He waited... and waited...

Then he waited some more and waited to wait.

He found himself in a white room - there was a line in front of him of shadowy figures. He looked back - a large black wall lay before him. It must have been where he'd come from. It was finite and infinite. In a detached way he knew it should be impossible but there it was. He felt detached as though he wasn't fully there. He looked down at his hands - they were smoky almost hands. Representations of what had once been. The line moved forward and he with it.

He'd been in the line for a while now. Hazy - that's what I am he. Everything, physical, mental, and spiritual is all hazy right now. Ahead a figure in the line faded away to nothing. Perhaps, he should have wondered about that. Where did they go? Was there an after-after life? But, he found it dull. Everything in this room was dull. He marched forward.

He was almost gone now. Hanging on by but a thread. He watched himself slowly wisp away. When he'd been younger he'd enjoyed building sand castles and then watching the tide slowly erode them. Now he was being eaten away just like the forts of his youth. But somehow, that began to reverse it. He watched as his frail limbs thickened. Memories - he could barely recall anything right now.

He tried to think - what else could he remember. It was all so blurry. An oblong shape in the corner that he had stared at. Why had he done that? A pen - amusement he'd once considered it his weapon. Unknowingly, he thickened more. Why had a pen been important? Because he'd used it for hours till he'd bled. That's right... once he had bled. He'd been alive and now he wasn't or was he. Curiosity bloomed forward banishing the boredom away. So, he'd been alive once and pens and oblong shapes were important to him. He remembered advice someone had given him "You'll change the world one day." There was a tired smile that went with it. Then there was regret. Something about that tired smile hurt. He became a little more real. As he thought he found it was easier to continue onwards despite everything. It was faster the more the line progressed. More and more folks began to wear away. They waned while he began to wax. For he remembered the most important thing. He'd truly and deeply loved something. They'd had eyes and beauty. Were they a dog - he knew what a dog was by now. No, he distinctly remembered around two legs and dogs probably had more. All he could picture was eyes and love and maybe two legs and that was enough. Though he couldn't see it he stood out amongst the rest of the line. A brilliant shadow among the thin lines surrounding him.

What had he been - an uncomfortable feeling washed over him. What was that? "Shame, something you know well" a tiny voice whispered. It was the voice of what he had loved. He remembered speaking - how much he had enjoyed trying out new words and speaking with others. He began to walk forward or around the others. That was right - he'd never been one to stand around waiting. Or at least, he'd tried not to be for the longest time. More shame, or was it guilt, he got the sense he'd always found the two difficult to parse between. He'd failed or felt like he'd failed so why was he here? Then he saw it and felt satisfaction - an end was nearby. Furthermore, he found he remembered almost everything - he just had to actively recall. He knew there were some things that he shouldn't recall yet. They would stop him in his tracks and he wanted to keep moving forward.

He found that at the end of the white room was another large black square. All the figures that had made it this far were thick and strong but none cut the way he did. Or so he thought because at the end he watched a brilliant darkness enter the black square. He tried to get them to notice him but they continued on without him. He got on all fours and ran literally as a dog. But, it wasn't enough - the figure in front began to speed up as well. The black wall was near now. So few figures made it to the front of the line. None other than him and his quarry were running. Perhaps he shouldn't have remembered what it meant to be tired. Now he experienced it. Whatever, anything was better than the apathy of before. Though he felt those words were suitable for more than just his time in the white room. He reached the end and was beside the other. They walked through together - that was right. Then he was somewhere else entirely.

"Hello, who were you" it wasn't an unfriendly voice. Though he couldn't see where it came from. Perhaps it came from everywhere.

He answered, "I was a man who made a promise."

A sarcastic voice rang out "Oh wow. Another romantic. This one'll be different."

A distinctly depressed voice said "They're always the same. Nothing is ever different."

The friendly voice asked, "What promise did you make."

He stopped what promise had he made? Then he remembered "I made a promise to do everything differently. To make things better for the person I loved."

The sarcastic one spoke again "So what were you? A general, soldier, or Japanese shut-in hit by a runaway truck?"

The depressed one rang out "Please not another truck."

"Well, I don't think I was any of those. I'm not sure how I died - haven't bothered to remember but I think it was a bright flash."

The friendly one this time "So you weren't a soldier, general, or teenager. What did you do?"

The pen, this was why the pen was important. "I was... I was someone who worked with words in complicated ways."

There was silence.

He continued "I also read a lot and would write about what I read."

It was a loud silence.

"err I may have used numbers quite a bit too but I didn't like that as much."

A fourth hitherto unspoken voice materialized. It was clipped and spoke with authority "He was a lawyer who was 73 years old at the time of passing. I'm not sure why he is here."

"A lawyer?" - the friendly voice was suddenly unpleasant. "How is a lawyer supposed to help us? Lawyers don't slay demons or create kingdoms. They make constitutions and complicate everything. They certainly don't get reincarnated - what lawyer has passion."

"Lawyers seem complicated - I don't like complications" the voice wept outwards.

Mr. Sarcastic spoke up again "We don't have a choice. This is the one who went through the gate. He must have some use right."

The hysteric voice who had once been kindly lashed "Oh yeah, I'm sure he can litigate anything away. Our world is meant for the exceptional people - what has this one done."

The authoritative voice spoke up "quite a bit more than the teens hit by a truck would."

"But that's different don't you know. I mean that's a staple brand." Think of all the heroes that started with a good old-fashioned truck collision.

"Lawyer is better than more trucks... but not much." It was almost as if the sad voice was loathe to admit anything pleased him.

He tried to speak up "Where am I and who are-----"

"Look, we've tried the trucks for a while now. I would say let's get a replacement but it seems that there aren't really any others left from his planet." It was the authoritative voice.

But that mattered "No one else?" He asked and felt a sharp pain. His promise needed someone else.

"Be silent litigious one before I quench you our world be damned" it was the distinctly mean one. How he'd ever believed it was friendly was now beyond him. It spoke with a pure unfiltered venom.

This whole thing wasn't fair - that was ok he was used to unfair systems.

The sarcastic one spoke up "Look, let's just reincarnate him somewhere and be done with it. I'm sure we can ask the others for a teen or two."

"We do have to give him a skill though right?" It was the sad one who seemed happier. Maybe the others being upset did that.

The mean one spoke again "I've got this. We'll give him the RECALL ability. Hopefully, he'll die and be out of our hair like most of them do."

There was quiet. "Well, I guess that we have to explain the ability still?" The sarcastic one seemed a little uncomfortable with the aggressive one's decision.

Authoritative answered, "RECALL will allow you to recollect things with perfect memory for very little essence."

Forgetting had been one of the few joys of his previous life.

Mean spoke up again "Send him down. Remembering won't do him much good anyway. This is why we have standards people."

There was a flash of light before he could even protest. There was a flash and he found himself moving through barriers towards something new. He remembered his promise for now he could never forget. But, he felt that there may be a way for him to keep it after the end of all things.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

After the flash, the voices disappeared and he could no longer see anything. A strange text replaced the spotlight he had stood in previously. It wasn't that his eyes were covered, instead, he could only see the strange words. They were a perfect unreal thing- like a thought - real within his head but nowhere else.

SYSTEM: LOOKING FOR SUITABLE HOST WORLD

SYSTEM: RECEIVING PARAMETERS FROM ADMIN

He marveled at the text before him. Was it God or something similar? Was anything he now witnessed real or simply the final visions from his previous life. He'd seen others experience deathbed visions before. Perhaps these were his last few moments suspended. One last fantasy before oblivion took over. Yet, it barely made any sense - this was like nothing he'd ever dreamed of.

SYSTEM: PARAMETERS RECEIVED. GENERATING TITLE

What did that mean? He didn't see an interface - the thoughts simply appeared almost as if they were his own. He visualized an infinite series of gears but even that felt like a vast simplification of the thing which was communicating or rather interfacing with him.

SYSTEM: TITLE GENERATED: I WAS A DEAD LAWYER. NOW I'M THE HERO WHO NEEDS TO DEFEAT INJUSTICE TO MEET MY WIFE AGAIN;

What did that mean? If he defeated injustice he would meet her again? They'd never been married - that had been a mistake... one of many. Perhaps this could be the means he had to speak with the strange beings from earlier. Find out about the white room and whether or not she was there.

User: What is a title?

SYSTEM:... .... .... QUERY: WHY CAN THE USER RESPOND - SYSTEM SHOULD NOT BE ACCESSIBLE FOR USER;

User: How do you appear in my head - what are you? How can I find her?

SYSTEM: RESPONSE: I AM THE SYSTEM. I AM EVERYWHERE. ERROR - USER CAN RESPOND TO SYSTEM;

SYSTEM: RESOLVING ERROR: PERHAPS IF I ANSWER THE QUESTION THEN USER WILL NOT DISTRACT SYSTEM FROM ITS TASK

SYSTEM: HELLO USER, YOU ARE GOING TO BE REBORN. YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE. I AM THE SYSTEM THAT GOVERNS SECOND CHANCES.

User: Where will I go... what was the title for?

SYSTEM: THE TITLE IS SIMPLY THE STRING USED TO MONITOR YOUR PROGRESS. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU WILL GO BUT I WISH YOU LUCK.;

User: What was the white room? Where will I find her?

SYSTEM: QUERY: WHAT IS THE WHITE ROOM?;

SYSTEM: ANSWER: DATA NOT FOUND. USER SHOULD NOT HAVE ENTERED A WHITE ROOM DURING ITP. PERHAPS IT IS FROM USER'S PREVIOUS LIFE;

SYSTEM: QUERY: WHERE WILL USER FIND ENTITY KNOWN AS "HER";

SYSTEM: ANSWER MANY FEMALES WILL BE FOUND DURING NEW LIFE;

User: WHAT DOES MY LIFE AS A LAWYER HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?

He felt the system whirring around. It was doing other processes that he could distinctly feel. A massive uncaring mass of which only a tiny fraction was able to be dedicated to him. If he could have smiled he would've for it still seemed that even in the next world systems which cared not for the individuals were still the norm.

SYSTEM: QUERY: WHAT IS A LAWYER ON USER'S WORLD?;

SYSTEM: ANSWER: SOMEONE WHO MAKES THINGS MORE COMPLICATED. ALSO THEY ARE EXPENSIVE AND TALK TOO MUCH;

User: But, when I... well died, I was no longer a lawyer. I'd given that up years ago. I worked as a high school teacher.

SYSTEM: QUERY: WHY INCLUDE LAWYER IN TITLE;

SYSTEM: ANSWER; TITLE IS GENERATED FROM HOW USER VIEWS HIMSELF. HENCE AUTOGENERATION;

ADMINISTRATOR: QUERY: SYSTEM, WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG?;

SYSTEM: ANSWER; USER FOUND A WAY TO INTERACT WITH SYSTEM. SYSTEM NEEDED TO RESPOND TO USER WHILE SEARCHING FOR SUITABLE ITP SITE;

SYSTEM: NEW SUITABLE SITE FOUND. TRANSPORTING USER.

He wanted to ask again but suddenly he was somewhere else.

It was perfect darkness. He wondered if this was what had actually lay on the other side of the white room. He'd always believed that life after death would be less conscious than whatever this was. Indeed, it appeared that he had nothing but thinking within this void. He couldn't see feel or even sense anything other than himself. If he willed it he could imagine what senses were like but it wasn't the same. He thought over his life and the strange experience which the end has been. He figured, here in this darkness he would fade and his promise would be broken - it would not be the first time he'd broken his word. Yet, the idea of failing her after they had died hurt in a way that was more real than anything that had occurred up to this point. Maybe this was one last promise that he could keep - while he wasn't thinking at least he was still breathing. This strengthened him somehow for it became clear that he would wait as long as he had to in this void to keep the promise. He would charge through the white room faster than the time before should he need to. He remembered the bitterness of giving up. He promised to never try and taste it again. His mind spinning he began to come up with all the failed promises he had made.

The promise was simple - he could break it up into three parts.

1: Do things right this time

2: Meet her again

3: Depart together in joy

His mind beckoned him to think of everything that had come before. It invited him to come up with a list of reasons why this would be yet another vow that he wouldn't live up to. He couldn't focus on that. Instead, he began repeating the three steps as a mantra.

Do things right, meet her again, and depart together in joy. Do things right, meet her again, and depart together in joy. Do things right, meet her again, and depart together in joy.

He didn't know how long he did this for. Eons comprised of seconds went by - time mattered not in this space - it was impossible to tell how long he chanted for. Suddenly, he found himself beginning to move. He began to pick up speed moving slowly at first then faster and faster. Somehow, the pure darkness became fractionally lighter. Suddenly, he found himself surrounded by a beautiful mosaic of shining stars. It was the image of a galaxy that no one had witnessed before. He also, suddenly, knew where he was headed. Near one of the spiral arms, something was beckoning him in. What he couldn't tell but he willed himself to move faster. He didn't believe it did anything for he was already moving impossibly fast. The galactic panorama before him began to shift in strange ways. Impossible he thought... I'm going faster than the speed of light. For he could see a light beam try to catch up with him and quickly move behind. He zipped through celestial bodies towards the place he was meant to go.

Time wasn't a factor - rather right now he was beyond it. He couldn't say how long it took. Even with his enhanced memory the time in the darkness and his travels through the stars paradoxically had lasted an eternity and an instant all at once. He neared the beacon and felt it suffuse into him. Suddenly, he knew that this was where he was supposed to make his new home. Where he was supposed to realize his second chance. Then it came into view.

He was hurtling towards a brilliant planet. It shone with more than just simple light. Though he was still far from it. It was still a small marble but as he came closer it was clear that this planet was very different from the one he had come from. He could only see one side which held 5 distinct continents. To the far north, a ceramic-like land mass was cracked with black chasms. It looked like an old painting. Cracked with wear. To the far east, there was a continent that shone an iridescent blue-black. To the southernmost pole of the planet, he saw a continent that was divided into two. One half was a verdant mess of bright pink, yellow, and orange. The other was a dull grey pitted with brown masses. It looked like a mixture of a second-grade art project and corrugated sheet metal. In the center, was a smaller landmass (though he could not see the other side of the world from his current vantage point.) It was a strange mix of light blue and green. The ocean was the same brilliant blue as the one he'd previously known. He passed through the atmosphere and found that he was above the ceramic-like continent. This was where he was supposed to go. It had to be.

He was flying only a few hundred feet above the ground. He could see networks of roads beneath him lined with carts. He approached one of the abysses and to his amazement saw that it was almost entirely carved out. He saw now the figure which beaconed him. Not a celestial body but a physical one. A woman with blond hair and a strong face was crying out. She was pregnant and he was meant to be her mother. At her side, was a proud-looking woman who was stricken with weariness. She had red hair and strong features. They both wore purple. The blonde's belly shone with the brilliant glow that had drawn him here. A small body within her lay curled up. He reached out his hand, dark and wispy, and saw the glowing form reach out towards him. They were about to connect when suddenly everything faded and he experienced the SYSTEM once again.

An endless staircase lay before him. He began to climb while the messages played out before him.

ERROR: User's Mana is depleted. Not enough to initiate ITP.

ERROR: Checking essence levels- essence pool in current form is infinite

QUERY: HOW CAN ONE RUN OUT OF INFINITE ESSENCE?

PLEASE WAIT WHILE REPORT IS GENERATING

UPDATE: USER HAS <1 INFINITE MANA UNITS. THIS SHOULD NOT MATTER BUT IT DOES. IT APPEARS THE RECALL SKILL HAS BEEN RETROACTIVELY ACTIVATED TO COVER THE USER'S ENTIRE LIFE. THIS SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE BUT IT IS.

SYSTEM: RESETTING USER ESSENCE POOL TO NON-IMPOSSIBLE INFINITE UNIT. IT WILL TAKE AROUND 16 YEARS TO DO SO.

User: What's going on? Why can't I join them?

SYSTEM: RESPONSE: USER SOMEHOW ENABLED RECALL. USER CAPTURED PREVIOUS LIFE. USER WILL NEED TO WAIT FOR 15 YEARS BEFORE ITP CAN BE COMPLETED

User: Can I disable this RECALL and enter the body?

SYSTEM: RESPONSE: ONLY USER CAN DISSABLE SKILL. USER HAS ENABLED SKILL WITHOUT SYSTEM'S CONSENT.

SYSTEM: RESPONSE: IF USER DISABLES SKILL USER WOULD BE ABLE TO ENTER BODY BUT ALL PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE WOULD BE LOST UNTIL USER CAN REACTIVATE RECALL.

User: Would that kill him... I don't want to wipe away an existence. Is there a body that would not otherwise survive?

Perhaps he could save a life rather than take one over.

SYSTEM: INTERPRETING INSTRUCTIONS - ANOTHER HOST COULD BE FOUND. IT WILL TAKE TIME + USER WILL STILL NEED TO DISABLE RECALL SKILLS.

User: Is there any way I could regain access to RECALL?

SYSTEM: RECALL SKILL SHOULD NOT TAKE UP TOO MUCH ENERGY. IF THE USER GAINS ACCESS TO LOCAL SOURCES RECALL COULD BE REACTIVATED. THERE IS NO WAY FOR USER TO REMEMBER ANYTHING OTHERWISE.

USER: Fine, I'll do it but only if I am reborn as one who would die anyway.

SYSTEM: REQUEST RECEIVED. SYSTEM WILL HONOR REQUEST TO THE BEST OF IT'S ABILITY. USER, PLEASE DEACTIVATE RECALL SKILL.

He felt around within himself. He was at the zenith of the staircase. Somehow he had reached the ever-expanding top of the structure. He began to descend. He imagined the sensation of going to sleep. Of forgetting. Then he was nowhere.

SYSTEM: USER HAS DISABLED RECALL. INITIATING REBIRTH PROCESS IN HOST WITH GIVEN PARAMETERS

There was nothing observed in this time for there was none but the system to remember it. It took many revolutions of the planet around the sun before a suitable candidate was born. Perhaps the system noted with glee that it could take one task off it's list. Yet, who could say but the system itself and none ever asked the system what it felt.

Underneath the blue jungle leaves two parents held their newborn child. The birth had gone poorly as they feared it would... as the elders had warned them to expect. Isolated within their verdant jungle the Urundi could not remember another child with mixed parents in any of their extensive oral histories. It was still an unimaginable loss all the same. Their child had not survived the birth and now they were grieving. The mother cradled him close and began to weep. The Father had gone outside and was simply standing there silently. The crowd of onlookers melted away - they would need to make preparations to properly handle the body. Though all had expected this outcome it was no less tragic. The mother suddenly heard an impossible sound. A loud shrill wail - it was her child. He was crying even though he shouldn't be able to. He opened his eyes - they were the same brilliant blue as her own.

Much joy was had among the Urundi that night for a miracle had occurred. They laughed and singed around the large fire pit while a newly named baby cried among relieved parents. For his brilliant blue eyes, which matched the vigor of his mother's own, they named him Celadon.