Normally, one wakes up only once a day, but here I am, waking up for the third time. And like the two instances prior, it was to a face. This trend has to stop, seriously. Long black hair, pale skin, coal eyes. It was my favorite girl, fucking Laianne.

“Oh? You're not dead? What a letdown...” She slurred.

Please, I'm not in the mood.

“Hmmmm... Okay?”

“Huh?”

“If you're not in the mood then, I guess I'll cut the teasing and save it for another time.” She said with a sigh and got off my face.

Oh? Did I say that out loud? Weird.

I sat up and looked around. It was that room with shelves and a cool fireplace. Cool in a literal sense, anyway. Sitting on my bedside was Laianne, though she wore a black blouse with matching skirt, instead of the drab robe everyone seemed to love wearing. Alrod was standing behind her, worry coloring his white face blue.

“My lord, are you—”

“—I'm fine.” I cut him off. “More importantly, the girl?”

“She's resting next door.” He said. “I had someone treat her but... Are you really sure about this my lord?”

“Sure about what?”

“About saving that girl. The citizens of Artrud just saw you, the Dark Lord of Asteria, save a vile human.” He said.

“What about it?”

I don't know where he's getting at but, so what if people saw me save a human? Can they really do anything about it, about me? After I just smote an Asterian to ashes...

“I'm afraid they will start losing piety towards you, my lord.”

Oh, so that's what he wanted to say.

“I see.

Do I look like I fucking care, though?”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. You know what? I'm sorry. That came out wrong.” I got up the bed. “It's just that... It's just that, part of how I managed to accept this Dark Lord thingy was the fact that I was never anyone other than Alrion—my family didn't exist, my friends didn't exist, everything that once made me ‘me’, didn't exist. But now that I know SHE really existed, I don't know what to think anymore. Or what to feel.”

What about my family? Right now, are they worried to death and are calling the cops to search for me? And me. What happened to me there? Did my body just disappear, or it's still there but doesn't have a soul inside right now? All of these things, I didn't worry about them because I believed they just weren't there.

I'm not that guy who forgets Earth in an instant and fucking yells ‘status!’ the first thing when transported to another world. I have a family back there. Siblings, parents, maybe a minute amount of friends that cared for me. And even if that life of mine was boring as hell, isn't it my obligation to go back and at least tell them not to worry?

But if I'm to go back, will I still be human?

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Laianne asked. “What's that human have to do with anything?”

“Don't you get it? I'm saying that I met and talked to THAT girl when I was still living a human life. Her existence meant the existence of my life as a normal human.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're an evil liar.”

Oh, that came out wrong.

“Okay, you might be an evil bitch but yeah. I'm not saying you lied, I'm just saying that maybe, there are things you don't have any idea about. Things that concern Earth, my home world. That's why I want to talk to the girl as soon as possible.” I turned to Alrod.

“Hey Alrod.”

“Yes, Lord Alrion?”

“Where's her room?”

“The one before us.” He pointed at the wall to my left.

“Okay. You don't have to follow.” I walked to the door and turned the knob. “I'll talk to you guys later.”

I entered the dark hallway and shut the door behind me. Rows of doors decorated the sides of the hallway. Without delay I opened the one on my left, a door made of pale-brown wood, like all the other ones.

In the center of the room was a king-sized bed. A blonde girl laid on the middle, sound asleep, wearing a simple black duster half under the bed's dark blanket. On one side of the bed sat a robed female Asterian, but unlike Laianne, she had those purple creepy veins plaguing her otherwise beautifully mature face. There must be a trend on who has those and who doesn't, but that's for another time.

She was tending to the girl, wiping the girl's arm with a wet towel. When she saw me by the door, she stopped what she was doing in an instant and knelt down on one knee.

“Lord Alrion.” The woman bowed.

“You don't have to do that. Stand up.”

She got up and bowed again.

“You are?”

“Senea. Senea Stormwither, Lord Alrod's personal witch doctor.”

“I see. Nice to meet you, Senea.” I bowed. “What's her status?”

“She's a human so I couldn't treat her by injecting Aster. Instead, I just treated her back with herbal medicine safe for humans. She's no longer in danger, and just needs to rest.” She calmly stated.

“Is that so? Thank you.”

“Well, if you'll excuse me my lord, I will take my leave now.”

“Yes. Thank you again.”

She took a tray containing bottles of unknown medicine with her and bowed, then she made her exit and creaked the door close. It was just me and a sleeping girl inside the room. I sat on the bedside, I guess I would have to wait for her to get up.

Can't blame her for taking a rest though, one day she's living a normal life then in the blink of an eye, she was already tied up on a gallows while creepy people talking in a language she doesn't know surrounded her. I can relate, though she probably had it worse than me. I woke up as a Dark Lord, while she woke up as an intruder to be executed.

She had been through so much in such a short time, her pale lips were frowning even in her sleep. She moved and turned her body to the side. Her arms then wrapped around my abdomen, probably mistaking me for her body pillow. I was to let her sleep for a little while longer but, as expected, it was too much for me as a healthy young man. Or a God for that matter.

“Oy... Wake up.” I poked her cheek. “I'm not your pillow.”

She shook her head awake and slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at me, then at where her arms rested, then she screamed.

“Wh-wha-what are you doing here?” She crept backward to the other end of the bed.

“Wow. Good morning to you, too.”

“What? Please speak in English, I didn't understand.”

“Nothing.” I said, in proper English. “How's your back?”

“Fine... ” She touched her back. “Although still a little, um, itchy...”

“That's good.”

“By the way.”

“Hm?”

“You're, you're one of them, right? Why... did you save me? And how come you know English?”

“One of them? Oh, you mean them... Well, I don't know, not really.”

“But you speak that weird language and...” Her eyes wandered down. “And you can do um... Magic?”

“Well... I'm not exactly like them—hey, I came here because I'm supposed to ask you questions, not the other way around.”

“A-ask me questions?”

“Yeah.” I crept up the bed and closed in on her. I pointed at my face. “Look closely at this face. I'm the guy who bought coffee at the convenience store that night. Do you remember?”

“What...?” She zoomed in on me and gasped. “No way! Arenson?!”

Huh? That's not right... Did I tell her my name?

“B-but that can't be! You were already—

You were already dead!”

---

“I died?”

“Yeah you did!” She said, Her hands shaking while sweat dripped down her forehead.

“I ran after you because you forgot your ID and card but, but when I finally caught up with you, you were lying on the ground and.

And when I checked, a dagger, a dagger was sticking out of your back and blood was dripping!”

A second passed. Two. Three. She covered her hysteric face and broke into tears.

What...? That's far from what I remember... I wasn't stabbed, I just blacked out didn't I? And besides, the street was empty when I collapsed.

My eyes refused to leave the crying girl in front of me as more questions popped out one by one. Just what the hell really happened that night?

And this girl, I don't need someone to tell me that she's traumatized. If she really did see someone die then it's barely surprising she's like this.

“Hey.” I stretched my hand out, but before it reached her she swatted it off.

“Please don't touch me!” She said.

Ugh. She's of no use to me like this.

I launched my hand again, but before she could deflect it I already had grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her close.

“Let me go!” She squirmed as I coiled my arms around her slim figure.

She struggled some more, pushing me away, pounding my chest to break free, but it was all for naught. After a few moments, she gave up and just limped while sobbing. I stroked her head and combed her silky hair. The sobbing gradually faded.

This technique, as effective as ever. I remembered when my dog died. I was a kid then, and I couldn't stop crying, not until my aunt hugged me like this and lulled me to sleep. It seemed to be working on this girl just as well. After five minutes, her eyes were already shut, and was snoring softly.

Maybe, maybe when she wakes up she'll be stable enough to answer my questions. With that thought inside, I guided her head down to the brown leather pillow. I covered her with a blanket and then took my leave.

“That was a weird language.” Said Laianne, whose back was against the wall of the room.

“Oh, what are you doing here?”

She smirked like an imp. “Well, I was trying to eavesdrop, but then you and that girl were talking in a language I don't understand.”

“Ugh. I'm a God right? How come you're being so disrespectful to me... I know! Why not take lessons from your father on how to be a good worshipper?”

“Father doesn't understand a myriad of things.” She snorted. “Let's just say that right now, you're not qualified to be our God yet. You're too soft, you don't even try to punish this impious woman before you.”

“Really? Woman? More like a little girl. And wait, are you a masochist? I'm sorry but I'm not into that stuff.” I said and turned my heel.

“You don't get it do you?” She said, catching up with my pace. “Us Asterians don't consider someone who can't even watch a human die a God. The Dark Lord of Asteria supposedly symbolized ruthlessness, vengeance and cunning deception. Right now, you don't symbolize any of those.”

“So you're saying, the God of Darkness is basically the archetypal villain?” I said as we took the staircase downward.

“Pretty much. Though Chaos didn't really think like that.”

“Chaos?”

“The father of the primordial Gods. Well technically no, he just created Hesra, Aster and Arkos, and you and your siblings just emerged from those elements by yourselves. Hesra creates life, Arkos nurtures the living with life, while Aster destroys what those two elements have created. As the embodiment of Aster, you aren't necessarily a villain, but you need to destroy life, or the balance of the universe will be upset.”

“Like a predator that prevents prey from multiplying out of control?”

“Very perceptive, for once, Lord Alrion.”

“That ‘for once’ wasn't necessary, though.”

“So while not inherently evil, we Asterians are perceived as villains by the humans, and some other races. Even within the God circle, you are an outcast. Raien and Nariod hates you.”

“I know Nariod, Alrod mentioned him once but, who's Raien?”

“The Goddess of Life, embodiment of Hesra. I don't like her too much.”

“Why?”

“She sides with the humans, along with Nariod.”

“Oh... Then that would mean humans have two Gods, while Asterians only have the blessing of one? Talk about unfair.”

“Yes, and your spouse, Nariad, remains neutral and doesn't concern herself with the war between the two races.”

“I see... Though I'm curious, how do I contact other Gods? Is there something like social media exclusively for Gods?”

“Social media? What's that.”

“Never mind, then.”

“Well, I don't know anything about that, but if you want to talk to Nariad then, we should hurry up. She's waiting by the castle gate right now.”

“What?!” My shout shook the air around us. Literally.

“Yes. Father's trying to calm her down right now.” She smirked. “And I'm afraid you'll have a lot of explaining to do about your embrace with the human girl earlier.” She tapped my shoulder.

How the hell did anyone see that? Oh fuck no. I'm so going to die.

A major part of me absolutely wanted to run away. But to where? I didn't know.