1 Transmigration And Confusion

The street was pitch black. The night was cold and serene.

As far as you can see, there was nothing but darkness.

Taking in the desolate air of the abandoned urban jungle, Alex walked through the streets.

Today was his last day here. He has become a full fledged adult, now eighteen years of age. He needs to move out and go to college. Make friends and live a happy life.

That was supposed to be the goal.

A goal shared among ninety percent of the general population. A general goal and a general destiny.

To dare to dream was too much for an orphan living in this poor neighbourhood. Much less making the dream a reality.

Looking at the diverging path before him. Alex pondered for a moment. He has been thinking for hours on end to find answers that will be relevant to his life. And the simple humbling conclusion that he came to was that nothing mattered. Even less his own choices. Quite a pessimistic outcome for the hours he put in.

A person like Alex, whose core belief stemmed from the idea that anything was possible had yet another important realisation. The stark contrast between possibility and probability was quite humbling at the same time harrowing.

At a young age, you are taught to aim for the stars. Made to believe in tooth fairies and Santa clauses.And now he has to face the cold hard reality.

'I should have been dubious about their teaching! There are only limited opportunities and even chances to grasp those opportunities for people like me. All are not equal and they will never be.'

But Alex was not ready to give up yet.

Holding onto the paper bag and his phone. Alex jumped over a fence.

For Alex who was a loner since birth, books were always his only friends. He had no one special to say goodbye to. So, like usual, he was here to enjoy reading in the calm and quietness of night.

He finally reached the desired destination. A dried up stream and above it, an old bridge in the outskirts of the town. For some mysterious reason, Alex was always attracted to this bridge. That bridge in itself was purposeless. But it gave the feeling of comfort to Alex, much more than any person could.

The night was dark and cold. Dew drops were already formed on the metal railing on the bridge.

Alex quickly made a bonfire and sat next to it reading a novel from his phone. The novel was called Outerworlds. An action adventure about the heroic story of Edward Vulcan. A brave main character with guts of steel. It was quite a gratifying read, he was already at the last few chapters. But unlike his expectation towards the novel. Things were going horribly wrong in the later chapters. He picked this novel up imagining it to be an uplifting story. But the last few chapters he read were tragedies one after another.

Although death was the norm in this novel. This was much more than that. All the important cast of characters were dying one after another like falling dominos. He thought if the author had some screws loose. To destroy a masterpiece of a novel in the later half. He was vexed thinking about it. But before he could read the final few chapters, small pups emerged from bushes lifting Alex's mood. With them were many large dogs of different breeds.

He unpacked a paper bag of the chicken he bought. That was the final farewell gift to them.

Seeing the curious puppies rolling around in the dirt. All his worries vanished. And a moment of silence descended.

'Novel and what not, let's enjoy the moment as it is.'

And the only question that mattered came to his mind.

'Are you ready to give up?'

And with that also came the answer

'Never.'

Thinking about the future, he had innumerable questions. But in the present, the only thing that matters is if he was willing to give up. And obviously he was not.

His hopes and dreams might get trampled on by factors that he cannot control. But he will fight for his dreams and was willing to stack his odds against him. He is ready to do everything to gain advantage in this horrific game of life.

As soon as his thought sublimated. A bolt of lightning flashed in the night sky. The night became as bright as the day for an instant and an unpredictable factor screwed over his life.

Suddenly, an intense vertigo hit him. It felt to him as if space itself was tearing apart and the world was spinning.

'Did I just get hit by lightning! F**k not giving up!'

Then everything turned black.

But with a ringing sound in his ears. Alex woke up in an unfamiliar place.

—----------------------

POV Alex

I was feeding the puppies. Thinking stupid things like fighting against the world. Then the world roasted me alive.

There was lightning. Everything turned blurry after that.

My memories were in shambles. I couldn't identify the time or the place. Everything felt like it was being played on a television screen and I was just an observer with no control over what was happening.

I am standing alone in the darkness.

Why was I chasing after a woman?

I saved the woman from an attacker.

Bits and pieces were forming an incoherent hodge podge of memory.

But I clearly remember the heat from my palm. Holding the arm of the assailant, preventing him from stabbing further into me.

Now for the important question.

Did I not die?

Opening my eyes slowly. What greeted me was a blinding light. It took some time for my eyes to adjust to the bright light.

But it was obvious from a single glance that I was in a hospital bed. I pinched myself to confirm I was not dreaming.

If this was not a dream? Where am I?

Looking down at my hand, I could see bandages wrapping around it. This was not my arm. There are bandages around my head and even on my legs. Did I fall and hit my head or am I hallucinating?

A drug-induced hallucination?

While mumbling, I tried to understand what was going on.

As an introvert, like usual I tried to find all the answers myself. But nothing was making sense..

I tried to sit up and look outside. But the moment I exerted strength. My body felt like jelly. It felt like my body was tearing apart.

"Huh!" I winced in pain.

I looked at the table near me and rang the bell trying to call the nurses.

They came faster than expected.

—------------------

Door opens.

But instead of a nurse. A beautiful young woman can be seen walking towards me. She had tears in her eyes while covering her mouth. She walked towards me and looked at me.

Stare…

I stared back….

Stare…

I stared back…

Obviously, this staring person was not a nurse. So, why was she staring at me like a deer caught in a headlight.

Even then, I had no idea what was about to come.

—---------------------------------

"So you are saying, I saved you!"

The young woman who introduced herself as Emily nodded her head like a chick. She also gave me a peculiar look.

"And what? How did I end up here?" My question seemed to have spooked her a little. But either way, she was willing to explain.

"You were stabbed by the man before he ran and escaped. I brought you to the hospital." The kind woman explained in detail what happened.

In short, I saved her somehow and got myself stabbed. Then I ended up in a hospital bed. But the explanation didn't contain the most important part of the information I needed.

Why the fuck was I here?

I was obviously struck by lightning. Not doing vigilante work in my spare time.

Did the lightning strike kill me? Even though farfetched, it kind of makes sense.

Only a ghost can possess someone else's body. I knew all too well that the body I am in is not my own the moment I woke up. It's similar but I can say with definite proof that this body is not mine. Because I was not this bulky and old. I was just an eighteen-year-old average teenage boy.

But now, I am a buff guy who is in his late twenties.

This cannot be explained Unless I considered supernatural factors such as a ghost possessing someone else's body.

"Are you okay?" The woman politely asked me. The sweet voice also woke me up from my stupor.

It took a couple of seconds to sink in. The possibility that I am dead at the same time living as someone else. I just hope nothing bad happened to my friends when the lightning struck.

"Um! Where is this place?"

"Huh, are you having trouble remembering? What should I do?"

"The doctors warned me that you might have some problems. You bled a lot and you might show symptoms of brain hypoxia." She panicked hearing me asking me where I was.

I could understand that. Kind people tend to feel guilty when they hurt someone, even if it was indirect. Such a kind young lady.

"No, No, No. You do not need to be so worried Ms Emily. Let's just calm down and think this through." The internal monologue I was having inside me accidentally leaked out. Maybe this will calm her down, just like how it did for me.

"HUH!" Instead of calming her down, my words seemed to have scared her a little. In my mind, I could see a couple dozen exclamation marks floating around her head.

Looking at Emily who was startled, I tried to smile to ease the atmosphere. But it seems to have made it even worse. Maybe I should just keep my stoic expression on.

"You actually don't remember me!" Before my thoughts could wander off like they used to, Emily's voice pulled me back to reality. A reality that I wished that I was never a part of.

"Don't tell me! You know me?" Just for clarification, I asked her back.

But the question seems to have stunned her.

—-----------------

Although it took some time. I finally gathered enough information.

My name or the name of the man I possessed is Alexander. Yeah, great isn't it. Anyway, let's shorten it to Alex. After all, I go by the name Alex.

An orphan with no family ties, a police officer who was suspended recently and a fellow neighbour of Ms Kind Lady Emily. And stuff begins to get complicated here.

Ms Kind Lady Emily is also known as Emily Vulcan. Who in fact was also Alex, the older one's girlfriend.

And the most shocking fact among all those was that I didn't just jump into a new body. I jumped into a new earth while at it. If I could jump once more, I would have clearly broken the world record for men's triple jump. I have to remember to jump once after healing my stab wound.

And this world was completely different from the world I was used to living in. Here, there are people with supernatural powers, monsters who occasionally invade and a ton of unnecessary conflict and death.

A familiar world, just like the novel I read in my past life. Or is it exactly like the novel that I used to read?

Damn, for fudges sake, I am in Outerworlds. Was life toying with me?

Nothing could get crazier, right?

Then I realised that I was dating the Male lead's sister. Or more precisely the guy I had possessed was dating the male lead's sister, Emily Vulcan. As far as I remember, she was the only normal person that was among the main cast of the novel. Is it reassuring or is it a prelude to my doom?