Shot of Silence

Chapter 1: Do-Over

"Ah... so this is it?"

He had always pondered the fate of people after death, offering prayers each night as he relentlessly fought for the war to come to an end.

His fervent wishes were for his cherished loved ones to be relieved of their suffering.

‘I suppose... At least death brings tranquility.’

Setting aside the anguish of betrayal he had endured, there was a peculiar sense of solace in being slain by Ernesh. After all, there was no one left to hold on to, and living with the burden of guilt weighing on his soul... perhaps departing from that world now that he had reclaimed the throne wasn't such a terrible outcome.

‘I mean, at least I didn’t leave my role behind on purpose this time?’

As he drifted into what appeared to be an unending abyss, a bitter smile graced his lips…

…

Or that was until—

.

.

.

.

.

"WAKE UP, MADAFAKA!!!"

WHACK!

"Ack!" That brunet exclaimed as he clutched his throbbing head.

"The fuck!? Who–!?" Blinking excessively, those brown eyes widened in deep shock.

'Wait... huh?'

It took him a second to realize that the only pain he was feeling was located in his head. There was none in his whole body, and oddly, there was none in his torso where he was supposedly stabbed.

'—I'm not dead?'

Heath glanced at his palms as he slowly regained control of his body and gained a bit more of his vision. 

'The hell is going on...?'

The ache in his head made him squint, yet other than that, there was only minor discomfort throughout his weak physique. There was a whiff of a familiar scent that made his gaze land on the piles of bottles that could easily be found even on the bed, next to where he lay.

"Right. Now, my dear depressed twin, I know that you're in a dipshit, but you're the one who told me to wake you up today no matter what. So don't come at me later and just fucking WAKE UP ALREADY!"

And just like that, the poor brunet shrieked as he was yanked off his bed onto the cold, hard floor.

"Ah, geez! Do you need to be that harsh??" —Is this how he gets treated by someone he didn't even know?!

Yet, instead of receiving a reply, Heath restrained himself from firing another snarky comment when he observed the blond abruptly pause, picking up a bottle of what appeared to be small capsules from the table. Although Heath's vision was still blurry, he sensed a sudden shift in the other man's demeanor, which became grave in an instant. Unable to contain himself, Heath felt compelled to call out to him.

"Hey—"

Yet, once again, he was blatantly disregarded. 

"—I'll be confiscating this, so you can thank me for it later."

Still quite stressed out with everything, in addition to being ignored, the brunet clicked his tongue, "Oi! I'm here, damn it! Don't just leave like it's none of your goddamn business!"

But the blond in the apron didn't even bother to turn around and simply waved his hand nonchalantly.

"This place stinks, and you reek of alcohol. I'll be waiting in the dining room, so come and join me for breakfast after you take a shower. I expect this place to be sparkling clean, just like that baldy, Nezu's head, before we leave. No backtalk!"

"What the actual fuck...?"

The former royalty could only stare agape before pinching the bridge of his nose once he came to his senses.

'Right. There's no point in panicking. Let's sort things out rationally, shall we?' He let out a sigh.

"First things first." He scanned the room, which became an easier task now that the light had been turned on and his blurry vision had eased up.

‘Honestly, just... where am I?’

The room he found himself in was small, perhaps even smaller than a servant's quarters back at the palace. However, it wasn't exactly like an attendant's room. It resembled a simplified version of his own bedroom, complete with furniture such as a table, chair, cupboard, and even a bookshelf filled with books. While everything seemed minimalistic compared to the lavish furnishings of the nobility, it wasn't as shabby as what commoners would have.

Then again, the mess in this place made it difficult to estimate their true value. As the blond man had pointed out, the place was in complete disarray. It was almost worse than the bloodied throne room where he had lost his life...

“Right. Right.”

‘Let's not think about that.’

Despite the lingering pain from the recent events, Heath tried to focus on his current situation. He stood up, albeit unsteadily, and made his way to the only other door that connected to the room.

It took him a moment to realize that he was in what appeared to be a washroom, or at least he assumed the small tub installed on the counter was meant for that purpose. His goal was to follow the blond man's instructions and wash himself, but he couldn't help but stare at his reflection in the mirror.

Disbelieving, Heath traced the cold surface with his finger.

The reflection staring back at him was that of a disheveled brunet, appearing like a complete mess with tousled hair and a worn-out expression. However, there were no visible bruises or scars on his face, despite the hollow cheeks giving away his lack of proper nourishment.

'Well, at least I seem to be the right age for what I'm used to be. Probably in my twenties... Although with these tired, baggy eyes, I appear much older.'

With that in mind, he shifted his focus to his body. The first thing that caught his attention was his sickly appearance. His emaciated frame revealed the faint outlines of his ribs, but there were no notable scars to be found, at least none that weren't self-inflicted.

He let out a sigh of frustration.

‘And that thing the guy picked up... it's probably medicine or something.’

While he wasn't particularly knowledgeable about capsules as he rarely consumed them, he knew for a fact that they were not to be consumed with anything other than plain water. And definitely not to be taken with alcohol—

“Well, great."

Running a hand through his disheveled brown locks, he couldn't help but reflect on the situation. 'So my parallel self died from an overdose, and now, for some inexplicable reason, I'm here to take his place? This is beyond ridiculous...'

Heath had always known that he was somewhat of a coward, but the idea of taking his own life—well, somehow he had never been able to follow through with it.

This made him wonder just how terribly his counterpart's life must have been for him to have resorted to such a path, considering how peaceful his current environment was. No screaming, no loud noises, and definitely no war.

"Well, whatever." There was little he could do about it now, regardless of the reason behind this turn of events. Whether this was a second chance or a punishment, he would figure it out in due time.

"For now, a wash… um—" he muttered to himself, before fumbling to figure out how he could obtain water or anything to cleanse himself with. 

But hey, at least it would provide him with a sufficient distraction for the time being!