The Reincarnation Story of a Not-So Ordinary Orc

ium fell

faces hidden beneath the darkness. Above them, the spotlights converged o

d this

adiums across the world. Yet there was something unsettling about a silent crowd. For those few seconds, it felt a

I disapp

flickered th

eath and stepped

ence sh

the stands as thousands of fans jumped to their feet. The deafening roar

d at the corn

e yo

opening notes of my latest hit

ge came

he size of buildings flashed in time with the music, painting the stadium in shifting colors. E

verything went e

ransitions. No dancers stumb

uti

. Some sang with tears in their eyes; others danced with their friends, waving their hands b

I loved most a

illions of people chanted my

ut. Fireworks exploded above the stage, s

hone, letting the a

I smi

song

nced toward the band, and

t. The crowd recognized it almost immediately. Their screams ne

trading lines with the backup singers while the dancers followed

: celebrities, business magnates, and even a few world leaders who had appar

't help

at

ntire countries were stand

my music. The rejected demos, the empty venues, the nights I had spen

ries felt

ade

ian, but as the music

aded. I wanted future musicians to study my work, compare themselves to me,

made. This is how I will

s thundered thr

, and the audience san

e music

ded second, th

the stadi

down my face. My legs ached, my throat felt ra

er felt m

waved toward the distant stands

e curtains, the professional a

meone shouted that the performance had been flawless, and another pers

d only

ions, everyo

just enough for

e job tonight. Seriously.

d. Someone clapped

felt a rush of pride. Whatever my name said on the alb

raised

we have one last thi

everal dancers excha

e silenc

S PARTY I

second, nob

e room

EEE

T MADE

MOST EXPENSIVE T

N DEBT!" I shouted over them.

long with e

g to be a ve

dea how ri

he largest club in the

sea of moving bodies. Bottles covered the tables in our reserved section, and people who had sw

t had been

at surviving the performance entit

t exactly

my body had o

om kept spinning whenever I tried to stand, and the floor seeme

the man stan

d comple

freshed, as though he had spent the entire

editor, lighting director, a

just a very

me a hand. "Let's get bac

-hm

ed to

tilted v

reconsidered

ed my arm, and h

drank just as

m with an anno

ate

ot

e I muttered several deeply unfla

ide. It was cold enough to make me shiver, a

embered th

d life

erable assistance, I managed to collapse into the b

ly. P

led away fr

bbing in my skull. Streetlights drifted past the win

o sleep when my

re's something I

he party bill, I

t about

n wait unti

abou

es op

my head

ho

e me a

e m

ent, I sa

t a short, hu

oes she

ld talk to you. She a

rr

to hang in the

I sno

urse

alked away. Back then, I was

e, She wanted to be with someone more

in countries I had never visited, my concerts sell out within minutes, and pe

she want

ts to a

onven

" I muttered.

didn't answer

wants. I'm only telli

her I'm not

toward th

ed me now, of all times. What had changed? Wha

died before they

t need

incing myself that I would eventually forget her. Now I had everything I had once d

said. "People like her always come

lanced at me b

almost as much as I

ok at me

ing at you li

oing it r

ned his attention

d into t

t dr

of rain began to gat

e secretry slowed as we approached an intersect

nd the rhythmic hum of the engin

retry spoke

lk to her. But maybe you should at least h

ned o

iously takin

aking anyo

Becau

headlights appear

ore and slammed

ed against t

ant, I couldn't underst

crashed in

lurched

shouted

n metal, shattered glass

shed thr

ard, and every light outside the window

d to b

ed to

seemed

ed into a dis

d wasn't the concert, the cheering crowd, or th

was

vision, just as I remembered

d to cu

gh at the absur

er thought drifte

achieved, is this re

owed me before I c