Lucas sat at the edge of the bed, leaning forward. His right hand covered his face like some anime villain scheming a master plan—except in reality, he was just a confused man who had no idea what the hell to do.
What am I supposed to do with this? he thought bleakly.
Shit… this is way past absurd.
Warmth spread against his left palm. Lucas froze. Slowly, his eyes shifted, peeking through the gap of his fingers.
A thin piece of white cloth… still clenched in his hand.
Lucas's eyes twitched. What if there's a little private hair stuck on it?
He immediately shook his head, grimacing. "What the fuck… what kind of thought was that!?"
His chest pounded—not from embarrassment, but from something stranger. It felt like his mind, his body, weren't entirely his own anymore.
Lowering his right hand, he stared down.
There, pinched between his trembling fingers, was the worn-out white underwear. The fabric was creased, old, still showing folds from being worn.
"…Goddammit."
He flipped his palm, staring at it closer. Why the hell am I even inspecting this? His face grew hot, half angry at himself.
But then… a filthy whisper crawled through his skull.
Sniff it, Sniff it, nobody watch you... Come on... Sniff it, Snift it... just a little Sniff...
Lucas jolted, shaking his head violently. "The fuck!? My brain just suggested what!?"
His hand trembled, caught between throwing it away… and holding on tighter.
"…Why do I feel… tempted?" he muttered, cold sweat prickling down his temples.
For a second, it felt like he wasn't Lucas anymore—like the old degenerate habits of this body were clawing into his mind, trying to drag him down.
The warmth of the cloth taunted him. A faint smell tickled his nose.
Hnnngh… fuck… I'm hard... but, this is normal, right? I'm a man, but—shit!!
His thoughts split into a chorus of disgusting whispers, echoing in his skull.
"What if there's a little hair stuck?"
"What if there's a trace of piss still there?"
"What if the back's a bit yellowed or maybe a bit brown?"
Lucas gagged. "Ghh—! Fuck my life!!"
Lucas stared blankly at the underwear in his hand. His breathing came short and ragged, chest rising and falling out of rhythm.
This body… it was nothing like the one he'd had before. Back then, he was a man built on discipline, on training, on strict routines that sharpened both body and mind.
Now? This body felt like the opposite. Weak. Skinny. And way too easy to tempt.
It was as if the self-control he once had—the mental edge of his modern self—had been dulled into something flimsy, fragile.
His fingers tightened, but instead of tossing the worn cloth away, they pulled it closer.
Closer.
Until the ragged fabric was right by his face.
Bit by bit, his nose leaned in, until finally—
Hhhsshhh…
Lucas sniffed.
[DING!]
A sharp notification suddenly exploded in his head, making him jolt in shock.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Title: Natural Born Sniffer]
"…WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!!" Lucas shot to his feet, face twisted in panic, disgust, and disbelief all at once.
Lucas was still stunned, his ears buzzing after that strange notification.
Suddenly, a transparent panel appeared right in front of his face. A faint screen floated in the air like an RPG hologram. Lucas instinctively lifted his hand to touch it. The moment his finger pressed against the surface, the panel bounced lightly and displayed a mischievous emoji—a round face sticking its tongue out, eyes bulging in mockery.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Title: Natural Born Sniffer]
Before his brain could even process it, the text wobbled slightly, then shifted.
[Just kidding.]
Lucas's eyes went wide. "What the fuck—???"
He grabbed the panel with both hands, one of which was still holding that sacred, smelly cloth you're probably imagining the scent of right now. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
The panel vibrated, and new text appeared.
[Calm down, Host.]
More words rolled across quickly, one letter after another, as if being typed by an invisible hand.
[Your soul has transmigrated… under the permission of an Absolute Being.]
Lucas froze, his heartbeat pounding, his left hand still clutching the worn-out underwear.
"So this isn't a dream?"
Lucas took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. His left hand finally dropped the underwear onto the small table beside the bed, as if it were a cursed object.
"Explain," he said quietly, but his voice carried anger.
The panel trembled. New words appeared.
[The original soul of this body… is no longer here. He has passed on, resting in the afterlife. Waiting for reincarnation.]
Lucas jolted. "What?? So the original soul of this body is already… dead? Then why the hell am I here?! Did I die too??"
[Not exactly. Your soul's connection to your original body on Earth still exists.]
A cold bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "Then… why the hell was I transmigrated here?"
The panel paused for a moment, before spitting out a line that nearly blew his brain apart.
[Because your time on Earth isn't finished. Your soul wasn't due to die yet. And anyway, you almost died because you were struck by lightning… the result of an Absolute Being's sneeze while passing over Earth.]
Lucas froze. His lips parted, face going blank.
"…What the fuck? So I died because some god passed by… and sneezed???"
The panel flickered gently, as if utterly unapologetic.
[Correct.]
Lucas grabbed his hair, on the verge of losing his mind. "Goddammit… killed by a sneeze?? I thought at least I'd go out in some heroic tragedy!"
The panel only displayed a tiny emoticon:
(*￣3￣)╭～💨
Lucas's blood boiled. "Fine… then why this body??"
The answer came bluntly, without hesitation.
[Because in this parallel world… Lucian is Lucas.]
Lucas froze. His heartbeat thundered in his chest, his lips unable to form words. The room suddenly felt colder, as if the walls themselves were mocking him.
Lucas buried his face in both hands, breathing heavily. "Fuck this lore… seriously, this is the dumbest explanation I've ever heard."
He caught himself inhaling faint traces of the panties still in his left hand, nostrils flaring slightly before he froze in horror.
His eyes snapped back to the panel. "Hey, wasn't there any other Lucas you could've dumped my soul into? Why the hell this one?!"
The panel quivered before displaying new text.
[The other souls linked to yours… are still alive. Their souls remain bound to their original bodies.]
Lucas blinked. "What? So multiverse is real?"
[Correct. Infinite parallels exist. And anyway, this… is the downgraded version of your soul. A branch where your soul failed as a human.]
k
Lucas stiffened. His face turned pale, like the blood had drained out of him entirely.
"…Fuck… I'm doomed."