Shawn opened his eyes.
For a moment, he had no idea where he was.
But then he recognized the ceiling.
The same old cracks.
The same cheap lamp he'd bought on sale.
The same annoying fan that rattled every time it spun.
Shawn shot upright, looking around wildly.
He was in his room.
His real room.
The messy bed, clothes strewn across the floor, curtains drawn.
Everything was exactly as he'd left it.
'Did I come back?' he thought, confusion flooding him.
But then he noticed something.
He was naked.
Completely naked.
Shawn looked down at his body.
And there it was.
His penis.
Right where it belonged.
Between his legs.
"YES!" Shawn shouted, leaping out of bed. "IT'S BACK! MY BUDDY'S BACK!"
He ran to the bathroom, tripping over the clothes scattered on the floor.
He reached the mirror and stared.
Brown eyes.
Short black hair.
Masculine face.
No breasts.
No curves.
Nothing feminine.
It was him.
The same old Shawn.
"Thank God!" he exclaimed, touching his face with both hands. "I'm me again!"
For a moment, Shawn thought everything he'd experienced had been one long nightmare.
The other world.
The knight woman.
The wounded knights.
The doctor with the bone saw.
All of it had been a dream.
A very long, very weird dream.
'Yeah, that has to be it,' he thought, letting out a huge sigh of relief. 'It was all just a dream.'
But then a doubt crept in.
"Where's the Bible?" he asked out loud.
And at that exact moment, a brilliant light appeared in front of him.
"Agh!" Shawn yelled, covering his eyes with his hands.
The light was so intense it blinded him for several seconds.
But when it faded, Shawn opened his eyes.
And there it was.
Floating right in front of him.
The Bible.
Shawn stared at it in silence.
'Shit,' he thought, reality slamming into him like a truck. 'It wasn't a dream.'
He mentally cursed himself for following that stupid impulse.
'Why the hell did I ask about the Bible?' he thought, frustration surging. 'I should've kept my mouth shut!'
But it was too late.
The Bible hovered there, waiting.
Shawn sighed and took it in both hands.
He held it in front of him, forcing a smile.
"Well…" he said, clearing his throat. "How do you think my first day on the job went?"
The pages flipped on their own.
They stopped on a blank one.
And then golden letters began to appear.
[You have a lot of room for improvement.]
Shawn felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest.
'Room for improvement,' he thought, pain twisting inside him. 'That's a polite way of saying I did a shitty job.'
He took a long breath, trying to steady himself.
"Okay," he said, looking at the Bible. "What did I do wrong?"
The letters vanished.
New ones appeared in their place.
[A messenger who breaks on the first day cannot guide others.]
Shawn felt his heart shatter.
He stared at the Bible, terrified.
"But I didn't expect to just pass out out of nowhere!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I didn't feel any warning! No signal at all! That body didn't tell me anything!"
The letters disappeared.
New ones took their place.
[You mistook your blessing for omnipotence.]
Shawn frowned.
"But I thought being God's Messenger meant I'd have massive power!" he protested, crossing his arms. "You gave me that ability! I figured I could use it without limits!"
The letters vanished again.
This time a longer message appeared.
[While no one believes in Me in that world, your body is the only vessel.]
Shawn read it carefully.
'The only vessel?' he thought, brow furrowed.
But before he could ask, more letters appeared.
[Every word you plant.]
[Every person who comes to believe again.]
[Every prayer spoken in My name…]
[Will lighten the burden you carry alone today.]
Shawn fell silent, processing the words.
'So…' he thought, understanding dawning. 'The more people believe in God, the stronger I'll get.'
He let out a long sigh.
"I get it," he said, looking at the Bible. "I'll be more careful next time."
But before he could say anything else, he heard a sound.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
His phone.
Shawn set the Bible on the sink and ran back to his room.
The phone was on the nightstand, buzzing and ringing.
He grabbed it and looked at the screen.
It was his boss.
'Shit,' he thought, panic rising.
Shawn stared at the phone, frozen.
Should he answer?
What was he supposed to say?
"Hey boss, sorry I didn't turn in the report—I was in another world healing injured knights."
Yeah, right.
That would go over great.
Shawn sighed in annoyance and hit the red button.
Call ignored.
The phone went silent.
He sat on the bed, staring at the screen.
There were tons of notifications.
Unread messages.
Missed calls.
Shawn opened his boss's chat.
And what he saw made his stomach drop.
[Boss - 8:30 AM]: Shawn, where's the report?
[Boss - 9:15 AM]: Shawn, answer.
[Boss - 10:00 AM]: The client is waiting. Where are you?
[Boss - 11:30 AM]: This is unacceptable. I'll call you later to talk.
[Boss - 3:00 PM]: Missed call.
[Boss - 3:01 PM]: Shawn, pick up the phone.
[Boss - 3:30 PM]: Final warning. If you don't respond, there will be consequences.
Shawn swallowed hard.
'Shit, shit, shit,' he thought, panic growing.
But then he noticed more messages.
From his sister.
Shawn opened the chat.
[Sis - 10:00 AM]: Hey, you okay?
[Sis - 10:05 AM]: Dad said you called him yesterday.
[Sis - 10:06 AM]: First time in months you called just to ask how he's doing instead of asking for something.
[Sis - 10:10 AM]: What happened? Is the debt you owe now that big? XD
[Sis - 10:11 AM]: Kidding, kidding.
[Sis - 10:15 AM]: But seriously, are you okay? I got a little worried.
Shawn stared at the messages, unsure what to reply.
'Did I call Dad?' he thought, frowning. 'I don't remember doing that.'
But then it came back to him.
Before going to the other world, he'd been talking to God.
And God had told him to call his father.
'Right,' Shawn thought, vaguely recalling the conversation. 'I asked how he was doing.'
He looked at his sister's message again.
He wanted to reply.
Wanted to tell her he was fine.
But he couldn't shake the scolding from his boss.
Ding!
A new message popped up.
From his boss.
Shawn opened it with trembling hands.
And what he read made his heart stop.
[Boss - Now]: You're fired.