“Hey!” A powerful deep voice called out.
“Hey!! How long do you plan to sleep for?” The voice called out once again
Upon hearing the voice, my eyelids fluttered open and I gasped for air.
*Huff* *Huff* I began to breathe heavily. The memory of me stabbing myself with the crystal was still firmly etched in my mind. I touched my chest instinctively, as if to feel the wound I inflicted on myself. To my surprise I felt nothing. I looked down on my chest – there was no wound or crystal jutting out of my chest, just smooth bare skin (covered by my clothes of course).
I looked around puzzled, I was sure I had died but here I was completely fine. I was in a white world that seemed to go on forever. The place was surprisingly brightly illuminated despite lacking a light source (maybe I just couldn’t see it). A layer of mist hovered above the ground, making this place seem more ethereal.
Where am I? Is this the afterlife?
“You finally woke up huh? Took you long enough.”
The voice from before could be heard again.
“Who are you?” I shouted nervously.
I looked around at my surroundings in an attempt to locate the source of the voice, but there was no one around.
“Where are you?” I asked again, struggling to get my feet to take a fighting stance. “Who are you?”
At this moment, the mist that that covered the ground started to rush and coalesce on a spot in front of me. As more and more mist gathered, it grew thicker and thicker eventually forming a humanoid shape. Suddenly, the mist dissipated and swirled back towards the ground revealing a humanoid male wearing a loose red robe. The figure had curly brown hair that tumbled down his shoulders and black eyes that seem as dark as the abyss itself. He donned an azure blue cape that every now and then, sparkled as if it was made of glitter. He had handsome facial features that would have made every woman on earth swoon. However, he emanated an extreme aura of omnipotence which made me feel like a lowly bug. I retreated a step back, cautious of the figure in front of me. If I were to fight him, I’ll surely be decimated.
“No need to be so tense, human.” The figure spoke. His voice was exactly the same as the voice from before.
“My name is Mithra, the god of rebirth and reincarnation as well as the Divinity of Covenant and Oath. I apologize if I had scared you earlier. ” Mithra continued in an apologetic tone.
Attempting to process what I was hearing, I tried to ask Mithra. However, I couldn’t get myself to speak. After all, one can be tongue tied from meeting a god. I simply just gazed at Mithra in awe.
“I sense that you have many questions to ask me. Don't be shy and ask, I will answer those that are appropriate.”
"Where am I? Why am I still alive?” Why am I here?”
“You are not alive, human.” Mithra replied. “The only thing of you that is here right now is you soul and nothing else. You appearance is the same as when you were alive as that is the only form of yourself you remembered before you died. As for where you are…”
Mithra stopped his speech. Raising his hands up dramatically, he continued.
“You are in my domain right now. Everything in this place is controlled by me, making me the god of this place – not that I wasn’t one already.” He announced dramatically. As if right on que, a bright flash of golden light appeared right behind him, making him look even more godlier than he was before . I squinted my eyes to protect them from the blinding glare emitted by the lightshow he created.
“You see little human, the reason I bought you here to my domain is to judge you. Base on the deeds you have done in your past life, I am happy to say that you passed!” Mithra announced, clapping his hands. Cheering sounds could be heard from all across the domain and confetti rained down from the sky, covering the misty ground with pieces of glittery paper.
“But, but….”
“But what? Aren’t you happy that you passed?” Mithra asked questioningly. “Don’t tell me that you wanted me to say that you failed and as punishment, you would be cast into Tartarus and be tortured by either Thanatos or Hades and his furies for all eternity?”
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“No…. I do not want to be tortured, thank you very much.” I quickly replied. “I am confused as to why was I chosen to be judged. When I was alive, I wasn’t a good person and killed a lot of people. So why was I chosen? Why did I pass the test? What makes me so special?”
“Special?” Mithra repeated the word softly. The surrounding atmosphere began to darken as he repeated the word over again.
“You’re special? Don’t make me laugh.”
The surrounding air chilled as he replied coldly, catching me off guard. It was like his personality did a 180. His voice transformed from a kind and cheerful tone to a cold and emotionless one. I instinctively took a step back.
“You’re not the only one who receives this opportunity. Right now, there are billions of others that are judged by me. Those that fail are sent to hell, never to be seen again, while those that passed are given the option to either ascend – which is very rare, or be reincarnated to another world. NEVER, ever think that you yourself are special. There would always be someone better than you, someone much more powerful than you. Just because you have power, or something extraordinary happened to you, it doesn’t mean that you’re special or some kind of ‘Chosen one’. It just means that you are either lucky, or have worked hard to attain power in some way or another. If I was in a bad mood, I would have I would have destroyed your soul right this instant. “ He spat.
Note to self, don’t say that you’re special to a god. If they happen to be in a bad mood, they will probably annihilate you on the spot.
“Besides being a god of reincarnation, I am also the Divinity of Contracts and an all-seeing Protector of Truth. That means I value truth, trust and loyalty very highly. I don’t really care if you have killed or not.” He continued impassively. The surrounding atmosphere began to lighten as he continued.
“I judge those who have betrayed, or have been betrayed. You were chosen because of one of those reasons. You know very well why you were chosen, don’t you? Do you remember the day which your mother sold you just to survive, the day which marked the beginning of your hellish life?”
Flashbacks of my mother’s face ridden with guilt raced across my mind. I gripped my fists tightly to stop them from flying at Mithra’s face.
“Oh, hit a soft spot there didn’t I? You couldn't hurt me even if you tried.” He mocked. “I am a major god, a being that is all above others. However, there are beings that are definitely much more powerful than me out there, such as the Titans and the Primordials. I was cocky about my status as a major god once and I nearly descended and became a fallen god. Remember this human, no matter how powerful you are, or how much authority you hold, there will always be someone stronger than you.” Mithra said solemnly. When he finished talking, the surrounding atmosphere returned back to its original state and the chilly aura around him faded.
“I apologize for aggravating you. I sense that despite being betrayed by your mother and going through hell – not literally of course, you still hold a strong affection for her, an unwavering symbol of loyalty. It was one of the requirements needed to pass the test. You made sure that you have carried out the mission given to you, which was to escape the facility and make sure that the government doesn’t get their hands on the crystal, even if it cost your life. This makes you a reliable and a person worthy of trust, fulfilling the second requirement. You weren’t very truthful and told quite a few lies though, please work on that in the future. This leaves you with a score of 2 out of 3, which means you passed the test! Please note that this is an incredible achievement as most of the souls I judge couldn’t even pass the first requirement. Nobody has ever gotten a full score.” Mithra said cheerfully. His aura is now the one of happiness and the surroundings brightened up considerably. His domain seems to change according to his current mood.
For him to be this happy, just how many people had failed the test?! Itching with curiosity, I wanted to ask him. However, I was afraid that doing so might anger him again, bringing me one step closer to being annihilated. Better be safe than sorry.
“97 percent.” Mithra replied airily, as if he read my mind. “And yes I can read your mind. You are in my domain after all.”
“97 PERCENT?! Are you saying that only 3 percent of the souls you judged passed the test?!” I exclaimed. I thought there would be more souls that passed his judgement. However, if you were to calculate 3 percent out of a billion people, actually quite a lot of people passed the test.
“Yeah quite a lot people passed when you think about it, but whatever, we are getting side tracked over here.” Clapping his hands together, he continued. “As a reward for passing the test, you will be reincarnated to another world. Unfortunately, your score wasn’t high enough to be eligible for ascension. As for which world and species you will be born as, it all depends on your luck. You will also receive a unique blessing from me – it is mandatory for people who had passed god’s trial to receive it. As the blessing was mandatory, you will reborn with your memories as an additional bonus. Be grateful human, this is your one chance to be special.” He chuckled.
He walked towards me and placed his left hand on top of my forehead. The moment he touched my forehead, I felt extremely sleepy. My body relaxed as the world around me began to turn black. My eyelids closed as I felt extreme fatigue take over my body.
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“Goodbye, little human, may fate allow us to cross paths again.” Mithra said as Aaron vanished. If one were to see the face of Mithra right now, one would be able to see a huge grin on the god’s face.
“Overcome your obstacles Aaron, and become someone truly special.”
Aaron lost consciousness for the second time.
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PS: So tired.... Need sleep.... To much anime and manga
Btw watch 'Nanbaka'. It is super awesome