Joy continued his story. It's intriguing and he is skipping a lot of finer details but I am listening to him without questioning him. I can ask my questions later.
"The story of Jake should have ended. He died. When a human dies, their story comes to a close. Jake should not be an exception to this rule.
However, his story continued. He had accepted his death and passed on peacefully. He did not believe in any religion but believed in a higher power.
His soul departed from his body and made its way in another world.
He was reborn as a human child in a different world. To be honest, every soul was recycled. Their memories were wiped before the next birth.
Jake was reborn and he should have been a new person. Alas! It did not come to pass.
From his early childhood, he kept having visions of his previous life. They were not clear but they were a hindrance.
His weird behavior isolated him from his society. His new world was a technologically backwards world. It was a regression for Jake.
The society was filled with superstition and weird practices. Jake was believed to be a wizard who was cursed by the gods. His village drove him out and everyone supported it.
His parents were burned at the stake for birthing a cursed child. Jake was not killed since killing a cursed wizard might bring some sort of punishment to the village.
Jake was 7 at the time. After that traumatic experience, his visions became clearer. He remembered who he was and how he was.
The bittersweet first life he experienced seemed to be dramatically different from his current life.
Jake decided to live. His parents died protecting him. He wasn't abandoned by his parents. He decided to live to honor their sacrifice.
10 years went by and Jake was 17. Using his past life's knowledge, he kept himself alive and floating. He worked as a handyman and oftentimes as a tutor.
The same pattern followed. He woke up next to a girl, both buck naked. He didn't make any scenes. He actually let go of his inhibitions.
The girl was a complete copy of his wife. He chalked it up as a coincidence and embraced her.
They got together and started traveling. The idea of a formal marriage didn't exist in that time. They were cohabiting and were perceived as a couple.
His bleak life was over. She brought colors into his life. They traveled here and there before settling down in a village near the border of their country.
She was pregnant and he was a farmer. It was going well until it wasn't. War broke out.
His village became the first to be ravaged by the flames of war. The enemy soldiers killed almost all the males. They captured the females to make them their playthings.
Jake did his utmost to protect his wife and unborn child but he failed. His resistance got him the ire of the enemy soldiers and they decided to punish him.
They brutally killed his wife right in front of him and proceeded to violate her dead body in front of him.
This scene broke Jake once again. He broke and snapped.
The next thing he remembered was of slaughter. He slaughtered every last one who participated in her violation.
He rid the village of the enemy soldiers alone while extremely injured.
He did not stop there. He kept pushing forward killing only the necessary ones to reach his goal.
He destroyed the enemy kingdom from within. It took him time but his goal was achieved.
He was succumbing to his injuries to begin with and destroying the enemy kingdom fulfilled his final wish.
He passed away for the second time and yet, his story did not end." (Joy)
The absurd story continued. From his looks, it would continue for a while.
"Third time's the charm. Many say that. However for Jake, it wasn't the charm.
He was reborn again. This time, in an apocalyptic world. The world was on the brink of extinction. Jake was born to a poor couple who tried their best to raise him but was killed by the circumstances.
Jake lost his parents again. He was 15. It's an age where you can somehow fend for yourself and Jake did just that.
Moreover, he retained his memories of both of his previous lives. He kept himself alive somehow. Two years later, he met a girl.
Bearing the same face as his wife, she came into his life. She did not recognize him as she should not. Jake realized that fate will be the same.
She was born to a wealthy family and was the only child. It meant she had a lot of pressure on her.
Jake would meet with her in secret at night and she would vent her frustrations.
Jake knew it was only a matter of time before she falls in love. A year later, they still met like usual but she told Jake of her arranged marriage.
She didn't want to get married to her arranged partner. She asked Jake to take her away.
He made sure that she knows the risks of eloping. She knew the risks and were willing to take it.
They eloped but it didn't end happily. Her arranged marriage partner was a crime lord and he hunted them down. Tortured both of them and violated her in front of Jake before killing her.
Jake, overcome with rage, massacred every last of them and killed himself as well.
That was the third time and the story continued. It kept continuing until the 1000th time.
Jake was tired. The memories were overwhelming him. Humans tend to forget unnecessary information. But Jake didn't forget a single day. Every day from his every life was vividly in his memories.
He got tired and during the 1000th run, he asked her. She tried to deny it at first but he kept pressing her for answers.
That's when the truth revealed itself. Jake died once. He never died again. After his first death, his soul was taken away by a goddess.
She took his soul and trapped it in a cycle where he would relive the worst possible ways his life could end. The goddess made herself to be the heroine and kept repeating it until Jake broke down.
He tried to break free from her influence but was unable to do so.
That's when Constant waged war against the old gods. The goddess had to join the war and Jake managed to escape from her grasp.
Constant and his side won. The old gods were all executed except a few. The goddess survived and hid herself. She didn't let go of Jake. She kept waiting until the time was ripe.
Jake became a creator due to Constant. Him becoming a creator gave him some immunity towards the goddess but she kept haunting him. He was already broken but she made it worse." (Joy)
He probably finished the story. It's a bit weird but oddly convincing.
"So, you are Jake?"
I ask him.
"No, I am Joy. But yes, I am also Jake. You see, when Joy broke down, his mind split into a few parts. I am one of them. I am his human side which still held rational thoughts.
The Joy that's become a captive is his feelings for the goddess. We all were cut off from each other so we are fine but if he dies, we become incomplete. So we need to rescue him." (Joy)
This just became a whole new ordeal. Maybe I should go home and try to contact Seina to ask for his help.