T
Then nothing.
***
I hear my voice continuing to count. My eyes are still closed, yet my mouth seems to be moving on its own. I could have sworn she said to count to 15. But my voice is up to 25 before I get worried.
Did I do something wrong? Maybe this was some sort of joke. Maybe that visit to that white room that Goddess Alana was in was just a coma dream or something. Maybe I was still alive and unconscious.
Maybe if I opened my eyes I would wake up and return to Earth. To my life. While the Goddess gave me interesting ideas about a new life. There was no way that could be real.
So I open my eyes. I realize I am not in the same white room. I am in a black void.
It is not like when you turn out the lights in a room, but rather there is no floor. I am standing on nothing, yet I don't feel like I am falling. I contemplate where I am when I notice white squares popping up around me. Each one is a different size ranging from the size of a smartphone to the size of a shoe box.
Soon I notice the white squares turn into video screens. I try to walk over to one to look at it. I see an image playing back. In the image, I see an image of me as a child. My father helps me along as he tries to teach me how to ride my first bike. I see another image on a different screen playing back a memory of where I fell off a jungle gym at the park.
I see my mother kissing my hurt knee trying to make me feel better. And then an image of me in a school play from elementary school. in that memory, my parents are watching me proudly as my little self stumbles across the lines of my part in a rendition of 3 little bears. Another is an image of me when I sang at the elementary school singing at our Christmas band recital. I was part of the course singing a song. Our little kid voices butchering the song. However, I see my parents sitting in the crowds smiling.
I realize that these are memories of mine.
I walk around curious about what else I will see from my life on Earth, and also curious about the purpose of all of this. I scroll around finding memories from as far back as I can remember. My oldest memory of my sister's birth. I was 6 at the time. Her name was Maria Bell. I remember her growing up. I was always protective of her. I remember one time some boy was teasing her at school. I of course beat him up because of that. Even got suspended. I know she never forgot that.
The screens spin around me till I see that memory towards the end my mother scolding me for violence. However, my father was proud of me for standing up for my little sister. I hugged my sister after that, and she would always come to me if she ever needed help.
I kept walking seemingly going through these windows of memories of my life. The glowing screens around me were like massive square fireflies in the night. I feel sadness and pain. I know in my heart I will never see her or my parents again.
My life may have been pretty average. But every memory was precious to me. My mother was a loving mother she worked tirelessly as a nurse at the local old folks home. RN Nancy Bell when I learned what she did for a living I was proud to have a mother that cared for others as much as she did herself.
The next window I encounter is a memory of my father Gregory Bell. When I was 12 he brought me to the auto shop he worked at. He showed me all the intricate parts of the cars. He even taught me how to do an oil change on one of his customer's cars. I remember how he swore when I spilled an entire bottle of oil on the floor. That was the only time I could ever remember him swearing.
I look down and see another screen showing me reading my first book, hating it. next to it, I saw a screen showing me reading my first litrpg novel. A book about some guy getting sent into the game world where he becomes a sage. I forgot his name, but the book was written by some Russian guy.
The are all memories of various times in my life. I don't see any bad memories. Though I am sure I had some.
I hear
I am too busy to notice the voice.
I am continuing through the memories. I encounter a memory of my sister's wedding. I never liked the guy she married but he seemed to treat her quite well. I was appreciative of him for that.
Then I come across a truly painful memory. The memory of when my parents died. It was a house fire. I was 16 years old when it happened. My sister was at school and I was at the library. My parents were at home when a fire caught. They never made it out. Our entire home burnt down.
Oh no, not the painful memories. There are bad and painful memories. Bad memories are like when you accidentally pee yourself in elementary school. Bad but they go away. The painful ones leave scars. This one was one of the most painful. In the years after my sister and I was in and out of foster care programs till I turned 18. I moved into my apartment at the time, supporting my sister while she was still in school. I finished high school but put a delay in college. Working jobs to make ends meet and make sure she had a happy place to live.
I see the countless bad memories from our time in the foster system float by.
But here I see the day I started working at the grocery store. in this window into my past I see myself coming into my first interview with the boss lady. I see how impressed she is by the hard work I put in. She admires my perseverance through harsh times. She gave me a chance to work for her. I did not let her down. I see all the times she complimented me for my hard work. I never took heed of her name. I always just called her boss and ma'am. She didn't mind the way I spoke to her, because I was always respectful of her. My parents taught me that. They taught me well.
Eventually, I made my way to my last memory of life on earth. When I died when the car hit me, sending my body through the air. Slamming hard into the pavement. No wonder I died. I saw the boss that I respected so much trying to comfort me and keep me from dying. I notice the ambulance arriving on the scene. Paramedics examined me pronouncing me dead and my time of death. Police officers asked questions from the driver of the car and my boss.
Wait..that last part didn't seem correct. I was already dead how could I remember something from after my death?
Eventually, only one screen remains. the rest have faded away. It was a funeral. My funeral. Countless friends from school and work were there. My sister was crying, her husband holding her close trying to comfort her. I see my Boss talking to him. She walks up to the podium and speaks
"The life of Richard Bell was not an easy one. But he lived it well, I only knew him for a couple of years before the time of his passing. He was one of my best employees, I don't know how I will be able to forget his smile at work. How hard he tried to make sure everything got done properly. He always called me Ma'am. I didn't care for it, but I knew he meant well. Today is the first day that I have ever closed the store. But I feel that if ever is a good time, now is a good time. I know the other employees will not forget him. I knew he didn't have much money and I didn't want to burden his sibling with the expenses. So I paid for this funeral in full. I have no qualms about that, I feel that this is the best way I could honor his life and I believe he would be thankful. "
I shook my head realizing I am watching my funeral as it happens. I am grateful for what my boss said and for all the people attending. I am in shock that she when she said she would pay for my funeral. The way she sounds when she says that is weird but I can only appreciate the gesture.
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She continues "I think we should all remember him for the way he lived, I will continue to honor his memory. He was far from perfect, but he was a good person. Treating everyone with kindness, and working hard at everything he did. I remember watching him work hard thinking one day he may even sit in my chair in the manager's office. sadly I will not be able to congratulate him on that day. I can assure all of his friends, family, and loved ones that he is in a better place now. If anyone deserved it, Richard deserved it."
She walked away from the podium wiping a tear away from her eye with a handkerchief.
I watch for a time to be distracted by my thoughts. I wanted to cry but I felt no tears come down my face.
"Hello," I ask
"Hello, Richard" it responded in a monotone voice that sounded neither male nor female. "That funeral was thoughtful. People must have liked you."
"Thank you. That was my boss from when I was alive." I say as I wonder who is there. "Who is there?"
it said
"Were those my memories?" I ask feeling confused.
"So that's why there was a recording of my funeral?" I ask
"You mean to tell me that you had access to these recordings? You could record whatever you wanted whenever you wanted. Why didn't you show me more?" I asked.
It said
"Oh. That makes sense." I said as the reality started to settle in. "Do you know where I am going?" I ask.
"How soon?" I ask
─ System Scan Complete!
─ Name: Richard Bell
─ Age: 23
─ Race: Human
─ Skills: None
─ Class: Unassigned
─ Magic Attributes: Unknown
─ Magical Proficiency: Unknown
─ Level: 1/1
─ Health: 60
─ Stamina: 45
─ Mana: 218
─ Stat Points: 0
─ Strength: 9
─ Dexterity: 4
─ Intelligence: 18
─ Wisdom: 5
─ Agility: 9
─ Luck: 6
─ Willpower: 12
─ Appearance:
─ Skin: Pale complexion, reddish hair
─ Eyes: Blue
─ Hair Color: Ginger
─ Clothing: Light brown leather cloak, faded white tunic, leather belt, brown trousers, light brown stockings, brown leather boots.
I see a new window before me with text on it. Reading off like a video game character sheet.
"What is this?" I ask.
"What is the system status sheet?" I ask.
"Alright, can we go over each one now?" I ask.
─ Health: 60
"Ok. What is health?" I ask.
"Ahhh. Ok. So my health is a measure of how strong my body is." I say.
"That would make sense," it says.
"But why did you put 'your' instead of 'my'? Shouldn't it be my health?" I ask.
"Thanks for the grammar lesson. Can we move on?" I ask.
< Your health stat is determined by multiplying your Strength by your Will Power and then dividing it by two>
I look on the screen and see my strength is 9 and my willpower is 12 which equals 108. The math adds up.
─ Stamina: 45
"What is stamina?" I ask.
My Strength is 10 and my agility is 9 so that equals 45. My Stamina is 81.
I think for a moment, "So when I run out of Stamina my body stops working and I fall unconscious?" I ask.
─ Mana: 218
"What is mana?" I ask.
"Wait, what? I thought it was the energy of the universe?" I ask.
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"Okay. " I say thinking over it "Why is my mana so much higher than my health or stamina?"
I notice my wisdom stat is on the higher end of my other stats, but my intelligence is way higher than the rest. Maybe these stats mean my time in college wasn't a waste of time or that I made good choices. The willpower stat kind of made sense. I did bust myself trying hard pretty much all my life.
I begin to think of Health, Stamina, and Mana as Primary stats, And the rest as secondary stats. As many games and books, I've enjoyed surely they are all self-explainable. They will probably have some different effects on my life than I was used to. However, I will eventually learn more about them.
"What is a Class and what are skills?" I ask.
Sounds just like I expected.
I contemplate my mana level and notice on the system status there is a section for attributes and magical proficiency
"What are attributes?" I ask.
"What does it say unknown?" I ask.
Then I ask about magical proficiency.
-Unknown/Neutral -Unproficient -Novice -Apprentice -Journeyman -Master -Grandmaster These are the levels of proficiency that you can obtain in the 4 attributes of magic.> My mind is swelling with all of this information. I want to sit down but there is no chair. "Okay thank you for all of this information. It is a lot to take in." "So do I go to Mirida now?" I ask not wanting to burden my mind with even more information. I feel a massive headache as I've never felt before rock my head. I close my eyes. Rubbing at my temple. After that, I hear silence.