Years passed in that hellhole.
I stopped counting after the first year. What was the point? Every day was the same. Wake up, serve that brat, clean up his mess, go to sleep. Repeat.
My master's name was Gerald. Son of some rich noble. He had everything. Money, power, magic. And he used all of it to make my life miserable.
"Prince! Get over here!" he would shout every morning.
I hated that he called me Prince.
"Yes, master," I would say, keeping my head down.
"HAHAHA....Your name and actions doesn't match mister Prince."
"My shoes are dirty. Clean them."
"Yes, master."
"My room smells. Fix it."
"Yes, master."
"I need to take a shit. Come with me."
That was the worst part. He made me stand there while he did his business. Then I had to wipe his ass.
Every. Single. Time.
And he was a fatty....
I thought about running away. Every night, I thought about it. But where would I go? I had no money. No skills. No magic.
They would catch me in a day and bring me back. And the punishment would be worse than death.
So I stayed. And I endured.
One day, Gerald came back from the city all excited.
"Prince! You won't believe what I saw today!"
I didn't care, but I had to pretend. "What did you see, master?"
"The Hero! The real Hero! He was in the capital!"
My blood went cold. The Hero. The truck driver. The main character of this world.
"He demonstrated his magic in the town square. Fire, water, earth, wind - he can use everything! And he's invented so many things. He even created this new drink called 'Cola.' I got to try some. It was amazing!"
Cola. A drink from Earth. From our world.
So it was true. The truck driver really was here. And he was living the life I was supposed to have.
"That's wonderful, master," I said, my voice hollow.
Gerald didn't notice. He never noticed anything about me.
That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about it. About him.
The truck driver killed me. It was his fault I died. And now he was living as a hero while I was living as a slave.
It wasn't fair.
But life was never fair, was it?
.
.
.
More years passed. I stopped being angry. I stopped feeling anything.
I was just... existing. Going through the motions. A robot in human skin.
One day, Gerald decided to take me out for a walk.
"You've been looking pale lately, Prince. Some fresh air will do you good."
I didn't want fresh air. I wanted to die.
But I followed him anyway. We walked through the capital streets. People were everywhere, going about their business.
It was a nice day. Sunny. Peaceful. The kind of day where nothing bad should happen.
Then the sky darkened.
Not clouds. Something else. Magic.
People started screaming. Running. Panicking.
"What's happening?" Gerald looked around, confused.
I looked up and saw them. Monsters. Giant monsters made of shadow and darkness, appearing in the sky above the capital.
"It's an attack!" someone shouted.
This was it. This was the main character's big moment. The Hero would fight the monsters and save everyone.
I was just a background character. I would probably die here.
And honestly? I didn't care anymore.
The monsters started attacking. Destroying buildings. Killing people. Chaos everywhere.
Gerald grabbed my arm. "We need to find shelter!"
We ran. Well, he ran. He dragged me along.
Then I saw him. The Hero. The truck driver. He was in the middle of the street, casting spells, fighting the monsters.
He looked... happy. Like he was enjoying this. His big adventure.
I hated him so much.
A monster appeared behind us. A huge shadow creature with red eyes and sharp claws.
Gerald saw it and panicked.
He did something I'll never forget.
He grabbed me and threw me at the monster.
"Take him! Not me!" he screamed.
I flew through the air. For a second, I thought "this is it. This is how I die. As a meat shield for that coward."
The monster's claw came down.
Pain. Unimaginable pain. My body was ripped apart.
I fell to the ground. Blood everywhere. My blood.
I could see Gerald running away. Not even looking back.
The Hero was still fighting monsters in the distance. He didn't even know I existed.
I was dying. Again. For the second time.
My vision was getting blurry. Everything was getting cold.
"Not like this," I thought. "Please, not like this."
I didn't want to die as someone's meat shield. I didn't want to die without anyone knowing my name. Without anyone caring.
But I was. I was dying alone. Forgotten. Worthless.
My last thought before everything went black was a wish.
"If there's a next time... please... give me a world without magic. Without monsters. Just a fair chance. A chance to be the main character for once. Please."
Then darkness swallowed me again.
.
.
.
I was falling through nothing again.
How long this time? Hours? Days? Years?
I didn't know. I didn't care.
I just wanted it to end.
But then I thought about my wish. A world without magic. Without monsters.
What if it comes true? What if I get another chance?
For the first time in years, I felt something.
Hope.
Stupid, foolish hope.
But I held onto it anyway. Because what else did I have?
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