After the feeling of being transferred vanished, Darc opened his eyes again but what he thought to see was not in front of him.
His mouth twitched in annoyance after he discovered where he actually was. His glance looked from one side to the other and stayed fixed to his front.
It was the white room again. The same damn room he visited already and knew just too clearly about.
´Why the hell am I here again? Don't tell me I died while being transported to Yardrat? Damn, that would be pathetic. Just after I started to like where my progress was going.´
Darc looked around this time and use his whole body to perceive all the things around him.
´But where the hell is that old man?´, he thought after noticing he was alone here.
Suddenly the scenery changed as if Darc was moving at high speeds somewhere and a corridor appeared with many doors on each side. It was darker than before and eerie chains were dangling from the ceiling. The atmosphere completely changed in general from the tranquil white room to this dark corridor.
Darc wrinkled his brows. ´What is going on here?´, wondered and actually started to move in one direction of this place. While walking he noticed that every door had different concepts and material it was made out of. One was a stone door. Another was wood. There were also weird ones that were made out of chainmail or the likes. The only thing the doors had in common was a big white lock at some of them.
He got worried what this all meant. What are these doors? He did also try to open one just as a test but it didn't budge. So he moved on along all this eeriness
After moving for a while he saw someone. Looking closer he saw a man in white and someone with ragged clothes and chains around him. Not long after a door from the side opened up and the man in chains got grabbed by another chain that came out of the door and pulled inside.
Closing itself a lock appeared on the door after a few seconds.
Darc did not miss even a split second of it. The one still standing there was actually the old geezer that he met last time in the white room but why was he here now and saw this weird display.
"Oh, how come you are here right now? Shouldn't you be waiting at the reception?", said the old man with a somewhat confused look after appearing right in front of Darc.
Then he waved his hand and they both came back into the white room.
"Hey, what the hell was that just now?", Darc asked him about what he saw a second ago.
The old man just placed himself onto a chair again and let a table appear in front of him.
"It is just what you have said. Hell. Every door in that corridor represents a hell for a sinner. Souls are being purified of their sins in them.", he answered calmly and let a teapot appear in front of him. He took it and filled himself a cup and started sipping it. All the while leaning backward in his chair. He looked pretty comfortable And the aroma of the tea started drifting in all directions.
Darc was really getting a bad vibe now. What is this old geezer exactly?
´Didn't he introduce himself as the god of reincarnation? Why would he send the sinners to hell? Wasn't that the job of a devil?´, he thought.
"I did. But that is not my only job. And why should that be the job of a devil? In your current realm, there is also pretty much the same concept at work.", said the old man.
´Crap, I forgot that he can read all my thoughts´, he remembered and sighed.
"You mean King Enma...It is true if I think about it but still. Why did I have to see that? Why am I even here again?", he said and asked after thinking.
The old man looked at him sipped again. "You died...", he said.
"WHAT!?", Darc shouted this time and was shocked. Has all the effort been for nothing?
The old man saw his reaction and chuckled. "Just joking. How is your current life going? Enjoying yourself?"
The mouth of Darc twitched again. He lied to him again. Is this geezer even taking his job serious enough?
"Shouldn't you pretty much know how it is progressing?", answered Darc back to his question.
"True, but I wanted to know if you are enjoying yourself. After all, I got a little document here that states that a certain Porunga wanted to change your race?", he said and took a document from his table and looked at it. "I got to ask. Why do you still want to change yourself so much? Shouldn't you be proud of being a creation in the image of God?"
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Darc listened and snorted. Seems like his little test didn't go unnoticed. "The wish didn't work out. And only being the creation of God is just not enough. You know exactly what dangers await me in that world.", he said while denying that geezers words. "Come to think of it. I got a weird message after being born. Why didn't you tell me that I had joined some guineapig course?"
The old man smiled and put down his cup and the document he held.
"Yes, I forgot to tell you that it was an experimental run. But what would have changed the outcome? Nothing at all. Your desire for a change in your life was already scorching like a bright flame. You would have accepted the rebirth nonetheless. I just picked you because of that.", the old man said.
"I am not sure about that. I believed in a different rebirth. Just being thrown into a world without anything was not my thinking of being reborn. Maybe you old geezer even got something out of it sending me there?", Darc answered.
"You truly are ungrateful, child. Here I thought to accept my mistake and inform you of the rules and even give you information on your gift but I truly was mistaken. Maybe I should have just sent you to hell where you would have ended up anyway." The old man's words were dark and with a serious tone this time. Maybe him getting accused to benefit from his rebirth hit a nerve.
Darc got a shudder down his spine. Why didn't he think about that? He kinda took his words for granted it seems.
"I...Sorry. I just felt being mistreated. So I was actually damned for falling into hell, huh?", he asked with a sour tone.
".....", the old man remained silent and sighed. "A minor one but yes. Your soul was tagged with the hell tag when you arrived here. Maybe that is also why you got pulled to that corridor when you came here again. Anyway, I brought you here this time to clear some things up."
The old man was calm again and started explaining
"First, this is still an experimental system we gods have come to collaborate in. That is also one reason we normally do not give you souls any benefits besides your knowledge from your previous lives. Just think about it. What would happen if for example someone on the god level from the Dragonball realm was reincarnated into your old world? And not only would he have his knowledge but some benefit with it? It would be bringing chaos. There are of course some criteria for which world a being is suited to be reborn in but that would go overboard with my explanation and you don't need to know about that anyway."
"Second, because I have forgotten to tell you all the prior said things, I worked out with the other gods and included some gift for you that shouldn't break the balance too much. It still depends on you how to use it. You should have noticed the gift by now."
"Third, do not try to change things that were premade for you with those wishing beads. If you break one of these rules I will have to bring you back here. Under those rules fall your race and your lifespan. Meaning, no changing races, no eternal youth, no immortality...That is about all I wanted to say to this point."
Darc was surprised "Wait, so it is possible to wish for those things somehow...?", he asked him.
The old man remained silent. It seemed there was still a power that could bend those rules but he would still end up back here.
"Hehe, it's alright...I wasn't really planning to do any of those wishes besides maybe change my race...But that was also because I saw only the benefits...Maybe I truly am too greedy with things and should keep myself in check a little. That should be my sin if I had to guess. Well, understood. Hey, old man, what is it I got from you? I am kinda curious right now since you mentioned it.", said Darc chuckling a little
He accepted he won't get far with that one previous question. And truth be told it was just how he stated it to be. He just didn't want to die so easily but after some time he came to accept what he was and where he was. Also, he isn't that weak anymore. Somehow, he will manage.
"You got something everyone is bestowed with but it is more prominent in you. I gave you the unlimited potential to become everything and nothing at the same time. How you use that potential is up to you.", the old man smiled again. "Oh, and this here as well since only enhancing something you already got kinda was not enough of an apology to you they said....."
He waved with his hand and a Chalkboard appeared on one wall of the white room. On it, there were some things written in the common language from Earth.
+++++++++++++++++
Name: Darc
Race: Human
Age: 8 Years
Status: Healthy
Active Buffs: None
Passive Buffs: Supreme Constitution (Greater Strength, Greater Endurance, Greater Vitality, Greater Muscle Memory)
Abilities: Ki Control (B), Ki Sense (D+), Meditation(B), Telepathy (B), Healing (E), Magic Materialisation (E)
Arts: Hu (Tiger) School
Techniques: Kamehameha ©, Galick Gun(D), Masenko©, Datushahu (Slaughtering Tiger)(E+)
Energy: Ki (average), Magic (poor)
Meridians: 14% unlocked
Talents: Unlimited Potential, Space? Affinity
Battle Power ----- Suppressed: ~8.000 (90%), Normal: ~80.000, Flared/Max: ~400.000 (x5, depending on meridian and ki quality)
+++++++++++++++++
"What? A status screen?", Darc exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, to look at your progress. That's at least what the God said that gave this a go. Since it doesn't really give you any real benefit it's alright to gift. Anyway, you can always look at this when you start meditating. This room is your inner soul state after all.", said the old man.
"Well, let's stop here. You were on your way to a planet called Yardrat right? Please enjoy your further stay there and have a safe trip.", he said and waved with his hand again and everything turned black for Darc.
----
Darc immediately woke up and pushed himself up in agitation. He still wanted to ask something but seems like that old geezer denied him. Well, at least he wasn't sent to hell...
He was sweating a little and looked around after coming back to his senses. He was in some kind of hospital.
Someone came into the room and saw him awake. That person immediately ran away and came back with two other people.
These people looked humanoid and had pink skin with some bluish spots on their heads. It was the Yardratians.
Darc sighed and started talking with them about simple things like thanking them for taking care of him and asking where he was.
He found out afterward he was found unconscious in some field and because they were friendly they took him to this hospital and waited until he came back to his senses. That was a day ago already.