I Refused To Be Reincarnated

"What just happened?! Was it an edited video? No, the date and time are displayed clearly. It is live!"
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The copy yelled, reeling in shock. His eyes trembled as he stared at the monitor. He watched the streamer's eyes dim with each passing second until they became glassy and lightless. A crimson river of blood flooded from the poor man's torso, adding to the terror clutching his shuddering body.

The painful plea for help, the unwilling grimace... He suffered like he shared a part of the man's pain. Tears welled up, threatening to spill, but the true horror had only just begun.

As the stream chat exploded into a chaotic frenzy, each comment more bizarre than the last, Adam shook his head at some of them ridiculing the man. He had seen people die. He had killed some, too. But somehow, he still found it hard to see powerless citizens die.

Offering a silent prayer for the streamer's soul, he focused on the screen with rapt attention. Whatever had pierced the man still lurked, after all. A silent threat from another world, ready to bare its fangs on Earth.

And he was right.

The energy hummed and distorted. In the next moment, rows of terrifying jagged teeth, each the size of a blade, emerged from the vortex. Following them, an onyx chitinous head the wider than an armored van appeared. Then, with a loud snapping sound, it devoured the man, freezing the stream on his gapping maw's image.

The sheer size of the abomination shook everyone watching to their cores. The chat grew silent, colors trained from the copy's face, and Adam's eyes trembled. A spark of understanding glimmered in them, though.

'That's why I feared insects.'

His mind drifted back to the tower's trials. He recalled the cow-sized spider and the insect-based chimaeras and how he did his utmost to avoid them by instinct. Of course, this understanding came together with another one. He wasn't dreaming, or at least not entirely. Instead, the original was showing his memories to him, and the man he considered a copy was most likely the original younger self.

He pondered for a moment, looking at him. His appearance was a perfect copy of the one he had in the dream place, meaning it deteriorated later.

But again, this realisation raised new questions. What happened to the original's healthy body for it to turn into a dried mummy? Finally, why were there buildings from Earth in the dream place?

Despite the tense atmosphere, a wry smile stretched his lips. Again, he had no answer. But since he was reliving the original's memories, he had no doubts that by focusing on him, he would learn everything.

Meanwhile, the original recovered a semblance of composure. He gazed at the horrifying beast before smashing questions on his keyboard. For the next five minutes, his fingers blurred on the luminous touch, yet his face only decomposed with each passing moment.

He had contacted everyone he knew, mainly his colleagues and virtual friends. He even asked the streaming platform support if the stream was really live.

Yet, most didn't even see the footage. Even the few who did jested, saying it was a well-edited video. But he knew it was not. The streamer's dread was genuine. He felt it in his guts.

Fear gnawed at him. Unconvinced by the general opinion, he pushed himself from his chair with a worried grimace, took his cell phone, put his long coat on, and left his apartment in a hurry.

A few minutes later, he ran down the street, startling the onlookers as he spoke on the phone.

"Yes. No. I'm telling you, I'm sick. I might even die. So, find someone to replace me for the week. Yes, I'll submit proofs the second I leave the doctor's office!"

Then, he hung up as he reached a grocery store and burst inside. He grabbed a shopping cart and began strategically filling it with canned goods, dried fruits, and bottled water.

In the end, he bought two carts filled with long-lasting food and a dozen pieces of cardboard to store everything. He raced to his apartment next, leaving everything in the kitchen before... going to another store and repeating the operation.

Meanwhile, a wry smile tugged on Adam's lips as the mystery of why he had so many cardboard and boxes in his apartment unveiled itself before his eyes.

However, his eyes narrowed an hour later as the copy navigated somber alleys. His heart pounded at the sight of menacing men wearing tuxedos. They guarded this particular street's every access, their cold eyes swiping and deterring anyone approaching.

Despite the icy shiver running down his spine, the copy approached them. Why was he afraid? The beast was much more dangerous than those men. He would have avoided them like the plague in his orderly yet monotonous life but preferred to be safe rather than sorry.

Gathering his courage, he approached one of them, a tall man wearing a black hat hiding half his face.

"Ahem. I want to purchase weapons."

His voice trembled as the man's eyes scanned his body.

Thankfully, the man spun, gesturing to follow without speaking a word. Soon, his vision turned bright with the fluorescent lights of slot machines while the dealers voices echoed in his ears. The man had led him into an illegal casino hidden in the alley before calling for his superior.

A moment later, a wealthy man wearing an out-of-price handmade suit greeted him.

"Ha. A new face! I heard you came for some serious business," he said, his smile stretching on his plump face. Then, he passed his arm over the original's shoulder, guiding him to an office while continuing. "You know... if you want someone dead, you can commission us.

That way, you'll incur no legal risk since you won't have a weapon."

The original's lips twitched in response. He hated breaking the rules and strived to be an exemplary citizen. Yet, his intuition... or perhaps fear or paranoia... screamed at him to prepare himself. Anyway, if he were wrong, he would only lose his savings.

However, if he was right... 'No amount of money can buy a life.'