Couldn't My Reincarnation have been more Cliche!

Chapter 10 (Rock Bottom)

System>

{Quest "Exterminator" Completed!

[Issuing reward]

(Number of quests completed: 10)

Calculating total reward: [Complete] - - - -

{Successfully deposited: 1500 gp

A bright flash, a feeling of weightlessness horror, the fear of death, these thoughts all poured into my mind, along with a throbbing pain, and what felt like blood running down my face. As the darkness around my vision slowly lifted. Everything around me felt incredibly painful;. I couldn't move at first; each breath felt like I was fighting for survival. All around me was a sickly stench, which combined with the pain, to make me feel entirely ill. But still, I was safe.

The surroundings were quiet, all was still except for the occasional clink of what I assumed to be a rock hitting the stone floor. The only thing that seemed to disturb the atmosphere was the tranquil sound of water rushing, in the distance, it was a sound that penetrated the walls of rocks surrounding me, but one which still sounded far beyond where I was.

I wanted to look around, but I couldn't I couldn't move a muscle each moment the throbbing in my head became worse, slowly drawing out my thoughts, eventually I lost track of what was happening, everything started to blur, in the back of my head I could hear some chirping from the system but what it was saying was recognizable to me if it was saying anything at all. I thought for a time I was dying, and I didn't blame myself too much for thinking so it really did feel like that, but surprisingly as time went on the feeling did not get any worse, rather it began to subceed, as gradually I felt the strength of my body began to recover, though I could place no real reason as to why this was.

After some time of struggle, I managed to open my eyes. Looking around the desolated rubble, I couldn't help letting out a rasping gasp at the hellish scene that greeted me. All around were the crushed and tangled bodies of the once fierce ants. A few struggled to move, convulsing against their mangled bodies; it was clear they could no longer pose a threat.

Trying not to breathe in the stench of the many bodies lying around, I weakly struggled to pull myself out from the small crevice I had fallen into. My throat was choked heavily with a combination of dust and what I guessed was blood, making breathing difficult. Slogging to my feet, I stood there, speechless for a time, before a hot sensation on my cheek woke me up from my stupor. A single tear rolled down my cheek, but it was not alone for long. Soon, what came to be a waterfall of tears started to stream down my face. I wasn't sure why I was crying; somehow, it felt better not to place a reason for it. Despite desperately wiping at my face with my dirty hands, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. My head felt heavy, the many wounds I seemed to have sustained during the fall were nothing compared to the tumultuous vortex of emotions running through me.

I felt the weight of everything I had done crashing over me in that great single moment, as I could no longer contain the emotions that I had been suppressing, partially, that entire time. I was scared, terrified that I was going to die, that I wouldn't make it out of here, that all the effort and pain I had been suppressing would be for nothing. I don't know how I've managed to survive so far; in my previous life, all I was good at was climbing the corporate power structure and getting rich. I wasn't a passionate man, or experienced with anything beyond what little society had managed to teach me during my life. All I tried to do was live happily, but in the process, all I really had experience in was not being swallowed in the perfections of society. I'm honestly a bit surprised to see I'm having so much trouble here; I mean, I already died once, and I know there's an afterlife. Shouldn't I be some great philosopher now? But I am scared; I don't want to be hurt anymore. I don't want to keep fighting for my life. I don't want to keep struggling here. But what can I do!