Chapter 1: Unwilling Participant of a Deranged Ritual

The phone rang continuously.

Ray was disturbed awake from his medicated sleep.

He was suffering from a high fever and a splitting headache so he had tired to sleep it off using medicines, but some bastard just had to wake him up.

Who was it?

He grabbed his phone and looked at the screen.

The number displayed and the name mentioned was familiar.

“Oh, it’s my bitchy boss.”

He really wanted to cancel the call, but remembering that the pay day was only a week away and he had bills to pay, he reluctantly accepted the call.

Immediately, a sharp screech came from the other end.

“Why are you still not at work?! You shameless thing, are you expecting to freeload off of me?!”

“Sorry, I can’t come today. I am suffering from a fever.”

“What? A fever? Just take a panadol and get your ass over here or you are fired.”

“Fucking capitalist.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing boss. I will do as you say and meet you at the office in an hour.”

However, Ray never mentioned he would kill him once he was there.

Unaware of the threat he was in, his boss continued in his condescending tone, “Make it half an hour.”

Grabbing a knife and the car key, Ray left his apartment.

“What the hell. This sucks.”

The lift was under maintenance, eliciting a complaint to escape his mouth.

He had to take the stairs.

“Oh no!”

Ray slipped over a banana peel as he was taking the stairs.

Thud!

The back of his head slammed against something sharp and solid.

Intense pain and the feeling of something warm flowing out was followed by the loss of control over his body.

’Fuck my life.’

Ray cursed his fate as his vision started to dim.

A minute ago, he was fine, but now he couldn’t feel his body.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps.

A faint glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

Perhaps he could be saved!

A bunch of robed figures came and surrounded him.

’Why are they just staring at me? Why are they not helping? What’s wrong with them?’

Ray couldn’t see their faces as they were wearing masks, but he was weirded out by their behaviour.

One of the robed figures crouched and touched his neck, checking his pulse.

“His breathing is growing shallower. At the rate he is bleeding, he will die sooner or later.”

“Make it immediate.”

“Ah, but boss, I don’t like dirtying my hand.”

“Stop complaining and do it.”

“Tch!”

Ray wondered what they were talking about when a semi transparent screen flashed before his eyes, attracting his attention.

[You have been considered for the position of a System Holder.]

He blinked in confusion.

Was he seeing things?

His question was bound to go answered as he was treated like a pig and mercilessly slaughtered.

Puchi!

With a sickening squelch, a dagger was plunged into his chest, cutting his life short.

“Good! The last of our ten thousand targets has been sacrificed.”

“The grand ritual to end the world can finally be conducted.”

“These nations, their corrupt leaders, and soulless greed driven civilians, they will finally know the despair I’ve felt living amongst them! Hohahahaha!”

The robed figures discussed amongst themselves before their leader announced.

“Let the beasts descend!”

****

Ray blinked.

The last thing he remembered was being killed by masked figures.

But now, he stood in a vast hall teeming with people, their voices blending into a wave of incessant chatter that filled the air.

Curiously, he took in his surroundings.

In the distance loomed a set of gigantic doors.

Near him stood a massive black sphere, its surface smooth and polished to a mirror-like sheen. Sunlight filtered through the painted glass above, casting patches of colored light across its dark surface.

The temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold, as if the entire space had been finely tuned for human comfort, yet he couldn’t spot a single fan or air conditioner.

The hall was brightly lit, and yet tension hung in the air like a heavy curtain.

Worried expressions painted the faces of many around him.

The last time he saw people so tense was in a job interview.

Was this a dream?

He denied that thought immediately.

It felt far too real to be a dream.

He pinched his cheek and felt pain. That just confirmed it further that it was all real.

It was then that his gaze landed on his reflection in the sphere.

An unfamiliar young man with wheatish skin, raven-black hair, deep eyes, and an intense gaze stared back at him.

This… is me?

He slowly raised a trembling hand to his face. The reflection did the same.

Ray immediately realized.

After being killed… he had become someone else!

’Who’ve I possessed?’

Suddenly, as if a blade had been driven straight into his skull, a sharp pain tore through his head.

He stumbled, clutching his temples as a flood of foreign memories surged violently into his mind, making many things clear.

The person he had possessed…

Had the same name as him.

And just like him, he was an orphan.

His mother had died from medical complications during childbirth, and a few months ago, his father was killed in a mining accident caused by the negligence and corruption of the mine’s owner.

There had been no compensation.

No justice.

Only silence.

When he had gone to demand accountability, the mine owner responded not with remorse, but with violence.

He ordered his guards to beat him up, treating him like garbage for daring to trouble him.

Still, he didn’t give up.

He took his case to the authorities, but by then, the mine owner had already bribed the officials.

He was imprisoned for months on false charges, and beaten regularly during his time there.

After he was released, there was a burning desire for revenge in his heart.

He poured 90% of his savings into registering for the Beast Tamer Trial.

Beast tamers were the elite of society.

If he could succeed and become one, he’d finally have the strength to avenge his father and correct the injustices that had scarred his life.

He was here for exactly that purpose, but somehow he died.

His death was quite odd.

He felt an intense pain in his head before he passed away while standing.

It was an instant death. He couldn’t even manage a scream or yell for help before he breathed his last!

Before anyone could notice his death, Ray ended up possessing his body.

’I suspect the mine owner has a hand behind his sudden passing.’

Ray promised to take revenge for him if he had the opportunity, and suddenly he felt more comfortable in his new flesh.

’This world is Earth hundreds of years after my death.’

That was the most shocking truth Ray had gleaned from the memories of his current body’s original owner.

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