'Where am I?' Chase couldn't feel a thing around him. His senses were cut off by the darkness. The quietness was deafening. There was no feeling, not even the floor. As if there was no gravity.

"Chase, Tray. You have died." A voice pierced his ears giving some semblance to his being. He tried to grasp at the voice but it felt veiled from him. "You wouldn't be able to grab me. It would be much easier if you would rather listen."

Chase calming himself asked. 'I died?'

"I'm afraid so, yes. Your soul is at the verge of being purged and returned to the abyss."

'Ok' An unnatural calmness formed within him. Chase had lived a good life albeit short. His parents were caring from a good Christian family. His parents would definitely shed tears for him, maybe his girlfriend friend too. Chase felt sadness. He had plans for their future.

"Ok?" The voice brought him back to his reality. "Why aren't you protesting?"

'Should I?'

"I was hoping you would beg me not to destroy you?" There was some irrigation in his voice.

'Should I?'

"Interesting. Maybe I will give you a second chance. Do you have any wishes?" The voice regained it's calmness.

'Am I being reincarnated? But I thought I would head to heaven or hell.'

"You wouldn't. You would go to the abyss till your God decides your fate. He is busy and often that takes a few millennia."

'I would like to wait. I am a Christian and I would at least like to see him once.'

The being was quiet for a few seconds. He kept looking for a reaction from the soul in front of him.

"How peculiar. This approach usually works. Sadly I am unable to help you." There was silence once again. Chase heard someone else approaching. "It would have been much easier if you had just accepted. Chase, Tray. A believer to the end."

'Did I do something wrong?'

"Quite the contrary, you did something rare. Alright, let me explain." The voice sounded a bit tired?

"Reincarnation is inevitable. All mortals should undergo the process. You have led a faithful life. Hence you get some extra privileges. You may choose upto five wishes which shall be bestowed upon you as you enter your next life."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

'Can you choose them for me?'

"Why? Don't you have your own wishes?"

'Yes. But of the two of us, you are more knowledgeable.'

"Is this your first wish, child?" The voice sounded pleased.

'Yes.'

"Alright then, off you go."

Chase could finally sense something. 'Water sprinkled on his face? Rain?'

"Wake up." A feminine voice reached him. "The monsters are dead. You don't need to hide anymore." Chase's eyes slowly opened focusing on the girl. He slowly sat up.

"Ah." A headache, as if something shook his brain around, rose.

"It did clobber your head. Just let it pass. You should be alright in a sec. Juli healed the injury."

"Thanks?" His eyes slowly regained their focus. His memory overlaps with the past. Three kids stood around him, one with a pole and another a sword which he was cleaning. On the path were green limbs and some blood trails. His cart had somehow survived.

"Goblins aren't this aggressive, this close to town. Do you have meat in the cart? That lures them in." The girl who woke me asked, concerned.

"Yes, my village need the ration." Chase was on autopilot. The answer seemed to sadden the girl.

"I'm Nina. Well, I'm afraid I can't allow you to travel alone any further. Considering you are running an errand for the village. If you don't mind, we would like to tag along."

"But I have barely any coins left."

"It's ok. We can always ask the guild for compensation." The taller boy had already cleaned the sword and returned to the girl's side. "Besides goblin extermination does fetch some coins. I'm Creg, a swordsman."

"Juli, battle priest." Juli looked cheerful. The goblins didn't affect her. Looking at the green blobs made Chase retch.

"Bad memories?" Nina caught on immediately. "Don't be a stranger. We too were village folks once. You look old enough. Have you gone through awakening?"

"In a couple of days. I'm almost 16." Chase was stunned by his own words but immediately recovered.

"By the way, which village are you from?"

Creg enquired.

"Cornfields, north west of Helmstasse."

"Alright then, let's get moving."

Juli climbed onto the cart, the others joining her. The donkeys didn't find them very heavy.

Everything calmed down. Slowly, Chase combed through his memory figuring out who he was. The quietness helped. By nightfall, they reached the village gates.

"Chase!", the guard shouted. "Where are others?" He asked as he slowly pulled the gate open.

"They didn't make it." Chase responded.

"We will settle for the night but return tomorrow morning." Nina said as they entered the village.

"The inn is at the centre. Let Sheela know you protected the ration. She will give you a free room or two." The guard reminded the group.

"Thank you, but that wouldn't be necessary. You need the coin more than us. Besides, it shouldn't be that expensive." The trio slowly disappeared into the crowd.

"You got lucky, Chase."

"I know Mark. There was a hobgoblin. But it ran as soon as their party arrived."

"Almost as if guided by the gods. Your luck has always been good."

"But never enough." Chase stared at the three dog tags in his coat pocket.

"Be strong, kid. You just need to wait two more days. Maybe the party can take you to Helmstasse with them." Mark looked at the village center. It was slowly becoming deserted.

"I wouldn't want to impose on them any further. Besides, the path isn't that dangerous. Wait for me a bit. I'll drop the cart at the village market and return."

"No, you need rest. You have done enough. Maybe help send my share to Lily on the way? She's been complaining."

"Will do." Chase led the cart in.

'So, what boon did that god give me?' Chase laid back on his cot thinking of his journey. The rice boiled slowly at the side. The smoke in the room didn't seem to bother him. 'Just a few more hours.' He was in a world where men died young and magic ruled all.

'A system would have been nice.' He drifted to sleep.