Leo suddenly jolted awake, surprised to find himself on his feet, staring ahead at the sun.
His arms refused to move, as they were held behind his back at a jarring angle. His body ached from various bruises.
"Aldiun Black, a peasant who has refused to declare his devotion to the Holy God, Cread, stands with us on this platform today. His crimes need not be named, and his word need not be heard, for a blasphemer does not deserve the right to speak."
After hearing the name "Aldiun Black", memories started to flow into Leo's mind.
Not his own memories, but the memories of a body that didn't belong to him, and a world which he did not belong in.
It was clear as day, Leo was no longer on earth. He was now in a world which his memories told him was named Veshpa, and he was facing execution for a crime that he did not commit.
Standing on a raised wooden platform, with a Victorian-style city ahead of him, and an audience of a hundred people watching, Leo spotted the method of execution.
It was a rope, hanging from a wooden crossbeam.
Wait, no! He tried to cry, only to find that his mouth had been stuffed with fabric, preventing him from speaking.
Behind him, he saw a priest in black robes, wearing a gold necklace with a lightning bolt on its end. He was the speaker.
Standing on either side of him were armed knights in steel armour.
It was official. His fate had already been decided.
"Unless the blasphemer can perform a miracle that can be recognised by the Creadist Church, proving himself to be a chosen prophet of our God, then let us commence with this cleansing!"
A miracle?
They did not even allow him to attempt such a thing, as the knights dragged him roughly over to the rope, tightening the noose around his neck.
At this point, Leo was struggling.
I've been given a second chance at life, and they're already taking it from me!
He stared out at the crowd, hoping that someone would be merciful enough to step in and save him.
It was when he saw a group of children watching and laughing that he realised his truth.
In their eyes, he was the villain.
SHRRKKKK!
The platform was removed from his feet, and in an instant, Leo found himself gasping for air.
His neck had not been broken, but the rope tightened around him until blood seeped from his skin.
He tried his best to clutch at the rope and pull himself up, only to find that he didn't even have enough energy to lift his arms.
His vision went blurry. He became lightheaded.
Leo squeezed his eyes shut, praying to something. Anything! If this God Cread did exist, then he swore that he would bow and worship the god, just to be given another chance.
Then, suddenly, the pain stopped.
Am I dead? He wondered, slowly trying to open his eyes.
He expected to find himself in the afterlife, after having met his faith. However instead, what he saw was something that his mind struggled to process.
He was now in the crowd as a spectator, watching his own death. His current body was made from a translucent mist like essence.
[Path Activated]
[Meddler Path, Recognised]
[Astral Body, Recognised]
[Aldiun Black]
[Level: 1]
[Exp: 0/10]
Leo swivelled his head around, trying his best to comprehend what was going on.
Not only was a strange block of text hovering in front of him, but the world was no longer moving.
His other body hung frozen from the rope, mid-struggle, and it felt strange watching it from afar.
The crowd watched, faces stuck in pleasant surprise.
The clouds didn't move, and the sun didn't glow.
Only Aldiun seemed to be able to move.
"What the hell is this?" He tried to speak, but the words only came out muffled.
Testing the strange phenomenon, he tried to move around, navigating himself through the crowd.
He stopped by a nearby man, wearing a purple suit and a fancy hat.
As he placed his hand on the man's shoulder, suddenly, a strange pop-up appeared in his vision once again.
[Poor lad. Why couldn't he just confess his beliefs? Even I don't worship Cread, as the Nevergod intrigues me more, but I bloody well know what to say to keep myself safe.]
After reading the sentence, Leo started to gather a grasp of what was going on.
He seemed to have some strange power that allowed him to interact with the world in ways he shouldn't be able to.
His reincarnation had affected the peasant Aldiun immensely.
It was at that moment that he noticed something coming from the chest of the man. It was a thin, purple piece of string, connected from himself, to Aldiun's body that currently hung from the rope.
Leo focused on the string.
Something inside of him told him exactly what it was. The string represented the feeling of pity that the man felt towards Aldiun.
With every passing moment, Leo felt himself growing fatigued. It was as though spending time in the strange world drew on some sort of energy in his body.
When he focused on his strange, Astral body, he felt a feeling in his stomach. It was as though sand was slowly being drained from an hourglass.
Curious and afraid that he would run out of time, Leo reached his hand outwards and touched the string. Then, he tugged.
Its colour grew darker and darker with every passing second, until eventually, it was black.
The feeling connected to the string was no longer pity, but now rage.
He looked up at the man's face, and his demeanour seemed to have changed. Despite being frozen, he now miraculously wore a look of anger on his face.
The sand had almost been completely drained. Leo felt himself fading from the strange world.
He reached his hand outwards, placing it on the man's shoulder again. The previous text had changed, and was now switched to something else.
[Curse the Creadist zealots! To hang such a young man simply because his beliefs differ from theirs. We must be better as a nation... I'll be damned if I sit by and watch!]
After reading the text, Leo felt himself returning to the body of the hanging man.
He felt like his head was going to come off, and he clawed at his neck in a futile attempt to free himself from the rope.
But then, with his blurred vision, his eyes fell on the man in the crowd whom he had just interacted with. He carried a mass of growing black flames in his hand, and a look of growing anger on his face.
The crowd stared at the man, hands covering their mouths in utter shock.
Leo heard the priest scream orders to the knights, followed by the sound of swords being drawn from their sheaths.
And then, the man threw the flames, sending them flying into the rope above his head.
The pressure was released from his neck, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
He had been freed.
[You have altered a humans emotions. 1 EXP Gained!]
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Author here: I hope you enjoy the novel. If you find any mistakes, inconsistencies, or have any feedback in general, please feel free to point it out.