Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

Before sleeping, Lia and I continued our tradition of trading questions back and forth. The topics had become more mundane once we were comfortable with each other, and I learned a great deal about her hobbies, interests, and amusing stories from her past. In turn, I recounted stories of my time with Amaya, which Lia seemed particularly interested in. Thankfully, she seemed to avoid asking questions about my time in Hedaat, having picked up on my distaste for talking about the subject matter.

On the night before our departure, Lia was uncharacteristically reserved during dinner and our usual card game. I assumed she was nervous about leaving; traveling was a commonplace thing in my lives, whereas Lia had hardly ever left the town she was born and raised in. Adventuring with no particular destination in mind was no doubt an intimidating thought. When I asked her about it during our nightly exchange, I was surprised by her response.

“I’ve been wondering,” Lia said uncertainly, pausing to search for the right words, “What is it you’re looking for in this trip?”

“Nothing in particular, honestly. Now that I’m in a new world, I think I just want to see what it has to offer me.” I was curious now. “Why do you ask?”

Lia looked away, clearly uncomfortable. “Well, it’s just...With everything you’ve been through, I didn’t know...I was wondering what you wanted to do. Not just right now, on this trip, but...after that.” She reddened a bit, looking up at me with a worried expression. “I’m sorry, it’s a stupid question.”

“No, it’s a great question.” What DO I want to do with my life? It was a question I hadn’t yet asked myself after arriving in Yoria. I had been living in the moment, not thinking more than a day ahead since my unfortunate run-in with Melrose. “I guess I should start thinking about the future, now that it’s finally laid out in front of me to choose.”

I kicked my feet up on the bed and thought for a while. “I think...I just want a normal, boring life for once.” I smiled at the idea. “No grand adventures, nobody telling me what to do. Just all the time in the world to do what I want to.” Waving my hand out in front of me, I pictured what it might look like. “I could build a farm, out in the middle of nowhere, and just...live.” Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was an impossible dream, but I quelled the thoughts for the moment and basked in my thoughts of peace.

Lia’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “A...farm?” She let out a small giggle. “I can’t picture you as a farmer, Lux.”

Giving an exaggerated huff, I spoke with indignation. “And why is that? I know a thing or two about raising plants and animals, thank you very much.” We both laughed together, then fell into silence. “How about you? What’s your big plan for life?”

“I-I guess I want what everybody else does,” Lia said, stumbling over her words. “Find someone to start a family with and...do that.” She tapped her fingers together, focusing intently on the task rather than looking at me. “But I don’t want to do that here. I’ve been in Tolamar my whole life, and there’s so much more out there that I want to see. I think...I should do that first.”

“Well Lia, that’s something that I can help you with.” I smiled. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll show you the world. Anywhere you want to go, I’ll take you there. And after the adventures are done, we can live the rest of our lives however we want.” Hopping to my feet, I held out my hand. “Deal?”

She stared up at me, her eyes filled with happiness. Nodding, Lia smiled and took my hand. “Deal!” She gave it a firm shake, then dropped my hand and lunged forward to hug me tightly. Although it was muffled, I could hear her talking into my chest. “Thank you, Lux. For everything.”

I chuckled softly and patted her head. “Thank you, Lia.” When she finally released the embrace, I rubbed my hands together eagerly. “Now, we should get some sleep. We’ve got quite the walk ahead of us, and don’t think for a second that means you get out of sword practice!”

Lia looked at me with her face aghast. “No way!” She flung herself down onto the bed, rolling to face the ceiling. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit too hard on me?”

“Oh, stop whinging. You’ll thank me for this someday, I guarantee it.” I crawled up from the bottom of the bed to my spot beside her, laughing the whole way. We arranged ourselves into a comfortable sleeping position and drifted off for the night, our physical exertion of the past few days outweighing the excitement of the adventure to come in the morning.

---

Pain erupted across my chest; a sensation so extreme I could hardly recognize it. What had initially felt like a shallow cut was now throbbing in agony, sending ripples throughout my entire body. An unfamiliar foul stench filled my nostrils and my vision blurred and spotted. I could make out vague wisps of black smoke rising up before my eyes, obscuring the shadowy figure of a man before me. 

He stood bare chested, covered in blood and pointing a black blade down at me. His face was hard, eyes blazing with anger under shaggy black hair. I tried to plead for help, but a scream erupted from my mouth instead as the pain increased. It was creeping up from my chest now, working its way atom by atom through my body towards my extremities. I clawed at the wound to no avail, trying to find some peace from the all-encompassing torture.

I collapsed to the ground, writhing as I screamed for the torment to stop. Somehow, I found enough control of my voice to whimper out to the man before me. “Please...kill me…” The figure turned, staring down