Cough.
"Huh?" I mumbled, but I could not hear my voice.
Whose voice was that, though? I thought, staring around in the vast darkness that held me captive.
I tried forcing my eyelids open, but strangely enough, they did not respond. I tried to lift my hands, but even that felt like lifting a truck.
Just what the heck is happening to me?
I began panicking, but suddenly, memories of my past hit me so hard I just froze.
I... died.
That fucker killed me!
AHHHHH!
WHY?!
WHY?!!!!!!
What did I even do?!
Nothing!
SO WHY?!
…Damn it.
And what was that nonsense about time?
I have no clue, since the son of a bitch forgot to explain and just killed me! Damn that psychopathic bastard.
Thwack!
All of a sudden, I felt a jarring pain in my jaw and back.
"Ahh!" A scream left my mouth. But again, I could not hear my voice. However, now I could feel my eyelids opening.
Instantly, a blinding light assaulted my senses, but I could not move my hands to shield my eyes from it.
"Hah, ah, hah!" I found myself panting, my whole body aching.
"Finally, I can finally put this bastard in his place," an irritated voice brought me back to my senses.
I found myself being held by the collar. I looked up, and my gaze met a young boy's face with healthy fat that could only be seen in children, but a terrifying glare that made me doubt this was still a child. He had messy ink black hair and maroon red eyes, and he was arrayed in a resplendent garment that screamed opulence.
Who is this? Why is a fucking child beating me up?
The young boy had his hand pulled back, hinting at a punch on the horizon. Enraged by the blatant disrespect from him, I opted for a crisp slap, but then...
"Huh?" I muttered in a voice that still was not mine, stopping halfway as I caught sight of my little hands.
Before I could understand what was happening, a destructive blow sent me hurtling back. I collapsed to the ground, coughing profusely as I spilled a mouthful of blood.
"Hah, ha, ha."
"Damian, don't leave much injury. We don't want her finding out," another boy, more or less the same age as the assailant, stepped forward. He had golden blonde hair and eyes, and he was dressed to the zenith of opulence.
"Tch. That's what pisses me off even more." The other boy dashed forward and snagged my collar, bringing me close to his face. "That air of arrogance. He doesn't know his place."
"Don't worry, with time he'll be disowned by Father. I'd like to see his pride then," the boy with blonde hair chuckled as he placed a hand on the other. "And the way I see it, she probably won't be coming to see him any longer."
"What?" The other boy let go of my collar and I slumped down to the ground.
"I doubt any noble house would want their daughter to associate with the likes of him. Even the king called off the engagement. What more do you need as assurance?" His grin widened with every word that left his mouth.
"You know? You're actually right," the boy with black hair said. He then turned to me. "I used to envy you, but now I pity you."
With a last look of palpable disdain, he left and I finally heaved a sigh of relief.
Those faces. And Damian?
No, it could not be. It just cannot be.
I forced my quaking feet to stand and looked around. I was in a huge room that could be called a training room with all the details my eyes fell on. Wooden swords, daggers, shields, and what have you. There was a huge platform in the center of the room that held the place of the centerpiece. But it was all empty, except for me.
I turned to my left and found a punching bag that looked to have been punched one too many times. I glanced down and found scrapes and wounds all over my body, even on my knuckles.
"Hah," I sighed, still in denial.
Just what was happening? Was this all one long nightmare?
"I don't understand a damn thing! Just what the fuck is going on?" I messed up my hair as panic began to set in.
Could this be transmigration? I think it is. Does that mean I really died? Damn it. I was really killed by that godforsaken janitor. Just what in God's name did I do to him to deserve this?
Squeak!
I turned around and my gaze fell on a young girl with lustrous, cascading obsidian hair and fiery maroon eyes. She shared a striking resemblance to the other kid, but her gaze... it was oddly cold. I averted my gaze the instant hers met mine. I had no idea why, but she did not look very happy.
"Adrian," she spoke and walked towards me.
Adrian? Is she talking to me? But why? Why do I feel terrified by it? Where have I heard that name before?
Before I could dwell on that thought for long, she arrived in front of me and stared at me from head to toe.
"Who did this?" she asked, clearly displeased by what she was seeing.
I kept shut, not knowing how to respond. I mean, what should I say? Who am I in the first place? I have no idea if she is even friend or foe.
The silence droned on, but it seemed she was not surprised by my silence.
"Why?" she muttered, her gaze now fixed on the ground.
"Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep shutting yourself out? Why won't you talk to me, to anyone?" she asked, her voice growing louder as tears streamed down her eyes.
I felt pain for some reason. Emotions I do not remember feeling after the incident. For the first time in a long time, I felt that pain in my chest. But I still could not talk. I could only stare at her.
"Hic. Fine, you want to be alone, then so be it. I won't talk to you anymore. Hic. Now I guess you can... hic... be happy. You pushed me away the same way you pushed the others."
She stormed off immediately, headed for the exit.
Why... why do I feel this unsettling sense of déjà vu?
I turned my gaze to a bunch of empty vials littered about the ground before another voice brought me back to reality. It was a man dressed in a suit like a butler.
"Young... No, Mr. Adrian," he corrected himself, his tone ever haunting. "Just as you have been told before now, the young lord's coming of age ceremony is today. I hope you stay in your chambers without fail."
The man said, then walked away.
Adrian. Adrian?
It could not possibly be THAT Adrian, right? Right?
Fuck. Who am I kidding? With all this evidence, I cannot deny it anymore.
I am Adrian Hale.