Ugh…
My head hurt.
No, hurt wasn't enough to describe it. It felt as if someone had cracked my skull open and poured molten iron inside. The pain throbbed in slow, cruel waves, each one worse than the last.
I tried to move.
Nothing.
I tried to open my eyes.
Nothing again.
Panic crawled up my spine.
My lungs burned. Every breath was a struggle, shallow and desperate, like the air itself was being ripped away before it could reach me. I gasped, my chest convulsing, but the oxygen never felt enough.
Tip.
Tip.
Something cold struck my forehead.
At first, I thought it was water.
Then another drop fell.
And another.
Cold and Sticky.
The liquid slid down my skin, tracing my brow, slipping over my eyelids. The sensation was wrong. Too thick. Too heavy.
That was when my instincts screamed.
I forced my eyes open.
Everything was blurred, drowned in red. Shadows swam in my vision like living things. The world tilted violently, and before I could understand what I was seeing—
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
A scream tore through the air.
Not one scream.
Many Raw, Broken and twisted with pain.
"Ahhh! AHHHH! Ughhh!"
The sound slammed into my ears from every direction. My head throbbed harder, and I clutched it instinctively, only then realizing my hands were bound.
Chains.
Cold iron biting into my wrists.
My breath hitched.
The screams didn't stop. They overlapped, blended, rose and fell like waves of agony crashing against my sanity.
Men, Women and Children were Begging and Cryingand Dying.
Then, cutting through the chaos, came a voice Old and Raspy.
Filled with authority and rot.
"Are the sacrifices ready?"
My heart skipped.
Another voice answered him, higher and slick, like oil sliding over flesh.
"Yes, Priest, More than half are already dead. The high-quality ones have been saved for our Lord's grand feast."
A pause.
Then a low, pleased hum.
"Good," the old voice said. "When the Blood Moon rises tonight, all in this land shall receive… salvation."
Salvation?
A sick, manic laughter followed.
"Hahaha!"
"Kekeke!"
"Ah! Such joy! Such a sacred night!"
My stomach twisted.
Of Human it was Desperate.
Broken beyond repair.
"Please spare my family," the man cried. "I beg you… please…"
Something scraped against stone. Chains rattled.
"Take my life instead," he sobbed. "My child hasn't even seen the light of this world,Please."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
Then soft laughter drifted through the darkness.
"Hehehe…"
The higher, uncanny voice spoke again, slow and deliberate.
"Do you know why we brought so many pregnant women with us?"
No one answered.
The voice continued anyway.
"This year, the new God of Ice shall ascend the Divine Throne," it said calmly, almost reverently. "And with His ascension, many infants will be born blessed by His divine essence."
My blood ran cold.
"Children," the old priest continued, his tone turning reverent in a way that made my skin crawl, "are the purest of beings and That purity makes them the most precious sacrifices for demons."
Another voice chimed in, delighted.
"Yes, demons feed on the negative emotions of living beings, Fear, Despair and Hatred. Among all creatures, humans are the most emotional of them all."
A voice screamed back at them, hoarse but burning with fury.
"You filthy beasts! You'll die! Our god will kill you! He will save us!"
A sharp sound followed.
Impact.
Then—
"Ughhhh…"
The man's voice broke into a wet, choking groan.
The High Priest of the Demon God Sloth tilted his head, amusement gleaming in his eyes.
"Ah," he said softly, almost kindly, "but do you know what we demons crave the most?"
He leaned closer, as if sharing a secret.
"It's the purest soul."
He straightened and took a step forward.
"Our Lord desires the death of the Ice God," he declared. "And so, we came here… with the body of His reincarnation."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Reincarnation?
"Tonight," the priest whispered, licking blood from his fingers, "yes, tonight… our Lord shall descend and feast on the flesh and blood of your sons and wives."
"AHHHHH!"
"But you," he added casually, bending toward the chained man, "you won't live to witness that generous offering."
"Kekeke."
Thud.
Something heavy hit the ground.
A body.
"Take them to the altar."
Stomp. Stomp.
Heavy footsteps echoed as they moved away, dragging their victims with them. The sounds faded slowly, leaving behind only silence and the thick, metallic stench of blood.
My vision cleared.
And the world fully revealed itself.
Bodies were strewn across the cave.
Everywhere.
Twisted, Broken and Lifeless.
Blood pooled beneath them, thick and dark, soaking into the stone. From the ceiling hung a headless corpse, suspended upside down like a grotesque chandelier, blood dripping steadily from the stump of its neck.
Tip.
Tip.
So that was what had landed on my face.
On the far side of the cave, behind iron bars, women huddled together, clutching each other, their eyes wide with terror. Some sobbed silently. Others stared blankly, already broken.
Near the bars lay the man who had begged moments ago.
Or what was left of him.
His chest was torn open. His heart was gone. His eyes stared upward, empty, lifeless, reflecting nothing.
"Ahhhh… ahhhh…"
A woman reached through the bars toward him, her hand trembling, the other gripping her swollen belly. Her fingers stretched, desperate, but never reached him.
They never would.
He was already gone.
Something inside me shattered.
My stomach lurched.
I bent forward and vomited violently onto the stone floor, bile and blood mixing beneath me. My entire body shook as the horror finally sank in.
This wasn't a nightmare.
This wasn't a hallucination.
This was real.
And then, as if mocking me, memories surfaced.
A different life.
A different world.
I remembered sitting in my yard, a cheap paperback novel in my hands. 'Tales of the Seven Nations'. A popular story Simple language Dark themes Gods-Demons, Ascension and Sacrifice.
I remembered the sound of an engine laughter.
Then screeching brakes.
A drunk truck driver.
Impact.
Pain.
Darkness.
Death.
I was dead.
I knew it.
I had read enough novels to recognize the pattern.
Reincarnation.
Transmigration.
Possession.
I was a 23-year-old unemployed woman from a modern world.
And now—
I was here.
My mind spiraled into chaos.
What a mess.
As a reader, I knew exactly what kind of world this was.
Cruel.
Unforgiving.
A place where survival wasn't guaranteed.
A place where people like me died first.
No.
I clenched my fists despite the chains biting into my wrists.
I have to survive.
I will survive.
I repeated the words again and again inside my head, like a prayer, like a curse, like a promise.
Then—
Everything stopped.
The dripping blood froze mid-air.
The women's sobs cut off abruptly.
The demons' footsteps halted.
The flames lining the cave walls stilled, their fire locked in place like painted light.
Everything froze.
Everything—
Except the living.
My breath came out in a shaky gasp.
The world felt heavy. Pressured. As if something vast had just turned its gaze toward this place.
A presence descended.
Cold ,Absolute and Ancient.
And deep within my chest, something answered it.