our incredibly dizzying, in the truest sense of the word, acquaintance begins! I'll tell you briefly
now, and in the future, if you want, I'll tell you in more detail: I died, again, and ... flew as a soul on certain business to one
world that interests me. I'm flying, I'm singing a song... And then BAM! The accident! Out of nowhere! Your soul flew out, and
rammed my soul at hyper light speed, the result: we went off course and headed off together to no one knows where, spent a
little time with one big " pinball ball ", and finally got into some kind of world and were reborn here, in the family of Sonmi and
Eragon Iniya, your parents. And it seems that this turned out to be too much of a burden for your consciousness, it blocked your
memories of your previous life for a while, and, most unpleasant of all, set up a barrier between you and me, so all I could do
was endlessly bang my head against the " wall " and hope that someday it would finally crack, and it happened exactly when
you became a 19-year-old guy, in the prime of your life. And now... We're here. I think I forgot something... Oh yes, I was also
thinking about how I could help you try your Mechanism. " From the beginning, Angie grinned, the whole story of their
acquaintance resembles an extremely absurd joke in which two travelers were simply unlucky in life, it turns out that they were
united by a common trouble? But then the fun turned to interest when Gumaru said about some kind of " Mechanism".
" The mechanism? And what is it if it's not a secret? " However, the response that Angie received turned out to be a little
different from what he expected:
" Yes, that's right, the Mechanism! This is a very important aspect that you should know about... But not now, get some rest
first, I've loaded you up enough, let's continue... Tomorrow! If I do it right... Yes, it can work..."
- What? What should work? Hey? Can you hear me!? Hey!? - But Gumaru no longer listened to his " neighbor in the inner
world ", he went deep into his plans, leaving the surprised Angie Iniya alone with his thoughts and the knowledge that he now
has. Angie clicked his tongue in disappointment, after thinking for a while, he remembered that his parents had told him about
the Academy he would have to go to tomorrow.
" The Academy, right? Heh, tomorrow promises to be very... promising. " With such thoughts, Angie Iniya officially met his
rebirth in a new world for himself, noting the fact that some elements of this world are very different from his native world.
***
I apologize for loading you with information from the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Unfortunately, I
don't know English very well since it's not my native language, but I'll try to make my story interesting.