My body felt cold.
Well, more like numbness.
Or whatever the fuck this feeling was called.
I don’t know what to call it.
They say that when you’re about to die, your life flashes before your eyes.
And I think... that was what was happening.
First came my mother.
I didn’t remember much about her, she died too early. Too fast. She was gone before I even knew what grief was.
Then came my father—too loving, especially toward married women. He got what was coming. Stabbed in the gut by some jealous husband.
And the irony?
His last words to me were, "Son... never sleep with a married woman." He said that with a bloody smile, like he was passing on family tradition.
I took that advice seriously.
But look at me now.
Dying for the exact same goddamn reason.
Fucking poetic.
Then came the last person who ever mattered.
My best friend. Someone whom I considered my brother.
Noah Verdan.
My best friend. My brother in everything but blood.
He was always there through the highs, the lows and the days in between when life felt like static.
The dreamer. The writer. The guy who believed in characters more than people.
That stubborn idiot with a heart too weak for this world... and a dream too big for it.
He wanted to be a writer.
I still remember that night.
He stood at my door in the rain, soaked to the bone, holding a book like it was the last part of his soul.
"Why?"
"Why did you do it?"
He asked me. His voice was too intense.
"Why did you change the story?"
The game I made, Legacy: Rewritten. It was based on the novel he wrote. Only the base system. But everything else was changed.
The magic system. The class structure. That was his. But I ripped out the plot and stitched in power fantasies and fanservice.
I had his permission to use the story.
Heck, he was even happy about it. Something about reaching it to more people.
But I changed the story completely.
Thinking he will accept.
It was a selfish act now that I think about it.
I still remember my cold response to him.
"The story was too cliche... it had nothing but suffering without a payoff."
"The characters were too generic and they had forced interaction."
"So I had to do it... for the success of our game."
What I didn’t say?
I was scared people wouldn’t like it. That it wouldn’t sell. That it wouldn’t matter.
His face didn’t show anger. Just disappointment.
"I see... I thought maybe... just maybe you’ll understand. But I was wrong."
Those were his last words before he vanished.
I didn’t hear from him for a month before I learned that he died from heart-attack.
That bastard.
He didn’t scream. Didn’t curse me out. Didn’t even hate me.
He just... died.
Believing in someone who didn’t believe in his story.
I buried myself in work. In distractions. In women. In nothing. And in the end. That fooling around got me good.
But however it was... my life was definitely something worth remembering.
That thought was my last comfort.
And then... something cracked.
Not in my chest. In the world itself.
Like the sound of a mirror breaking across dimensions.
I expected nothingness. Peace. Or hell, maybe heaven.
But instead... I felt something. A voice.
A loud screeching sound.
Not a memory. Not a hallucination.
What the hell?
The voice came again.
All of sudden my body turned heavy.
Not by a small amount.
Nope.
It felt like a mountain was placed on my shoulder.
The numbness receded.
I could feel my body again.
I couldn’t help but be confused.
What’s happening?
As soon as the numbness was gone, an immense pain assaulted my pain receptor.
For a moment I felt as if someone was boiling me in hot oil.
Not that I knew the feeling.
But goddamn it hurts.
The pain receded slowly.
I snapped my eyes open. Barely. It felt as if I hadn’t moved that muscle for a century or something.
What I saw was anything but normal.
I was lying on a massive bed. It was enough for ten people to sleep easily.
I had a huge bed too... for two people to discuss some private matters comfortably.
But man, this even surpassed that.
For a moment, I couldn’t help but imagine what kinda bastard would need this large of a bed.
And for what reason.
Threeso–
No, it must at least be org–
Fuck, what the hell am I even thinking?
I should focus.
So, let’s recount.
I gave a speech in that elite school.
Then got bombed by a dumb fucker.
So, shouldn’t I have died?
Or at least be in a hospital... So what the hell am I doing here?
Or more importantly how the hell is my body still intact?
I looked at my hands. They looked strange. Too pale. Thin. Like a skeleton.
Huh? Is this perhaps... that situation?
Did I transmigrate?
I had read many books where MC transmigrated after death. But I didn’t die by the Truck-Kun.
So, how?
Who cares?
Let’s see where I transmigrated to.
The ceiling was high and shiny. Big red curtains covered tall windows. The air smelled like flowers and clean wood.
A huge light hung above me. The kind which sparkled like it was made of diamonds.
The walls looked smooth like stone and the floor was shiny enough to see my face.
Yep. Rich people vibes.
Just then—
Click~
With a click sound the door to the room opened.
"Young Master, I’m coming in~" A cheerful voice sounded.
The voice was warm, melodious and beautiful.
Yeah. Beautiful.
I even have a beautiful maid it seems.
My lips curled up as I looked up, towards the door.
And I froze.
What stood in the doorway was not a beautiful woman in a maid outfit.
Not remotely.
It was a gorilla.
A literal six-foot tall, silver-furred and very polite-looking gorilla... wearing a crisp black-and-white maid uniform complete with frilly apron and lace headband.
She even had a little tray in her hand.
What the actual—
"Ah~ You’re finally awake." she said in a trembling voice.
It almost made me doubt my ears.
Am I dreaming?
I blinked.
"I thought... I thought you’d never open your eyes again."
She crossed the room with hurried steps.
"Thank the heavens.."
She blinked back. Then smiled. With teeth. All thirty-two of them.
What kind of sick crossover was this?
This can’t be real.
I refuse to believe this is real.
This must be hell.
Yeah that must be it..
I am suffering some kinda punishment in hell.
This was the only way to explain this situation.
Suddenly, an immense pain shot out in my head.
Like someone was pouring molten lava in my skull.
"Arghhhhhhh"
I screamed, clutching my head tightly.
My eyes started to tear up and turned blurry. My body spasmed.
The maid or whatever she was, ran towards me.
"Y–young master, what’s happening?"
I could only think of one thing before everything blacked out.
Please don’t kiss me, monkey woman.