Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) by James Callum (reading tree .txt) 📕

high cost of reinforcing the armor, but the increase was larger than what the other set allowed. Taking the upgraded helm back from the Fire Oppa, he donned it once more.

Unlike the rest of his armor which was made of thin, ridged metal plates interspersed with chainmail and leather padding, the helm felt sturdy and solid.

It was clearly of good make and the way it fit onto his head was a perfect fit for him, though that seemed to have more to do with the equipment of Lormar as a whole.

There also seemed to be an enchantment of some sort on the helm. He should have had a much harder time seeing out of the thin vertical slits that made up the protection but he had his full field of view.

Satisfied with the changes he was able to enact, Jacob reached over and pet the Fire Oppa who seemed to burn just a bit brighter than he remembered.

Jacob shut his eyes and relaxed, getting some rest after reinforcing his parameters. It was a stroke of luck that he remembered to check the [Soul of a Wandering Knight] before he took his rest after the first reinforcement.

September 3rd, 2035 – 10 days remain before the Collapse.

When Jacob left the Pyre, the cold dampness of the Drowned Halls seemed a few degrees warmer than he remembered. He didn’t get much time to appreciate it as just a few steps out of the room had Jacob tasting the familiar blue raspberry flavor on his tongue.

Knowing what was imminent, he turned and began to spring back to the Pyre. His legs, already numb, flopped uselessly beneath him.

A sharp tug at his navel pulled him away from the wet tunnels of the Drowned Halls so quickly that he didn’t even hit the puddle-strewn floor.

May 7th, 2045 – 10 Years Post-Collapse.

Sunlight struck his shut eyes. The warm glowing rays felt good on his skin and he smiled reflexively, forgetting his recent memories. “C’mon sleepy-head, wake up!” Kim’s voice called to him, she gripped his wrist and pulled him to his feet easily enough.

Jacob’s eyes flashed open and the scene before him dazzled and confused him. Kim was tugging on his hand, pulling him along in a stumbling gait through the thigh-high vivid green grass somewhere out in the country.

The hills rolled by like furry globes, dotted here and there with splashes of color. The skies were blue and filled with fluffy, cottony clouds.

In the distance, the trees of a nearby forest shimmered as their leaves danced upon the warm breeze that rippled the long grass all around them.

“Where am I?” Jacob asked. Was this another memory of his? He couldn’t recall such an idyllic setting.

Jacob’s parents hadn’t been well off and they were city-dwellers like him. There was no way this was one of his memories, which begged the question: Whose was it?

“Caught on to that, have ya then?” Kim asked, her auburn hair shining in the midday sun as it bounced around her shoulders. She twitched her freckled nose at him and smiled. “All your memories are so dark and those that aren’t dark are boring. So I figured I could loan you one of mine.”

She tugged him along to the top of the nearest hill to look back down at the grass that swayed in the wind. Birds chirped somewhere nearby and he swore he spotted the red coat of a fox dart into a row of hedges not too far away.

“I guess you’re right,” he admitted with a chuckle. Something felt wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “I didn’t really start living until after the Collapse. That feels weird to say.”

There was no judgment in Kim’s bright blue eyes. She wore a very un-Kimberly-like outfit, a simple sundress that went halfway down her shapely thighs and a white, wide-brimmed hat she held in her free hand.

“Don’t judge,” she chided, leaning against him and watching the sun make its graceful arc from high above toward the west. That felt significant to him. But just like the feeling of wrongness, he couldn’t say why. “My memory put me in these clothes.”

Jacob wanted to ask why he was there. But just thinking the question made him shy away from it like it was a flame that would burn him. He didn’t think he wanted to know the answer to that question.

The more he thought about it, the more he was sure. The sun slipped through the sky, its motion visible to the naked eye.

“Isn’t this a beautiful view, Jacob?” Kim asked, looking up at him with tenderness. “Wouldn’t it be nice to see this every day?” Her tone took on a pleading edge that was very unlike her.

He wanted nothing more than to agree with her but found that he couldn’t. He found that he couldn’t do anything. Every muscle in his body seized up. His hands cramped painfully.

Kimberly slid her hand into his, and no matter how hard he crushed her hand she didn’t pull away.

A soft hand, softer than any he had ever known Kim to have brushed his cheek. “Just look at me, okay? You’ll be all right, Jacob. This will pass. Don’t worry. Just keep looking at me.”

Her eyes shimmered but they stayed resolute and held his gaze firmly. “I thought being here would-” A terrible wrenching feeling twisted his guts and everything around him faded into mist.

For a moment, Kimberly’s face drifted in the mist and then it too was gone.

Jacob came awake in a start, his heart jackhammering in his chest. Two strong pairs of hands held him down on the familiar gel bed of the FIVR pod. It took a moment to gain his bearings and when he did, he relaxed.

The hands stayed on him a few seconds more before he felt them tentatively release him. “Hey, man,” Alec said with a forced grin.

“How do you feel?” asked Ian, sliding into Jacob’s view. Rather than his signature pencil mustache, he had a ridiculous goatee