I shivered, cold wind blowing all around me. This high up it was no longer the gentle breeze I associated with spring. But I didn’t mind, rather it felt fitting.

This was it, then. I stood at a precipice, both a figurative and a literal one. It almost feels freeing, standing here, just before the end, finally with no worries.

Maybe this is how birds feel, free to do whatever they want. Well, not really. Excuse me, I’m not usually like this. I guess the situation is making me a bit emotional after all.

Oh well, might as well get it over with. I took a step forward… and fell.

The cold wind now felt absolutely frigid, my fall stealing the last bits of my body’s warmth. I fell and I fell, the ground still far away.

I suppose this is how it feels to be weightless. I mean, yes, obviously. That’s kind of what relativity is about.

The ground is getting closer now. Just a little bit more and then it’ll all be over.

…

I’m- not sure if I made the right decision. Do I really want to do this? Shit. Oh no, no, no, no, no. I should not have jumped.

The ground is almost here. And then I’ll go splat. Why did I do this?!

And then a portal opens underneath me. Before I have a chance to realize what’s happening, I plunge into it, narrowly avoiding the ground.

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

I suddenly find myself… somewhere.

There’s not really anything here, except for me. And I feel like I’m still falling. Or am I? It’s hard to tell without a reference point.

And then there’s someone else. A… human… person… thingy… Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Kind of has that weird uncanny valley aesthetic to it.

Aaand it’s shifting. Of-fucking-course it is. At least the weirdness of its looks is slowly going away. Though it is just being replaced by the unsettling sight of a human morphing in front of my eyes, so I’m not sure which is worse.

At last, it stops changing and settles into a human shape. The most generic human to ever exist. There’re barely any discernible features on it. It looks more like a template for a human that an actual living and breathing creature.

“Are you done criticising my first body?” it asks me, but the mouth movements are completely out of sync with the actual sound produced. And the voice itself is also really strange. Like, its appearance, it’s the most unremarkably average voice I’ve ever heard.

“You’re so annoying,” it says. This time to mouth to voice synchronisation is better, even if it’s still a bit off.

“Alright, you’ve got to stop doing that,” the coordination of its mouth continues to improve with every word, “it’s really annoying, continuously interrupting me and also completely unjustified. How’d you feel about someone criticising your first attempt at something?”

I suppose it does have kind of a point. Still, it’s not really my fault. It should have just stuck to one form and I would have gotten used to it.

“Sure,” I say.

“Good, finally,” it nods its head. “Now, I’m sure you’re wondering where you are, who I am, what’s happening and all that jazz, right?”

“Yeah, kind of. Mostly I just have one main question though.”

“Alright, shoot.”

“Were you just reading my mind?” my voice is perfectly neutral, not giving anything away. Even then, the being in front of me pauses for the briefest fraction of a second, hesitating.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Um, no? Not really, anyway. At most, if we stretched the definition, it could be considered the reading of your most surface thoughts, but that’s not what I’m doing anyway.”

“Then how. Did you know. What. I. Was. THINKNING.” Okay, I may have lost my poker face there for a bit.

“Ah, that’s actually kind of why I got you here! See, it’s all connected!” it pauses for a second, as if awaiting some response to that. Not that I’d grace it with one.

“Uh, just… at least try to work with me. Just a little bit.”

Before I have a chance to respond, it continues.

“Anyway, let’s get to the matter at hand. I, am humanity,” another pause, but it seems to have learned its lesson and soon continues, “Yes! Humanity has developed enough for its collective subconscious to finally coalesce into a personification. That’s me!”

“You want to tell me that you represent the whole of humanity? You?” I say, more than a bit incredulous.

“Yes!” it’s completely oblivious to my disbelief. “And that’s also how I knew your surface thoughts! You’re also connected to me, after all.”

Interesting, let me try something. I stare at the supposed personification of humanity with all the focus and intensity I can muster. Its eye twitches. I don’t stop.

“Argh! Stop trying to make me slap myself!” it finally shrieks out.

Good, it does work. Satisfied with my little experiment, I relax and put on a smug smile. Or maybe an evil smile? A snile, for short.

“You’re insufferable,” Humanity mutters.

“Likewise,” I reply, with the snile still on my face.

“Can we stop beating around the bush and finally get to business?”

“Be my guest. I’d never even dare to interrupt you.”

With a suspicious gaze it clears its throat, which I assume is completely unnecessary for such a being (oh look, its eye twitched again!), and begins to give me the whole spiel.

“As humanity is entering a new era, many things are about to change. The most important of which is that Earth will remain isolated no longer. Other species may soon find their way onto Earth, but more importantly, magic. Earth will soon find itself no longer categorized as a magical wasteland. Both of these bring with it many an opportunity, but also challenges. And humanity is, quite frankly, not ready for it. It needs time to adapt and learn the rules of its new reality.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” there’s another twitch of Humanity’s eye, “but when you say humanity do you mean actual humanity or yourself?”

“It should be rather obvious, especially with such a context heavy language. When I say Humanity, I mean myself, and when I say humanity, I mean the whole human species. There’s a clear difference of emphasis between the two.”

Okay, it is beginning to sound irritated by now. Maybe I should lay it off for a minute. So, I just nod and listen.

“As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, humanity needs time. Which is where you come in. Your job will be twofold. First, you’ll explore, learn, and gather information for me, so that I can help the others adapt quicker. Second, you’ll be leaving behind a false trail, confusing anyone who tries to contact humans. Any questions?”

“Eh, kind of? By the sound of it, it looks like I’m about to be isekaid or something, which is fine by me.”

“Yes, that is indeed how I’m going to do this.”

“Good, good. And do I get any extra help with my oh so grand mission to save humanity?” damn, it’s actually really hard to keep a neutral tone.

“Yes, you’ll receive two, or perhaps two and a half, gifts,” ooh, goodie! “The first, is reincarnation. You’ll continuously get born again and again, so that you leave behind an even more confusing trail.”

Oh, hell yes! This would have been worth it just for that alone!

“Second, you’ll be able to keep one ability from each life permanently,” my hand instantly shoots up. “No, that’s not how it works. Your memories are an intrinsic part of you and as such are part of the first gift. By abilities I mean things specific to a creature. A spider’s ability to make spider silk. A dragon’s ability to breathe fire. That kind of stuff,” my hand falls down, my question answered without even having to voice it.

“And the last, kind of gift. Since I will be a bit more focused on you, others will find it harder to read and influence your mind.”

Ah, good. Honestly, that’s a huge boulder off my shoulders. I won’t have to worry about that at least.

“Do not misunderstand, it’ll still be possible, just much more difficult to do,” Humanity sharply adds.

Okay, maybe just a medium size boulder then. Still, it’s good to be protected against the worst kind of thing.

“Now then, anything else?” it asks me.

Hmm, was there something? Oh, yes. I almost forgot.

“Why did you choose me to do this?” I say, “Even if you needed someone versed in fantasy tropes or some such bullshit, I’m sure there were other people just as, if not more, knowledgeable in it that also have some more useful knowledge.”

“Ah, that? That one’s simple. It’s because you were about to die anyway, and therefore it’d cause the least amount of disruption for me to take you away.”

That… I did not expect. Maybe I should have, but it’s still surprising. Sadly, it does make sense.

Now I don’t know how to feel about what I did. On the one hand, I definitely regretted it in the end. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity otherwise.

“Oh, and one last thing,” I look up, pulled form my pondering, “I’m not really powerful enough to reincarnate you into the more complex creatures yet. Anyway, byeeeee!”

And just like that, everything goes dark as I can’t even say goodbye to my life on Earth. Next time I’ll wake up, I’ll be in fantasy land.