Beyond The Fallen Sky

"Hm...UMPH!!!!!!…KUH!!!…Huff! Huff!!…".

I felt like I was waking up from a long nightmare, like I have been drowning in a muddy water. With a gasp and short hard breaths, I realized that I am not yet died, which is very odd and also scary, as I vividly remembered that I am certainly got rammed by a concrete truck, that surely would kill my and also destroyed that entire construction site.

"…where am I….is this a homeless shack?".

Putting the thought of why I am still alive to the side for a moment. I noticed that I am currently lying down on a bed. Well, to call it a bed is rather a stretch, it was just a simple ragged old blanket that were laid down on a cold dirt floor, and an old pillow to lay my head on. I assuming right now that I am in some kind of a ramshackle shack, and it was a small one. There is no window, one door, that only used a curtain that made out of a leather. The walls were made out of a combination of old plywood, rusted roof zinc and tattered plastic tarp. It was small shack, probably below 10 meter wide in its entirety, as for furniture or rather the things inside this shack, I must say that the owner of this shack is either poor or an extreme minimalist. A firepit on the left end of the wall, with a blackened iron pot on a tripod, and then a small pile of firewood besides it. An iron water pail on the corner of the shack filled with murky water, an old wooden shelf where the foods and condiments were placed, personally I wonder if those things on the shelf were food items, as I never seen any food like it in my entire life. On the end of the sleeping area where I am right now, is probably the washroom/toilet area I presume, as that corner of the shack were made to be a separate area.

"Although this looked grim….at the very least, everything is clean and well organized…".

Personally, I am not that rich nor fussy about being poor, I am poor too, but I am also very strict about cleanliness. So, seeing my environment where I woke up at the moment, were clean and also in an orderly fashion, my nerves calmed down a little bit. My entire body felt heavy and sore, first of all, I can move both of my hand freely, so does my head.

"UGH!!!…. I. Can't…. get up…. huh? why?".

Half panicking and half frustrated, that is what I am feeling right now, I tried to sit up, but I can't as soon as I tried to push myself up, searing pain just ran up from the end of my toes, through my spine and straight up to the base of my neck.

"Am I…. paralyzed?".

My mind wandered to the dark side fast, make sense if I got paralyzed, I was hit by a concrete truck, and then I woke up not in a hospital or my apartment, instead I woke up in some beggar's shack, laying on a cold floor and I can't move my body as I wanted.

"WHAT THE FUCK!!!!…ARRRRGGHHHH!!!!…MOVE DAMNIT!!!!!!….".

In anger, frustration and fear, I use my anger to will my body to move to my will. I grabbed the rag sheet under me, to the point It was tearing up, ball my fist and punched the ground to propel up, 5 minutes went by, and not a single attempt I do, worked.

".…Huff…huff…huff…. what…is…. going…on….".

Did I already died, do got kidnapped, am I about to become a victim of organ harvesting, will I die here, will there be no one to help me, can I even get out of this situation. I am spiraling down the dark side of my mind, I know I am spiraling and about to lose control, I know being down like this won't help, but with how things going on right now, I can't help my mind going to the dark place.

"...Come on, Az…. don't go there…calm down…and think…".

When you were about to go into a massive depression, the best thing to do is distract and calm yourself. For me, counting down from 10 to 1 worked the best, prioritize and focus on that momentary priority, the situation I am in right now, is not normal, I don't know where I am and why I am here, no matter what, I got to man up and calm down first.

"[ Greetings, Sir...I am sensing that you are calming down, sir…]".

"!!!!???….".

My eyes widen with shock, as I heard a voice, seemingly addressing me, I already observed and know that I am alone in this shack, I even looked everywhere one more time, and I am really sure I am alone.

"[…Staying silence and observing your situation in the face of an unknown, surely a commendable trait, sir…. befitting to your, overly cautious personality and your militaristic background…impressive.]".

This voice is observing me, and it knows I am cautious right now and he actually complimenting me, odd and also scary. Moments went by, and I stay silent and vigilant, once again the voice speaks to me.

"[…I can sense your wariness and mistrust, sir…. but I can assure you…I am your ally, sir….and I am here…to serve you in whatever you endeavor….]".

"...You sounded like an old English butler…. voice…".

The voice tone was calm, patient, respectful like an old English butler from an old movie. Keeping my silence at this point, is rather pointless, as the voice were clearly waiting for me to respond to it and since then it has been calmly waiting for my respond, not rushing me at all, which is a good sign, meaning that it knows something and were trying to reach a concession with me.

"[…I am taking a form of an entity that would invoke your sense of familiarity and also trustworthiness…So from your memory…I find that figure…is a butler of a certain bat vigilante, is appropriate enough…hence this voice and personality, Sir…]".

"I see…".

Well, a butler is cool and trustworthy, I give him a hat off to that.

"...Let's cut to the chase, imitation Alfred…what's going on…with me?".

"[ I am afraid…. you have died, Sir…the collusion with the concrete truck turned you into a pile of flesh and blood…you died instantly…]".

".…shit…".

I do not pass out, instead I croak in an instant, turned into a meat paste. No wonder my last memory cut off at that point where I looked at the front of a concrete truck, this is bad.

".…if I died…. why am I here? the way that I am feeling right now…. I feel…quite alive right now…paralyze…but…alive and breathing.".

"[This brings us to the second point, Sir…. You have transitioned into a parallel universe…another world…or the terms you are an expert at, Isekai'ed…. You have taken over the body of your parallel self, sir…. he had died a few minutes ago…as his should passed…yours take over its place…]".

"...I am possessing my parallel self…and he died just a few minutes ago…. hmm…that is why I am paralyzed and my entire body felt like shit...right?".

"[Correct. You coming inside, restart the body function again…all that you were feeling were the side effects…Sir…you are quite calm. Despite the bizarre situation this is…]".

".…I am actually freaking out right now…I got you talking in my head, my parallel self just died. I just died…. I just isekai'ed into a parallel world that I don't know about…the only reason I am not acting like a mad person and shouting my throat out…is because…my entire body are hurting like heck and I cannot move…".

I read a lot of transmigration, isekai, reincarnation, time travel and all of that stuff, from novel, manga to anime, I know them all, in fact it was my favorite genre. And personally, I even prayed all the time so that I can be one of the lucky one to get the opportunity to be like the protagonist of such story. But now that I become one, it's kinda overwhelming, I am happy and delighted right now, but at the same time, I wanted to keep that positive feeling in check and in control.

"...So…let's just say that I accept the second point...does that means…you are speaking to me…from inside my head?".

"[Yes sir, I am…I lived inside your mind and soul…I am bonded to you…your survival is also my survival…. I am here to assist you in all your endeavor in this life…. I am gifted to you by an existence who called itself…. Random Omnipotent Being…]".

".…. So..ROB is real then?".

"[Yes, it is, Sir….]".