I, Casper Moore, was lying in a hospital bed, my condition critical. I could barely breathe even despite being connected to the oxygen machine—how was it called again? 

Wasn't this virus supposed to be harmless to young people? What the actual fuck. . . I don't want to become one of the first victims of some shitty pandemic! 

I wanted to call the nurse, but I had no strength left even for such a simple action. With the hospital being overloaded as it was, there was no way for someone to always be monitoring my condition. 

I've just gotten my high school diploma, I lamented innerly. I can't die—not like this! For the last few years, I spent all my free time studying and didn't even get a girlfriend. I hoped that if I managed to enroll in a good university, then my future would be set. I'd date a cute girl, befriend some cool people and eventually get a well-paying job. But now. . .

I didn't want to give up, but for the last three days, my state had only worsened. It was more akin to a curse than an illness. How unlucky could I be? I knew people twice my age who shrugged off this virus easily, and yet I, a guy in his late teens, ended up like this. . .

Shit, I want to sleep. . . My eyelids felt heavier with each passing second. Okay, let's rest for a bit. . .when I wake up, I'll be perfectly healthy. . .yeah. 

Under the sound of violent bleeping, my consciousness faded. 

***

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the mid of a strange forest colored entirely in blue and white shades. What an unusual place to wake up! Or was this just a dream? 

No, wait. . . I told myself. There's something important at the back of my mind that I can't quite recall. 

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Instead of inspecting my surroundings, I tried to focus on my inner state. My body felt unusually light, and my sensory input was all wrong. As for my memories. . .

Huh? Now I kind of remember this strange dream—I'd died from a deadly virus and then met a Goddess who promised to send three other people and me to a new world full of magic. It's kind of too absurd to believe, but so is my current situation. If it's a trip, then a very realistic one.

As my mind got a bit more clear, I started to realize how many things were completely wrong with my current state. First of all, I thought that I'd opened my eyes, but it wasn't the case at all—I had no eyelids! And if this was bad enough, my body felt extremely light because I didn't have one! 

When I tried to "see" myself, I only found a floating ball of white light about one foot in width. In the first place, what I considered "vision" was something slightly different—I could "see" everything within fifty yards around me simultaneously. This way to perceive things was some sort of fusion between sight and sense of touch, or perhaps echolocation. While I could see things outside of this  range normally—though only in blue and white colors—objects within the domain of my new sense were perceived as three-dimensional objects that could be inspected from all sides.

Suddenly, I noticed dark blue words floating in the corner of my field of vision. As soon as I focused my attention on them, they enlarged and appeared right before me. 

Welcome to Illustria, Traveler! A world where opportunities and danger walk hand in hand is waiting for your exploits. Blessed by one of the Deities, you are a Chosen one destined for greatness. We hope that you'll enjoy your journey and grow to love your new home! 

Such a heartfelt greeting would make me smile—if I still had lips, that is. I still couldn't figure out why I had no body, but another holographic message was still waiting to be read. 

Warning! As a Ghostling, you need a suitable vessel to keep your Astral Body from dissipating. Your Soul will be erased from existence if your Psi Points reach zero. 

Current Psi: 8/10

Estimated dissipation time: 17 minutes

Are you fucking kidding me?! The ball of light that was me trembled from a mixture of anger, frustration, and fear. How did things come to this? 

If I wanted to have a chance at survival, I needed to find the answers ASAP and figure out what the Hell finding a vessel meant. Too bad no one was there to give me a tutorial. . . Should I ask the squirrel that had just entered the area of my three-dimensional perception? Perhaps it knew about this world more than me.