[24:00:00]
Well, it definitely wasn't a dream.
I mean I'm not creative enough to dream up an apocalypse and my mortifying death. Just reading a few webnovels wouldn't be enough to influence my dreams when there were plenty of other more real and more terrifying things I could and have dreamt about.
The floating blue screen in front of me was also a pretty good indication that it was real.
Or maybe I was still dreaming.
If that's the case, then, maybe, if I were to write this down, I could publish this as a webnovel and perhaps even get a contract and make a killing writing it.
Just imagining all the money raining down as everyone praised me made me smile.
It was such a nice thought.
Either that or I was hallucinating from the lack of sleep from trying to finish my project in order to at least not fail the class. It was the bare minimum I could do for my family who paid for my tuition despite knowing how poorly I did in my studies instead of forcing me to get a job right away.
[23:30:00]
[What are you doing? You are wasting time.]
Startled, I fell off my bed with a thud and a groan.
Okay, I was pretty sure this was real now.
[You imbecile. Stop loitering. You must get ready.]
"What are you talking about?" I asked as I untangled myself from my sheets. "Get ready for what?"
[To think I, Cronus, have fallen so low to have you as a prophet.]
"Hey, you were the one who wanted me to be your prophet. I didn't ask to be one."
[You need to prepare for the launch of 'Last One Standing'.]
The mere mention of the horror I experienced sent shivers down my spin as I erupted in cold sweat.
That's right.
If Cronus was communicating with me right now, then I really did die.
Before I tried to wave it off as a very realistic dream or hallucination even though I knew it couldn't be one. My mind hadn't wanted to accept it to be reality.
Flashes of what happened during the launch churned my stomach. Feeling sick, I rushed to the bathroom to puke my guts. Through my heaving, I could see the god spamming me with more messages from the corner of my eye.
[Fool. Step away from toilet and make your preparations. There's no time to waste. You have already lost a significant amount of time.]
Catching my breath, I wiped my mouth. "Time?"
[You truly are slow. Don't you see the clock ticking down?"]
Clock?
That's when I remembered the other blue screen that had appeared when I woke up and hadn't disappeared since.
[23:00:00]
"Are you talking about this?"
[Yes, that. You only have about 23 hours before 'Last One Standing' starts. If you want to survive more than a few minutes, you need to make preparations now.]
What?
"What do you mean it'll start in 23 hours? I thought you said you'll resurrect me. What's going on?"
[I did as I said, you fool. I brought you back to life like I said I would. In this case, I simply press the reset button and allowed you to retain your memories of what happened.]
My mind swirled at the implications as I fell on my butt.
He caused me to start over like one of those regressors in those webnovels. Typically, those regressors became completely overpowered and broken because they knew everything that happened and had powerful skills no one could compete with.
But what about me?
I didn't even survive what I guess was the first level.
I didn't have insider knowledge about how this thing worked.
I couldn't cheat my way through this.
Horror enveloped me.
"I'm going to die."
[Stop your sniveling. You're not going to die.]
I sniffled.
"How do you expect me to do this? Unless you gave me a bunch of cool skills, I don't see how we'll get through this."
[No skills. You'll have to acquire them yourself.]
"Then what was the point of becoming your prophet? I haven't gotten anything out of this."
[Does the fact I reset the game not factor into your mind, human?]
"I don't see what that has anything to do with being a prophet."
[How each god resurrects their chosen prophet differs. My method of resurrection was to send you back to the start with your memories and allow you to have the advantage over the competition. Unfortunately, my chosen prophet didn't survive long enough to make use of his status.]
A stab of guilt and worthless struck me.
He had a point.
If it were someone else like Pearl had she not sacrificed herself for me, they would probably be able to make everything go their way. They would have been the protagonist everyone would be cheering for to win.
"Then why pick me? You obviously despised me, and I can't do anything."
[...]
[As stated before, you fulfilled the requirements, but I never stated what they were. Originally, my target was someone else, but they died to save someone, and as a result, I couldn't choose them to be my prophet.]
A niggling suspicion throbbed in the back of my head.
"Was is someone I know?"
[Does it matter?]
"I guess not, but what does it have to do with me?"
[One of the important qualifications for becoming a prophet in the current iteration of 'Last One Standing' for any god is being human. My target had been turned into a nonhuman which automatically disqualified them. They did have enough awareness to inform me that they wanted to elect someone else to be my prophet. That person being you.]
I instantly knew who he was talking about.
There was only one person that came to mind when he said they suggested I become a prophet.
The signs were obvious.
Someone sacrificing themselves to save another person.
Said person became a nonhuman.
The person thought of me when Cronus was looking for a prophet.
But why me?
[They said that despite how seemingly cowardly and weak you are, you are someone that the gods would regret not making their prophet.]
Seriously?
Pearl, I couldn't believe you would say something like that.
No, it was exactly something she would say.
I never understood why she stuck so close to me. There were plenty of better people she could be spending time with throughout our youth. It wasn't like there were a shortage of people who wanted to be her friend.
If she had a stronger, smarter, or braver friend, she wouldn't have to die to save my dumb skin.
I even wasted her sacrifice by getting myself killed right after.
[Stop crying. If you truly want to repay the favor, stop spitting on their efforts.]
That's right.
Pearl was alive right now.
This time I could make sure she didn't have to die for my dumb ass. I just have to make sure to stay as far away from her as possible, and she wouldn't have to die for me.
[The first thing you should do is meet up your friend Pearl.]
"No way. Why would I want to do that?"
If I did that, a repeat of what happened last time might occur.
No, I was certain it would occur.
Right now, I was dead weight. Being a prophet didn't change a single thing. There's no way I would stay within her or my family's range if it meant putting their lives in danger.
[You are probably thinking that this is the only way to keep her and your family from dying for you, but did you considered that they would come looking for you anyway? They would undoubtedly look for you and put themselves in mortal danger just to find you.]
He was right.
If Pearl was willing to die for me, who was to say shouldn't come looking for me? My family would for sure come looking for me. The idea of abandoning would never cross their mind.
If I hadn't had the memories from before, I would go looking for them too. The idea of not knowing how they were would haunt me until I found them.
"Say I do find Pearl, what do you want me to do?"
[Tell her everything you know.]
"Yes, I should t-what? What do you mean I should tell her everything?"
[She is your friend, correct? Given how she talked to me before I sought you out, she seems to hold you in high regard. I have no doubt she would believe your words.]
He wasn't wrong.
Though I never tried to lie to her, she would always believe what I had to say even when others said something contradictory.
If it was her, she would undoubtedly believe me. With her smarts, she could probably come up with a way for us to survive.
[You're losing time. Hurry.]
Glancing at the time, I scrambled out of the bathroom with a shriek.
"Oh god, Pearl, where are you?"
[22:30:00]