The Gifts

"Ughhh..."

With a pained groan that echoed out, breaking the silence, the boy felt his consciousness restored. Was he not dead? He was certain that only a few moments ago, he and his class had met a swift and violent end at the bottom of a cliff. The last thing he could remember were a pair of yellow, menacing eyes approaching at high speed along with a terrifying growl that somehow sounded like a truck's horn. He remembered he had shouted out in warning to his peers, but even so, the eyes had kept approaching. After that, he had felt himself dragged to the side as his cage had made a violent turn, before a crash that sent it flying. No more than that, could he remember.

Isaac opened his eyes. Or at least, he thought he did. He saw nothing, just as when his eyes were closed. Was he still alive? Then how come he didn't feel any pain? Why was he seemingly all alone in all this darkness? Why could he not smell the blood and smoke of the accident, nor the stinking smell of perfume that had filled his nostrils, along with the rest of the bus? Was it all a dream?

All these questions raced through Isaac's head, but it didn't take long for something else to seize his attention. A blinding light, as if a hundred spotlights had been lit at the same time, all pointing towards him. As a reflex, he tried to shield his eyes while they were adjusting to the intense white that filled his vision.

After a few seconds, and he was no longer blinded, he put his hand down and looked around. He was in a room too big to see the ends of. The plain floor had a texture unlike anything he had ever felt. It looked as sturdy and plain as a sheet of metal, but somehow also as warm and soft as a blanket. Looking up, he seemed to be surrounded by a big, wooden, circular wall of sorts, except the wall didn't seem to go all the way up to the ceiling. Actually, he saw no ceiling. The walls stopped at one point, and above it, a beautiful and starry night sky in the far distance.

The blinding lights from before seemed to come directly from the stars above, though now that his eyes had adjusted and could see clearly, Isaac saw the most beautiful night sky he had ever laid his eyes upon. He stood up, and for a second he could only marvel at this stunning scene his eyes were showing him. But like the blinding lights before, he was once again interrupted. This time by a sound, no, a voice. It was shriveled yet clear, and it was booming so loudly that Isaac thought he would lose his footing.

"Isaac!"

At the mention of his name, Isaac frantically looked around to see where it came from. His eyes fixated on a point above the wall. There, a giant silhouette of what looked to be a person faded in. Not long after, more silhouettes faded in next to it. Then, even more next to them, and on and on until the entire circular wall was topped with dark shapes.

The silhouettes were all roughly the same size, though none of them looked alike. Actually, only a few of them even looked 'human'. As this strange and confusing sight began to sink in, Isaac rubbed his eyes to see if what he saw was actually real. It most definitely was.

"Isaac," the voice from before continued, calmer than it was before. "I am sure you are confused, and have many questions. So, allow me to fill you in."

The shade didn't move, nor indicate any form of movement, but Isaac was certain the voice came from it. Thus, he tried his best to gaze where he thought it's eyes would be. The voice continued once Isaac seemed attentive enough.

"Four hours and twenty-one minutes ago, you died. Your body was crushed, and thus, your soul was freed. through specific circumstances, it traveled here, and we have evaluated it. Thus, we have decided on the gifts we will bestow upon you before you enter your next phase in life."

Next phase in life. Did that mean that Isaac wasn't really dead? That he would live on? Isaac pondered these questions, but didn't come to a conclusion before the shade continued.

"First of all, allow me to introduce myself. I am Spectre, deity of death. In your case, I am also the one responsible for your reincarnation. These other creatures you see are the other deities of this world, though there are too many to name them all."

Reincarnation. Isaac was never a religious person, so he had always assumed that death would be the end, and his mind, as well as his body, would cease to exist. To be honest, the thought of death had frightened Isaac for a long time, so the sudden confirmation that he would be reincarnated had lifted a weight he never realized he had.

"Now, as I said, you will be reincarnated. The world we control is one quite different from the one you came from. Its inhabitants' strives in technology is honestly primitive to the technology in your world. However, unlike the world you come from, this new world contains many intelligent species, not just humans. And, with the existence of our divine powers, it is close to what you would call a fantasy world."

A fantasy world? This seemed to get even better and better. Isaac, unlike a few in his class, wasn't really into anime or manga, but he was a huge fan of movies. In fact, his favorite movie of all time took place in a high fantasy universe. He could only wonder if this would be anything like that movie, and if there was a being of pure evil that had to be defeated. He was so excited he almost forgot that the literal grim reaper was speaking to him. He cracked a grin, which seemed to get a reaction out of Spectre.

"I see the idea of that amuses you. Good, then I believe you will enjoy what we have in store for you next. I said before that your soul has been evaluated. Allow me to elaborate."

Spectre's motionless portrait was as frozen as ever, but Isaac could swear it was wearing a smug grin.

"We call them The Four Gifts. They will be bestowed upon you, and will assist you in adjusting to this new world more easily."

Four gifts. That's what Isaac was bestowed by the deities of this new world.

The Gift of Power, a special ability created for Isaac, so that he could perform feats greater than the old world allowed him to.

The Gift of Potential, a gift that allows Isaac to enhance his new power and get stronger over time. With the Gift of Potential, Isaac can always improve and adapt without much trial and error.

The Gift of Understanding, a gift given to Isaac that lets him understand the languages of the new world. As no one in the new world speaks English, Spectre felt it would be too hard for Isaac to communicate with the inhabitants.

And finally, the Gift of Knowledge. This gift could be redeemed at any time Isaac chose, where he could ask the deities a single question, and they would answer. Isaac chose to keep the Gift of Knowledge, and save it as a last resort.

"Your Gift of Power is the alteration-based power named Gravity, and it lets you create and control the gravitational pull of a small area. However, remember that with time and training, your gift gets stronger."

After Spectre had finished speaking, suddenly Isaac lost his balance. He was sure he would stumble, but instead Isaac felt himself lifted from the ground. Looking up, he saw a black cloud appearing far above. The stars around had started to blur, and it almost looked like an enormous, purple eye, staring directly at him. Then, lightning-like shapes surrounded the pupil of the eye, before a beam of purple, blue and magenta light shot down and surrounded Isaac with a deep, almost growling explosion sound.

"This is where you leave us, Isaac. We wish you luck on your new journey." Spectre called out in farewell.

The beam was humming a dark and unsettling buzzing noise, and Isaac felt something inside him change. his whole body started to glow brightly, before all the light filled his vision. Then, everything went dark, and he felt his consciousness fading once again.