A.N: This is a very short chapter but I promise I'll make the next ones longer and whenever I do a rewrite, I'll combine this one and the second one.
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"FUCKING FINALLY." I roared silently as the bell's shrill cry shattered the classroom's quiet. I slammed the finished test papers down for the teacher to collect, reveling in the fact that this would (hopefully) be the last time I ever set foot in this glorified torture chamber. Further education was obsolete when your parents were swimming in enough money to last generations, if spent wisely.
Euphoria bubbled as I made a beeline for the school gates. Ever since I arrived, I'd chuckled at their resemblance to pearly gates – a cruel joke considering school was the exact opposite of heaven.
At the red light, I crossed the street towards the Korean convenience store, a daily ritual at this point. Asian cuisine reigned supreme over anything the Americas, Europe, or Africa could offer. Don't even try to change my mind.
Inside, I snagged a fire-breathing pack of Buldak noodles (thankfully still in stock). The spicy tuna rice balls, however,were MIA, so I settled for a bulgogi kimchi one – still a delicious consolation prize. To complete the feast, I grabbed cheese for some creamy goodness, a sausage for protein, and a leaky boiled egg. A few packets of milk tea joined the party, ready to be dumped in my bottle. Feeling generous, I paid and even tossed the cashier an extra ten bucks.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Outside, I called for my dad's driver and cranked up my chill playlist. Leaning against the wall, I was about to lose myself in a video game when a shrill beeping sound shattered the afternoon calm. My eyes shot up, and a scene straight out of an isekai manga unfolded before me.
A little girl, no older than five, stood frozen in the middle of the busy street, a truck barreling towards her like a metallic monster. Without a second thought, I bolted past a frantic woman who I presumed to be the girl's mother. Adrenaline surged as I reached the girl, shoving her with all my might just as the world dissolved into a blur of screeching brakes and blinding headlights.
I braced myself for impact, but it never came. Instead, an overwhelming darkness swallowed me whole. My entire life – friends, family, the annoyance of school – flashed before my eyes. Even as the darkness deepened, a strange calmness washed over me. A smile touched my lips. This was it. The end.
Except it wasn't. Here I was, narrating my own story – alive, or at least something resembling it. My body was gone, that much was certain. But somehow, my consciousness persisted. This wasn't how isekai stories went. I died, yes, but apparently, the Grim Reaper wasn't the only one interested in my soul.
The question was, who – or what – was?