Reshaping Horizons: Mushoku Tensei

A Thief!

A.N

Last chapter for this year, published a bit later as I intended (I wanted to publish it around Christmas. It's vaguely Christmas themed too!) So consider it as a late gift for these holidays, even though it's a bit short, sorry about that. Oh and by the way, I hope you are doing well and enjoyed the holidays (unlike me, the upcoming exams are destroying me). I have many ideas for the next year, I'm not sure if I'll be able to consistently work on everything but we will see.

Happy New Year to everyone reading this!

/

A veil of darkness enveloped my sight, the world was turning into an abyss of pitch blackness, that darkness felt like a dense fog pressing against me with an unfamiliar force. I attempted to reach out, to call out, to move in any way possible, yet my efforts were met with a just emptiness.

There, suspended in this weird limbo, I existed without the weight of the previous events. It was as if I had always belonged to this ethereal state, detached from the places I had been during my fantasy journey. Slowly, the realization dawned on me, and the idea of reincarnating in a mystical world after death seemed so absurd that I berated myself for even thinking that such thoughts could be plausible.

I began to believe that everything happening until now was just a dream. Paul, Zenith, Roxy, Rudeus... Were just creations of my own imagination, a devious game my mind played. Accepting the notion that death meant this, an eternal and obscure void, I felt myself succumbing to this idea, allowing my consciousness to gradually fade into nothingness.

In the face of an existence confined to this void, it seemed the most logical conclusion. Surrendering to it, I acknowledged the prospect of ceasing to exist once and for all. But, while I tried to apply this idea, something disrupted the void. A sharp, intense pain surged through my head, spreading like a virus throughout my body.

Every part of me throbbed with an intense, otherworldly pain, my limbs started contorting as I cried in response to the mysterious pain. What in the world was happening? Honestly, I couldn't comprehend it. However, after what felt like an eternity, the engulfing darkness began to dissipate, replaced by the gradual influx of humming voices into my ears.

My eyes snapped open, and the first thing that came into focus was an old high school book... The familiar cover of my old Latin textbook. As I raised my head, I noticed that I was resting on a desk with my arms sprawled. Glancing around, disbelief washed over me like a wave.

The room seemed like a typical classroom, with rows of desks neatly arranged, chalkboard at the front, and the teacher's desk with a chair. The air carried a faint scent of chalk and aged paper. I couldn't comprehend how I ended up here, but as I stared more at my surroundings, another wave of disbelief washed over me.

The room buzzed with activity as waves of students flowed in and out, reminding me of my high school days. The familiar sights of this classroom surrounded me was filled with lively conversations, gossip sessions, and students revisiting their notes during what felt like a break between classes. The atmosphere felt like a normal pause before the next class. Nothing too crazy about it.

Yet, the uncanny part wasn't just this  deja vu feeling. It wasn't just the fact that I found myself in a setting I once knew so well. What bewildered me the most was the realization that I recognized all these students, this room, and flipping through the pages of my Latin book, I knew exactly what topic would be covered in the next hour. It defied all logic. Before dying, I had left my high school years behind, and now I was reliving moments from that past. This left me more confused than the weird void I had been a few moments ago.

Confusion swirled within me like a storm as I rubbed my eyes, desperately attempting to make sense of what was happening. My hands instinctively reached into my pockets, grabbing my phone to see what day was today.