VRMMORPG: Dragomancer Reborn

Death was something that Arthur had seen far too many times in his life. He had also wondered what it would be like for him.

His first experience with it was the death of his own parents. He barely remembered it due to being a mere toddler at that time. Though the cause of it was something he could still feel if he focused enough.

It was none other than an earthquake that had killed his parents too.

It felt strange to him. The same thing that had killed his parents had been the cause of his death too.

Though at the same time, he could also understand that he wasn't the only one in the same position. This was due to the fact that earthquakes had become simply too common in the past twenty years.

Many researchers and scientists had tried to figure out the reason for it but were unable to. They could only attribute it to natural changes within the planet itself.

Because of this, the number of deaths caused by earthquakes had greatly risen. It was even said that there was no one in the world who hadn't experienced an earthquake, nor anyone who didn't have a relative or friend die from one.

Regardless of all these experiences though, now that he was actually dead, Arthur found it to be strangely familiar.

'This feeling… I thought it would be more painful?' Arthur thought to himself, unable to comprehend how he was even doing this.

'Is my soul traveling to the afterlife? Is it why I have my consciousness? Or it is because I'm still alive, just on the verge of death?' There was no answer to Arthur's questions and the only option for him was to keep on waiting.

While waiting through, Arthur couldn't help but reflect on his memories. All that he had gone through, all that he had suffered and endured.

He wouldn't say he had a good or easy life, but he would surely say that he had a life full of experiences.

'Though… my time with Morpheus Online was the best… I was happy? At least momentarily,' Arthur realized.

It felt ironic to him that the realization of being happy only came after that moment had long since passed.

His happy memories shined the brightest among the countless others.

He remembered the first time he had played a video game.

The first time he had eaten his favorite food.

The first time he had made some money, as well as the first time he had been cheated.

Even the memories that he had thought he had forgotten all returned.

"So this is the memory replay one sees at the end of their life, huh?" Arthur spoke to himself. "Guess it's not that bad after all." His tone eased up.

A few moments later, he could 'see' a bright light filling his vision. It expanded from the sides before drowning him in it. And before he could even realize it, he felt weightless.

"Guess I've reached afterli— AH!"

~THUD~

Arthur felt a wave of pain traveling from his face to his chest. The pain seemed familiar and carried a warmth, but at the same time, a chill permeated his skin as well.

'Wait… pain? And why does it feel cold?' Arthur felt confused.

A few moments later, he sensed that he had control over his limbs too. He could 'feel' and felt a hard surface beneath him.

"Wait a second…" Arthur felt an unprecedented mix of shock and excitement. "This can't be?" he finally opened his eyes.

In front of him stood an old, rickety plastic desk. An old textbook supported one of its legs, making it 'less' rickety. Along with the desk, there was a chair that seemed to have been repurposed from a wooden pallet box.

"That's my old desk and chair… didn't I throw them out over three years ago?" Arthur spoke, this time realizing that he had heard his own voice.

Slowly coming to terms with his situation, he propped himself up with his hands. He slowly turned his neck, taking in a full view of the room he was in.

Other than the old desk and chair, there was a small bed with a window beside it, a kitchen table, and a wardrobe in the room as furniture.

Off to the side, one could see two doors. One was clearly the door to exit the tiny apartment, considering the multiple locks on it, and the other was the bathroom door.

Having seen all this, Arthur had a hundred thoughts going through his mind.

He sat on the bed, wanting to be comfortable before thinking about this any further.

'I clearly fell to my death back then… and now I'm back in my old room… How is that possible?' Arthur used all his brain power but couldn't come up with a rational answer.

"If rational does not work, then… Irrational would have to do…" Arthur muttered before searching for something on his bed. "There it is!" he picked up a smartphone with a cracked screen.

He pressed the button on the side, making the smartphone come to life.

"It's real…" Arthur saw the date on the phone screen.

Even with the cracks, the date was very clear to him.

"Six years… I'm back six years in the past…" Arthur calculated.

When he had died, he was twenty four years old and, according to the date on the phone, he was now six years back in the past when he was eighteen.

It matched with the location he was in too, as he had moved into this room after being kicked out of the orphanage when he had turned seventeen.

Arthur sat in silence after that. His thoughts unknown. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨

This silence lasted for about ten minutes, after which the sunlight from the window shone on his face. The gentle warmth brought him out of his daze.

"I'M BACK! I'M BACK! AHAHAHA HAHA!" Arthur laughed like a madman while jumping around the room.

"STOP CAUSING A RUCKUS! YOU BASTARD!" A shout came from below, but it only made Arthur more happy.

"I really am back!"