1 Chapter 1

RE:DEMPTION

Pepe was frustrated and tired. This was the sixth time this week that the power had gone out, and the hot sun wasn't doing anything to make it better. He would have turned on the rechargeable fan, but due to the power outages, he hadn't been able to charge it, and the same went for his phone. He let out a growl of frustration and put on a pair of jeans and a hoodie with the meme sensation and most used messaging app sticker icon; the green frog Pepe. He had used the sticker so much that his friends had taken to calling him Pepe, and the name stuck. As he stepped out of his one room apartment, he let out a sigh and offered a prayer to anyone listening for something exciting to happen, before putting some money inside the cup of the blind man that usually hung around the area.

Normally, he'd just walk by, but for some reason he felt like giving the man something, maybe it would bring him luck.

Feeling good with himself, he made his way to the library, hopefully the female librarian that he had been flirting with would be in today and going out wouldn't be a total waste of his time. Getting to the library, he spotted the female librarian and his heart did a little flip, while his cheeks glowed red. Shaking his head, he reminded himself not to catch feelings for her without being sure that she had caught feelings for him. He walked over to her and was about to call out her name, when a he saw her look in his direction and her face lit up. She left the table, and rushed over to his direction, with her arms spread out much to his surprise. "I knew we had a connection, but I didn't know she had fallen for me as well" he thought to himself as he spread out his arms to receive her hug, only for her to rush past him and hug the man behind him.

He turned around slowly and watched her hug the man and pain assaulted his heart. Gripping his chest, a single tear ran down his eye which he brushed away with his hoodie sleeve. He stayed in that spot for a while, mentally berating himself on doing what he had laughed at his peers for doing; catching feelings. He began to walk home, mentally cursing at the waste of time and emotions. He was so caught up in the mental beating, he didn't notice when he strayed off the pedestrian walkway and into the road until it was too late. The last thing he remembered was the sound of a truck horn, then pain before it all went black.

Pepe floated in the black abyss for what seemed like eons, wondering what he had done for his life to turn out like it did. As he continued floating, he began to wonder if this was all there was to death, and if this was truly the afterlife, "Looks like I went to church for nothing" he joked to himself as he floated. He had taken to talking to himself in order to avoid running mad, but whenever he really thought about it, it showed that he had already started losing it. As he was about to sing the opening to one of his favourite animes for the three hundredth time, a bright light exploded in the abyss. Pepe shielded his eyes until the light died down and then he looked. Right before him was, for a lack of better words, a portal. He floated around and under it wondering if it would be worth stepping into. "What's the worst that could happen?" He thought to himself before remembering a certain anime where someone got eaten by rabbits, but on the other hand, he could enter a world where he gets a harem and slays monsters. As he contemplated this, he heard a soft voice come from the portal, "Oh great hero who exists across the void, hear my prayer and come to us." Pepe looked around once again, and when he realised he was the only one there, he did what anyone would do in his position; he dove into the portal head first.

Once he got sucked into the portal, the first thing he felt was indescribable pain. He felt his body get remade from scratch, felt every nerve attach and felt the growth of each muscle and bone. He screamed, but he hadn't grown lungs yet, so he couldn't even make a sound. The pain went on for what seemed like forever, and eventually he heard himself scream which let him know that he had successfully grown his ears and lungs back. The last thing to grow back was his eyes, and the blinding light made him scream even more. This went on for what felt like hours until the pain stopped. He collapsed to the floor drenched in sweat, whimpering from the pain he had just undergone.

His mind was on the edge of snapping, but then a pair of cool hands cradled his head and the soothing voice that had brought him out of the void spoke to him, "Shhh, my dear hero. Don't cry, I am here for you." He felt something wet land on his cheeks and after prying his eyes open, he saw the most beautiful girl above him. Her eyes wet with tears that dripped onto his face as she spoke; "It'll be alright my dear hero. You're safe, and you will save us." With that, she placed a light kiss on his forehead and his world went black as he slipped into unconsciousness.