I feel cold!

  Terribly cold!

  Why is it so cold?

  Slowly, I open my eyes.

  I find myself lying on the stone.

  Judging by the grey light, it is just before dawn, it seems.

  That might explain the temperature.

  Wait a moment!

  Didn't... didn't I die?

  I thought so.

  But this... This is certainly the place I was before.

  Instantly, I grasp my chest.

  The wound is gone!

  Truly, I can't see any trace of me having been carved open at this spot.

  Though, there's a lot of dried blood, but overall it seems like I healed.

  But I still remember how my heart...

  What is this!?!

  Where?

  Where is my pulse?!

  I-I can't feel my heartbeat!

  Am, am I...

  Am I dead?

  I, I did die.

  Maybe?

  I hold my head, fighting something akin to a headache.

  Yet my head feels duller than anything else, as if nothing is in there.

  If this is the afterlife, then why do I feel so strange?

  Time passes, but brings no answers.

  Early birds begin chirping, and the sun slowly starts to rise.

  Yet it's still so cold.

  This is strange.

  Also, I have problems breathing.

  I can't really suck any air into me.

  It works for now, but it's strange.

  Fine!

  Assuming that I'm really here, the most logical decision would be to head back home.

  The carriage was around one and a half days through its journey, and judging by the landscape of this place I was brought to, it might be located eastwards from there, and therefore even closer to home.

  So I stand up, put my clothes back into place, and turn to go south-east.

  Should I consider it a courtesy that they weren't shredded in the process and are only partially drenched in my blood?

  I can discern that we came from the south when I was initially brought here, so that I eventually should find the road if I turn there, orienting myself with the sun.

  I am ready to get going, but then I notice it.

  White hair!

  My hair is completely white!

  At least all that I can frantically grab onto.

  God, what do I do with this?

  I must look like an old lady!

  Also, my skin looks a little greyish.

  I'd say unhealthy, and for some reason, I can't even see my veins anymore beneath it.

  Pressing myself to go forward, I start to move.

  My body feels totally stiff, but with a little willpower, I manage to walk.

  Furthermore, my throat isn't doing so well.

  The same stiffness, and quite raw.

  So I try making a few sounds.

  "Aahh, oeeh!" (Y)

  Sounds fine to me.

  A bit hoarse but still as it should sound.

  Continuing to move onward, at one point, I notice something.

  Despite my apparently quite bad condition, I don't seem to tire out.

  I did walk now for several hours, but can march forward without being out of breath or experiencing any strain.

  Well, I am out of breath, but not because of exhaustion!

  An unpleasant idea comes up.

  I squeeze my arm, but from the sense of touch, there is nothing.

  Not a bit of pain.

  No pain, and I don't feel my pulse, so maybe I am really dead?

  But assuming that I am here, wouldn't that mean I am some kind of living corpse?

  Better I put that thought away and bury it.

  Like one should probably have done with me.

  “Hehehehe.”

  God, that got me!

  Please stop these jokes, Yomi.

  I notice some animals around me while I traverse the plains.

  Hopefully, I don’t come across any monsters dwelling here, but so far it seems I am lucky.

  Relatively put.

  I'm rather sure the afterlife has no rabbits, so that's something, I guess.

  While walking and trying to contemplate, and at the same time not thinking about why I, despite not ingesting any water in quite a while, don't feel thirsty, I notice something.

  There are figures in the distance of these plains.

  Instantly, I start to run in that direction.

  My movements are a bit sluggish due to this stiffness, but the more I move, the more I grow used to it, so that they become more fluent.

  These people might be able to help me back home.

  I see three of them, and their shapes grow bigger the closer I come.

  Hold on!

  I stop.

  Aren't these shapes a little too big?

  They surely surpass the average man by... around half a meter.

  And then I recognize them.

  Leathery brown skin, protruding canines, bulky with many muscles, and armed.

  Orcs!

  And they have already noticed me, rushing in my direction.

  In a panic, I turn and run away.

  However, they are not far behind me, and while I still move badly, those creatures have an enormous stride.

  They’re coming closer!

  I don't want to die again!

  I run with all I have, but they catch up.

  I get shoved from behind, lose my balance, and fall sliding along the ground.

  Distressing, despite the orcs, is that I don't lose a single drop of blood.

  I ought to be totally scraped up.

  But before I can think about this, one of them grabs me by the neck.

  I already had difficulties inhaling before, and now it is even worse.

  He holds me like this, enjoying seeing me struggling in his grasp.

  "Agckh!" (Y)

  Air, please!

  Let me catch some air!

  I need air!

  I need to breathe!

  ? I need life!

  "Gasp!" (Y)

  "Whooooooo..."

  As if on its own, my mouth opens, and I suck in the current, feeling absolute, sudden release, not obstructed by the hand clamping my throat.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  But when I open my eyes, I see how instead of air, sickly green smoke, streaked through with pink, escapes from around the orc, flowing, pulled by an unseen force, right to my mouth.

  I panic at this sudden sensation.

  Just what is happening here?!

  The orc becomes distressed and throws me to the ground.

  Then he pulls some kind of primitive axe and whirls it at me.

  I can only lift my arm in its way, which barely deflects it.

  "Swack"

  However, the green smoke still comes to me.

  Despite my fear, I cannot really cut it off.

  I feel like I drowned and just now made it to the surface, craving to pull the current into me, or like dying of thirst and then having clear water provided.

  I am unable to stop!

  The orc again raises the weapon, while the other two questioningly look on.

  This time, I can barely dodge backwards, as his movements grow slower, yet then I catch sight of my arm.

  Horrified, I see that my forearm is entirely gone, cut cleanly away.

  Yet it doesn't bleed, and I can only see a bone and greyish flesh.

  But it’s starting to regrow.

  I can literally feel how the flesh crawls forward, while the bone begins to reshape.

  The process is slow, and might take a few hours, so most of it is still gone when the orc becomes active again.

  He seems to be tiring out and can only manage one more half-hearted swing, which doesn't even reach me anymore.

  Then he drops down.

  Ceasing all movement.

  Is he dead?

  But... that would mean...

  What I breathed away was his life!

  It's not like the idea of having killed an orc is completely wrong to me.

  But like this?

  What have I done?

  I stare in disbelief at the corpse, yet while doing so, I notice an odd sensation of something floating through my body.

  This feeling streams towards my arm and continuously pushes into the injury.

  Is this what is healing me?

  One of the orcs finally gets out of his stupor at this ridiculous development.

  He rushes at me, swinging a huge, spiked club.

  I manage to jump to the side at the last moment and evade his rushed attack.

  But now he comes slowly closer.

  He wants to make sure to get the hit this time.

  If he aims now, I won't be able to evade the next swing.

  I crawl backwards away.

  And touch something.

  It's the corpse of the orc!

  Suddenly, there is a jolt in my hand.

  I notice and feel something like a purple-greenish spark.

  The attacking orc draws closer, but then the dead one begins to spasm.

  Understandably, this confuses my attacker.

  "Rash karat!" (orc)

  He shouts something at the spasming one.

  Promptly, the supposedly dead orc rises up again, awkwardly pulling himself from the hip.

  Are they again at full numbers?

  What can I do?

  This smoke only temporarily stopped it.

  They will kill me!

  The just reawakened one looks at the attacking one, but his eyes appear somewhat dull.

  "Gruuuhhh!" (awakened orc)

  The attacking orc again directs his attention at me, while the remaining one wants to take care of the rising one.

  Suddenly, the orc clambering to his feet jumps upright and storms at the attacker.

  He rushes at him and tears the attacker down with the full force of his body.

  And then he starts to bite the club wielder's face.

  I cannot stand this sight and avert myself.

  But then I see the third one glaring at me.

  He obviously blames me for what happened here, and since I am uncertain about what even exactly happened, he might be right.

  Next, he takes a crude bone blade and comes at me.

  I only want this all to stop.

  This orc shall just leave me be!

  I want everything to be normal again!

  I want this to stop!

  My feelings grow wild, and for some reason, the coldness I experience grows worse and worse.

  I'm freezing while being preoccupied with feeling pure dread.

  He raises the weapon high above me while I quiver on the ground, closing my eyes.

  Why can't this stop?!!

  Make it stop!

  "Swshh"

  The blade doesn't come.

  Uneasy, I open my eyes and find the orc in front of me.

  Frozen solid!

  I remember!

  Cold magic!

  But wasn't mine supposed to be weak?

  This isn't normal!

  None of this is!

  I... I fear I'm losing it!

  Promptly, green and pink mist evaporates from the ice statue, crawling toward me.

  I gasp, but that makes it only flow directly to my mouth.

  At the same time, it comes from the side.

  This, this must also happen when they die.

  I froze this one, and the reawakened orc has killed the one he attacked.

  The ugly green smoke…

  It really has to be their life that I’m taking!

  Slowly, the crazed biter starts to rise again and then looks at me.

  I notice a big knife stuck in his waist, surely from his friend, but he doesn't even seem to notice.

  He just stares at me.

  Then he starts to stumble in my direction.

  "Stop! Don't come any closer!" (Y)

  I just wanted to threaten him, as silly as this is, but he actually complies.

  "Leave me alone!" (Y)

  Like this, he turns mechanically around and walks in the opposite direction.

  Is this possible?

  "Wait!" (Y)

  He really does stop, listening to my will.

  I don't even know why I said this, but I had this odd feeling.

  As if there was some kind of connection, which induced me to react.

  Like I could feel his presence.

  "You, you... Kneel down!" (Y)

  He does!

  I am honestly controlling this monster!

  I... I think I am a monster!

  If, if I'm right, this one was dead, and I brought him back.

  And look what he did to the other one.

  That was truly hard to watch, I think I will get nightmares.

  Merely looking at this corpse is difficult.

  I mean, he is actually mutilated!

  This one is not going to stand up again.

  Promptly, I notice an unnaturally teal-green smoke escape from me, forming two small wisps.

  One flies to the mutilated one, the other to the frozen.

  No, no, no, no!

  This isn't what I think it is, right?

  Yet the body starts to jolt.

  And then slowly rises.

  A living dead!

  The other one is still enclosed, but his eyes begin to stare.

  With the sun shining as it does right now, he will soon be set free.

  What do I do now?

  I have three unliving creatures here!

  Undead?

  Okay, three undead!

  The orc version!

  At least this is what the groaning implies for me.

  Hollow eyes, strange dragging posture, and too big to be good.

  And number three is already free to the shoulders.

  I do the only right thing to do in this situation.

  Turn around and run!

  As fast as I can!

  Seriously?

  Undead?

  No, no, no, no, no!

  I am not going to deal with this!

  Bye!

  I start running, without looking back, trying to leave all of this behind me.

  At this point, I can be sure that something definitely isn't right with me.

  I don't even want to think about these various colors of smoke or whatever it is.

  So all I can do is keep on moving.

  And meanwhile, thinking about my condition.

  I know that my body can strangely form back even from the most severe of wounds.

  Also, the initial one that women gave me is gone.

  But at the same time, I am sure that a normal body would bleed.

  So, something can't be right with its structure.

  And according to my memories, I certainly should lack a heart, which is rather well supported by the fact that it doesn't pound.

  So what do I have instead?

  This jewel!!!

  That might be it!

  It could still lie in me!

  But I have somehow the feeling that I shouldn't try to look or remove it.

  God!

  What has this crazy woman done to me?

  She said she would kill me.

  Could, could it be...

  Maybe she did!

  In the most twisted way!

  Knowing I would wake up again.

  Just not alive.

  Crazy!

  Certainly crazy!

  So let's summarize:

  I am dead, at least my body isn't alive, but I am not a mindless husk.

  I have clear thoughts and can move mostly well.

  Also, I don't rot.

  At least, I don’t think I do, taking this regeneration into mind and the lack of indicators, of which I’m all too familiar.

  Furthermore, I have ice magic at a high level that causes me to freeze.

  Or it has something to do with being dead and having no body warmth to speak of.

  About the part with reviving the dead, I don't even want to think.

  This is all so much to take in.

  A little too much.

  While I know I don't have any choice but to accept this, I don't really want to.

  I don't want to be dead.

  At least this confirmed that I am still in my world.

  There are surely no orcs or walking corpses in the afterlife.

  The latter would be kinda weird, considering it's where the dead should move on to.

  So back home!

  I need to go!