The last cup of coffee

In a dark room, it is possible to see a faint light, the light of a computer being used by a boy in his twenties. He is typing as fast as he can to finish his work before school.

Jona: "We're almost done, Pablo!"

The boy is a college student, to be precise, a computer science student. And like a good student, he spends many nights awake playing or working, and that's what he's doing now.

Pablo: "It's already morning, Jona. I wanted to sleep a little longer!"

Jona: "Me too, but we need to finish this assignment."

Pablo: "But I want to sleep."

Jona: "Anyway, if we can't stay awake for too long, we can sleep in Lulu's class."

Pablo: "Yeah, you're right."

The boys joke around about sleeping in one of their teachers' classes while doing their best to finish the work before the sun rises.

Jona: "Finally, we finished! I'll leave now. See you in class!"

Pablo: "Are you going to the cafe?"

Jona: "Of course, do you want to come too?"

Pablo: "Nah, I'll get some sleep."

Jona: "Okay! Until later, Pablo."

Pablo: "Bye."

Jona clicks "Send" on the email to his teacher, turns off the PC, and opens the curtain. The sun flashes in his eyes, leaving him temporarily blinded. He smiles, picks up his keys, and leaves the house. The cafe is not far from his home, but after a whole night without sleep, it's quite tiring.

???: "Welcome."

Jona: "Hiiiiiii, Hitomi-chan."

Hitomi: "Jona, I told you to stop calling me that."

The girl looks at him, trying to appear mad, but she's smiling. She is happy to see him.

Hitomi: "What would you like? The usual?"

Jona: "Yes! Make the coffee extra black, since I didn't sleep at all tonight."

Hitomi: "You got it."

Jona starts looking around while Hitomi prepares his coffee and notices that the cafe is busier than usual for this hour. He also notices that most of the people are students from the same university as him, which leaves him pensive.

Jona: "It's very busy today."

Hitomi: "Thanks to you, the promotion you did at the university with that mini-game of yours brought a lot of people to the cafe."

Jona: "OH REALLY!? I didn't think it would work, but I'm glad it did."

Jona: [Well, I don't think I deserve all the credit since I just gave the idea of promoting the cafe. The plan was all elaborated by her, but I'll stay quiet.]

Hitomi: "Your eyes look tired! Did you stay up all night again?"

Jona: "Haha, yeah, but I had nothing to do. Pablo and I forgot about the school assignment, and we did it at the last minute. But look at the bright side, we managed to finish."

Hitomi: "Yeah, but you need to take care of your health."

Jona: "You're worried about me? I'm even embarrassed."

Hitomi: "Silly."

Jona: [Even if I feel tired, talking with her in the morning gives me the energy to continue the day, or maybe it's just the strong coffee that she makes.]

Hitomi: "I scold you, but I also need to do an assignment."

Jona: "Really? And why don't you do it?"

Hitomi: "I need a computer, and the ones at the university are always occupied."

Jona: "If you want, you can use mine. I live nearby."

Hitomi: "I-I-I-In yo-yo-your house!?"

Jona: "Yeah, what's the problem?"

Hitomi: "Well, you live alone, and going to the house of a man who lives alone is a little..."

Hitomi looks red like a pepper, she starts twisting her long black hair with her finger while stealing glances at Jona.

Jona: "Don't worry, I won't do anything. After all, I'll probably sleep."

Hitomi: "Oh... Yeah..."

The embarrassed face rapidly transforms into a disappointed face, leaving Jona confused.

Hitomi: *Giggles*

After seeing Jona's confused face, Hitomi smiles at him and says, "I will accept your offer then."

Time passes quickly as they talk, so fast that they don't even realize it's time to go to class. The university is a little far away, but while walking and talking, they hardly notice the distance.

Hitomi: "Look, Jona! It looks like they're building a new building. I wonder which course will be assigned there."

Jona: "Maybe it's a new one. How about asking one of the builders-"

Before Jona can finish his sentence, a loud metal noise can be heard, and someone yells, "BE CAREFUL!" Jona looks up, and a metal beam is falling towards both of them. He doesn't think twice and pushes Hitomi away, but unfortunately, he isn't as lucky. The metal beam falls right on him.

Jona: [Who could think that my life would end this way?]

??? (Feminine voice): "Welcome, young soul."

A feminine and welcoming voice speaks those words, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere. Everything is black, and nothing can be seen or felt anymore.

God?: "First, I'll answer the basic questions. I don't have a name, but some people call me God, even though I'm not the only one who exists. Yes, you died, and yes, this is the area of choice that you humans call purgatory."

Jona: "What... will... happen now?"

God?: "You have two options: reincarnate in another world at the age you want or go straight to the afterlife."

Jona: "What happened to Hitomi?"

God?: "The girl who was with you? She's fine, at least physically. Mentally, I can't guarantee."

Jona: [Mentally? What did she mean by that?]

God?: "What I meant is that you died after being hit by a metal beam. Your entire body was crushed, instant death. And she was right there with you. Do you think any ordinary human would not be traumatized after witnessing such an event?"

Jona: [I hadn't thought about it. My death was horrible. I hope she doesn't get traumatized. I'll miss Hitomi, not just her, but also Pablo. They were my only friends.]

Jona: "Is there nothing I can do to see her again?"

God?: "Unfortunately, not unless she dies. Then she can go to the same place as you, but who knows how long it will take."

Sadness consumes Jona's body. The thought of not being able to see his only friends makes him extremely sad.

God?: "Sigh Fine, if for some reason they die early, I'll let them know what choice you made so they can go to the same place as you."

Jona: "This is not very encouraging. Wait, how did you know what I was thinking? Can you read my mind?"

God?: "Yes, I'm a deity. Right now, I'm not just talking to you, but with thousands of humans who died at the same time as you and who are dying while we talk."

Jona: "That means you are omnipresent?"

God?: "Exactly. So, what will you choose?"

Jona: [The most viable option is reincarnation in another world, but I don't know what that world is like and whether I will be able to survive there.]

God?: "Well, a simple way to explain this world to you is like an RPG, just like the games you humans play, where you are the hero and have to prevent the demon lord from dominating the world. As for your survival, don't worry. I'll give you a power of your choice that will help you survive in this world. But of course, there are limitations that I'll somehow create."

Jona: "I can't get used to you reading my mind."

God?: "(Giggles) Don't worry. After you leave here, it won't bother you anymore."

Jona: "So, does that mean there is a demon lord in this world who wants to destroy everything?"

God?: "Yeah."

Jona: "Why don't you stop him?"

God?: "Gods cannot directly interfere with the problems of a world. We can only give our blessings to humans, so they can solve them for themselves."

Jona: "So, the power you'll give me is not a blessing?"

God?: "No, a blessing is a piece of the power of a god. The power you will receive is your own power."

Jona: "What's your power?"

God?: "Don't try to be the clever one! I won't give you my blessing."

Jona: "Haha, well, you never know."

God?: "(Giggles) What a strange boy."

Jona: "Embarrassed Haha! Cough I want to reincarnate in a new world at the age of eighteen."

God?: "And what power do you want?"

Jona: "I... don't know."

God?: "That should be the easy part. Super strength, speed, regeneration, magical affinity... everyone wants that kind of power."

Jona: "Yes, but I don't want these common powers. I want something different."

Jona: "You mentioned putting a limitation on my power. Why is that?"

God?: "To prevent you from becoming another Demon Lord."

Jona: "Confident Don't worry, I will not become a Demon Lord!"

God?: "Giggles I hope so."

Jona: "One last question. How will the limitation on my power work?"

God?: "Let's say you choose super speed. A limitation on this power could be that your stamina would deplete quickly."

Jona: "Just like Superman, who is super strong but has kryptonite as his weakness."

God?: "Yeah, just like that."

While Jona was thinking about the type of power to choose, something came to his mind: Another World, an MMORPG that he used to play with Pablo, where anything could be used as a weapon. This gave him an idea.

Jona: "I've made up my mind. I want a power where improvised weapons are stronger than ordinary weapons."

God?: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Jona: "What I'm saying is, if I'm using a crowbar, which is not necessarily a weapon, it will be stronger than a super sharp sword."

God?: "I understand. And why do you want such an unusual power?"

Jona: "Just imagine, defeating the demon lord with a guy who wields a piece of wood, a fork, or something like that as a weapon."

God?: "It would be hilarious."

Jona: "That's exactly why I want this power."

God?: "Okay, and how strong do you want it to be?"

Jona: "You can decide, because if I asked for 5x stronger, you would allow it as if I asked for 10x."

God?: "Alright then, I allow improvised weapons to be 10x stronger, but you will be completely unable to use normal weapons. Do you accept these terms?"

Jona: "Of course, I don't intend to use a conventional weapon at all."

Jona smiles while thinking about the strange weapons he can use, but then another thought comes to his mind.

Jona: "You mentioned that Pablo and Hitomi will be taken to the same place as me when they die. What does that mean?"

God?: "It means that in the world you're going to, you won't be the only one reincarnated."

Jona: "So, does that mean everyone who dies and chooses to reincarnate goes to this world?"

God?: "Yes and no. They can go to the same world as you, but it's not guaranteed, as there are several worlds to send them to. But, as I mentioned earlier, if for some reason your friends die early, I will send them to the same world as you."

Jona: "Ah, now I understand."

Jona: [So there are other people from Earth in this world.]

God?: "Well, this conversation has been good, but you have to go now. One last warning: if you die in this world, you go straight to the afterlife, so be careful. Also, in this world, I won't be able to help you, as another God guides that place."

Jona: "Alright, bye-bye, Yuu."

God?: "Yuu?"

Jona: "It's a nickname, because of the courage you gave me. It's a shortened form of 'Yuuki,' which means courage."

God Yuuki: "(Giggles) You even gave me a name. I like it. Bye-bye, dear."

As Jona is transported to the new world, he feels a sense of happiness from God Yuuki and becomes inspired by the adventures that await him in this new world.