I had a strange sense of being watched. That was the first thing that came to mind when I woke up. Or regained consciousness. I'd died, after all. I knew I had died. It wasn't like I'd been in an accident and killed or something. Nope, I had just been old, and it was just my time. I think it was a stroke, I vaguely remember parts of me going numb.
I think I'd woken up once, but everything had this kind of blur and fuzz. Sounds weren't much better. Muffled and seemingly distant. Maybe like I was underwater. I think I was in a hospital.
Everything went dark again, and that was it. The next thing i knew, I was here. Wherever here is. I couldn't see or hear anything, I couldn't feel my body to know if I was able to move.
For several minutes, I had a bit of an existential crisis. Panic, horror, despair. Lots of emotion. Lots of screaming. Might have been a bit of begging in there, too. We won't discuss any of that. Moving on.
When I'd finally gotten a grasp on my sanity or what was left of it, a light flared into existence in front of me. As it dimmed, and I got used to the sudden brightness in the dark, it turned into a blue box window with text. It took a little longer before the edges of the window became a white border, and the text became readable. It was like my mind was having to compensate for things it knew shouldn't be possible, yet we're there floating in front of me.
《Congratulations! You have died!》
Well, that wasn't exactly a great way to start any kind of conversation, I thought.
《Due to a multiverse shortage in souls, it has been decided that you will be allowed to reincarnate! A new world will be selected for you, and a body will be provided, free of charge!》
“Souls confirmed… along with a sleazy used car salesman vibe.”
《You have decades of experience from your previous life. However, due to incompatibilities in coding with your old world and the rest of the multiverse, none of your skills or knowledge will be transferred.》
“What? How is none of that transferable? Do you know all of the things I learned? I mean, sure, some of it was rabbit hole internet research, but still! And while I'm asking, transferred to what??”
《Don't worry! Just because you did not have a class in your previous life doesn't mean you will miss out on any attribute or skill bonuses going into your second! You will automatically receive a skill, achievement, or title to reflect your status as a reincarnation.》
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Wait… class? Attributes… This is starting to sound like a tabletop game…”
《To enable the best transition possible, you will be restricted in the choices available to you during the following starter phase.
Please standby…
Please standby…》
I had been watching the three dots blinking for a while now. Finally, something happened. The blue box, with its text and blinking ellipsis, dissolved and was replaced with a body and more boxes with slider scales. The body was mine. Well, the one I had when I died. Naked. Yeah, no one wants to see that.
《While we find a location that best suits your previous life and experiences, please take some time and select some desired parameters for your new body!》
“Is this… character creation? First tabletop games and now computer games? What is going… Oh, a default button.”
Yeah, I got distracted a bit. Pushing the button, the ‘avatar’ shimmered a bit and just turned into a black silhouette. “Well, this looks promising…”
The sliders had names like height, weight, body type, hairstyle, and color, all that you'd expect for character creation in a video game. I had, of course, played enough of them over my years that I could kind of figure out how to work the interface.
So, I started playing with the sliders and changing several options. It was fun. It kept my mind… Okay, it kept me from freaking out. Except, I wasn't freaking out at all. I didn't have any inclination to. I was confused, concerned, but generally curious. I wouldn't have said calm, but… there was no sense of urgency or danger.
My mind played over what it had said, from souls to new worlds to being reincarnated. I hadn't been the most religious in my old life. I had belief in a creator, but that was as far as I ever really thought about any of it. Now, here I was, given proof of some kind that souls existed. Was this purgatory then, or would I have even learned any of this, if there wasn't a shortage… Of souls… In other universes. “Uh, hello? I have questions!”
As I spoke, a timer popped up just visible behind all the windows I had been messing with. “Really? Just going to ignore me? Someone want to tell me what is going on?”
The timer reached zero, fast. It had actually sped up. As I watched, some of the selections that had been unavailable moved about and left standing in front of me, was a rather handsome young man.
《You have created your avatar!
The choices you have made here will affect the body created for you in your new world. Please note that there may be additions or subtractions in order to ensure maximum compatibility in your new world and life.
Please standby…
New world found, generating body, preparing basic information package…
Would you like a guide in your new life?》
“Guide? Well, yeah, someone to help me out with basics and maybe tell me what's going… Hey, wait, I didn't… You didn't give … Stop! There's not a… Crap.”
《Good luck in your new life!
We wish you much success!》