In the beginning, there was nothing, only a vast sea of pure darkness for as far as the eye could see. And then, there was light. Infinite, blinding light, bright enough that Kary almost screamed at the sudden change in the lighting. To her surprise, however, the impossibly strong lights didn't make her body react in any way.
She tried to scream, to reach out to someone outside this room, but no sound came out. Desperation began to settle in as she tried to make more and more noise, way past what her throat should be capable of making without growing hoarse. And yet, there was still nothing.
Listening more closely, she noticed that the lack of sound extended beyond just her voice, for she was unable to hear either the beating of her heart or the sound of her breathing.
It was a deafening silence, which entered her ears and circulated her mute system, drowning both her body and soul with its lack of everything. Her eyes darted around, trying to find anything that could relieve this tense emptiness. And then, she heard the laughing.
Mad, incongruent laughter, an incomprehensible cacophony of contradictory noises. It was both the cackle of an old witch and the elegant, subdued laughter of a politician. It was the happy giggle of glee of a child and the cynical laughter of a man in his deathbed. To put it mildly, it was completely bizarre, incomprehensible, illogical, and utterly impossible.
If Kary was looking for someone to call for help before, now she wanted to be as far away as possible from whatever maniac was producing this masterful yet completely mad orchestra of sound waves.
Her mind raced as she tried to process everything that was happening around her, the (almost) absolute lack of sound, the impossibly white walls that reflected any and all light that entertained the thought of hitting it. The infinite place she appeared to be in, the unhinged laughter of a mad god, her lack of mobility and her inability to see herself.
She wanted to deny it, to say that everything that was happening right now was but a bad dream, a mere figment of her overly creative imagination. But she knew that wasn't the case. She couldn't, for the love of God, explain how she knew it wasn't a bizarre nightmare, but she knew it. And that made everything all the more terrifying.
Enduring the still ongoing the illogical spectacle of sound that echoed everywhere and nowhere at all, Kary thought about all the possible scenarios she could form in her head, from the reasonable to the stupid. Still, she couldn't find a reasonable explanation as to why she was here.
The last thing she remembered was being hit in the back of her head, by… a dog? No, that couldn't be right. Surely she was misremembering something, introducing new characters that weren't originally part of the story. There was no way a dog had thrown a brick at her, right?
But, if we were to assume that this happened, that a dog did, in fact, maliciously hit her head with a brick, then the most logical conclusion for where she should be would be the hospital! After all, she did remember passing out on the sidewalk, so that must have been it, right?
Except… no. Not really. It still didn't make sense. Sure, it would make sense for her to be in a hospital after going through multiple near-death experiences in a single day, but that didn't explain anything that was going on right now. Not the bare, infinitely expansive shining-white walls, not the utter lack of sound, and definitely not the insane, incessant laughing that constantly assaulted her ears.
So then what? What was the reason she was here right now? And where was 'here', for that matter? Try as she might, she was simply unable to reach any conclusion, be it reasonable or not. There was simply no possible way such a place could have existed on Earth, and, even if it existed somewhere, there would be no reason for Kary to be inside of it.
But… what if this is not Earth?
“Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Hahaha, anything you want to say to the audience watching at home, my dear?”
Whatever Kary had on her mind at that moment, it was completely blown away by the sudden appearance of a disembodied voice, presumably talking to her. Though saying 'sudden' might be a bit of disingenuous, since it was the same voice that had been laughing like a patient of a mental asylum for a solid few minutes at this point.
Confused and overwhelmed by the sudden interaction, she shyly replied to the agglomeration of voices. Where… where is this place? What is going on? Who are you? What are you?
“Oi, oi, oi! Calm down, missy! I asked for one question, not for a barrage of them! But it's fiiiiiiiiine. I'll answer every one of them in time. So don't get ahead of yourself, alright? Good”
“So, to start things off, let's see… hmm… where is this place, was it? Well, dear, this place is the afterlife! Yeah, yeah, pretty boring, I know. But don't worry, here's not exactly the afterlife. You can think of this place as an antechamber, between the mortal realm and the great beyond”
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait… So, you're telling me that I'm… dead. I'm dead. Gone. Departed from that dammed world? I… honestly don't know what to feel about that. It's pretty jarring, of course, but it kind of came out of nowhere, y'know? I was completely ready to kick the bucket, and yet, I still lived, only to immediately die for the stupidest reason I've ever seen.
“Yes! Oh, and what a death that was. Did you see, the smug look on that dog's face, after it successfully hit you? That was such a priceless face! It was absolutely hilarious, I tell you. Little Kary was just walking down the road, still shocked after surviving what she had thought would be sure death, and then BAM! A brick out of absolutely nowhere!”
"How glorious that moment was. I even recorded it, so that I can watch it later, long after your soul is gone and any memory of you is gone from the face of the Earth. But don't worry, for I, the guardian of the in-betweens, the master of the transitional and the biggest hater of all that is stationary, Limo, will treasure your pitiful death for as long as I exist"
"And don't think I'm immortal, girl. Even the strongest of deities have their expiration date. Even Tempo will only live to see the end of the universe. As long as we serve a function in the grand scheme of things, we will keep on living. But fret not! I am not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. I have way too much work on my plate for that"
Slow down a little, would you! I'm still trying to understand what is happening! So I died, and now I'm talking to some sort of god? How in the world does that make any sense? You say you're overworked, and yet here you are, leisurely having a chat with me. Since you have sooooo much to do, shouldn't you be working on it, instead of speaking to a random dead person?
"Ouch! Your words wound me profusely, my dear mortal, they really do. But still, don't delude yourself thinking that you're the first to make this question ever since my birth. Oh, how wrong you'd be to think that! How many times have I heard this exact question? In how many languages?"
"Oh, my dear, sweet, summer child. If us gods were weak enough to only be able to tend to one lucky individual at a time, your entire society would have collapsed as soon as it had started. No, scrap that, it would have never even developed in the first place! You people would be no more impressive them the chimps you consider yourselves so superior to"
"If this right here was my only manifestation, then only God, yes the one and only with the capital G, would know how long the queue of people waiting to enter their post-lives would be. I shudder just thinking about how much work I would have to do. Urgh! I would need to be so... professional! Can you imagine that?! Being serious all the time?! Oh, I'd rather die than to be subjected to such torture"
"Thankfully, that cannot possibly happen, since I am both here and at a bunch of other places at the same time, all of them coexisting here in this white infinity that I call home. Does this make any sense to your little pea-sized brain? No? Good! So? Is there anything else you wish to ask me? Come on, don't be shy, your wish is my command and all that"
Hm... Then... can you tell me if anything happened after my death?
"Oh, sure, lots of interesting things happened! The tri-headed mutant with mouths for nipples Bubbles just declared himself the emperor of the galaxy, a few stars collapsed into black holes, and a bridge had fallen over the Amazon River. Business as usual, I'd say if I had a business"
Urgh! You know what I mean! Did anything happen to anyone close to me?
"Of course, of course, I was just joking around. Let's see, let's see... hm... yeah, so it seems that Liz is mourning you still. Your parents though... yeah, there are no tears coming out of their eyes. They didn't even pretend to be sad in your funeral! At least your extended family was a bit better at the acting"
I see... so that's how it is, then... terrible to the bitter end. Well, it does make me feel a little bit better that they were so thorough in their awfulness. Those two never pretended to be good people, and I doubt my death changed much of that. But still... Liz, I'm sorry I died without getting back at you. I should at least have waited until you told me how bad the new restaurant was... what a shame, truly...
"Oh, come on, stop drowning in self-pity already! I have more to do than watch you feeling sorry for yourself. Come on, let's get on to the main attraction of this place"
The... main attraction? What?
"Well, you see, darling, depending on who passes through here, I can allow them to make a choice"
About what?
"About where you will go after your death. You see, us gods don't govern only your pitiful blue globe of land that you so creatively call Earth. No, we work to ensure the proper functioning of hundreds of worlds, scattered all across the universe"
"And, sometimes, when the deceased has been decent enough in their lives, we can allow them to reincarnate in another world. Sometimes we even let them keep their memory to see what kind of chaos they can cook. And you, my little Kary, happen to be one of these people! Congrats!"
Wait... so let me see if I understand... what you're telling is that all the people that claim to remember their past lives are actually speaking the truth?! And we simply just... chose to not believe them?!
"Oh, no, don't worry. Most of those are lying through their teeth. You see, there are very few people to which I grant this option, and even fewer that I even consider allowing them to keep their memory. It would be very stupid of me to allow too much mingling between intelligent beings of different systems and cultures Oh, the chaos that would create!"
"Sadly, I'm the only one of the major gods that even considers this to be a good idea. Personally, I think it would be hilarious to see the cultural shock these people would go through while, at the same time, they are forced to adapt to a world completely alien to them. It would be so much fun to watch this! To my great sadness, however, I have found myself to be the only one to think so"
"And sadly, we kind of live within a strict hierarchy where all of those guys who refuse to vote in agreement with me are equals. And so, despite the inherent authoritarianism of the system, the remains of democracy still forbid me from scattering as many transmigrators as I'd like"
And how many would that be?
"As many as I could cram into a planet"
...Huh. No wonder no one wants to take your side, then,
"What, you're telling me that I'm being unreasonable? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY, PUNY MORTAL?"
.........Yes
"Aww, you're no fun at all. Such a boring little human, and yet, so entertaining to play with. There aren't many like you out there, though where 'there' is may be up to your imagination. Aaaaaanyways, is there anything else you'd like to get cleared up before we move on to the next stage?"
Well...
"Come on, kid, don't make me wait! Waiting makes me anxious, and an anxious Limo makes everyone else anxious as well!"
It's just that I've been thinking here to myself... you've told me where we are, but at no point did you even mention where you were. It feels kind of weird talking — or I guess thinking — to the nothingness.
"Well, damn! What a sensible question! I wouldn't expect anything nearly as logical from someone in your shoes. You know, getting killed and immediately afterwards meeting with good ol' me can be a little jarring to most people, so —"
Just a little...
"— As I was saying, it feels surprisingly refreshing to talk to someone who can actually talk back to me! I mean, I can totally see how absolutely terrified of me you are right now, and yet you still shows the guts to throw in some fun banter!"
"But I digress. As for where am I... well, dear, you could say that I'm everywhere and nowhere, exactly in front of you and millions of miles away. If you want to get technical, I don't really have a body. I simply... exist. A mere concept, created by reality as the means to take care of some boring business. An insignificant being, you could say, nothing but a tool of the system, made to live for a task and die for a task"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
That's... depressing, to say the least. Should I feel sorry for you?
"Nah, don't worry, I've gotten over it since after I finished dealing with those big goofy... what do you earthlings called them... ah, yes, dinosaurs. I had so, SO much time to deliberate about the meaninglessness of my own existence and its insignificance in the macrocosm of the universe that I ended up stopping to care"
"Though I will admit that having someone who was going through arguably worse stuff feel pity for meet does make my non-existent heart flutter a little bit, although I can't say for sure if it's out of indignation or sympathy"
"So there's your answer: no gods have manifestations that could be comprehended by mortal vessels. If any of us tried to show ourselves to you, or anyone you know, or anyone you don't know, they would just collapse on the ground, frothing from their mouth, their brains collapsing on themselves as they try and utterly fail to comprehend what was just shown to them"
"Because of that, I prefer simply to not show myself at all! It's much more convenient than having to make holographic representations of myself to all those poor souls who just recently died. It's just so less taxing to just... don't appear to anyone, let them think that I'm just figments of their decaying imagination, a response of their brain to the inevitability of the encroaching death"
"Well, now I've gotten bored of answering your questions, so let us move to the next stage that everyone here goes through. Well, not everyone, just those that have been deemed decent enough people during their lives by Justeco. Of course, there are some other considerations that that square head needs to make before giving me the green light, but that is the most important by a long mile"
"You, of course, are part of the surprisingly sparse number of non-trash people inhabiting Earth. Sure, you may not agree with that, but whether you are a decent person pushed to the brink of breaking by a heartless society or if you simply had the predisposition to go around spreading chaos to those around you is not up for you to decide"
"Blockhead as my brother may be, he's fairer than anyone else among us gods. That’s his only job, after all. So? Are you interested in knowing more about it?"
Well, you didn't really say anything about this proposal, after all. I mean, you did, but nothing that would impact me in any way, shape or form. It seemed more like you were rambling, but considering every time you start speaking you immediately go off topic, that might simply be your normal.
"Daring, aren't we? Well, no matter. I'd be cooked alive by my brothers and sisters if I allowed myself to stoop so low as to take offense from a recently dead mortal. I swear, some of those guys don't think straight at all! I wander if it was the same when they still lived"
"But that, as you so very put out, is completely irrelevant to the question at hand, and thus, it would be unwise of me to spend any more time complaining about the lack of gray matter shown to us by humanity. Let's get on to business, shall we?"
"So, about the proposed I talked about, it consists on sending you to another world with all the knowledge and memories you have in your current self. Why do we want to send you packing to a fantasy world at the remote borders of the universe? Well, you'd have to ask one of my more serious brothers. That meeting in particular was so terribly boring that I ended up leaving before its midway point, lest I fell asleep right on my seat and lost the little crumbs of respect that I've accumulated over the thousands of years"
"But yeah, that's the gist of it. You say that you want to move to a faraway land of magic and swords, we grant your wish and I help you decide you appearance and initial stats. A fair deal, wouldn't you say?"
No, I wouldn't. Why is there so much in for me and so little to you deities? Why is going to another world something your... brothers, as you called them, such a prestigious thing? What is the significance this holds to your people?
"Who knows? I probably do, or did, at some point. Usually there are fewer questions, so I might have ended up simply forgetting about it. Or maybe I never heard what it was! It's not like most people want to know why the gods suddenly want to grant squishy humans like you another go at life. Their desire to live simply drives them to make the obvious choice, and then BAM! No though explanations on my part"
"But you! Had! To! Make! This! Difficult! Hadn't! You?! Well, I don't mind really. It's a welcome change of pace from my usual dance. But it IS true that I either never knew or have forgotten about the reason why we are so eager to throw you into another world. I only need to know this: do you want to go or not"
Hm...If I had to choose, and I suppose I have... then yes, it would be lovely to maintain my sense of self for a few years more.
"Oh, my dear Kary, it can be so, so much more than a few more years to your tally. Oh, ho, ho, let's get right into character creation, okay? Everything will hopefully make some more sense once I start making your new design"
New design? Why? Can't I go with the appearance I had before I died? Wouldn't that make me adapt easier to the environment and all that? Why go through the trouble of making an entirely new character before sending me packing?
"Oh you and your silly questions, sometimes they manage to test my lackluster patience even more than dealing with kids. And trust me, you don't want to deal with those pests. The black death is much less of an annoyance than kids"
"About your question: it's because it would be a waste to give you the opportunity to live a new life and yet make it so that you have to still cling to your old identity. The world transmigration is supposedly a tool to allow you and whoever else benefited from it in these past few thousands of years to live again, to choose their own paths in a world where their fate, their destiny, in only on their hands. So why bind them to their previous lives, constantly remind them of the suffering their enduring, or the life they once lost"
"Or course, if you insist, I can move you with or original appearance, or I can make it a surprise for you. Don't worry, I won't make you too hideous, should you choose the latter option. I am quite the benevolent god, after all"
Benevolent? Or bound by the rules?
"Okay, you got me! I secretly wanted to make everyone into terrifying creatures that would survive in the popular imaginary of the folks of that world long after they were vanquished by the local heroes! Why must you foil my every plot?! *Sniff*, I feel like I'm gonna cry"
Please don't. The act of crying in front of someone, especially in front a girl is, for men, something terribly unbecoming. Haven't you heard, the many stories where the man is dumped right after thinking their relationship had reached the stage where he could confidently express his own feelings? If you start crying now, all your prospective wives will run away, terrified of your lack of masculinity.
"Such a way with words, and at such a young age! Oh, if only you weren't a total jerk! Maybe then my life would be easier. Sadly, I didn't exactly choose to be here today, and so, I will have to unfortunately endure your vicious words until you are long gone from my sight"
"But, for now, I must suffer this ceaseless torture, for I have a job that I must accomplish. Which is, of course, helping you choose what you'll be in your next life! Don't worry, we have extensive catalog about every possible species, from the traditional ones depicted in pretty much every single fantasy story that was ever released on your little, miserable, planet, to the ones so weird that it would cause most to be appalled by our decision to include them"
"Whether you are a normal, sensible person, which, by the way, I now you aren't, or a total nutjob, there's something for you in the Grand Encyclopedia of Species™. Pretty neat name, huh? Sadly, I had no hand in creating it. Here, come on, take a look"
Out of thin air, a big, thick book appeared in front of Kary. She stared intently at it, the bland title written in big, golden, curly letters, contrasting with the plain red background. Not that it was an ugly red, it was simply... simple. Unimaginative.
As her critiques of the design of the book began to take form, Kary couldn't help but wonder: how was she supposed to handle this thing? Apparently, she had no limbs to go around with, or to grab the book and turn the pages. You know, things usually important when reading a book.
"You can simply will it and it will obey. It is as simple as that. Or did you think we gods you give out a faulty product to the ones we are entrusting new worlds with? Of course not, right? That would never happen! Ha. Haha. Ha"
Ooh, I see. I presume there's a summary, yes? There's no way they would deliver a faulty product to their most beloved clients, yes?
"Yes! Finally, something you got right! It's at the beginning of the book, so it should be pretty easy to find it"
Kary tried to make the book approach her with just her brainpower and, surprisingly, it worked flawlessly. It moved right how she wanted, the distance she wanted, and then stopped right where she wanted it to be.
Satisfied by the responsiveness shown by the thick encyclopedia, she ordered to move her to the index. Before she tried to read anything, she wanted to at least get a general feel of what she should expect. After all, she would be a fool to blindly trust Limo like that. The... man? Deity? Had pretty openly said that he was as far away from trustworthy as a sentient being could be.
And then she saw the endless list of species, descending infinitely until the bottom of the page, only to resurface with renewed strength at the top of the next. For pages and pages there was nothing but an endless list of species names, a list so long that Kary had to ask herself if that was going to be the entirety of the book.
But no. Thankfully, it stopped, after thirty-three long pages of nothing but names and numbers. She took a glance at the very last beings described be the dictionary, the ones nearing the end of the alphabet.
Zhu Bajie ......................................... 10023
Zlatorog ........................................... 10025
Zilant ................................................ 10027
Ziz ..................................................... 10029
Zombie ............................................. 10031
Zu ...................................................... 10033
Afterword ......................................... 10035
Credits .............................................. 10036
The absurd numbers attached to each section made Kary want to have the ability to whistle, if only to simply show the world just how amazed she was. She couldn't even begin to comprehend how much work must have been put into this, especially with most, if not all, gods had their own duties to do.
She started fiddling with the index, quickly scanning through the multitude of names, noting the ones she knew already and keeping an eye for some that seemed interesting.
Kary saw many names, new names, old names, names of creatures she had never even heard of, creatures that sounded ominous and creatures that sounded harmless.
Timed passed seamlessly as the only sounds reverberating through that infinite space were the crumply, dry turning of the pages, their pristine white incapable of casting the smallest of shadows on the impossible ground. At this point, even Limo had quieted down, choosing to only observe intently the choice Kary was going to make.
Her eyes darted from name to name, never quite satisfied. The few times she did find something that piqued her interest, it was quickly overshadowed by another name, another creature etched with ink into this immortal book, its wisdom made to last the inescapable effects of time.
That kept going for a while, until she finally reached a name that resonated with her on a level that she couldn't quite explain. It was different from the many, many meaningless names she had seen before, it was like that was something she was supposed to be.
Of course, she wasn't stupid enough to simply accept that fate had worked its way into making her stumble across some sort of predestined race she was supposed to be but never was.
Hey, Limo, why the fuck do I feel attracted by some race from simply reading their name?
"Nope! Not telling you that! I'm not one to spoil the fun after all. But fret not, for this isn't anything bad. At least, it shouldn't be..."
Great...
With a non-existent sigh, Kary ordered the book to turn to the page indicated on the index. Mavka. A creature she knew nothing about, but for it, she felt a connection akin to the one between a siren and a helpless sailor.
She watched as the pages turned and turned, the infinite carousel of ink and knowledge going 'round and 'round with its frantic dance, enjoying a rhythm impossible to be comprehended.
Kary drew in her breath in anticipation, despite not having any breath to suck inwards. If she could, she would be tapping her feet, shaking her legs, easting her fingernails out of expectation. She wanted that, whatever the Mavka was, whatever was that thing that so deeply resonated within her, it would feel nice, special.
But reality was often disappointing, so very disappointing. After the pages finished turning, Kary wanted to have a closer look to the two pages dedicated to the being.
She desired to see more clearly the miniscule letters, and so, naturally, she ordered the book to come closer. And what she saw would make her start laughing until her throat became utterly spent, if not for the fact that she was looking forwards to it. The first words of the text were as follow:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
She stared at the book for a long while, hoping her silence would convey her utter disbelief to the deity probably still watching her. If she had a body, she would have stood there, flabbergasted, mouth agape, inviting any fly for her home, with probably a silly expression made from the combination of incredulity and pure, unadulterated wrath.
Finally, she addressed the chaotic god whose presence Kary could still feel. She didn't know where he was or why he was so curious about another's life, but, since he had made his presence known, she would take full advantage of it.
So... Limo... care to explain how this oh so great encyclopedia of species came to be? How was it crafted, exactly? I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you gods. After all, how awful would it be for the supreme entities to steal somebody else's work, right? So, would you care to explain? I don't want there to be any... misunderstanding...
"Uhmm... well... you see... this... this incredible book was crafted by the combination of human ingenuity and divine crafting... yes... that's definitely it..."
Strange as it may be, I don't quite believe that what you are saying right now is the truth.
"I swear it is! We simply took the information from humans' databases and compiled it in the divine realm! Although this knowledge may have come from humans, this book was entirely crafted by the most expert beings in craftsmanship there exist! If you still doubt me, you can freely check the credits page... you have no idea how long it took to write those in their proper forms... it was a nightmare, I tell ya"
Well, that makes it much more believable, don't you think? It's less unexplainable than a bunch of gods congregating one day, ditching all of their work to... I don't know... lesser deities, and crafting a book listing all species there are and all of their unique characteristics.
"Urgh... sorry to have tried to deceive you... I'm just still bitter that they didn't allow me to play with the book before finalizing it"
I see... hah... honestly, it could've been way worse. Considering Wikipedia's reputation worldwide — and apparently beyond that, too —, I can understand using it as the base for the writing of this book. What I did not expect was the blatant steal.
Having vented all her frustrations, Kary began to earnestly read the Wikipedia article on the Mavka. All in all, it was pretty interesting. It said nothing about its stats, bonus and skills, simply because it was a regular Wikipedia article. The gods seemed to be too lazy to even edit in some of the regular information.
After finishing her short read, she was thinking. She could keep looking for other more interesting races to choose, or she could go with the already pretty promising Mavka.
In the end, she decided on following a path that was somewhere in-between: she finished reading the index, continuing to work her way from the end to the beginning, carefully scouting for any interesting option.
Of those, there were plenty, but not one of them spoke to her like the Soul of the Forest did. Steeling herself for whatever would come next, she once more addressed the mad god.
I have chosen.
"Ohhh... the Mavka, I suppose?" At that, the girl tried to nod her head in affirmation, only to remember that she had no body with which she could do the movement. She wanted to once more sigh at the small inconveniences proportioned by the post-life.
Yes. I'll let you choose my appearance, simply because I have no sense for it. Please, at least try to make something at least coherent with the original myths, please.
"Aye, aye, captain. Your wish is my command. So, are you ready to embark on a new journey at a new land? If you say yes, I'll send you there immediately, and if you say no, I'll send you there immediately!"
You sure love to bargain, huh... alright, yes, I'm ready. Hit me with your worst!
...
Actually, never mind! Just get this over with, please.
"You don't need to be so scared, you know? It's not as scary as you're thinking. Sure the first moments may be a little disorienting, but you'll be just fiiiiiine"
I sure hope so.
Immediately after that, the soul that occupied the white infinity suddenly vanished, leaving behind nothing but the space it once occupied. Silence reigned once more, the mad god uncharacteristically exercising some self-reflecting.
And then, with a grave voice, Limo said to the nothing, expecting to be heard by no one but himself: "I hope you'll grow strong, little one. Very strong. So that the fate that will befall upon your new home may be prevented. I simply hope that it's not too late"