A Twist of Fate

Rain fell in fat drops from the sky, like the universe's attempt at sympathy. I stood there, drenched and bewildered, wondering if this was some kind of cosmic joke. After all, who in their right mind would expect a guy like me to end up in this situation?

I glanced around, trying to make sense of the surreal landscape that surrounded me. It was like standing on the threshold between the real world and something beyond imagination. Then, out of nowhere, a voice—like it had traveled through the ages—broke the silence.

"Hey, mortal. Yeah, you. Listen up."

I jumped, my heart doing a backflip. "Who... who's there?" I managed to croak.

"I'm not your worst nightmare, if that's what you're thinking," the voice replied, dripping with an odd mix of wisdom and sarcasm. "I'm more of a cosmic manager, here to fix a glitch in the system."

I squinted into the void, my mind racing to comprehend what was happening. "A glitch? You mean... I'm dead?"

The voice chuckled. "Bingo. You kicked the bucket a little too soon, thanks to a celestial typo. But don't worry, we're offering you a second chance. A chance to live another life in any world you want."

Second chance? Me? I was the guy who burned microwave popcorn and tripped over my own shoelaces on a regular basis. And now I was being handed some kind of cosmic do-over?

"Pick a world, any world," the voice continued. "Want to be a knight in a medieval fantasy realm? Or maybe a space explorer? Take your time, though I'm not getting any younger here."

I hesitated. This was unreal, yet oddly tempting. Then, my mind flashed back to those anime episodes I'd binge-watched during lonely Friday nights. One show in particular caught my attention—the world of heroes and quirks, where people could do crazy things like shoot laser beams from their pinkies.

"I... I want to be Kurumi Tokisaki," I blurted out, surprising even myself. "In the world of My Hero Academia."

Silence hung in the air for a moment. I wondered if I'd made a terrible mistake. Then, with a gravitas that seemed to shake the very cosmos, the voice spoke again.

"Very well, Kurumi Tokisaki. May your journey be as intriguing as your choice."

The world spun, or maybe it was just my head. Colors blurred together until reality itself seemed to melt away. And as the maelstrom of existence swept me up, I couldn't help but wonder if I was really ready for a life as someone else, even if that someone was Kurumi.