David was sitting in a corner, savoring his coffee, when the sound of tires screeching filled the air. Before he could react, a deafening crash and a wave of impact threw him to the ground. Everything went dark in an instant.

When he opened his eyes, David noticed something strange: he didn’t feel pain, but he also didn’t feel anything familiar. He was in a completely white place, an endless void that seemed to have no end.

— Welcome, David.

The voice came out of nowhere, deep and filled with an unsettling calmness. He turned and saw a man who seemed to have stepped out of a Renaissance painting: dark tied-back hair, with a serene smile.

— Who are you? Where am I?

— My name is Donatello — the man answered, tilting his head slightly. — I am one of the supervisors of the system, specifically in the part that prepares souls for reincarnation.

— System? Reincarnation? 

Donatello raised his hand, as if to present an invisible slide show.

— When you died, your soul was supposed to be directed into the reincarnation cycle. However, there was... a small problem.

I blinked, stunned.

— Problem?

— Your soul was mistakenly caught in a divine summoning process. A collection of disembodied souls to become heroes in a world that needs help against the Demon Lord. The issue is that you were not one of those souls meant for this. This caused... a bug in the system.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The IT technician inside me immediately reacted.

— A bug in the system? Are you saying errors can happen in this process?

Donatello chuckled.

— In a way. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that we're here to fix the situation.

I was dazed, still trying to process everything.

— And how exactly do you plan to fix this?

The man gestured, and two options appeared in the air, glowing like holograms:

Reincarnate with your memories erased in a random world.

Reincarnate with your memories intact in the same world where the heroes were sent.

— Before you choose, I must make an observation. Your past life was not... particularly memorable. No heroic deeds or grand achievements, so your reincarnation options will be random.

David stayed silent, unsure of what to say about this whole situation, but in the end, he managed to focus enough to ask.

— So, if I choose the second option, could I end up as anything?

— Exactly — Donatello confirmed. — But you’ll have your memories, which is a considerable advantage.

I looked at the options floating in front of him. The first seemed safe, but it would erase everything he was. The second... well, it was risky, but there was something tempting about starting over with the consciousness of who he was.

— I’ll choose the second one.

Donatello smiled, as if he had already expected the answer.

— Very well. Now, pick a card.

Thousands of cards appeared from nowhere, floating around Me like leaves in the wind. Each one had a different glow, pulsing with energy. I extended my hand and picked one randomly. As soon as he touched it, the card spun in the air, revealing its face: Undead - Skeleton.

— Seriously?

— That was your choice, and it cannot be changed — Donatello said, with a voice so gentle it was almost irritating. — Welcome to your new life, David. May you find... peace.

Before he could protest, the white world around him began to crumble. His vision blurred, and he felt as if he were being pulled by a whirlpool.