Although the darkness had shrouded the sight, his consciousness hadn't abandoned him. Strangely enough, the sight remained dark even with open eyes, black as the night without stars shining in the heavens. However, a bright blue glitter came out of nowhere to light up the pure dark setting, then it invited another one of its kind, and so on continued the arrival of sparkles and flashes of shiny little dots, creating a perfect night sky.

"Beautiful!" he thought.

Starting to grow conscious of the surroundings, he felt a hard touch of glass on the back of his head, realizing what he had laid on. Moments before, it was the nice soft sensation of the pillows instead of this stiff glassy contact, which made it possible to discern even a more significant fact: He still had his mortal body intact.

He took the control of his body to stand up. The sky didn't end at horizon, as it spread out even to the floor, visible below the narrow see-through glassy ground, which remained still in place.

A star left the sky and arrived before him, taking the form of an unimaginable beauty in a long white robe of glossy fabric, possessing trailing hair of golden shade, and crowned with a shawl trimmed in white lace. She emitted a tranquil aura and had the most divine presence, resembling a perfect goddess.

Being struck by her beauty, the boy failed to mutter words, but if it were possible, he would ask, "Where am I? Who are you?" which was enough to trigger a response.

"You are dead, young boy," she said gently in a pure, soothing voice, as though she already knew what he intended to say. "I'm here to guide your soul to its next destination, but before that,"

A motion by her hand was enough to create a vivid screen in mid-air, showing the boy's funeral on earth.

"Your death has brought grief and suffering upon those who have loved you."

The boy finally mustered up enough courage to speak. "That is a facade, a public image that masks their true hate and resent towards me in private."

"Is that so?" she said. "Well then, let's see if that's true."

The contents of the screen changed, day turning into night, and people living the graveyard, but a grieving mother still kept weeping over his son's grave, all while the father stood beside her with evident dark circles under his eyes.

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After being shown that scene, the boy still didn't give up. "They didn't show that kind of affection when I was still alive. Now that I'm dead, it is of no use to me."

"You've committed a great sin," she said, "and you realize that, don't you?"

"It's my life, and I'm in charge of it. Should I intend to get rid of it, it's my decision and mine alone. I see no bad deed happening here." he responded, in a much more arrogant, self-righteous tone that before.

"Your life was a gift bestowed upon you, but you decided to destroy it and put the people around you in agony."

"A gift must first be accepted. I don't recall that I had a choice in getting it in the first place."

"I see," she sighed, "so you give me no other option."

"What do you mean?" the boy said, being worried of what she intended to do. "You seem to be a deity, a powerful being, capable of doing whatever you want to me, but I have no fault, nor do I feel any guilt. You possess the power to execute your plans, but then I won't accept that justice, and would only recognize you as a tyrant."

"I plan no such thing," she said, "so tell me, what kind of life do you want to receive?"

"What?"

"I'm giving you a chance to not only accept or reject my gift, but also have a say in what the gift is."

He couldn't believe it. Apparently, the argument with the goddess actually convinced her to give him a new desired life.

"I wish to live in a world of magic, sword and sorcery, fantasy and adventure, to become a feared legend, one of the few with unmatched strength, extreme power is what I desire, to be the hero of mankind, the savior of the day and the man who fights the darkness. At the end, the eternal salvation is what I ask for."

That was a fraction of his ambitions and dreams, but all he could formulate at the moment.

"I shall grant your wish," she said, "but still, you must be punished for the sin you've committed."

Goddess pointed at the boy's heart. "You get what you desired, but that heart of yours will remain free of impurity. No sins or evil deeds you may commit in your new life."

The punishment didn't particularly seem harsh, but the word "sin" needed more clarification.

"And what exactly do you mean by 'sin'?" he asked.

"No life you may take, and no property you may usurp. No lie you may tell, no blood you may shed, and no immorality you may commit."

"And what if I do any of those? What happens?"

"You'll be forcefully stopped if those deeds come with intention."

"What if I do something bad accidentally?"

"An act without an intention behind it cannot be evil," she said. "So are you willing to accept my gift?"

The restrictions would indeed be troublesome in his new life. What if he needed to fight against an enemy? Such circumstances would indeed arise in the future. What would he do then? These problems crossed his mind after the goddess finished speaking.

Still, the offer was too good to refuse. Being gifted a life of adventure in a magical world wasn't something that occurred a lot. "I accept your offer," he said.

"Then I wish you the best in your second life. I hope you find the salvation that you crave so much." she said.

A dazzling light shone out of the boy's chest near the heart, before his consciousness grew dim and he started to fall down, lying on the rigid floor once again, feeling the firm touch of glass on the back of his head, which slowly turned into a mushy sensation of a warm pillow.