The void. A space said to be riddled with pure, unforgiving darkness. Such a place, was inhabited by the calculative consciousness of a dead martial general, or so he, the general, assumed.

I can't see anything.

On cue, multiple lights blessed his presence. Three bright yellow orbs on his left, one dark-red orb on his right. 

Have they come? The one who shall lead me to my afterlife?

The consciousness was confused. No matter how long he waited, nothing changed. No devil, no angel, no God. It was only him and the four lights.

Or maybe, these orbs of light...

Three angels and one devil. There was no other answer. Undoubtedly, he had a choice. 

I have to choose? Angels or a devil?

His whole rememberable life was full of life-changing decisions. Many of the said decisions were not limited to himself, either. 

Obviously, angels are my choice. Surely, not even God would pull a trick in my final moments of mortal life.

A transparent silhouette of a fetus' hand reached out towards the three floating spheres. 

A scream resounded in the seemingly infinite void, followed by the red orb's erasure from existence.

What?

Without time to be perplexed, another strange occurrence took place. A blinding and soothing shimmer exploded out, consuming the general's consciousness. 

He assumed the orbs of light would materialize into magnifying forms, but they defied that expectation and exploded instead. He thought his soul was going to be carried away to heaven, or hell if it was meant to be a test of sincerity, but the void was his calling.

After the light died down, the lone consciousness wondered what happened. 

Nothing. I feel nothing.

Not a single thing had changed. He was still in a dark space, still a formless existence.

Fuck. Is this my life? Is this the punishment of my lack of integrity? Caged inside a spaceless realm until the end of time? 

He was disappointed. Disappointed in himself, God, life, and his fate. There was no anger or malicious intent in his soul. 

Eternity... is a scary concept. 

A week had passed since the general died and awoke inside the void. He spent his time thinking of thoughts. 

Hundreds of thoughts nulled his mind. He was tired— exhausted. The general was on the fence between crazy and sane. In fact, he was breakdancing on top of it. 

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Two million five hundred twenty one... two million five hundred twenty two...

The general had gone too deep. The fate which befell him was too substantial to bear. 

One month had passed. He was in a worse state than bad. To prevent the feeling of boredom, he created dozens of theories about anything. 

His most favored theory involved himself inside a universe that hated him. The general's life had always been horrible. From an abusive childhood to a murder-filled adulthood.

He wanted to stand atop everybody else, no matter the methods. He was, admittedly, an evil person. There was no room for mercy inside his mental, nor were there any kindness. 

His will to strive were rooted into an island of malevolence, and the sky above were filled with clouds of sins. In short, he was willing to commit grave sins in order to rise above all.

Right...

Finally, one of his character's traits had awakened from its slumber. A soul of absolute dominant desire to gain success. 

I am... so stupid. Pitifully small hand, dark space. I'm inside a womb. I will reincarnate. I will be reborn again. 

He had fully convinced himself. A process of rebirth or reincarnation nailed onto him. The general was receiving a second chance at life. 

His extreme credence healed his almost-shattered rationale. It went beyond restoring to the realm of improvement.

Another three months passed, the general was still holding on. He was doing extremely well.

He had devised specific plans for whatever life he would gain. If for whatever reason he reincarnated into a reptile-type animal, he would act according to his expected adult size and general combative capabilities.

For us votuns, the pregnancy period is eleven months before birth. However, I may not be a votun in this life. Hell, I could be on another world altogether. There are too many possibilities at the moment for me to think properly.

Yet another thoughtful three months passed. A huge and considerable change had happened to the general. 

He could see. Albeit fuzzy, he could perceive his surroundings. When he realized, the general became estatic beyond belief.

That is because he had votunoid hands. Different from the usual darkish shade of red of a votun's skin, the general had a light brown layer above his muscles. 

Looking down, he also saw a votunoid body, in the form of a fetus. He could see an umbilical cord attached to his stomach, presumably to his belly button.

This is amazing. I am a mammalian baby. I am going to be reincarnated. A second chance at life.

He was relieved. The general's faith grew stronger from this event. As a product of this, impatience rose from the depths of his emotional state. 

I'm excited— genuinely excited. I can't believe I'm feeling this emotion again. Those orbs of light... I'm glad I chose them.

By the blessing of fate, nine months had passed. The general was inside a womb for almost a year, and the time had finally arrived to be released into the wild.

I can feel it. This mystifying sensation. It excites me.

Light shined into his eyes. The room's temperature struck his skin. A feeling of relief escaped his soul. 

His first sight of the outside world was in front of him. Majestic, mysterious and monstrous— the face of the devil. A horned creature with a rough and gray outer layer greeted his eyesight. Its vicious eyes glared deeply into the newborn. 

A shimmer appeared in the corner of his vision. The shimmer became a rectangular description window. 

----------------------------------------

Behemoth Soul

A sentient behemoth-level soul. A menacing existence only worthy to be merged with a newborn it deems worthy.

• It is deeply interested in you.

----------------------------------------

Huh? What?

A moment later, the ghostly head distorted into a spiral and entered the baby's forehead. 

What the hell?

The general was bewildered. From his first assumption, his life wasn't going to be normal or average.

A roller coaster was about to be ridden, and there were countless hazards in its path.