Ok, step 1 of every wilderness survival handbook, what do I know, and what do I have? Granted, this isn’t a forest I got lost hiking in, but it seems like a good first step.

1. I’m dead, therefore I’m in the place where dead people go

2. I have no items on me, only a set of basic clothing, which is... odd

3. I am slightly transparent, whatever that means

4. I am capable of thought, therefore I can safely rule out the assumption that science is the most important factor...

Am I seriously considering that magic is real?

That would be freaking awesome! Also slightly terrifying.

For now, I shall operate under the assumption that magic is real because I cannot come up with a better explanation. Occam's Razor, or something like that. Also, I like reading fantasy books and it helps if I think of myself as the main character in some crappy online novel. Maybe I could write a novel if I get out of here. Once I get out of here. Hopefully, I’ve got enough plot armor to make it out of here with my sanity intact.

Hmmm...

Ok, so, what can each of those points mean.

1. I should be in the place where dead people go, meaning I should be able to see other souls (magic souls!), which must mean I require some ability to see them or something is separating me from the normal afterlife.

2. I’m slightly transparent and am wearing a set of clothing, a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. This was something I found quite puzzling. There shouldn’t really be a reason for me to be transparent if I’m in the afterlife, and I’m wearing clothes, which are definitely not part of me.

If I had to guess, my current body is influenced by my self-image of both my thoughts of what a soul should look like, and what I thought of as ‘my self’. That’s usually how it works in most fantasy novels right?

Would that mean I can...

I held up my arm and focused intently on it. I tried to imagine it shifting shapes, turning from an arm into one of those grabber things you see on claw machines.

Wait, I think it’s working, that’s increadi- wait a minute.

Should I be doing this? It is my soul, right? If I get out of here am I just not going to be able to use one of my hands because my soul thinks it’s a grabber thing?

I stopped, the ends of my fingers that had definitely been disappearing sort of melted back out of the rest of the fingers.

Interesting

I spun around and looked for something that could have changed. I think that’s a... a light? It’s really faint but it kind of stands out when everything else is completely black.

Ok, so I’m pretty sure my thoughts have some sort of power here. Does that mean I can just...

I focused on moving towards the light. For a while, nothing happened, but then the light got brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding.

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Then the light faded

‘What are you doing?’ A voice boomed into my head. It was painful to the point where it felt my head was splitting in two and my brain was already slowly floating out of the wreckage of my skull.

I screamed as I clapped my hands over my ears in a vain pointless attempt to try and block out that horrific sound.

“Ahem, I apologize, it has been a while since I conversed with a mortal,” The voice was no longer in my head, neither was it as painfully loud as it had been before. That was odd. My hands were still over my ears, how could I hear it?

I slowly brought my hands off my ears, “No, it’s-it’s ok, uh who are you?”

“I believe my real name would cause more damage to your inner psyche, however the best translation in your language would be Time-Beyond-Death,” the voice spoke.

I finally worked up the courage to look up at Time-Beyond-Death, it was... weird. Its appearance was horrific. It looked a lot like one of those descriptions of Lovecraft’s Old Ones.

Yet at the same time, I felt no fear, neither revulsion. I simply looked at this being that had called me a mortal, as if it wasn’t, and calmly noted down its appearance in my inner monologue. Oh yeah, it’s probably expecting a response.

“Um, yeah hi. My name’s Leo,” I said lamely.

“Greetings Leo, tell me. What is a soul like yours doing in The Void?” Time-Beyond-Death asked. Its mouth-or the thing I thought was its mouth- didn’t move.

“Sorry, a soul like mine?” I asked slightly confused.

“Yes, your soul is almost impossibly weak to have survived the trek out here.” Time-Beyond-Death’s arm gestured around it, “Even among my own kind, few come to this place,”

I shrugged, “I have no idea, I died then I woke up here.”

“Hmmm,” the sound echoed from Time-Beyond-Death.

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked, after about a minute. What? I wanted some answers and this guy seemed like he had them.

“Yes,” Time-Beyond-Death said simply.

“Can you send me out of this place?” I asked.

“Yes,” it said again.

I waited, it said nothing further.

“Will you send me out of this place?” I asked. Jesus, this freaking dude... I had a friend who did the same thing. You always had to ask him ‘WILL you do something’ never ‘CAN you do something.

“Why yes of course,” Time-Beyond-Death responded, “Where would you like to go?”

I blinked, “Sorry?”

“I am quite powerful, even for those like myself. I can send you to worlds filled with as many delicacies as you could eat, or one’s where life was an endless vacation, being waited on hand and foot, by as many servants as you wish,” Time-Beyond-Death explained.

I thought for a moment.

I could barely imagine a life like that, getting everything I wanted, at the snap of a finger.

And yet, it seemed hollow. Never having to work for anything, and having all my needs tended to by servants. Eventually, I bet it would lose its value.

I shook my head, if I was going to have my choice of a world to live in for the rest of my life, it was going to be somewhere I could really live life.

I looked up at Time-Beyond-Death, “I would like to go to a world where I can prove myself?”

Time-Beyond-Death seemed... surprised? It was a little hard to tell with the lack of human facial features, but I think I surprised him.

He chuckled, “Mortals, even after so many eons they can still surprise you,”

“Very well then, you will get your wish. But first, a gift,” it spoke again.

I stopped, “What?”

“Given the world, I have in mind, I doubt your current strength will do.”

I was starting to get worried about what I had agreed to.

“What do you mean?”

“You enjoy playing with mana do you not? Many mortals seem to do. You also seemed quite adept at manipulating your soul form. I bet you could do quite well for yourself.”

Was he offering me... Magic?

“Yes!” I exclaimed.

“Excellent, it has been a while since a mortal agreed to let me experiment on them,”

“Wait, what?” I asked, suddenly fearful of what I had just agreed to.

Then there was nothing.