Painful!
How painful!
My head hurts so badly!
A gaudy and dazzling dreamworld filled with murmurs instantly shattered. The sound asleep Zhou Mingrui felt an abnormal throbbing pain in his head as though someone had ruthlessly lashed at him with a pole again and again. No, it was more like a sharp object pierced right through his temples followed by a twist!
Ouch…In his stupor, Zhou Mingrui attempted to turn around, look up, and sit up; however, he was completely unable to move his limbs as though he had lost control over his body.
From the looks of it, I'm still not awake. I'm still in a dream… Who knows, perhaps the next scene will be of me thinking I'm already awake, but in fact, am actually still sleeping…
Zhou Mingrui, who was not unfamiliar with similar encounters, tried his best to focus in order to escape the shackles placed upon him by the darkness and confusion.
However, while still in his reverie, whatever will he could summon was ethereal like a fleeting fog. He found his thoughts difficult to control and introspect. No matter how much he tried, he still lost his focus as random thoughts surfaced in his mind.
And it's really painful!
Could it be something like a cerebral hemorrhage?
Fuck, don't tell me I'm going to die young?
I need to wake up! Now!
Eh? Why doesn't it seem to hurt as much as before? But why does it still feel like a blunt knife is slicing through my brains…
From the looks of it, sleep is impossible. How am I to show up for work tomorrow?
Why am I still thinking about work? This is some authentic headache. Of course I have to take time off! I don't have to worry about my manager's grumblings!
Hey, putting it that way, it doesn't seem too bad. Hehe, I can end up getting some spare time for myself!
Throbbing pain inundated Zhou Mingrui, allowing him to slowly accumulate immaterial strength until he was finally able to move his back and open his eyes. He finally broke free from his reverie.
His vision first blurred before it was screened by a faint crimson red. All he could see was a study desk made of burly wood in front of him. Right in the middle was an opened notebook with coarse, yellow pages. The title was eye-catchingly written with strange, deep black lettering.
To the left of the notebook was a stack of neatly arranged books, numbering about eight. The wall on their right was inset with grayish-white pipes with wall lamps connected to them.
The lamp had a classical Western style to it. It was about half the size of an adult's head with an inner layer of transparent glass and an exterior gridded with black metal.
Diagonally beneath the lamp was a black ink bottle shrouded in a pale red glow. Its embossed surface formed a blurry angel pattern.
In front of the ink bottle and to the right of the notebook sat a dark-colored pen with a fully circular body. Its tip shimmered with a faint glint while its cap rested right beside a brass revolver.
A gun? A revolver?Zhou Mingrui was completely taken aback. The things laid before him were alien to him. It looked nothing like his room!
While feeling shocked and confused, he discovered that the desk, notebook, ink bottle, and revolver were covered in a layer of crimson 'veil,' a result of the light shining from the window.
Subconsciously, he looked up and shifted his gaze up bit by bit.
In midair, a crimson moon hung high above the backdrop of a 'black velvet curtain,' glowing in silence.
This…Zhou Mingrui felt inexplicably horrified as he stood up abruptly. However, before his feet fully straightened, his brain protested with throbbing pain. It made him temporarily lose his strength as he fell uncontrollably. His buttocks slammed heavily onto the burly wood chair.
Pa!
The pain did little. Zhou Mingrui stood up again by propping himself up. He turned around in a fluster as he began to size up the environment he was in.
The room was not very large, with a brown door on each side of the room. Close to an opposite wall was a low wooden bed.
Between the bed and the left door was a cabinet. Its two doors were swung open and beneath it were five drawers.
To the side of the cabinet, there was the same grayish-white pipe on the wall at the height of a person. However, it was connected to a strange mechanical device with exposed gears and bearings in several spots.
Items resembling coal stoves sat in the right corner of the room near the table, along with soup pots, iron pots, and other kitchen utensils.
Across the right door was a dressing mirror with two cracks. Its bottom was made of wood and the patterns were simple and plain.
With a sweep of his gaze, Zhou Mingrui noticed himself in the mirror—the present him.
Black hair, brown eyes, a linen shirt, thinly built, average-looking features and a rather deep outline…
This…Zhou Mingrui immediately drew a gasp as many helpless and confused guesses surfaced in his mind.
The revolver in ancient European style and the crimson moon that looked different from Earth's moon could only mean one thing!
C-could I have transmigrated?Zhou Mingrui widened his mouth slightly.
As his memories slowly recovered, Zhou Mingrui tried to regain his senses and pondered over the current situation. Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound on the wooden desk.
Ding!
...is that a phone notification??
Zhou Mingrui slowly walked to the wooden desk and found the most familiar thing in his life.
It was a mobile phone!
A mobile phone? Is this a fever dream or something? why was there a mobile phone in stream age?? Is that even here in the first place?
as if he thought about it, his head suddenly felt an inexplicable pain as memories flooded in.
Ugh!
Klein Moretti...Tingen...The Fifth Epoch?, the Steam age?... So this world is in the Industrial Revolution? But why did would there be a phone? Was it a special item that came with the protagonist like in the anime or something? Why didn't i notice it at first...
Zhou Mingrui thought to himself while slowly reached out to grab the mobile phone that was on the wooden desk and turned it on.
But when he turned on the screen, he was disappointed
The phone only had one group chat
This is freaking me out..
Zhou Mingrui clicked on the group chat and found that there were 4 members in the group. There was no group profile picture, no individual profile pictures, and all the member's names including him, were all question marks.
there's only one group chat? Shouldn't this kind of item be an item that helps the character develop more or something? nothing make sense… it doesn't even say who each person in the group is. All the members in the group name's are question marks.. well, including me also. this is so confusing
While Zhou Mingrui was pondering, his phone rang again.
???: Hello??
???: Does anyone know how I got sent here?
there they are! a myterious member!
wait
Sent here...?
Don't tell me, he's also a transmigrator?
Is this a group chat of people from another world?
Before Zhou Mingrui could reply, another message popped up.
??: OH MY GOD OH MY GOD YOU WERE SENT HERE TOO??????
??: THANK GOD! I thought I'd be alone in this hell.isaw this phone droped on the ground! If I didn't have this phone, I'd think i am a dog dreaming of being human and then waking up thinking I was a real human!
???: OMG??? Then this is a group chat of transmigrators, right!!?
?? : I THINK SO!!
Zhou Mingrui felt a little hopeful and quickly typed a reply.
At least he wouldn't be alone in a world he didn't know anything about!
????: Hello?
????: im freaking out rn cuz im like, sleeping and then got sent here?? but at least I wouldn't be confused in this strange world alone i guess
???: HI!!!!!!!! WELCOME MY DUDE. You've got transmigrated here too, right??
???? : Yeahh, But like the Steam Age shouldn't have cell phones aren't it? maybe this is a prank? a set up or whatever
?? : The Steam Age? i don't think so? The place I'm in is far from being called Steam it's wild and also THERE'S A FUCKING MONSTERS EVERYWHERE
?? : AND I'M A DOG
??? : YOU'RE A DOG???
?? : IM A HUMAN but right now im in a dog from.. or a dog's body? i don't even know..
??? : isn't that YOURS body???? HOW COME DID YOU NOT KNOW
?? : I DON'T KNOW
??? : OKAY so this is definitely the Middle Ages. i think you're just cofusing @????
???? : No? the memories from this body tell me otherwise
?? : I really don't think middle age have a WILD monsters around
?? : I think the place I'm in is kinda worse. like more wrose than a middle ages
??? : did you got kidnapped and taken to a cave or sum? Because you're a dog
?? : noooo i feel like im not a dog at all..it's like a mytical creature..? and powerful, also the place im in it's more like a mansion, but far from civilization.
??? : so did you got kidnapped by a rich guy?
?? : NO! but a god, maybe
??? : Wait wait wait, let's throw back to the 4 bro first. I don't think this is a set-up or something relate. cuz our world doesn't have anything about memory transfer, right?
???? : the 4bro? me???
??? : yeah bc you have 4 questions mark
?? : So I'm the 2sis??
??? : YOU'RE A GIRL???? 𝓗𝓮𝔂....
?? : EWWWWWWWWWWW who do he think he is
???? : ew...
? : Hello
??? : OMGGGG our last member!! Hellooooooooooo bro1/sis1!!!
? : I thought there's no phone left in this world.. it's wierd
? : It doesn't make any sense. The place right now doesn't even have enough technology to make a cell phone. And Shouldn't it be broken or completely decomposed by a apocalypse?
??? : okay bro we have no idea what you talking about... also don't think about it dudeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee We might all be chosen to come here with our cell phones! well, even tho this is not my phone at all.. but it's lt's like that one anime! i forgot the name
? : I don't really think so..
why is there so many question marks.. My head is killin me..it's hurt like hell Ugh...
Zhou Mingrui's head suddenly ached again at his temples, causing him to put down his phone and reach up to grab it to relieve the pain. Then, the young man glanced at the notebook on the table with a page still open.
On the page, there was a short sentence written in Hermes.
'Everyone will die, including me'
Zhou Mingrui instinctively backed away, but because his body was still weak, he lost his balance and fell again. Fortunately, he was able to grab the edge of the table in time. He tried to stand up again, and looked away from the notebook.
At that moment, his eyes fell on the brass revolver in confusion.
"Given the Klein family's living conditions, where did that guy get a gun?"
Amidst the confusion and panic, Zhou Mingrui glanced at the red half-palm mark on the edge of the table. It was a fresh red stain
Zhou Mingrui raised his hand to look at it, and saw his palm and fingers covered in bright red blood.
" Is my head bleeding...?"
He guessed as he walked over to look at the broken mirror.
This is the current me... Klein Moretti?
Because the night light was not bright enough, he could not see his wound clearly and tried to move his face closer to the mirror, leaning his head towards the source of the blood.
The image on the mirror reflected a disgusting wound on his temple. Around the wound was a burn mark and gunpowder stains. The surrounding area was covered in blood, and inside was a gray brain that was slowly swelling.
He was terrified by what he saw and instinctively staggered back.
" What the hell is going on..."
-
After removing the bloodstains and sorting himself out a bit, Zhou Mingrui walked back to pick up the mobile phone that was on the wooden table again and opened the mysterious group chat to look at it.
The revolver that was so strange and suspicious of how the previous Klein got it was probably as strange as this mobile phone..
There was only one group chat, there were four people from the same world.. Wait, what if they were from different worlds? Or was the world they were in now a different world? Because when he mentioned the Steam Age, no one's reaction was the same! Or were we living in different Epoch ?
I don't seem to understand any of this nonsense... Zhou Mingrui thinking as he picked up the phone and went back to the group chat
???? : hey im back what have yall been talking about?
??? : Heyyy you're back! We were just talking about how we should introduce ourselves and stuff, but since you're gone, we talked about something else.
?? : something like why do each one of our era seem so different and everything
??? : okay okay okayyyyyyy, since our member is all here why don't we just forget about all the headaches and let's just introduce ourselves, okay?
?? : yeah yeah just go on
???? : well, my name is Zhou Mingrui, I'm from China, my current name is Klein Moretti, and I've been thinking about it for a while but yeah maybe we're from different Epoch... So, I'm from the 5th Epoch, 1349, if klein's memory aren't wrong
??? : WAITTTTTTT YOU'RE FROM CHINA?????
???? : YOU'RE CHINESE TOO?
??? : YEAH!!
??? : MY DUDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
? : i guess we really are from different Epoch
? : I'm Grisha, a researcher from Ukraine. If I remember correctly, I think it's the second Epoch now..
? : I'm a little different from you guys..well, my soul or consciousness doesn't go to someone else's body, but remains my own.
??: Are you a ghost?
? : what? no? Where did you get that idea from?
? : i can explain it to you all after we introducde our self, so let's continue
?? : well then
??: I'm Amanises, you can call me Amani or anything you like tho, also I'm from Europe. And I think i should be in the 2nd Epoch..? I think
??? : European? ......smash.
???? : get your freaky ass outta here dude
?? : yeah dude, im a dog
??? : oh shit mb i forgot
???: anyways! my name is Huang Tao, from China like Zhou. Oh, and my current name is Roselle Gustav! I'm in the 5th epoch now, but I'm like, 200 years away from Zhou!
Rosell Gustav...? The name of the great Intis emperor who was assassinated? The praised genius one?
wait a mintue.. didn't all the technologies were born because of him? This world is similar to my homeland because of him after all..
does that mean
That Roselle Gustav is THIS GUY??? THE FREAKY ONE??????
so I'm currently talking to the great Intis emperor who was assassinated more than 200 years ago... I'm talkin to a dead person, and he's also from the same world! wow what even is happening right now???? Does this mean I'm the only survivors among the transmigators? where's those others people? do they die or what...?
Wait, does that means all the things created in this world that look like my old world were invented by Roselle? I was wondering why this world seem were so similar.
inventor...?
...oh I see how it is
???? : YOU @??? YOU LAIR ASS SON OF A GREAT LADY
??? : HUH???? WHAT DID I DO
???? : eyyyyy fun fact for all my fellow neighbor! Roselle Gustav, the great Emperor Intis who invented so many things, actually just claimed that because many of the things he invented came from our old world!!
??? : ME!!??
?? : waitttt so does this world have computers? did you invent computers? valorant? apex? ff4?
??? : STOP RIGHT THERE GIRLY, how would I know! I just crossed over to this world with you guys a moment ago!
??? : wait, isn't this like cheating? Aren't you from the future, Zhou? If you tell me to do something, if I do it, will it happen in the future?
??? : SO DOES THIS MEAN I WILL KNOW THE FUTURE
??? : OMG WAIT will I still be alive 200 years from now?
???? : ofc not dumbass, i think you were assassinated or somethings i don't really know. Oh, but the turth of Roselles assassination is still quite a mystery. Actually, you might still alive
??? : a mystery? How did you know that?
???? : Klein Moretti is a historian.
??? : Oh yeah that makes sense.
? : Sorry to interrupt, but like should we change our names? The question mark is hard to distinguish and we looks like some weird cult
??? : ..Oh yeah I totally forgot about that
?? : i was about to say that
------
The Great Emperor of the World: I feel cool asf and nobody can tell me otherwise
The Fool : you sound like a high schoolers
The Great Emperor of the World : DON'T YOU DARE INSULT ME WITH THAT NAME
Evernight: okay but like, why THE FOOL tho?
The Fool: It just popped into my head so I used it
The great emperor of the world : and it's sound so dumb
The fool : huang tao shut upppppppp
Sun: our name looks alot better(^^)/
Evernight: awwwww i like ur emojicon
The Great Emperor of the World: okay? dude? Why does everyone have such short and boring names
The Fool: No u, why did you have such a long and lame name?
The Great Emperor of the World: HELLOOOOOOO???? IT'S LITERALLY THE COOLEST????
The Fool: it's not
Evernight: Not at all.
Sun: I think it's cool tho
The Great Emperor of the World: Grisha...!!! My dearest beloved bro(ToT)
________
Sun: Can I talk about everyone's eras Epoch and timezone ?
The Fool: Sure
Evernight: d=(^-^)=b
Sun: If someone in the group now tells someone from the past about something that will happen in the future to another personlike zhou and huang tao, will the things that have already happened in history change or will remains the same? If this world has another timeline where we don't talk like this, will what we do or what we are doing affect the future? Huang tao, did you write any notes or dairy? I think you should do for Zhou to find it and tell us more abou this time thing. Also will our current selves have a chance to meet in the future? If so, what will happen? Suppose that the selves of us who are talking now are our past selves. If our selves really lived in Xiao Zhou's era, when will Xiao Zhou, the future selves, meet the selves of Xiao Zhou? Won't the timeline be a bit off? Aren't the gaps too big?
The Great Emperor of this World: ok bro i don't understand any of the long paragraph ass you wrote and I'm not reading allat! Can you just shorten it to 3 lines or sum
Sun: Zhou, can you try to research more about Roselle?
The Great Emperor of this World: ok it is short
The Fool: it's really does short.
The Fool: But yeah of course. Maybe this phone could be the key to helping us return to our earth our planet or our dimension! What ever take me home I'll do it
The Great Emperor of this World: That's right! A phone that allows the past to communicate with the future. It definitely has the key to returning home!
Evernight: Then this is the first step to returning home?
The Great Emperor of this World: okay girl do you know how cool the lone you just said???
Evernight: I KNOWW
The great Emperor of this World: That's gave me and idea!! Let's name the group 'Welcome Home'! When we return and see this group it'll be hilarious or maybe we'll cry bc we defeat the most powerful boss in the world!
The Fool: oh yeahhhh that's like the coolest thing I've heard from you
Evernight: I like that
The Great Emperor of this World: this is so cool bro, first we transmigrated, and then we talk across the time!
The Great Emperor of this World: Andddddd our big Bro Grisha also agree withthe name 'welcome home', right?
The Great Emperor of this World: Big Bro?
The Great Emperor of this World: hello? You there?
________________
Sun: Actually, the place where I woke up to first see the world
Sun: Was chernobyl.
Sun: This is not another world, Huang Tao.
Sun : non of us have transmigrated at all
Sun: this is our world.
Sun: Our hometown has been destroyed.
Sun : I've wanted to tell you earlier but I just didn't wanted to ruined the mood.. I'm so sorry but this is the truth
Sun: As for the reason we're here and our home was destroyed, I can't tell you until you've reache to became an angle.
Sun : ..i'll explain more later
______________
The Fool: Sorry everyone, I might need a little time.
Sun: Everyone probably needs time right now
Sun: I'm Sorry,but this is for the best of everyone.
Evernight: then, how did we get here? Time travel? Is this the future?
Sun: yes, this is the future, at least from our Epoch. I don't really understand how did this phone gets here or anything, but this is definitely our world.
The Fool: Then what should I do? Accept the truth and continue living in Klein's life? My mom, my dad, my home my Everything was destroyed? all of them? gone?
The fool : how could I, how could this be? Is this a joke?
The great Emperor of the World: my femboy....
The fool: DUDE
Sun: well, You guys have two choices: live as ordinary people or choose to advance to become a beyonder. I think everyone has their own reasons for being here. At the time when Zhou crossed over, there must be some thing zhou wloud have responibilities for, also is HuangTao and amani
The Fool: A beyonder? a responibilities? YESTERDAY OR AT LEAST I THOUGHT, I WAS AN ORDINARY MAN
Sun: I know, and we all are too. I'll explain it all to you later.
The Fool: ...I understand.
The Great Emperor of the World: But, what about this phone? Why can we communicate across time like this?
Sun: I have no idea about that either. After the apocalypse i don't think phone still exists
The Great Emperor of the World: Then, does that mean there might still be a way? Some thing like use this phone so we can go back in time?
Sun : Hmm.. it might be possible. but i don't really think we can go back in time tho
The Great Emperor of the World: OKAY! WE JUST NEED TO TRY so MAYBE we can go back in time and went back to our home! even write an book abou our life when we get back! OR MEET EACHOTHER IN PERSON??? Actually, I might not have been assassinated in the future, but I went back in time!!
The Fool: i mean we can't rule out those possibilities. As for Amani and Grisha, our eras are too far apart. I don't even know who you guys are in Klein's memories, sorry.
Evernight: don't apologize dude! we're at least 2000 years apart aren't we?
Evernight: Well..? So the name 'Welcome Home' can still be used, right?
The Great Emperor of the World: YEESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!
Sun: mhm ^-^
The Fool: yeah
The Great Emperor of the World: Even though I don't really understand what's going on, but from now on, let's just lived and find our way home!
The great Emperor of the World changed the name of the group to ---> Welcome Home! (4)