Rain's brow furrowed as he stared at the status window, feeling a growing sense of confusion.
His name looked odd in the status window, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Ignoring it could be dangerous because the majority of the time you ignore something it will come back to haunt him in the future.
This is a standard thing in every fantasy novel.
Rain didn't want to raise any red flags.
As he didn't know what the abnormality in his name signifies, he made a system query.
"System, can you confirm where I am? I seem to be in some sort of fantasy world," Rain asked.
→[Host is right.]
'Then why is my name the same as my previous life and what is that question mark? Shouldn't I have a different name in this world?'
→[Host will soon know.]
This answer perplexed Rain.
He was tempted to pursue the system for answers, but after thinking rationally, he gave up.
If the system didn't want to answer, he didn't want to waste his energy either.
He realized that he needed to know where he was, and the best way to do that was to access the memories of the previous body's owner.
"So, system, can you provide me with the memories of the prior owner?" Rain asked. He wasn't sure if that system would do it or not. However, he still gave it a shot.
→[Yes. Host.]
Rain was relieved to hear the system's positive response. "Then let's get started," he said, feeling a strange connection with his mind as he spoke
→[Initiating... Synchronizing...]
→[5%█]
→[34%█████]
→[55%█████████]
→[78%█████████████]
→[99%█████████████████]
Rain felt a sudden throbbing pain in his head, and he winced in discomfort.
The headache came on suddenly, and it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He tried to shake it off, but the pain only intensified.
'What is this headache?' Rain asked himself.
As he didn't struggle to cope with the pain, he laid down on the bed. He thought he wouldn't get anything from struggling with pain.
He wasn't some cultivation novel's masochist protagonist who liked to bear the pain. Rain put his head on the fluffy pillow and started thinking about taking rest.
'Maybe the memories of the prior owner are coming.'
→[Synchronizing was successful.
It's best for the host to put up with the discomfort.]
'Sweet dreams', Rain wished himself.
Just like that, Rain lost his consciousness.
***
After some time, Rain slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times to adjust to his surroundings.
As he looked around, he realized that there was nothing in sight - no trees, buildings, or people. A vast, empty void that seemed to stretch out endlessly in all directions surrounded him.
The emptiness of his surroundings made Rain feel alone and somewhat vulnerable. The absence of any discernible landmarks or features made it difficult for him to orient himself or to form any sense of direction.
All he could do was to stand there, taking in the emptiness around him and wondering what his next move should be.
'Where am I?
Why are all the things black?' Rain's mind was filled with doubts.
'Oh, there's somebody.' But then he immediately spotted someone.
Rain sighed in relief.
"You?"
However, when Rain saw his face, he was astounded.
"Why does he resemble me?" Rain was confused.
'It's not "me," but the one he resembles is the former owner of this body.' Rain tried to make up the answer.
"You are somewhat correct, though."
That man replied as though he knew what Rain was thinking.
"My name is Rain, hello."
Rain then gave the man a greeting.
Even though Rain intended to question the man in great detail, he couldn't help but feel a connection to the man. Like when he finally met him years later.
"I am also Rain." The man also introduced himself.
"You also?"
Rain was surprised after hearing that man's name.
"Yeah, Rain. Rain Holmes."
'Wait, it sounds similar...oh. It's the... '
"Yeah, it's the mid-tier villain of the novel you read. Rain Holmes, that's me and you."
Seeing that Rain was trying to remember something, that man answered. However, after hearing the answer, Rain was shocked to the core.
"So now I am a villain?" Rain asked with surprise.
"No, you don't have to be a villain," Rain Holmes responded.
"Good, because I won't accept that," Rain replied firmly. "I will change everything regarding my fate and storyline of the game."
"I understand. I also thought same thing," Rain Holmes said with a nod.
"Yes, but why do you think we are villains? and how do you know the plot?" Rain asked doubtfully.
"Oh, that's because you and I are one and not two."
That man said and grinned.
"Don't tell me..."
When Rain was trying to say something, that man said on his behalf.
"Wow, you're quite clever, aren't you?" The person standing in front of Rain remarked with a hint of amusement. "You haven't been transmigrated, my friend.
Instead, you have been reincarnated.
Your current existence is nothing but a continuation of your previous life - a mere collection of memories and experiences that make up your ego.
In simple language, you are my previous life, and I remembered it now."
Rain Holmes explained.
Rain looked at Rain Holmes with a mix of confusion and curiosity. "So you're saying that I am your previous life, and that we share the same soul?" he asked, trying to wrap his head around the concept of reincarnation.
"Yes." Rain Holmes nodded.
Rain couldn't deny that the idea was intriguing, and it did explain the inexplicable sense of familiarity he felt when he saw Rain Holmes for the first time. "But how is it possible that you have my memories?" he asked.
"I don't know much either.
I was sleeping in my room and suddenly I felt my surroundings blur, I fainted." Rain Holmes said, he continued further,
"When I opened my eyes, I was here in a void.
I felt a connection between you and me. It was like some entity made this stage for us to get each other's memories. As soon as I saw you, I got all of your memories." Rain Holmes spoke out everything he thought.
"That entity might be 'System'," Rain remarked.
"Could be," Rain Holmes agreed. "But regardless of how it happened, we now share memories and experiences. We are essentially one person now."
"Do you find this satisfactory?" As Rain knew what will happen to him, he was quite concerned.
"Of course. I am aware of what will occur in the future because of your hazy recollection; it's my death." Even while talking about his future death there wasn't much worry on his face.
"I saw most of the events that will happen in the future, I really want to change them and live a good life. Until now, the only thing I did was work hard to live a happy life.
But I didn't know after going to the academy, that kind of thing will happen to me. So I need your help. With our experience and knowledge, we will live a happy life." Rain Holmes said.
Rain nodded slowly, absorbing the information. It was a lot to take in, but somehow, it made a strange kind of sense. "So what happens now?" he asked.
Rain Holmes smiled. "Now, we work together. We pool our memories, our experiences, and our skills, to create a better life for ourselves.
And with the knowledge of the future events that we have, we can try to avoid making the same mistakes and create a better outcome for everyone."
"However, two egos can't stay in one body at the same time. It will lead to some problems when you will get into higher ranks.
Your body should be one with your soul. Mind at peace.
I am also aware of your difficulties, and ultimately, we are both Rain, we have same soul, right?" Rain Holmes said with a smile.
"Yeah." Rain nodded his head.
"Treat me well," He said.
"Me too."
Rain Holmes smiled and shook his hand. As they made contact, Rain felt a strange sensation wash over him, like a merging of two beings into one.
In a few moments, Rain Holmes faded into the background.
***
[Rain's Room]
Rain was still lying on his bed. After some time, Rain slowly opened his eyes. There was clarity in his eyes, like he found what he lacked.
Rain lifted his upper body and sat on the bed. He stood up, tried to walk, and did other things.
He found that now moving his body wasn't that uncomfortable.
When Rain woke up the first time it was irritating but now, it wasn't that irritating to move around.
Rain thought there might be some changes in the system too. He was anticipating something good.
╠═? Status ?═╣
→Name: Rain Holmes
→Age: 19 years old
→Rank: F Grade (-F -> F)
→Strength: F (-F -> F)
→Health: F (-F -> F)
→Stamina: F (-F -> F)
→Charm: B+
→Intelligence: B- (C+ -> B-)
→Mana: G+ (Null -> G+)
After observing his status for some moments, Rain found some things have changed.
Rain noticed that the question mark in the name disappeared - 'Rain Holmes' was written there.
My birthday is just one week after that.
Although his current age was 19 years, he knew soon after a week he will turn 20 - the plot of the game will start progressing.
Rain clicked his tongue. Now he got memories of his current life, he started hating the plotline more.
He knew Rain Holmes' emotions and memories were affectimg his thinking. Still, he also felt same about things.
But after seeing his rank, Rain's mood became worse. He lost his rank and now he was a weakling compared to other people. He was conscious of his weakness.
'Due to reincarnation or because of something, my rank went from D- to F, but it's alright.' Rain didn't know why his rank dropped.
However, he was feeling much more secure as his health stat rose by one.
Still, after seeing his mana stat, Rain thought it was too low.
Even in the game, Rain never saw anyone with a G rank stat.
'It appears that I must take action. This is a fantasy world. If I continue to live like this, I will be crushed soon enough.' Rain was determined.
→[Host.]
Suddenly, a cold mechanical voice interrupted him.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l