Second Chance

*DING*

A soft chime echoed through the void, cutting through the suffocating silence.

Aiden's panic slowed, his awareness snapping to the sound.

In the distance, a small light flicked into existence growing steadily brighter until it formed a screen, floating in the black void before him.

He blinked-- at least, he thought he did.

The screen resembled something familiar, like a menu from an RPG game.

Aiden's confusion deepened, the panic ebbed, replaced by curiosity. 'What is this?'

The glowing letters on the screen flickered to life:

[ GAME OVER ]

[ You are dead ]

Adrien stared at the screen baffled, his emotions swirling in disbelief. 'What the fuck.'

'Am I dreaming? No, I can't be. I'm fully conscious and completely aware of my surroundings.'

'So what the fuck is this?'

Before he could question it further, the screen shifted, displaying a new message:

[ Do you want to start a new game? ]

[ Accept ] [ Decline ]

'Start new game? The game it's referring to is life right?'

'Does that mean if I accept, I'll be able to live again?' Aiden continued to question, but he inevitably chose to accept.

The screen shifted, displaying a new message:

[ Default World Selected: World of Origin (Earth) ] [ More Options ]

[ 7.95 Billion Players Online ]

[ World Traits ] { + }

'Whoa, World of Origin... That's a cool name.'

Aiden blinked. 'Wait-- Earth? 7.95 Billion Players...'

He started cackling internally, 'Haha, I KNEW IT!!' disbelief mixing with excitement.

'The world is a simulation!! I knew it! And my friends thought I was watching too many conspiracy theories.'

It took an indeterminable amount of time for Aiden to finally calm himself and as he did so, he noticed that there was something else below the text that displays the quantity of players online.

'World Traits? What's that?' Aiden wondered.

As if responding to him the screen expanded and displayed two traits:

[ World Traits ] { - }

[ Full or Partial Reincarnation Amnesia: Players won't remember their previous lives, or will only have vague recollections/feelings of their previous lives. ]

Aiden read the first trait and thought, 'So does that mean if I reincarnate back on Earth, there's only a chance for me to vaguely remember my past life?'

'I guess this makes sense. If everyone remembered their previous lives, the world will be filled with geniuses.'

'And it would've been even more chaotic since people with grudges would have come back with revenge. It would then cause a never ending cycle of revenge.'

Trying to get the thought outside his mind, Aiden decided to check out the last trait.

[ World Creators: Players have the ability to create worlds to reincarnate in if their world gains enough recognition. ]

When Aiden read this, he was in complete shock.

'What the fuck? We were able to create worlds? I don't remember anyone back on Earth having the ability to create their own worlds!'

But Aiden froze as he remembered seeing a more options button right next to the text displaying the selected world.

Filled with curiosity, Aiden selected it. 

The screen began to shift, displaying a list of recognizable names that made his incorporeal heart skip a beat.

[ Created Worlds ]

[ Percy Jackson: A world of demigods and ancient mythology. ]

[ Harry Potter: A world of witchcraft and wizardry. ]

[ DC: A world filled with legendary heroes and epic battles. ]

[ MCU: A world filled with superheroes and cosmic adventures. ]

[ BNHA: A world where superpowers are commonplace and being a hero is a career. ]

[ JJK: A world filled with creatures known as curses and jujutsu sorcery. ]

[ KNY: A world where demon slayers fight to protect humanity from man-eating demons. ]

[ AOT: A world filled where humanity fights for survival against giant man-eating Titans. ]

[ Oshi No Ko: A world of entertainment, fame, and behind-the-scenes drama. ]

[ ... ]

Aiden scanned through the options and was stunned to see many familiar works of fiction.

'Aren't these just books, shows, and movies back on Earth?'

'The worlds we created were the stories we made?'

Aiden continued scanning through and thought something that excited him, 'Does this mean I can reincarnate in one of my favorite shows?'

Excitedly looking through, imagining all of the possibilities.

The thought of meeting all of his favorite characters, becoming friends with them, going on epic adventures, saving the worl--

Before Aiden could continue, a thought appeared in his mind.

'Saving the world...'

Once that thought settled in, Aiden felt dread, quickly glancing back at the screen.

He registered the fact that most of the worlds available are going through some kind of crisis and a lot of them involved countless life threatening situations.

Worlds where ordinary people died by the thousands.

'I was already stressed enough with school, I don't want to go through something even more stressful.'

'I know myself enough that if I ever reincarnate in one of those types of worlds, I would feel obligated to do something to change the outcome of certain characters.'

'Even if I know that it'll be alright in the end, I won't know for sure how much my presence would affect the timeline.'

'It could cause a domino effect, leading to certain characters arriving to situations even a second late.'

'A single second is all it takes for everything to go downhill.'

After Aiden's inner monologue, his eyes locked onto Oshi No Ko.

It was a modern world. Sure, it had its fair share of drama, fame, secrets, and the dark side of the entertainment industry-- but it wasn't about fighting gods or monsters.

It was, in some ways, a reflection of the world Aiden knows.

'In that world, I wouldn't have to worry about world ending catastrophes.'

'And I'll be able to meet my favorite characters and become friends with them.'

'I've only seen up to the third episode of season two of the anime and haven't read the manga.'

'I heard from my friends that the manga was nearing its finale, I was going to binge read it after it was done.'

'Damn, I should've started reading it when my friends first told me a couple of weeks back.'

As if acknowledging his thoughts, the screen flickered again, displaying two options and their descriptions:

[ World Selected: Oshi No Ko ]

[ Single Player: You are the only one from the World of Origin to reincarnate in this world. Note: Default plot progression is guaranteed. ]

[ Multiplayer: Others from the World of Origin have and will continue to reincarnate here. Note: Due to outside influences, the plot of the world has deviated significantly. ]

Aiden's gaze looked at the Multiplayer option, 'Yeah, no thanks.'

'For all I know that world has already become chaotic and unrecognizable with the amount of people who either directly or indirectly changed the plot.'

Selecting Single Player, Aiden could feel a rush of relief wash over him.

He could live out his life in Oshi No Ko without any other reincarnates causing chaos.

But just as he thought it was over, another screen popped up.

[ Select Your Gamemode ]

[ Retirement: Live as an ordinary person. No special abilities, no extraordinary talent. Just a normal, but happy life. Note: Guaranteed to live a full human lifespan and will not experience some sort of accident. ]

'I guess this is for people who were tired from their previous life and just want to live an easy relaxing life.'

'That's cool, I guess. I wonder if I can reincarnate again. If I can, I might choose this one.'

[ Gifted: Live as someone with a random extraordinary talent related to the chosen world. Note: The talent will be revealed once you are reborn. (In Multiplayer, the talent is not restricted to the "Genre" of the chosen world.) ]

Aiden's interest piqued as he considered it. 'This is perfect! The talent may be random, but this will allow me to get close to my favorite characters and befriend them.'

As he was about to solidify his choice, Aiden caught a glimpse of the third and final option.

[ Gamer: Live your life as if it were a game. You will be able to level up, gain stats, and experience the world as if it were a series of quests. Note: This is Single Player exclusive. (Multiplayer users will not see this option.) ]

Without even thinking about it, Aiden immediately selected this and the screen changed once again.

[ Gamemode Selected: Gamer ]

'Oh my god! I can't believe I was about to lose this opportunity.' he thought to himself anxiously.

[ Initiating Reincarnation ]

[ Reincarnating in 3... ]

[ 2 ]

[ 1 ]

[ 0 ]

As soon as the message faded, the void around him began to dissolve. The darkness gave way to a brilliant light, and Aiden felt his consciousness pulled towards it.

As he was being engulfed in light, he felt every part of his being filled with an overwhelming sense of reality.

He didn't know exactly what awaited him, but one thing was certain: his new life in this new world was about to begin.

And this time, Aiden was ready to play the game of life.