...It sure is lonely here.
I've been messing around for a while, but as you might've expected—absolutely nothing happened.
Shocker.
I'd probably call this purgatory or something equally dramatic if I weren't taking this seriously. But unfortunately…
All of this darkness is very much real.
I don't even know why I'm even trying at this point, if it's all just pointless in the end.
Yeah, like that one Linkin' Park song.
In the end, it doesn't even matter~
Fitting, huh?
...Ridiculous.
Might as well keep floating through this dark place and see what I can find. Not that I even know if I can move—because I literally can't feel a damn thing.
I traveled for god knows how long, with no sense of direction at all. Like I was Zoro or something.
"Where the hell am I?" Like he would say after somehow getting lost on a straight path.
Humor helped me stay sane, at least that's what I think.
Cracking jokes every now and then definitely helped my mind stay stable.
I pray.
Maybe at the end of this tunnel—is there even an end? Perhaps I'll find something.
Anything—
What in the Wingardium Leviosa is that?
I squinted my non-existent eyes skeptically, and there it was.
A light.
Am I supposed to walk towards it like some kind of lich climbing back to life and summoning forth the inevitable doom of the world?
It's faint, and yet... it was starting to glow brighter the closer I got.
I have truly lost my mind, didn't I?
Hope that isn't the case. I'm not in the mood to deal with whatever mental illnesses would come with that realization.
I probably just barely survived after getting run over by that truck headfirst, right? And right now, I'm going to wake up in a hospital.
Nah, let's be realistic. There's no way I could've survived that, because the lunatic driving that truck was most definitely going for the kill with the speed he was going at.
The light grew bright, brighter, yet brighter.
To blinding proportions.
It was almost unbearable to look at it. Even on the hottest days, I would've never seen a light so blinding—
Oh, there goes my vision.
Talk about a rude awakening. If I'm getting reincarnated, at least be gentle.
...That sounded wrong.
I winced, feeling like my entire being was being fried by this light. Am I getting burnt? It really hurts!
Pain. Everywhere.
My sole existence is pain itself—
"Just hold on a little longer," a sudden feminine voice rang out from within the depths of this void. "I'm still trying to stabilize your spirit, mind and soul."
A voice? The hell? It was soothing and oddly comforting, but it didn't help the fact that I was in excruciating pain and that I wanted to do nothing but scream at something.
"Stop squirming!"
Slowly, the pain eased little by little, and I felt my body become less tense, though the lingering discomfort still made me feel like I was being pulled in a thousand different directions.
"There, you should be all good now—mostly."
Mostly? That isn't reassuring, not at all!
But above all, my vision was gradually clearing, and I began to make sense of my surroundings. It was overwhelming how much the sudden information influx could do to someone who hadn't felt anything for a very long time.
It was like my senses had been asleep, and then woken up all of a sudden, like "Wakey wakey, it's time for school!" in the loudest fucking voice.
"My," the voice said, smugness clear in her tone. "You shouldn't be so vulgar."
...What?
I blinked several times, and it became clear to me. I was in some kind of holy space, surrounded by light, bubbling and glowing spheres and nothing else.
"Welcome to the afterlife, Marie Bennett. Or would be, if my companion here didn't commit such a grave mistake."
I stood still, staring at the beauty before me. She had long, flowing hair that was dark as the night, cascading down her back like liquid shadows. Her skin was pale, almost perfect pastel, glowing faintly with an otherworldly radiance that made her look as if she belonged to the stars themselves.
Her eyes were like purple galaxies one could easily get lost in, and she wore a gown that looked like it was woven with light itself.
I couldn't help, but mutter one singular word.
"Mommy?"
She stared at me, expression completely blank.
"I beg your pardon?"
Oh, I blew it. Nice going, me.
"I-I mean, uh, nice to meet you, lady Goddess!" I said, flailing my arms around as I tried to somehow recover. "I didn't mean anything by that!!"
I mentally cringed as the words escaped out of my mouth. What the hell is wrong with me?! This was the worst possible way I could've introduced myself to a literal goddess, even if it's probably just a dream!
"I do not mind. You are... certainly interesting, for a human." Her palm rose up to the front of her mouth, almost as if she was hiding a smirk. "You seem to think that you're still in a dream, correct? Because I can assure you it is not."
"I-It isn't? Wait, so, I'm not truly dead yet?"
"That is the case, yes. You have already met your demise."
So, I'm just... dead like that? What about my friends? My family? I didn't have much friends, but still. I can't just abandon them like that!
"However," the Goddess's voice softened, continuing her spiel. "You shall be given another chance, along with a little something of mine. Take it as compensation for my companion's slip-up."
Companion? Now that I think about it, she did mention a companion earlier.
Wait.
"ARE YOU SAYING I DIED EARLY BECAUSE OF SOME GOD'S MISTAKE?!" I shouted, gripping the goddess by her gown.
"...Know your place, human." Her voice grew colder, glaring down at me.
What the—did I just get teleported back to my original spot?
"Do not mistake my generosity for weakness, and feel grateful that I'm even considering giving you a second chance at life. You humans know about heaven and hell, correct? It is a belief that has been passed through your kind for ages. Neither of them are what you think it is," the Goddess continued, her tone degrading.
"They are simply destinations. Reward, punishment—neither of these concepts apply here," she said, waving a hand dismissively, as though the idea of such simplistic ideas was beneath her.
"...I'm sorry, mommy."
She gave me a deadpan stare, considering whether to break character or not.
'Should I send her back to the Shadow Realm?'
The thought was real tempting, but alas, she had to follow her duty as the Goddess of Reincarnation.
"My point is, the reason you're getting another chance is because your soul lost itself after your mishap, and somehow ended up in a completely different dimension. You may have suffered, but I have healed most of your mental and spiritual injuries."
I blinked, struggling to comprehend what she just said. "Most? And what do you mean by a separate dimension?"
"Exactly what I said. I will not waste time answering those questions, as it is of the utmost irrelevance," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "The only thing you need to understand is that your soul was lost, but now you have another chance."
"So basically, I'm getting... reincarnated? Like one of those stories?"
"Indeed, you are. They are quite entertaining, some of them." she said, amused.
Oooh, now this is interesting! Maybe I'll get the chance to choose the world I'll be reborn in, get a cheat or something, and become the next—
"And no, it's already preset. You won't be getting any 'cheats,' or 'boons,' in the way you think," she interrupted, as if reading my mind. "It'll be up to you to discover what kind of world you are reborn in."
Upon hearing that, I immediately deflated like a balloon.
"This suuucks," I groaned, my voice dripping with disappointment. "I wanted to pull off a Spirit Gun, a Bankai, or Rasengan, or a Kamehameha..."
The Goddess stared at me for a long moment, very clearly done with my antics.
"Are you quite finished?" she asked, her tone dry and unimpressed.
"...Yeah. Sorry, again."
She gazed somewhere else, and gave a slight, almost unnoticeable sigh. Probably used to dealing with people like me.
'Sometimes I wonder if I should've chosen another path.' The thought persisted in her mind, though her face remained stoic.
"Right," she coughed, composing herself. "As of now, you, Marie Bennett, shall be reborn into a new world, with the opportunity to make your mark."
"Huh?! You haven't even told me the world I'm going to, though! Neither have you told me your name!"
She tilted her head. "Again, that is for you to discover. Your memories of me are going to be erased either way, so... Are you sure you want to know my name?"
Yeah, I do.
Eh?
I'm going to... forget her? As soon as I arrive there? What about my other memo—
"You are. And about your other memories, do not worry. They'll be as much of a 'cheat' as the little something I'm going to give you, if you use them right. By the way..."
A magical circle began surrounding me.
"My name is Nyxia, the Goddess of Reincarnation."
That's her name?
"Wait, I'm sorry for my disrespect earl—"
Before I could finish my sentence, light was brought forth.
And I disappeared.
Nyxia let out a sigh of relief, her composure returning as the golden glow faded from her palm.
"She's finally gone," she slumped onto the ground, possibly out of both frustration and stress. "Humanity can always be so unpredictable. This one in particular was quite bothersome, compared to the rest. They'd just accept their situation and accept their reincarnation right away, but this one?"
She ran a hand through her hair, staring at the ceiling.
"It took way more time than necessary. Perhaps I should just take a vacation for once, and maybe catch up with that stupid truck. Treat him to something nice, maybe even let him keep his brakes intact for once." Nyxia chuckled softly to herself, her tone laced with sarcasm.
She let a quiet smile form on her face for once.
"Maybe I really should."