After his soul left his body and he found himself in a completely dark space for a moment, Edward felt himself being attracted by an unknown force. The man was surprised, he thought that there was nothing after death, but the reality turned out to be different. Edward didn't know how to deal with it, so he just decided to go with the flow. Perhaps this is what the afterlife looks like.
Floating slowly in the void, Edward pondered. What awaits him next? Will he see God or his likeness? Will there be a trial where he will be punished for all his sins? Or his soul will simply disappear under the influence of an unknown force. In any case, Edward was sure that he would not be able to influence his future fate in any way. For this reason, he interrupted his thought flow and began to await his fate. After some time, Edward felt his consciousness gradually begin to fade.
«So I'm going to disappear after all… Well, that's even better, I'm too tired...» — Mentally Edward resigned himself to his fate.
However, soon Edward suddenly came to himself again, and the first thing he felt was the damp, suffocating air. He was lying on a cold stone surface, and the smell of dust, earth, and something metallic was all around him.
«Blood!?»
Abruptly opening his eyes, Edward saw a stone ceiling hanging over him, illuminated by the dim light of torches. He ran his hand over his face, then looked at his palm — the skin was covered with a thin layer of dirt.
«Where am I?»
The cold, humid air cut into his lungs with every breath. The stone floor beneath his body was hard and damp to the bone. It was all too real. Although he had never died, Edward could tell for sure that this was not the afterlife.
«Am I... alive? But how? I'm pretty sure that with my throat cut, even God himself couldn't have saved me.»
He tried to move, feeling a strange heaviness in his limbs. My head was buzzing, my body ached. In addition, he felt a lot of injuries on his body, which, although not too severe, severely limited his movements.
Heavy footsteps sounded somewhere in the distance, and then a rough male voice:
— Get up, carrion! Work is not waiting.
The man decided to accompany this shout with a blow, and Edward heard the crunch of someone's ribs and a strangled wheeze not far from him. Edward propped himself up on his elbows and looked around. Around him lay people dressed in identical torn clothes, all emaciated and exhausted.
Another kick, and someone's pain-filled scream echoed off the walls.
— I said get up!
Edward stood up calmly, following the example of other people. It was not the first time he had been in places where fear and violence ruled.
— Come on, move it," the guard hissed, pushing him towards the exit from the dark stone room.
Edward obeyed. There's no point in resisting until he figures out what's going on.
As he was being chased down the corridor, he quickly studied the situation. Narrow passages. Stone walls. Rough bars on the doors. The thud of picks coming from somewhere deep inside.
«The mine? Hmm... from the looks of it, that's the way it is... However, how could I get here?»
Edward was still confused. He might have been in unexpected situations before that he had no information about, but what was happening now was beyond his comprehension.
While Edward was in the clouds, analyzing the situation, he felt a rather strong push in the back. Barely able to stand on his feet, Edward turned around, coming face to face with one of the guards.
— Don't stand there like a statue, puppy! Grab a pickaxe in your teeth and get to work!
Edward did not push his luck and obediently obeyed the order. Normally, he wouldn't have tolerated such an attitude, but right now, his condition was far from ideal. Even just staying on his feet was a hell of a challenge for him. Staggering from side to side, Edward trudged towards the mining site.
«Uh huh... My body is going to break down... I don't remember ever being so weak.»
Swinging the pickaxe, Edward felt incredible pain, as if all his muscles were about to burst. Every blow on the stone reverberated in his body, making the young man groan in pain.
This went on for several hours. All this time, Edward could only dutifully work with a pickaxe. Any intention of taking a break was immediately thwarted by a stinging whip on his fragile back, which was already in terrible pain. By the time the guards led him and the other slaves back to the cage, Edward was no longer able to think clearly.
He reached the cage in a daze. He was brought to his senses by a stale loaf of bread and a flask of water thrown in his face.
«I need to eat...»
With trembling hands, Edward pulled the bun to his mouth and took a bite. The taste was disgusting, and the dry pieces of bread scratched Edward's palate and gums very painfully, but he didn't even pay attention to it because he was tired. After quickly chewing on the bread and washing it down with water, the young man finally fell to the cold stone floor.
«What kind of place is this? After working for only a day, I almost died... Am I really in one of those illegal mines? If that's the case, then my prospects are pretty dim...»
Raising his hand up, Edward looked at his palm. She seemed too small to him, which immediately attracted his attention. Due to the chaotic awakening, Edward couldn't immediately notice the changes, but now he realized. His body was different, like... His soul found another home.
«Nonsense...»
Edward refused to believe it, even though he had recently been exploring the void in the form of a soul. His common sense didn't want to accept this fact, but everything suggested otherwise. Edward's soul took over someone else's body.
— But how... — he muttered faintly, when he suddenly noticed one thing on his finger under a layer of dirt, a ring.
It seemed very familiar to Edward. Of course, after all, he got this ring as a trophy from his first victim. Edward couldn't help but recognize what he had been carrying with him for ten years.
After a quick glance around and realizing that no one was watching him, Edward carefully moved closer to the crooked stone wall and imperceptibly removed the ring. He wanted to make sure if this was really the ring.
Turning the jewel in his dirty, bony hands, Edward carefully examined every millimeter of the ring. It was indeed a ring that had accompanied him for many years. Every nip and scratch matched exactly what Edward remembered. However, something unusual soon caught his attention, something that Edward had never seen in all the time that he owned the ring.
Dimly glowing lines appeared in places on the ring. Because of the dirt covering it, the lines were almost invisible, but they were the ones that gave Edward a strange idea.
— Is it really because of the ring?
Straining his memory, Edward tried to recall everything he knew about the ring. It was his trophy from his first assignment as an assassin.
Previously, this ring belonged to a drug dealer who bought various antiques on the black market. The problem was that all the jewelry he purchased was of questionable origin. This means that it is impossible to trace the origin of each item.
According to the tradition of the group of hired killers to which Edward belonged, the killer, after completing his first task, had to take a trophy from his victim. This trophy should accompany the murderer throughout his life, as a reminder of who he is.
Edward chose this ring as such a trophy. And although his partner talked Edward out of it for a long time, he remained adamant. All the antiques that the drug dealer was buying were considered cursed, so no one wanted to even touch the jewelry, but the young killer did not believe in mysticism and calmly put the ring on his finger.
— Who knew that the ring was really unusual... — Edward sighed, he still couldn't quite accept the reality he found himself in, but at least he understood the situation a little bit. That was enough for him. As for the rest... Edward had plenty of time to explore this.
— If you saved my life, then it's too early to die... I will definitely get out of here and survive! — Edward made a vow to himself as he slipped the ring back on his skinny finger.