Last Contact

It's hot. The thought and feeling dominated my mind as I trudged up this mountain, the trail endlessly stretching onward. Why am I even up here? I could be at home, playing games in complete serenity, bathing in the cold airs coming from my fan. Well, I'm already this close to the spot I wanted, might as well go the full way. Maybe this sense of accomplishment will make this whole trip worth it, otherwise I'll just be sweaty and pissed. Still, this shot better be worth it. One of the photographers I follow on social media posted a picture of this place, and the location was just the next town over, so I decided to go out and see for myself. The photo in question was just an overview of the entire town at night, except I had no idea it could look so good. It might've just been editing or some lighting, but I just felt really compelled to come out here after seeing how beautiful it was. This is only my third time doing something like this, and the other two times have been relatively worth it, so I have high hopes that this one turns out alright. My photography knowledge is limited to a few tips I learned through short videos, but they sure have been helpful. None of the equipment I have is professional in the slightest, just an old camera I dug out of some box in my closet.

All my reasons for being out here aside, this trail really sucks. It's nothing to do with the trail itself, it's just that it rained yesterday. There's leftover mud all over the place, and I've been getting it on me this entire time. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's being dirty. So far I've slipped a few times, and my hands have gotten absolutely covered in mud. Luckily I'm wearing gloves so none of it gets on my camera when I use it, but I need to clean these later. Wait a minute, I just realized something. The picture I saw was taken at night, and right now the time is... 4:22 P.M. Fuck. Even if I get to a good spot, I'll have to wait a few hours until it looks good. Just my luck that I forget something so important, now I have to just sit in the mud for a while. Hopefully the place where the picture was taken didn't catch a lot of rain, and the sun dried the area afterward. It could be possible, I just have to get there first.

Where I'm at now, the trail is getting really sketchy. Even though this seems like a place where quite a few people would hike, there are hardly any rails to keep you from falling up here. Wow, I didn't realize how steep it was from here. I walked a bit away from the trail to peek at the cliff, and it's just a complete drop. Makes sense I guess, there's a road right down there. Having the mountain hang over it just wouldn't be possible or safe, so they just slashed this big chunk off. Seeing how small the cars look makes me feel empowered, like I'm the king of the world! Haha... Guess I'll be relinquishing my throne by tonight, once I go back to the kingdom inside my house.

That's odd... I think I just heard a big craaaaack from the ground... HOLY SHIT! I'm falling! Did the cliff give out?! I thought I was standing far enough for that not to happen! Oh shit, in situations like these, cover the head! If I can just avoid getting hit in the head, I'll survive!

As I fall further down the cliffside, my body hits a few rocks along the way. I've definitely broken a few bones at this point, but I've already been screaming my head off this entire time, so it makes no difference. The cliff wasn't so steep after all, it has quite a bit of a slope to it, and it'll help me slow down! Broken bones don't matter, as long as I can protect my skull my chances of surviving are actually there! Once I finally reach the bottom, I'm still alive. I'm bleeding quite a bit, and I can't move, but I'm alive. That one thing is the only thing that matters. My phone is probably broken, not that it matters, I won't be able to call for an ambulance if I tried. Can some of the good-willed people of the road get me some help? Shit, that's not good... I'm blacking out.. No! I need to stay... awake...

"AAAAHH!!" I screamed out, which was a good thing.

This means that I'm definitely alive... Where am I? My body is fine, completely fine... what the hell? No injuries, scars, nothing. With my health in order, my surroundings are the issue. This can't be real, a completely white void surrounds me. The brightness of the space expands for as far as I can see, nothing in the distance at all. This better just be some kind of new medical tech, or a dream. All of a sudden, however, a giant face just appears in front of me. Instantly, it's just now there. A completely white face stares at me, even though it doesn't actually have eyes. I'm on fight or flight mode right now, but where would I run to, and can I even fight this thing?

"Fear not."

The face speaks up, which I would say if its mouth actually moved. It has no eyes, and it doesn't use its mouth to talk, what the hell is this thing? "Now that you have collected yourself, allow me to introduce myself." Voices echo throughout my head, it's awful. Every word sounds like a different person, and they all speak in this same relaxing tone. It actually makes me feel a bit at ease, but there's this never-ending sense of danger that I keep getting. All my hairs are standing on end, and my body tenses up to prepare for the next thing the face has to say.

"My name is Phanes, and I offer my condolences. You are dead."

Dead. The only word that wasn't spoken in that relaxing voice. I kept on denying the possibility for some reason, even after seeing and hearing this thing. It makes sense though, I was bleeding a lot and couldn't move, I guess I didn't protect the head good enough. But still, I'm really dead? Just like that? "Yes." The face chimes in, can this thing read my mind? Even creepier than before. "My apologies, you were not responding, so I listened to your thoughts." It says that like it's a completely normal thing. I don't like the idea of having my mind pried into, so I'll just talk with it. Better ask the one thing dominating my mind since it said I was dead.

"What now?"

The words flow out of my mouth surprisingly easy, I thought asking the question would be a bit harder.

"Like I said before, my name is Phanes. I am the first administrator of the Special Souls Program, of which you are taking part as the third subject."

God, did it have to say all of that at once? I hate hearing its voice normally, but hearing so many words makes me feel nauseous. That said, this program thing sounds interesting.

"Phanes, was it?"

"Yes." It cut me off before I could say any more.

"What's this soul program thing? Oh wait, before that can I ask you something else?" I said the last part a bit urgently, because I need this thing to stick to one voice.

"Yes?"

"Can you only use one voice from now on? Hearing a different one every word makes me feel awful."

"My apologies, how is this?" It responded in a deep male voice, much better than before.

"Now, the Special Souls Program. In the simplest terms, it is an opportunity."

"An opportunity at what?" I blurted out.

"An opportunity at life. Subjects of the program are allowed to fully influence their next life, with nearly no limit." These words really stick in my head, and my mind starts racing because of them.

Influencing my next life? If it's just influencing and not getting another one, then is reincarnation real? How many times have I reincarnated? No limit? Does that mean I can keep my memories? Do I have to be human? Do I have to live on Earth? Can I give myself superpowers?! The questions keep on piling up.

"The only limit is godhood, that is the one thing I cannot grant." That's really it? That's the only limitation?

Holy shit. The time for all my fantasies about going to another world has come!

"First thing, Mr. Phanes! I want a new planet, filled with monsters and magic, the kind of stuff you would see in an RPG!"

This is going to be awesome!

"Yes."

"Second! I want that planet to have all sorts of insane sights, things I could only dream of before!"

"Yes."

"Third! I want immortality! More specifically, a body that won't die unless the planet itself is destroyed, one that'll really let me explore anywhere I want without having to worry about dying again!"

With this, I'll finally stop being reluctant about going out. I've always wanted to go and see the crazy stuff in the world, but crazy stuff is usually dangerous so I've been avoiding a lot of it.

"Yes."

"Fourth! I want to keep my memories! And that's all I really wanted for now."

"Understood. I need just a few minutes to prepare everything, then it will all be ready for you."

Even though I just died a few minutes ago, this might be the best day ever. I've been fantasizing for years about what I would do if I actually got reincarnated into a fantasy world, and now I can actually do it for real.

Phanes disappears from the void, and I'm left alone. It's hard to keep track of time in here, but it feels like about five minutes until something happens. Without warning, I black out on the spot.