When death took him, Daniel wished it had been... a little cooler. He wasn’t run over by a truck while saving a little girl, nor did he heroically fight off a burglar. Instead, it happened gradually - sleeping on the same hospital bed as he had been for the last four years. He had always known the day would arrive, having come to terms with his death years prior. After all, he had an abundance of time to think when bound to his bed.

A week ago, his doctors had warned him he had only a few days to live, and he could feel himself growing weaker by the day, more asleep than awake. On the final day, Daniel vaguely remembered the panicked voices of both nurses and his family, but it was like a haze was distorting his memories, making them seem so far away. Regretfully, he didn’t even get to say his final words.

Indeed, cancer was a silent but deadly killer.

Looking back at his life, it hadn’t been anything special. Born to a nice family, he spent his childhood days playing around and making friends. His baseball career was ended by a nasty wrist injury, so he redoubled his focus on studying, finishing high school with perfect grades. Before he could even apply for a university, his day-to-day life came crawling to a stop with the discovery of his illness. Daniel could remember the gut-wrenching sensation even after death.

These were the thoughts that plagued Daniel’s mind as he floated around in the darkness, void of light and sound. If this was what the afterlife had to offer, he wasn’t a particularly big fan. Perhaps he should’ve converted to Christianity, though it was too late now.

“There you are. You’re a slippery little soul, ain’t ya?”

The darkness coalesced into a billowing robe of shadow, coating a figure that couldn’t be seen. A scythe made of human bone idly rested in the figure’s hands, paler than any shade of white he had ever witnessed. Despite being unable to see the grim reaper’s expression, Daniel had the feeling it was smirking, not unlike a child gloating. How unsettling.

He waited for a few moments for fear or any sort of emotion to set in, but it was futile. The pitch-black was like a still lake, muting every sense and feeling he had. Perhaps this was even worse than nothingness or eternal sleep - an emotionless Limbo.

“Ah, your soul lacks so much colour this time. Come on, liven up,” Death chuckled, spinning its scythe as if it was some sort of toy.

“I-I think I’ve forgotten how to socialise. You’ll have to forgive me,” Daniel said, rummaging through his mind for what to say.

Back in the day, he would be fearless, going up to everyone, trying to make friends with them. It had been years since anyone but his family had visited him. Any social norms were long forgotten.

“It saddens me to see you like this. You were such a great man in your past life, but look at you now,” the grim reaper poked him with the butt of his scythe, making him instinctively dodge. It was a futile effort, the bone passing through his body without any resistance.

“I was? Could you tell me a bit more about that before I truly pass away?” Daniel asked, floating closer to the reaper.

“Absolutely not,” Death retorted. “But, tell you what. I’m going to offer you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he floated closer to him, Daniel’s eyes meeting the nothingness behind the hood.

“Well, a once-per-reincarnation offer, seeing that I offered it to you last time as well. But you rejected me, so here we are.”

Perhaps if he was alive, he would feel a mixture of confusion or a bout of inquisitiveness, but in Limbo, none of those things came. His rational mind took in the facts as they were, and they floated around in his mind, waiting to be tinted by the lens of emotions.

Death reached into its robe, pulling out a shimmering blue piece of papyrus. Ancient runes seared themselves into Daniel’s mind, making his spirit boil and simmer. Even as his soul was getting twisted and torn to shreds, no pain accompanied it.

“Whoops, I forgot you can’t read Treachery yet. Consider yourself lucky you don’t know what the words mean,” the grim reaper said, hiding the scroll from Daniel. The reaper’s hand reached out, plunging itself deep inside Daniel’s soul.

“There they are,” it exclaimed, grabbing the searing letters. Then, the cold hand squeezed the wrong from both the letters and his soul.

“Alright, you shouldn't go insane the moment you reincarnate now. Let me summarise instead,” it said, floating above him.

“I’m giving you a second chance at life - with these memories at least. For the duration of your next life, you’ll be one of my soul collectors, taking care of stray souls that linger on too long in the mortal world. What do you think?” Death said, offering its alabaster white hand to shake.

“What’s the catch?”

Deep down, it didn’t matter what the catch was, but his rationality wouldn’t let him immediately accept. It was only logical to get as many benefits as possible before reincarnating.

“There’s no catch. Even if you die immediately upon your reincarnation, you’ll end up back here no matter what.”

If it was possible for Death to have any expression, it would have a wicked grin plastered across its face. As it was, Daniel had no clue how he was sensing the emotions emanating from the reaper.

“Let’s see. You spent your time playing fantasy games, right? One of the worlds under my domain is a part of the System. You might not be as strong as initially, but it will allow you to grow beyond everyone’s expectations. Plus, you’ll have way more fun there.”

Death swept its scythe across the air, tearing a hole in reality. There, a night sky filled with majestic dragons of countless colours captivated his attention.

At this moment, Death was like a cunning devil, its words dripped in honey. Even if there was a catch involved, what could Daniel do about it? Die? He hadn’t lived enough in his first life to reject a second one.

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“Well? What’s your choice?”

For a moment, silence.

“I agree.”

A simple exchange of words sealed his fate, the contract going up in black flames. A weight settled in his soul, a sense of power like no other. The coldness of limbo was slowly fading away, though emotions were still hard to come by.

“Why, that was so much easier than last time. But you’re not a proper soul reaper yet. Let me help you,” it said, twisting its hand. For a moment, his soul was as large as a galaxy, stars but mere specs in his presence.

“I’ve placed a Gate of Reincarnation in your soul, simply shepherd the souls through there. I can’t speak of anything else, as even I don’t know what the System can do, but, trust me, you’ll be a certified soul reaper in no time,” Death spoke, lifting its scythe high above Daniel’s head.

“See ya later! And trust me, we will be meeting again,” he said, and before Daniel could interject, the scythe sheared through his soul, agony filled every inch in just a moment.

“AGH!” A short grunt of pain escaped his lungs, his eyes practically popping out of his head. His hands went to clutch his heart, which was when the sensations all around him overwhelmed his mind.

The smell of fresh grass and the sound of bugs buzzing nearly knocked him off his feet, and even the slightest ray of light tore through his retinas like staring at the sun. He tasted the sweet air in front of him, for once in his life breathing unpolluted air. His hands reached his face, feeling flesh touch flesh.

Despite the sensory overload, power filled his entire body. His legs no longer buckled under his weight, and the pervasive sense of sluggishness stopped bothering him. For the first time in years, Daniel’s body was full of energy, something he could only reminisce about.

But, before he could test his newfound strength or process any of his memories, he heard a horrible crash coming from behind him. Whirling around, he beheld the most terrifying creature he had ever seen. Standing over several broken trees was a deer that was as tall as him.

That was where the familiarity ended - the deer’s hide was of lustrous silver, and all across its body sprouted wicked sharp crystals. They twisted and curled and came in various shapes, all of them crimson-red. The antlers on its head were made of the same stuff, with a single minor difference. Encased in its antlers was a separate set of eyes, constantly moving around. Its real eyes were bloodshot, focused on cleaving through another tree.

“What the...” he whispered, his hands trembling. His knees threatened to buckle under him, and if they did, he could bid farewell to his second life. It was abundantly clear that this was a creature straight from a fantasy game.

Very carefully, he stepped back from the creature, hiding behind the nearest tree. Another loud crash echoed through the forest, but Daniel didn’t dare to peek at the scene of carnage. “Think, think,” he murmured, failing to keep panic from his voice.

“Oh. Please work,” an idea shot through his head like lightning. If he was in a game-like world, then surely this had to be included. “Status.”

Name: Daniel Willow

Class: Soul Reaper (Legendary)

Level: 1

Job: None

Stats:

STR:10

VIT:8

DEX:10

INT:12

WIS:12

LUK:8

Available points: 0

Skills:

Gate of Reincarnation (Legendary)

Reaper’s Eyes (Rare)

Soul Scythe (Common)

A pitch-black box appeared in front of him, the letters glowing with golden light. It took Daniel just a moment to parse through the information, not sparing a second to marvel at the legendary tags. As he was reading the first skill, a separate box appeared to his right, providing even more information.

Gate of Reincarnation (Legendary)

The founding stone of an underworld, the gate is the basis of a separate space existing in the reaper’s soul. The gate allows the wielder to reincarnate harvested stray souls, receiving Soul Points in return, which are used to construct a self-sufficient underworld.

Reaper’s Eyes (Rare)

Eyes that can pierce through the mortal coil and peer beyond. Allows the wielder to see a creature’s soul.

Soul Scythe (Common)

A phantasmal scythe conjured from mana. Cleaves through a designated point near the wielder.

The first two looked intriguing, but common sense dictated they wouldn’t be too useful in combat. Soul Scythe, however, showed promise. Unfortunately, he had no clue how to cast it, or if it would even kill the deer. Better not risk certain death on a piece of text.

Holding his breath, he very carefully shambled backwards, making sure to not step on any fallen leaves. Daniel made it five steps backwards before he saw an antler pop into view, the crystallised eye locking onto him.

“Fuck.”

Throwing all caution to the wind, Daniel began to bolt, running faster than he had ever run. Chancing a look behind him, he saw a searing bolt of fire streak from the monster’s antlers. His mind screamed at him to dodge. His body followed soon after. The bolt soared past him, only stopping when it encountered a nearby tree. The aftermath was disastrous - the tree practically evaporated from the sheer force. His surroundings blurred past him, adrenaline rushing through his veins. At this moment, the forest itself was his enemy. It threatened to trip him if he didn’t fully concentrate on it. Glimpses of other beasts showed they were just as scared as Daniel.

The rushing of wind through his ears did nothing to muffle the horrid cries of the monster behind him. It was rapidly gaining ground! He couldn’t outrun the creature. He had to do something. Spotting an area with relatively flat ground, Daniel urged his legs to move faster. It was a miracle he hadn’t stumbled already, having slept in the same bed for years.

Reaching the clearing, Daniel looked back only to see the maddened eyes of a predator. Its breath was distorting the air, and all four eyes locked on Daniel’s body. At this point, he could only hope his intuition was correct. Taking in a deep breath, he pointed at the neck of the monstrosity.

“Soul Scythe,” he chanted, praying to every god that it worked. The next moment, his stomach lurched, exhaustion hitting him like a hammer.

Above the deer’s head, a chilling blue mist gathered in the shape of a scythe, lacking any real detail. An alabaster white hand swung the phantasmal scythe downwards, disregarding everything in its way. Had the deer’s head been there, it would have been instantly decapitated, but by the time it took the spell to form, the deer had already shot past it.

Daniel’s heart dropped. Cold sweat began to run down his back. He hadn’t come to terms with his second life yet, not to mention a second time dying. His steps faltered for a beat, and that was enough time for the monster to catch up. Desperately, Daniel threw himself to the side, but the deer’s antlers were unwavering.

Pain unlike any before pulsed through his left shoulder, flesh being burned by the second. He screamed in agony, every thought occupied with bearing the pain. His mind flickered between lucidity and unconsciousness, desperately fighting to hold on. The monster pinned him to a tree, bringing Daniel face to face with it. It bared its sharp teeth, a mocking gaze roaming across his body, saliva dripping from its mouth.

Daniel didn’t have enough strength to point. Instead, he channelled all of his agony into a burning rage, looking at the deer’s neck. “S-Soul Scythe.”

This time, the scythe didn’t miss. The monster’s gloating expression turned to befuddlement as its head flew through the air, bringing Daniel along with it. As they both impacted the ground, the antlers dug even deeper into his body. Letting out another cry of pain, he wanted nothing more than for the horrific agony to stop.

Medium soul harvested.

A black box flickered into view in front of him followed by a sensation that was overshadowed by constant pain. Moments later, another box popped into existence.

Soul Reaper 1 ---> Soul Reaper 2

Available points: 7

“S-Status,” he whispered, coughing up blood. With his last conscious thoughts, he focused on VIT, putting every available point there.

VIT 8 ---> VIT 15

Then, he passed out.