บท 1: Bad Endings Have Good Beginnings
I hated the smell of gunpowder.
Whenever death was close, that smell would be present too. Together with the pungent smell of rotten corpses and scorched flesh, it holds a marvelous symphony that no one wanted to hear.
Still, I couldn't help but be driven towards it.
At the end of my life too, I was met with that smell. That putrid stench of sulfur would penetrate through my nose and engrave itself onto my bones. The smell of rotten eggs. It's distinct. It's disgusting.
Still, I couldn't help but be driven towards it.
I knew even if hell were to freeze over, even if I was reincarnated, even if I was given a second chance, that aroma would never change. The world would also never change. So, to never encounter it ever again, all I could do was avoid it. It shouldn't be that hard, I thought, after all, many have died without ever truly witnessing it.
Still, I couldn't help but be driven towards it.
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Common sense:
a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge things that are shared by nearly all people and can reasonably be expected of nearly all people without need for debate.
Unfortunately I was not an owner of such a convenient ability. It's sad, but it's the truth. All I could do was mold my mind into something similar. However it was in the end just a copy, it could never hold up to the genuine article. Many times, it had shown its disadvantages in everyday life. Apparently, not being able to comprehend, what everyone else saw as obvious, was not highly thought of. Well, sorry, but I like to think for myself, instead of blindly following the ideas build by society, or what others might refer as "common sense".
In the end I decided on my own rules. I developed my own "common sense", my theory about "Applied Facts vs. Circumstantial Facts".
Now, before you looked at me like I was crazy, let me explain myself.
Applied facts. That was what anyone else would regard as "common sense". For example, we do not float, because gravity pulls us down. We do not eat rotten food. We do not call a girl fat. Those are all facts that are seen as natural. There was a critical flaw in this kind of thinking, though. It caused one to rely on it. Many times, people took their common sense for granted and don't question it's legitimacy.
In other words, it sealed the option of asking - "Why?". As doing that would be going against common sense.
The eternal question of humankind. The question, which distinguished us from animals, disappeared just like that. Oh, what a tragedy.
Truth is, there were times when those Applied Facts are not right. In this world, nothing was certain after all.
Imagine suddenly starting to float. I understand it was an incredibly small possibility and 'Common sense' would tell you - "that's impossible". Still, it is how it is, right now you are in the air. That was also an undeniable fact. Now we had two different viewpoints clashing with each other.
This was where the Circumstantial Facts come in. Facts based on the circumstance. Not based on instinct or thinking drilled in by society, but sorely on the given information. That was the part that differed my theory from 'Common sense'. For an average person, as it went against their 'Common sense', they would have a hard time believing it, and their innate thinking ability is sealed. But for me it's different, I would just take those Circumstantial Facts and overwrite the Applied Facts, and in the end, it gave me a more critical and simultaneously more creative mind. In other words my horizon was broadened.
It did of course, have it's disadvantages. That was that those Circumstantial facts are pretty uncommon. It might never occur in anyone's mind, that their common sense was wrong, that's just how rare it was. After all Common sense, even though flawed, was still based on many different factors of the human brain. It couldn't be that useless.
Why did I bring this up then?
Well, we might have a Circumstantial fact, right here.
I traveled through different worlds.
No really, I'm not a nutcase. Okay, I may be, but still, stay for a bit longer, please.
It all started while I was robbing an art museum. Yes, you heard right. Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm a trickster. A swindler. In fact I was the world's best swindler. Together with my friends, we stole more than a nation possessed. My bounty was higher than that of the most heinous criminals. No one could catch us, we were always ten steps ahead. Everybody feared me, but everybody also revered me. I stood at the top. I achieved things, no one would even dream of. All at the tender age of nineteen.
However, that was all in the past now. Because at the time I was reaching for that beautiful painting, everything exploded. And then I died. I repeat, I died. My lungs had ruptured, blood was clogging up my throats, as I took my last breaths, tasting of iron. My consciousness had slowly faded away, but my eyes never closed. I died.
Or not. Or maybe I did. Fact is, right now I was standing on two feet, using my two eyes, gazing at two people. Even though, I died, I was still alive. Weird, right?
"Simmer your gaze, you spiteful fiend," the male spoke. Clear, unadulterated malice decorated his words. This guy seemed to hate me.
Huh, but I just got here. I had no idea what you meant. And that language. It was mainly English, but different. Calling it a dialect would be wrong.
There was a mix of German, French, but also Chinese and Arabian. And, maybe Latin? I'm not sure, as the intonations were wrong. I knew though, that this isn't a language spoken in our world.
This alone could not have accounted for travelling through dimensions. It could've also been a dream. So I pinched myself.
It was not a dream. Ouch.
"Look at that harlot not even able to mutter a single word. It is said that peasants are illiterate, but are you perchance also mute?", the female asked, in a sweet voice. It was said so naturally, I almost thought I misheard.
Aliens? No not with that setting. Currently, I was standing in a grandiose hall.
The cold marble was penetrating my naked feet. A plethora of colors, reflecting on the floor, were caused by the stained glass that decorate the walls carved with exquisite patterns. Above me were chandeliers made out of pure gold, dangling down the ceiling. To my sides, many pillars stood erect, symbolizing that they could even hold the sky if they wanted to. Behind me was an antique wood door, which made even a giant look small. The whole place was layered with different silk and fabric. And also fur. Lots of fur.
No matter how I perceived it, this place reeked of money. What was most daunting though was the seat placed in front of me. It was massive. Embroidered with innumerable jewels and gold, I could tell at first glance that this was the most valuable item here. If not, then it would be that self portrait above it. But, I still had a slight trauma from paintings, so I shall refrain from any comments.
Certainly, it was a throne room. This was clearly a medieval setting. Aliens? Don't joke around.
So, disregarding the 'another world theory', there was only one remaining. This was the afterlife. Not heaven, me going to heaven would be impossible, but not quite hell either. If anything this could have been purgatory. But it wasn't. I was quite sure.
Because I was not in my own body.
I looked down on my chest. Even if it's infinitely small, I could see that I had breasts, meaning I was a girl. I felt around my neck, to find the second most prominent male feature, the adam's apple. To my despair, there was none. Also, I could have sworn I was taller before. No matter how crazy I was, I knew that I had always been a guy. Born a guy, died a guy. There's absolutely no sense in changing my gender after I had entered purgatory.
In the end I could only accept the fact that I had travelled to another world and took over some girls body. I sighed and resigned myself to this peculiar fate.
"Ah maybe she died? Is that maybe the rotten smell coming of from her? No wonder she wouldn't react. Servant, where are the Servants? Somebody get rid off the corpse," while tasting the bitter-sweet wine called destiny, the female spit out some pretty harsh words towards me.
Speaking of which, they had been quite rude since I came here.
Who were they? A male and a female. Age, probably fifteen to seventeen, maybe older, as they looked quite malnourished. Still, they wore some luxurious clothes. I wondered why there was such a disparity. Peculiarly the crown on top of that males head was quite conspicuous. In this era, he could only be one of three things -a king, a prince, or an idiot. Well, some might argue that you could still be an idiot even if you are a king, so let's strike that out.
Then was he a king? His age doesn't matter. After all, Louis the 14th became a king at the age of four. But I don't think we had such a case here. The reason was simple. If he was the king, he would be sitting on the throne, not standing in front of it. Meaning, he probably had no right to it. So, he must be the next best thing, the prince. Wow, I met such an important figure on my first day.
Now, all that's left is that girl. Her clothes didn't fall behind the princes clothes either. So someone important. Also, they were on equal standing. Even if she was some rich merchant, she would have had no right standing next to him. Lastly, we had her speech. To speak in such a condescending tone in front of royalty is highly disrespectful. Unless you were royalty too.
That leaves only two options - His fiancé or his sister. But, I see that the prince was wearing something on his left ring finger. Oh, so he was engaged. On the contrary the girl didn't have a ring.
Okay, it's concluded then. Standing in front of me is a prince and a princess. Wasn't that too high of a hurdle for my first day? However, I liked a good challenge.
A slight smile appeared on my face. Suddenly those two froze and shuddered. It's been a long time since I was this happy, so I might have scared them a bit, with my face. But do forgive me. It has also been a long time since I have been so disrespected. It was quite amusing.
Those two, I wanted to bathe in their blood. See them squirm and wail as they begged for my forgiveness.
Oh lord, in the end I just couldn't escape the alluring smell of gunpowder. Ah, but in this era, had they discovered it yet?
In my previous world, nobody could overpower me in a battle of wits. In fact, there was never a battle to begin with, so how will this world, which seems to be hundred years behind fare, I wondered.
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